Birthdays and Football and Christmas ... Oh My!!!

This weekend Cadence attended a birthday party for Gwen ... 14 squealing little girls ... it was lovely!

There were pajamas, princesses, pedicures and popcorn. No photos ... you know the rules ... what happens at the party, stays at the party!

All dressed and raring to go!

On Sunday, daddy went to Buffalo for a football game, so we girls had a day of shopping, lunch and finishing up our Christmas decorations ... all done, except for the tree ... that will be a full family affair next weekend!


Gosh, Mondays come so quickly don't they .... ?

Twinkle Toes!

Cadence finished her first 'solo' dance class. She was a real trooper and despite her young age (not 3 til the last class) she kept up with the big girls!





Just a few more gymnastics sessions with mom and then she's goin solo there too! Exciting stuff ... kind of ... she's growing up ... WAY too fast!

Why Didn't I Think of That?

I haven't shared any funny conversations with Cadence lately .... not that she hasn't mad us laugh, I just forget to do it. She really made me chuckle today though!

I was doubled over by a cramp while preparing dinner with her.

Cadence: Mom, what happened?
Me: I got a pain in my tummy honey.
Cadence: Well, mom, why don't you get it out?!

She's so smart ... now why didn't I think of that?

Cadence has been enjoying her birthday gifts immensely! We have put the princess puzzle together a dozen times and have races now to see who can 'find' the pictures first. We've seen Up as well as 2 Dora Christmas videos and it's not even December ... yet! We've made loads of bead jewelry and drawn a lot of pictures.
We've played ALL of the games on this:


We've made 2 out of the 8 of these fun little crafts:

We've done ALL that AND put some $$$ in the bank!
Great choices everyone ... THANKS!

She's Squeezing Me Out!

She's barely three and already she's squeezing me out of the closets!

There isn't enough room for both our coats, not to mention shoes and boots.

I'm not coping!!!! What am I to do when she's 8, 12, 16? Help ....

I'm getting squeezed out of the king too, but you've heard enough of that

for the time being right?!

The Song ...

In case there hasn't been ENOUGH birthday stuff, here's the official song:

The Good, The Bad and ... the Ugly

Friday night, we were literally about 5 - 10 minutes away from bed, when the phone rang. It was my brother, who RARELY calls, so I took advantage of the chance to catch up. This pushed snack and bed back a bit. Snack was given at the breakfast bar while I continued with my conversation. My squirmy girl ended up slipping off the barstool and ... there was blood EVERYWHERE! After a couple of moments of panic, I was able to determine I was only dealing with a bit lip ... THANK GOODNESS! That was the bad ... the fat lip was the ugly!!! Although, I have to say, it wasn't as bad as I think it could have been!
The good was the rest of the weekend ... beautiful weather, good food and great friends and family!
We had a lovely dinner party to celebrate Cadence's birthday ... the main entre, compliments of Uncle Mike! There were presents, loot bags, games, crafts and a movie to quiet things down.





Thanks everyone for coming, especially Jody and Rui who travelled to be here ... Cadence (and mommy and daddy) are very grateful to you for that!
Now it's time to prepare for Christmas ....

Party Time!

It was non-stop fun from morning to night!
We started the morning with opening a present from Aunt Maureen. Perhaps we should have waited until AFTER breakfast!



After a check up and a photo session we met Auntie Karen for lunch and a yummy Shirley Temple:

Dad brought home the pink princess cake, complete with a tiara and wand ... it was hard to keep little fingers off!

Shortly after, Granny Ann stopped by with a bag FULL of awesome crafts and a beautiful bunny from cousin Sara whom she's yet to meet ... someday!!!! Pictures to come of Fluffy and the crafts!
AND then it was off to the very busy Moose place where we enjoyed drawing, face painting, dinner, cake and presents! The kids were GREAT and the atmosphere festive AND it was a kids eat free day ... what more could a girl want?!





Afterwards we went home to open more presents, listen to birthday messages AND we HAD to play about 5 rounds of Hungry Hippo before we wrangled an exhausted 3 year old to bed!
Thanks to everyone who was a part of her big day ... so far ... more party to come, stay tuned!!!!!

It's a Special Day for a Special Girl!

We enjoyed more good weather this weekend! As much as it allows us to get ready for the holidays, it doesn't do much for promoting the true spirit of the season ... jump rope ... not exactly a traditional Christmas activity.

'Story' of the weekend ...

Cadence woke up on Saturday morning around 5 or 6 to tell me her underwear were wet. In a sleepy daze I grabbed her a new pair and we went back to sleep. When we were finally awake I made mention of the underwear and what I believed to be the 'cause'. Cadence was very quick to declare that Winston made them wet* ... yeah ... right!!!! Ohhhh she's sharp! I began to push the issue a bit, but she was downright upset and continued to maintain her innocence ... what a stinker!~

Even funnier ... Cadence's imitation of Sean snoring! Now if only I could get THAT on film!

*Winston has this weird thing where he licks blankets, pillows, sheets and leaves a wet spot. Can't explain it ...

Fantabulous Weekend!!!!

Last weekend, and the past few days, have been unbelievably amazing!!!! The sky has been blue, the sun shining brightly ... it did wonders for lifting the November spirits!
We spent a lot of time outdoors ... it was a good thing too ... we came to realize we didn't do alot of the fall yard work this year! For the most part I'd say we got everything done .... almost! The rest can wait til spring!
Speaking of rests ... here are two of my 'helpers' taking a load off their weary feet:

Cadence chose to wear this ridiculous hat that is miles too big ... I don't think MY head even fits it! Oh well, she looks dang cute anyway (except for the extra 'stuff' in her nose):

She enjoyed what was likely the last of the bubbles for the season:

After 70 shots, I finally managed to click a picture with actual bubbles in it ... you have no idea how difficult that can be!

And of course the weather gave us a good opportunity to get ready for the upcoming season:

Bring it on....

We've been no more or less busy than usual ... just have neglected some of my 'duties'.
Haven't had anything out of the ordinary to share ... just life as it happens!

How cute is this photo?


Perhaps kindergarten is not out of Sean's realm?

Here's a sassy little lady, sporting her 3D glasses after "Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs":


Not only did Cadence stay fully awake for the entire show, she even kept her glasses on!

AND, god forbid, our girl has taken to being on the other side of the camera quite frequently lately:

Aren't I a vision???

Goooooo Irish!

Give Me an H!

Cadence was a real trooper this year! We had an action packed day that left no time for a nap ... unfortunately, when I grabbed the camera for our pumpkin carving I discovered the battery was completely dead! In retrospect, I guess that was a blessing ... it gave us enough time to charge a bit to enable photo of our little cheerleader!

We do have pumpkin seed roasing evidence:

Dressed and almost ready to go:


A little buddy stops by ... they are too dang cute for words:


Cadence was a real go getter! She eagerly and independently went from house to house and despite the cold, I had a heck of a time getting her off the streets ... it was a good 'haul'!
I think this photo tells it all ... anyone ready for bed perhaps?