My best friend Jade's baby, Anna. She is so precious! Jade says that she is a handful but every time I have babysat her she has been a perfect Angel! Cecelia loved helping me too. She is going to be such a good big sister. She can't wait to have a baby to play with and neither can I!

Mommy & Me manicures and pedicures

My little princess and I got manicures and pedicures. This was Cece's first time and she loved it. This is her lounging waiting for her toes to dry while I got my manicure. This is definitely something we will probably not do very often though. Although fun to feel pampered together, it is hard for me to justify spending $90 for us to have manicures and pedicures done, especially when I can do it myself at home for nothing. For myself, I can defend getting a pedicure because it lasts so long (like a month). However, Cece's paint job was already chipping after a few days...kids just play too rough.

My Stanley is sooo stinkin cute! He had just gotten back from the doggy spa when this picture was taken. Prior to getting groomed, his hair had gotten so long. He looked so scruffy that Aaron and I decided that we just looked like bad pet owners to let his hair get that long. We have long ago given up any hope of him having a traditional Shih Tzu hair style. He is just hates having his hair brushed. Even now, with his hair as short as it is, he doesn't like me to brush his hair!

The start of another great school year!

Aaron and I now have ourselves a first grader!!! WOW! My "baby" is no longer a baby. This year Cecelia was placed in a combination class, consisting of half first graders and half second graders. Having your first grade child being chosen for this type of class is not at all a random selection. Apparently, it is a complement. The school unfortunately has too many second graders and not enough first graders. Therefore, they must select students for this combination class that can work independently, are well behaved, and somewhat more mature, or advanced. Cecelia loves hanging out with older kids, she always has. I think this stems from having an older sister, plus almost all of her cousins, with the exception of a few, are older than her. So Cecelia has so far enjoyed being with the older kids. In fact her new "best friend", Tessa, is a second grader in her class. In the mornings Cece is with her second grade teacher for reading and writing, special (P.E., Music, or library), recess and lunch. Then in the afternoon, Cecelia returns to her first grade teacher to finish the day with math and science.
On a side note, I think I am going to join PTA. I would love to get to know some of the other parents of the kids that Cecelia goes to school with. Eventually, she will want to start having sleep overs and I want to be comfortable with her going over to her friend's houses. Plus, I really want to get involved and show Cecelia that her school is important to me.

Cats and Dogs

That's the girls behind those dogs masks! So cute! We were able to go to a premier of the movie Cats and Dogs in 3D at Village Point Theater. Before the movie we went to get ice cream at Coldstone. The girls had so much fun. The movie was really funny. We will definitely be buying that on DVD when it comes out.

Adventure land

Neither of the girls had ever been to Adventure land before and they had a blast! We left the house at about 7:00 A.M. and the girls were still half asleep on the car ride down to Des Moines, Iowa. A couple of our friends were also planning a day trip to Adventure land so we met them at the park and our kids spent the majority of the day together. Unfortunately we decided to plan our trip on a weekend and it got very crowded at the park. I think the girls enjoyed the water park the best. The slides were pretty fun even for an adult! My favorite part was the water log ride. Cece and I sat in the front of the log and paid for it when we got off and were completely drenched. We made some very fun memories that day. We are already thinking about our next family vacation next summer. The girls are finally at that age where they are perfect angels in the car and we can venture out on longer car rides. I would love to take them to Wyoming and stay at a lodge in Yellowstone. I think the girls would be amazed to see the geysers and I would love to see the beautiful park again. My mom took my sister and I when I was 15 and even at 15 I was amazed by the sights. We'll see

Royals Baseball Game

I'm so glad that we were able to enjoy one of the last Royals games EVER. The team was only going to be playing a handful of more games on the field before the stadium was closed forever. Very sad to see the stadium closing but excited to see how the new stadium atmosphere will be next year when the college world series games are closer to downtown. The girls had fun that night at the game. They each picked out a baseball bat as a souvenir.