So Much To Be Thankful For

I love Thanksgiving and even though it is a tradition that I personally didn't grow up with, after living in the States for over thirteen years, I wholeheartedly embrace this special holiday that is specifically a time for being thankful.

I am thankful for so many things and could write a very long daily list of different things I am grateful for every day of my life. What matters most to me though are people, especially these four featured on my post today, my mum, my dad, my husband and my daughter.

My mum and dad have always been there for me, always loved me and are the reason I am who I am today. I am so thankful for the unconditional love, words of wisdom, (and discipline) they have provided to me throughout my life. Although my dad is not the same as he used to be, since Alzheimer's, I know that he knew who I was when I visited him recently in the UK, and am so grateful that his last words to me as I walked out of his care home in England were "I love you!"

There are not enough words for my mum, she is always there, she makes me laugh, she helps me to stand tall if I am down, she is who I want to be like and who I appreciate most. I love her so much.

Then there's my man. He's such a great husband, and a wonderful father to our girl. I love that he can be silly and make me laugh, and that he is tender when I need it most. He works hard to provide for our family and I am thankful for his wonderful work ethic, he is my eternal partner and I am blessed for that.

Finally, there's my daughter, Amelia. What wouldn't I do for this little girl? She is so special to me. I love that even though she is is only four, she has already taught me so much. She is truly the most precious girl in the world and I am so thankful to be her mother.

Whilst I am so very grateful for every friend and relative, that I haven't mentioned, and for so many different reasons, these four are at the very top of my list.

Thank you to all of you who enrich my life on a daily basis, I love you so much.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Halloween Fun!

This year, Amelia enjoyed dressing up for two different Halloween Occasions. She dressed up as Jasmine from Aladdin for the first celebration which took place at church for the "Trunk or Treat". Here she enjoyed many indoor games, such a fishing for treats, bean bag toss, blowing the spider down the table and pumpkin bowls.

Of course she loved going to all off the different cars to get candy and her pumpkin bucket filled up fast.

Two of the young men decorated and used our car to hand out the candy, didn't they do a great job?

Peek-a-boo, what a ghoulish sight.

I saw this pose for the first time...where did she learn that?

She and dad had a pretend sword fight without swords.

And there's that pose again...

Me and my girl.

Dad dressed up as Chip Kelly, the coach for the Ducks.

On Halloween night, after her swim lesson, we ran home and got her ready to go trick or treating in the neighbourhood. My girl wanted to give out candy very much and when the doorbell rang (as she was getting changed into her Minnie Mouse costume) she went running to answer it completely naked, she just didn't understand why I wouldn't let her go without her clothes.

As soon as she was ready to go we headed out, Matthew stayed at home to give out the candy. It was the most perfect night, not too cold with no rain in sight.

I think Amelia thought this family was taking too long to answer so she peered in their window to see where they were.

She loved ringing the doorbells and this year could reach most of them. It was all I could do to make sure that she just rang it one time instead of continuously.

The Polk County Fire Brigade was out handing out candy too. Imagine my excitement when a fireman came up and gave Amelia some candy, then asked if she wanted to sit in the fire engine...I was thinking what a fun scrapbook page those pics would make, but then my daughter said "no thank you!" I think as a mum I should be proud that she didn't want to go with a stranger who gave her candy, but have to admit I was a little sad as I watched the scrapbook page disappear in front of my eyes...maybe next year. I definitely liked having the presence of the fire crew around though.

When we got home it was time to check all the loot, and my did she get a lot.

Not bad for an hour or so of trick or treating.

I love my little Disney girl!

A Birthday Swim

As a special treat, we signed Amelia up for swim lessons that started on her actual birthday. She was so excited and couldn't wait to put on her new swimsuit that we bought for her whilst on our hols in England. I french braided her hair and off we went to the pool, which is just down the street from where we live.

Here she is waiting patiently for her teacher, wondering which pool her class will be in.

Her teachers name is Melody, there were four children in the class on the first week, but only three after that, perfect ratio.  The swim lesson was in the warmest of the three pools, the multi-use or therapy pool.  Matthew and I watched from the side as she took her first steps to being a swimmer.

Matthew watched on, I think he secretly wished he had brought his swimming trunks so that he could swim a few lengths of the larger pool.

Amelia practiced blowing bubbles under water.

One of the favourite things she enjoyed was "motor boat, motor boat go so slow, motor boat motor boat go so fast, motor boat motor boat step on the gas" when her teacher would spin her around quickly in the water.

After her class, she was able to play in the small children's pool for a little while, then there was a special surprise for her...

...my friend Alice, and her son Ryan brought a special birthday treat for Amelia, a big bouquet of balloons which was tied to all kinds of treat, candy, nail polish and a fun wash cloth that expands when put in water.

What a lucky girl!

When asked about her swimming lesson, Amelia's answer was "it's so good!"

Birthday Girl

 

On October 17, 2011, our daughter, Amelia, turned four years old!!!! It is quite amazing to think that four years have already gone by.  To help our little one know how many days she had to wait for her special day, a friend/colleague of mine made her a paper chain in her favourite colours pink and purple.  Every morning she would cut a ring off, until finally there were no rings left, and that was an exciting day!

As usual I took lots of pictures...enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grandma and Grandpa Rawe sent her birthday money, as you can see she was so excited!

 

 

 

Nana and Papa bought her a beautiful purple coat when we were in England, and sent a lovely handmade card, the funny thing was that Nana also enclosed a sock we had left, so when Amelia opened the envelope, she was surprised to find it... as you can see it made her giggle!

 

 

The Saturday following her birthday, October 22nd, Amelia had her first birthday party ever.  We invited just a few of her friends from church and daycare.  It was a "Strawberry Shortcake" theme and was so much fun.  I realized at the party that the girls didn't really care for too much structure relating to games and such, instead, they just really enjoyed being together and having a "play date".

 

We played stick the strawberry on the strawberry plant...

 

I made giant felt strawberries for the girls to cover in stickers...

 

We even played the Strawberry Shortcake movie Amelia had received for her birthday.

 

We played music from the Disney satellite radio channel, and the girls danced and jumped high in the air when their favourite songs came on.

The pinata was a huge hit, instead of hitting it with a bat, each girl got to choose a string to pull, one of the strings released the candy...I love the look on Amelia's face and she and her friends pull on the winning string.

Candy was scattered everywhere and little hands scurried to grab it and put it in their bag.

The party blowers were a big hit.

Then it was time to open more lovely presents.  It made me laugh how each of the children proudly announced what they had brought for her before she opened it.  They are so funny!

I have to give a special mention about Amelia's amazing cake. It was made by a friend I work with called Bonnie. She is so talented when it comes to cake decorating and makes cupcakes that are truly scrumptious and look almost too gorgeous to eat. She kindly offered to make and decorate a cake and cupcakes for our little four year old, and showed up on Saturday morning to assemble this masterpiece. You can imagine how excited we were when we saw it. She does this "for fun!"  Thank you Bonnie for sharing your amazing talent with us, we appreciated all the hard work and time that went into this tasty and beautiful cake.

"Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Amelia, happy birthday to you!"

"Make a wish sweet girl!"

As I was taking a photo of this cupcake below, two tiny hands reached up and grabbed it, it was Lacie, Addison's little sister, it was such a cute moment and I loved the pic.

The next day, Amelia and I decided to have fun lighting and blowing out her candles all over again, when it got dark outside, we had so much fun!

For me, I think the best part about Amelia's birthday party was after she closed the door after saying goodbye to the last friend who had come to share in her celebration.  As she walked across the living room, she sighed and said "that was a really good party!" mission accomplished.