6th Birthday Festivities!

Bella came downstairs to a dining room table filled with presents. 

We let her open up one before getting ready for school.

She brought in birthday treats that day: chocolate covered pretzels!

After school, Auntie Jodi arranged for a surprise lunch at Five Guys!  We showed up and Bella's lunch was waiting for her.  The workers even sang 'Happy Birthday'!  Bella loved it and couldn't believe that they knew her name.  :)

We went from one thing right to another that day.  Next stop:  Sweet & Sassy where an almost six-year-old girl had an appointment to get her ears pierced.

I think she may have gotten a little nervous as the lady explained what they were going to do.

But before she knew it, they were done!

Check out those newly pierced ears!

Then it was time to get her nails done.

Meanwhile, Curtis was finding tons of things to get into. 

He finally settled on a spot next to Bella and
that seemed to work best for all of us. 

Pretty nails!

She loved looking in the mirror that day.

We returned home, opened a few more presents, and before long we were off to another activity:  Photos with Santa!  My Moms Club had a fundraiser for Toys for Tots at our church.  We brought in some toys and the kids sat with Santa.  I don't have a digital file of the photo, but it turned out pretty cute despite Curtis's meltdown as we sat him on Mrs. Claus's lap.  His face is a bit red, but he did manage to settle down before the photo was taken. 

When the photos were done, we were off to dinner.  Bella's choice:  Wendy's.  Not exactly what we were thinking, but it was the birthday girl's choice.

Here she is at exactly 6:52pm.  We were getting out of the van and heading into Target where she picked out a new bike. 

Here it is!

Andy started putting it together as soon as we got home. 

The box provided some entertainment.

But soon Graydon was ready to help Daddy. 
He got his tools out and everything.

And finally, cake time!  Bella wanted to light
the candles herself this year.

We ended the night with some group video chatting with the Kilps family: Gaga and Papa in Wisconsin, the Meades in Minnesota, and Uncle Tom in Texas.  Gotta love modern technology!  Bella stayed up waaaaaay past her bedtime, but had such a fun time.

And the next day, she got to try out that new bike.

Here's the blurry action shot of her riding. 

All in all, a day filled with celebration. Happy Birthday Bella!!!

Happy 6th Birthday Isabella!

At 6:52 pm (Eastern time), Isabella will be an official six-year-old!

Here is a little written summary of Bella's highlights and milestones from this past year:

• a birthday cupcake from Carlo's Bakery
• ice skating for the first time
• getting tonsils and adenoids removed
• graduating from preschool
• three separate trips to Wisconsin
• several visits to the shore
• going completely under water in the pool with no fear
• seeing a circus performance
• starting kindergarten
• learning to ride a bike without training wheels
• losing her first tooth
• watching the Rockettes perform in New York City
• joining the Girl Scouts 

I love hanging out with Bella.  Our conversations drift to so many things: from faith in God to what she had for snack at school that day.  All in the same breath sometimes!

She is flourishing in school - both academically and socially.  She loves going and learning and sharing with us what she's learning.  She doesn't always appreciate when we have to correct her mistakes, but we're working on that.

Some of her favorite things to do are color, read, make jewelry, play with Barbies or her Leapster Explorer, and watch shows like Word Girl, Hello Kitty, and Horseland.  She has several journals where she draws pictures and writes down any of the words that she knows.

Sometimes she likes to surprise us by cleaning the house.  And we often get homemade cards with hearts, smiley faces, and the words, "I love you". 

We sure love her too.

Last year, we spent her birthday in Connecticut.  She received a Tinkerbell movie (The Great Fairy Rescue) and we watched it in our hotel that evening.  This movie has become a favorite in our house and it only seemed fitting that the song from the movie would be the soundtrack to this past year of her life.

Here is Bella's 6th year in pictures!

Bella's Birthday Slideshow 2011 from Karen Kilps on Vimeo.

Thanksgiving and beyond. . .

I didn't take any pictures on Thanksgiving Day.  But the memories are clear in my mind.  Our family of five sitting at the table in our dining room.  Our Thanksgiving feast before us.  Bella saying our prayer.  Graydon sharing what he's thankful for - the living room.  Curtis chugging down the sparkling grape juice.  Nothing to do that day but be with each other.  Beautiful, perfect day.

When Friday arrived, it was time to deck our halls!

I take this same photo every year, but I just love it I guess.

We did what we could for one night and then completed the tree decorating the next morning.

I take my eyes off of Graydon for a minute and find him hiding behind the tree, snackig on an old gingerbread ornament.

Curtis hung one of his ornaments. (And then kept taking it back off).

Here's our tree!

And I took this bonus photo of the boys because, on this particular day, Bella dressed both of them! She even did Curtis's diaper! I'm pretty sure that Graydon is wearing Curtis's pants, but nobody cared. She's such a great helper!

Autumn Leaves are Falling Down

I love beautiful fall days. And I love playing in the leaves.

So do our boys.

Graydon located some leaves that didn't belong in the parking lot.

So he brought them to a new home.

It took him a few trips.

After all of the hard work. . . time to play!

And eat?

Silly Graydon.

Super Fun Weekend

My mom came into town late Thursday evening.  That alone was a huge treat as Mr. Curtis was sooooo cranky from an ear infection and croup.  I was very ready for a little break.  My Mom watched the boys on Friday so that Andy and I could take Bella to New York City with some friends.  We didn't take our camera (I didn't feel like carrying around my big camera in NYC) but we had our cell phone cameras and our friends took lots of photos on their digital camera.  Once I get those, I'll try to upload them.

Here's Miss Bella on the Staten Island Ferry. 

And then the subway.

Our destination:  Radio City Music Hall!  We went to see the Rockettes!!! 

Awesome, awesome, awesome show!  Bella was literally on the edge of her seat the entire time.  She even went so far that she fell off!  

After the show, we grabbed lunch and strolled around NYC for the afternoon.  We hung out in Rockefeller Center, saw the Veteran's Day Parade on 5th Avenue, and played on the big piano at FAO Schwartz.

Very fun day!

On Saturday, we had an early birthday celebration for Bella. 

She sure loves to be a birthday girl.

This birthday girl also had a pretty wiggly tooth. 

After about a half hour of wiggling and yanking, Daddy finally just pulled it out. 

And here is our Bella, minus one tooth. 

And a small gift from the tooth fairy.