Here Come the Brides!

While Daddy, Papa, and Grammie stayed home to work on our never-ending home updates {Side Note -- Why is it that you never make your house a really nice place to live until you want to move?!}, Ellie and I braved the frigid temperatures to celebrate her best friend Mariana's 4th birthday. And can you imagine a party more fun for a bunch of preschoolers than a bride party?

Let me tell you, it was hilarious! If you've ever seen the show "Bridezillas," it was all that and more -- with four year olds. Only kidding -- Amy wisely chose identical dresses and accessories for everyone, so that kept the normal dress-up battles to a minimum. The girls were all angels and truly had the time of their lives -- I just may hire Amy to plan my children's birthday parties from now on!

The girls, patiently waiting for their gowns.

Ellie, in all her wedding finery. As you can imagine, she was over the moon about now owning more than one bride dress -- it's all about options, people!



Each girl got to sit at the vanity and be glitter-sprayed before she put her veil on. I didn't get a good shot of Ellie at the table, but I just loved the looks on all of their faces -- they were enchanted by the whole process!



Time to make bouquets!

Ten little brides, all in a row.

I think this was probably Ellie's favorite part of the day -- walking down the aisle....





And there was dancing. And lots and lots of twirling. I'm pretty sure Ellie will remember this party forever.

You Forgot What?

We turned one on Tuesday, and Mom didn't even blog about it. But rest assured, we partied like rock stars.

Well, maybe not so much. But at least we got to stay up until 7:30!

Birthday Bonanza at the Studer Corral

Now that their father works at the "Farmers Union," we thought it was fitting to celebrate Alex and Maguire's first birthday with a Cowboy Party! Yee-Haw...

Notice the cowboy birthday hats...and the plaid shirts. You'll see their dad in a plaid shirt of his own later. It's definitely worth the wait. Trust me. We started with present opening...Baseball was a common theme...And there were cars.......and of course more baseball. With dad (Wearing said plaid shirt. Awesome right? Wrong. Just wait for the picture that's still to come...) showing Maguire how to properly hold the bat. He didn't care, he just wanted to see how it tastes...Ellie and best friend Mariana wore their princess crowns...and posed for a quick smile before the boys dug into their cakes..."They've been saying for hours that we're getting cake Alex." "I know Maguire, maybe if we take one last picture they'll actually let us at it...I'm cravin' some frosting!" "The anticipation is too great, I must have it, it shall be mine. Ooo...fire." And off they went...For some reason Maguire decided he wanted to push his cake onto the floor...And there she goes!!!"Hmmm...maybe I should've thought that one through first...now I don't have any cake!""But who cares...I've still got plenty of frosting!" "What? Do I have something on my face?"

"Seriously, what are you guys all laughing at?""This is the greatest day of my life."

"Do you have to clean me up?"And with guns drawn...daddy takes the "Cowboy" theme to the extreme. At least he didn't dress up as a princess for Ellie's birthday...now that would've been embarrassing...

We had such a fun day celebrating their little lives, and we're so very thankful for them. Happy Birthday Boys!

Just a Tiny Taste...

...of the big 1st Birthday party post to come!

Which Way to the Beach?

Our Ellie, ever the optimist, decided that this was her outfit of choice today for her 'trip around the world.' Despite the fact that when she got dressed, the temperature outside was -17 below zero. Without the wind chill.

No such trip would be complete without fancy shoes, sunglasses, money in the purse, fairy wings, and a mode of transportation. She hijacked the boys' new wheels and took off on her trip. Itinerary for the trip: Mariana's house, Lorna's house, and outer space. When I asked her how she would be getting to space, she shook her head and said, "That's what the wings are for, Mommy." And I would also like to add that while they boys and I were in sweats and extra-warm socks, she remained in the swimsuit for The. Rest. Of. The. Day.

Maguire and Alex are having all kinds of fun with the new toys we got for Christmas. I think in the picture below, Maguire is trying to dial Aunt Doreen's number to tell her thanks for the 3-in-1 sports toy. It is a huge hit! The pictures really don't do it justice, so I will try to get some video up soon. The basketball hoop makes noises and plays stadium music when you make a basket, and they both love to hold onto the rim and bounce up and down with the music. Alex in particular can't get enough of it.

Hard to believe that they will be one next week! A few more random pictures and then a little video of the boys showing off some of their new tricks.

Our Better-Late-Than-Never Christmas

Since we have a few things on our To Do list, the extremely long Christmas recap is being condensed to cover the highlights only. Otherwise this post was in danger of sitting in my Draft box until next Christmas.

One of our favorite parts of going home to Brainerd is visiting Grandpa and Grandma Eiesland. We were so thankful that Grandma is home from her hospital stay. She might tell you she broke her leg when she tripped, but we know she was busy practicing her "Dancing with the Stars" moves to impress Ellie!

Alex, future FFA (Future Farmers of America) member? Shout-out to J. Frank Eisel...




As always, we took advantage of the gym at the Early Childhood Center one afternoon (Grammie's work) and let the kiddos run wild.









The boys had their first taste of presents, a trial run for the big 0-1 next week! They seemed pretty unimpressed by the whole experience, but Ellie was more than happy to assist with the opening.

And speaking of Miss Ellie Bean and presents, check out this Barbie she got from Grandma and Grandpa Studer! She loves the dog and all its doo-dads, and guess what....it poops! Seriously. It came with little brown Tic Tac shaped pieces of dog treats/poop that go in and out of the dog (whichever end suits your fancy, I guess). We cannot stop laughing at this dog. I would have liked to be present at the Mattel brainstorming meeting where they uttered the words, "I've got it! You know what little girls would just love with their next Barbie? A pooping dog!"

Last but certainly not least, we had the boys dedicated at the church where Chris and I grew up and were married in. The pastor was foolish brave enough to take on both boys at the same time for the prayer of blessing. We have yet to receive a bill for eyeglass adjustment.