Do I Look Like a Boy?

Arin says some of the funniest things.

Let me back-up.  Arin wears dresses/skirts everyday because that's what she likes best.  Today, we were going to the playground, so I told her to put on shorts instead.  She thought that was the most terrible idea, but agreed jeans would be ok, even though I told her she'd be hot in them.  So she got dressed in her shirt, jeans and tennis shoes.  Then, she came out and said to me, "If I was a boy, I'd look like this everyday!  If I didn't have on this girl shirt, wouldn't I look like a boy?" She was very serious.  I had to laugh (to myself of course).

Andrew and I tried to reassure her and tell her that she looked like our pretty little girl.  We went to the park and we had a lot of fun playing together. 

We went out to eat for lunch.  Both of the girls had to go potty, so I took them.  Arin was in one stall and Ella and I were in another.   A little girl walked in with her mom and apparently she looked in the crack of the stalls (her mom quickly told her to stop that).  But then the little girl said, "Mom, why is there a boy in here?" 

Hahaha, I guess that proved Arin's theory.  She quickly changed into a dress when we got home :)

Cinderella

Remember this post (The one when Arin was three and she loved to mop on her hands and knees while wearing her dress-up clothes)?

She's graduated to using a mop, but she still LOVES to mop and she still loves to do it in her dress-up clothes. 

It is hard work, but she's really very good at it, so it is almost always her job (which makes me very happy). 



Wiping the sweat fom her brow :)

A Fun-Filled (Free) Day!

Today was a big day.  It was Arin's 5th birthday, plus the start of my third trimester, plus Andrew's day off.  Any of those things on their own would be awesome, but all three together seemed like a reason to celebrate!  We had a birthday party for Arin a couple of weeks ago, but still wanted to do something fun for her today.

No school for the girls today.  Instead, we headed to the free summer kids' movie this morning.  We saw Yogi Bear.  This was the first time that any of us had seen this movie.  Arin loved it!  She was cracking up throughout the movie.  It was so cute to hear her giggling so much!

After lunch, we needed to stop by the bank, so we asked for the free lollipops for the kids and we let them eat them in the car, with the windows rolled down.  Yup, we're super fun parents like that.  Hahaha!

Next, Arin went with her daddy and her Uncle Todd to dig at his house.  Todd is getting a pool, but before that can happen, they have to get this massive stump out of his backyard.  It's a lot of work and may not seem like a fun project to the average person, but Arin loves being included in this activity.  Ella and I stayed home and napped :)

Before dinner, we took Arin to Toys-R-Us, where she got a paper birthday crown to wear and a balloon.  Plus, they announced her birthday over the store's intercom system.  Yes, Arin felt super special!

Next, we headed to Chick-Fil-A.  Arin had been invited to a special birthday celebration where she was given a free kid's meal, a special present, a cow stuffed animal toy, a balloon, a craft, her face painted, a cupcake and ice cream!  Wow! 

Chick-Fil-A included Ella in the special dessert :)

After dinner, we had planned to take the kids to the park, but the rainy weather prevented that, so we took them to the mall's play area.

Finally, we took the girls to the pet store to look at the animals.  They love this!

It was a super fun day!

Arin's Party

We celebrated Arin's 5th birthday several days early with a family party, which was so much fun!  Including us, there were 29 people in attendance.

The night before the party, the girls helped their daddy blow up several balloons.  It was Arin's request that we had lots of balloons. 

That night, the girls had a ton of fun playing with the balloons.  They enjoyed sitting in the big pile, tossing them around, and running after each other with the balloons. 

Who knew the adults at the party would find the balloons equally as fun as the kids did?  The grown-ups sat around and played a game of keep the balloons in the air.  There was so much laughter.  Lots of fun!

We had set up a family-sized blow-up pool and a baby-sized blow-up pool in the backyard, along with a slip and slide.  These kept the kids busy for several hours throughout the afternooon.

For lunch, we served take-out pizza, along with several other snacks.  I made deviled eggs, a platter with carrot, celery & ranch dressing dip, black olives, cream cheese and pepper jelly with crackers, tomatoes topped with mozzarella and fresh basil, strawberries, and cherries.

After we ate, Arin opened her presents.  She got lots of fun, new toys!

Next, it was time for Arin to give presents.  She gave each of the kids at her party a wrapped present, which also doubled as an activity.  We had ordered horse hats from Oriental Trading.  The kids assembled them.  They were a bit more challenging than expected, but they made for a good laugh.  Even the teenagers were good sports and got in on the fun!

Next, we moved the party to the front yard where all the kids got giant bubble blowers.  I've seen these bubble blowers all over the internet.  They look like so much fun, but unfortunately, our's did not work as great as the ones we see on other people's blogs.  I think it could have something to do with too many kids in too small of an area?  We gave the blowers to everyone, so hopefully they will try them again at home and have better luck with them.

Next, we enjoyed dessert.  I made three flavors of cupcakes - chocolate, strawberry and confetti.  Along with the cupcakes, we set up an ice cream sundae bar.  The bar included vanilla ice cream (of course!), whipped cream, chocolate, strawberry and caramel syrups, nuts, cherries, chocolate and rainbow sprinkles crushed Oreos, Mini Reese's Cups, Mini M&M's, jelly beans, and bananas. 

Arin had so much fun with her family.  She cried when it was time for them to go home.

And though completely unrelated, I thought I'd share a belly pic of me at twenty-six and a half weeks!  Almost to my third trimester :)