I love this kid!!!

What a beautiful school picture.

Chicago Trip for the 4th

So we decided at the last minute to take a trip to Chicago to see my sister and her family. Malia actually picked this trip over a trip to Disney World. She really loves her family!

We shopped in China Town in the 90+ degree heat (reminded us of China), had a great time at the beach, and caught Cirque Ovo in the big tent. It was a blast and was a nice get away from real life.

More pictures

On the zip line goofing around...




With cousin Aislinn and Blue




With her great grandma




In the car with her 'friends'




Toasting marshmallows.... on the grill

Having fun!

So I am still trying to find a pattern to keep this updated and catching up. Here are some photos from grandma and grandpa's house. As you can tell it is a lot of fun!





Also some pictures of Malia and her pets (Chloe, Lily, and Gus Gus the Guinea Pig).

Spa Party

Oh no, my little diva had fun at a home spa birthday party for a friend. They did it up nice and she loved getting her nails done. The cute little white robe was great as well. She loves to use it after her baths now. I guess she is all set to be a princess!

Visit from the cousin

My sister and her family was in town visiting recently. Malia and Jude adore each other and she misses him so much when they are in Chicago. They had a blast together as usual. This included a Saints game (with fireworks), playing in the tree house, and rowing a boat in grandma and grandpa's pool since it was too cold to swim.

Pre-School Graduation!

I can't believe how fast the past 3+ years has gone since I first met my little girl. Today is her pre-school graduation and I am so excited and a little sad all at once. I am constantly reminded of how happy she is but there are also the times that I am reminded of her hard start in this world. I wish her the best today as she moves into the next phase of her life knowing that it can only get better from here.

Mom, it must be Christmas....

This is what I woke up to on Saturday morning when Malia looked out the window and saw the snow. This led to a Christmas preparation weekend! Malia had her first overnight at Grandma and Grandpa's. Due to the snow, we both stayed there and she had a blast. I am sure she will have even more fun next time when mom isn't there. The other impact of staying with Grandma was the request to put up Christmas trees when we got home later today. I was hoping we could just set up the smaller Disney tree downstairs but she insisted that we needed one upstairs and one downstairs. I went along with it since the time goes so quickly until Christmas. So now our living room is funny... some Thanksgiving decor with the Christmas tree right next to it.

Halloween

So I am catching up and wanted to post information on Halloween this year. We went to an event at a local park reserve. This included trick or treating and games at various stations. There was also a magic show and Malia was lucky enough to get picked to assist with a trick. Next was the trick or treating at the stores on Grand Ave with her friends. It was cute but there weren't a lot of store participating.





















Then there was the parade and party at daycare. This was first time Malia didn't cry when she saw me watching her in the parade. I was so proud of her to realize that it was OK to not see me the whole time. The last 2 years it bugged her when the group was out of my sight so by the time she circled around again she was crying. The class also sang 'Witches Brew' for the parents. I am fortunate that I could get out of work twice to see each event. It was weird to think that she will not be in these next year since she will be in kindergarten. Oh my...






Finally, Malia was so excited that we decided to walk around a local mall to waste some time. Little did we know that they were holding a trick or treating event. We had to go change into her costume in the car and go through the stores in the mall. After dinner we went trick or treating at Grandma and Grandpa's again this year. She had a blast and got way to much candy. She even liked handing out the candy at Grandma and Grandpa's. It was a fun year and I loved seeing her excitement.