It’s official. I am now a soccer mom, but no van will be added to go with that. I signed Jameson up for Lil’ Kickers. It’s a soccer class, that focuses on developmental, emotional, and social skills as well as athletic skills. It was really funny to watch him. There were 4 other boys in his class, and his coach was awesome. The coach didn’t look that old, maybe closer to my age. He was so energetic with them, and had a story for everything. Every drill started with a story about why they needed to do the drill.

For instance, he told them they needed to wake the troll up on the other side of the wall. So they had to kick their balls against the wall repeatedly to wake him up. Or he tipped to cones all over the field, and the boys had to stand the cones back up only using their foot. Then they had to water the “small” trees with one foot. Then, they bot the balls out and had to knock over as many cones as they could by kicking the balls at them. It’s a 50 minute class, which was awesome. He was so tired afterward, which would have been heaven! But, I knew he hadn’t been to the bathroom, and wasn’t wearing a pull up, so I tried to keep him awake. Then he never took a nap the rest of the day. Next time, I will be more prepared.

The coach told them to not get hit by the balls while he kicked the balls at them:

This exercise, he told them to drive their boats. Then, the coach would yell “shark!” The boys had to stand on their boats, while they caught the sharks.

And here’s what Ella did while Jameson was playing:

Maybe we should get her out on the field?

Happy Birthday! Kevin’s birthday was yesterday, so we got to celebrate. We went out to a Japanese restaurant with friends, and then we all went to see the movie, Limitless. Wasn’t my favorite show, but I got to spend a night out with my husband without our kids. I did my own research and found out Kevin’s favorite band would be playing at Sasquatch this Memorial Day weekend. It’s a big music festival that kicks off Friday and last through Monday over the holiday weekend. So I got him tickets to see Foo Fighters. Tonight after dinner, the kids helped him blow out his birthday candles.

Jameson didn’t get to have brownies with us since, he didn’t eat his dinner. He wasn’t too excited about that. So, to follow along with the other birthdays, here are some things you might not know about Kevin:

• He really does love his car, even though it smells like old man
• He loves oreos, Cookies n Cream ice cream, and Toblerone’s
• He loves teaching
• He is a wheeler and dealer, and can trade to get things he wants. Kind of like that kid on craigslist who turned his phone into a car.
• He had long curly hair when we first started dating.

Oh how I love this man and all his ideas.

For the Green Holiday, we had a little party with our playgroup. Some of our friends are moving out of the ward, so we thought we’d have one last party with them. They organized a little treasure hunt for the kids to find Lucky the Leprechaun, and then had a pot of gold at the end. The kids loved it. Ella and I sat at the table, and ate the yummy food available. Trying to get a picture of all of them was a joke.

We all had our green on to celebrate.

These days, Miss Ella can be found in the cupboards. There’s not really anything in the cupboards to make a mess with, so I don’t really care. Except the fact that my kitchen towels are now found all over the house. It does keep her busy while I’m cooking.

After 17 days in the hospital, Ella was able to come home. It’s the luck of the Irish. After all, Brazell is an Irish name. She was able to come home on March 17th, which also happened to be her original due date. After all the time those nurses spent with her, I wanted to do something back. So, I made a quick blanket and on Thursday, we headed up to the NICU.

Jameson was excited to see the fish, but sadly, they were no longer in the waiting area. We were buzzed in, and went to the front desk. I explained that it was our 1 year mark on leaving the NICU, and we had a blanket to give. I loved going in and seeing that the nurses had put cute blankets in her bassinet. The nurses were wonderful. In the first few days, she was under constant watch, in a room across from the nurses station. She would pull at her tubes, and the nurses would be right there. One night, the nurse sat in her room the entire night. She said she didn’t want to leave her, and that every time she did something would happen. So the next night she brought a book. She would sit in the chair next to Ella, and rest her hand on her to give comfort. It was things like that, that made it bearable to leave my child in another’s care.  She couldn’t wear clothes, so the blankets were the only thing that really distinguished she was a girl.

My letters to go with the blanket:

“I hope this blanket gives you the peace and comfort your baby needs during your stay in the NICU. Sincerely, A Graduated NICU Baby Girl”

My letter to the Doctors and Nurses:

“I just wanted to say Thank You for the care you gave our daughter. We are so grateful. Our stay was from 3.1 to 3.17. I wanted to donate this blanket, because it was such a comfort when the nurses had cute blankets in the bassinets. I’m grateful for the nurse that sat in her room all night to give her comfort. Also, the doctors who explained things to us multiple times with patience, and every other little thing to help us through that 17 days. Thank you again. The Brazell Family. Patient: Ella Brazell 3.1 to 3.17.2010”

We may not be able to do something every year, but hopefully, we have started a new tradition.

If you noticed, I have posted a private post. If you think you know us well enough to see our private posts, send me an email, or comment, and I’ll add you to the password email. Mostly, these are posts the whole world doesn’t need to know about us, but our friends and family might be interested in knowing.

Ella thinks she needs to have everything Jameson has. She started getting a hold of Jamo’s peanut butter and honey sandwiches before the recommended age of 1. That was great. So now, I just make sandwiches for both of them. She was so excited to sit with Jameson at his table rather than having to sit in her high chair. Yes, they are eating lunch in their pajamas. Some days, that’s just the way we roll. Tomorrow, actually, might be one of those days.

As you can see, Jameson has a very shot tolerance for me and the camera while Diego is on.

P.S. I just got Ella’s proofs from her birthday. Look for them in the future. If you want to see them now, let me know and I’ll send you the info.

Saturday, we celebrated Ella’s birthday with our friends. These invitations were sent out to our friends, since our family is pretty far away. ***Disclaimer*** Please note: While planning this party, or any other party, I search blogs and websites. I get ideas, and don’t necessarily remember which sites they came from. So if you happen to see something that you think came from your site and want credit, let me know. I’ll gladly edit my post to add your name in.

The invitations read (most of it was borrowed from another invitation I found, not sure where, though.) :

Polk-a-dots and Little Black Spots

LadyBugs and Tiny Tots

Our “Little Lady” is Turning One

So Fly On Over and Have Some Fun!

The Infestation Will Be Held in Ella’s Garden

(Insert Address)

At (Time) on (Date)

Give us a Buzz at (Phone number)

A Feast Will Be Waiting For All Buggy Friends

So Come Ready To Dive In!

We Hope To Spot You There!

Head Gardeners: Kevin and Brittany

As we were getting ready Jameson got his hand stuck in the candy jar.

He didn’t like the fact that he had to let go of the candy to get his hand out.

We started off by coloring our front windows to look like a flower garden. Jameson was coloring on the back window, and Kevin couldn’t help but draw with us. It was too much fun to not join in.

The dots on the door are little lady bugs I made. They were stuck all over inside the house, also. This was for a game to be played later.

As you came in the front door, this is what you saw… “flowers” lined the wall. (My original plan was to tie them to green “grass” bundles, but the pedals were too heavy and the balloons didn’t float with them on. So we improvised.)

I made some tissue pom poms to fill where extra love was needed. Each child had a hat, which lined the top of the piano. The girls got lady bugs, and the boys got frogs. (The hats were found at Michael’s in the dollar bins.)

The table provided all the treats: candy, cake, cupcakes, soda, juice, and water. I found lots of different vases at thrift stores and filled them with red and black candy: jelly bellies, licorice, raspberry gumdrop candies, cinnamon bears, Swedish fish. I found a bug catcher kit at Michael’s that included the little bug catching net used as a scooper.

We had moved both couches to the family room, providing more space in the living room, and a place for the Dad’s to hang out in the other room. The food was set out on the sideboard and counter tops. We served pulled pork sandwiches, chips, macaroni salad, chicken nuggets, and french fries. I set out our picnic blanket, and all the kids got to eat on the blanket. The parents got to stand or sit where ever with their plates.

After the kids were done eating, they gathered on the blanket for a story. I read this book:

At the end, when all the ladybugs had flown away, instead of turning the page to find the ladybugs, I told the kids they had flown all over the house. I gave them each a bucket and told them to go find all the ladybugs. Once all the ladybugs were found, we played “Put the spot on the Ladybug.” The little kids were just given a dot, the older ones were blind folded, and the oldest got spun first.

Our finished Ladybug… (you can tell we have a lot of right handers)

Once our Ladybug had spots again, it was time for another game. I had leaves for the kids (made from foam) to spread across the floor. Then they each got their hats on.We had 11 ladybugs and 4 frogs. The music played and they flew from leaf to leaf, and then jumped to each leaf. After a few rounds, I took some leaves away. Of course, the ones that didn’t have a leaf were sad, so the next time I took all the leaves. Once all the leaves were collected, and I saw a bunch of sad faces, I told them it was time for cupcakes. That cheered everyone up.

*I did not do winners and prizes, because at this age, if one gets a prize they all want one. I didn’t want any tears shed at the party for not getting a prize, so no games had winners. *

We sang “Happy Birthday” to Ella, and all the kids helped blow out her candle. Then they were each given their cupcakes to eat on the blanket. We had chocolate cake and homemade strawberry ice cream to go with our red and black theme.

Ella was only given a cupcake. She ate enough cake on her actual birthday.

Once the kids were done eating, I sent them outside to look for bugs and play. While all the kids were outside being watched by the Dads, I cleaned up inside. The picnic blanket was shaken outside, and trash picked up. Then I filled their little buckets with the candy that was on the table. After the buckets were filled, I tied a red or black balloon to each bucket. That was their party favor to take home. Once that was all done, the kids came back inside to open presents. Since Ella isn’t so big on opening presents, I let the children that brought the gift open it. That way, they each got to open a gift.

We tried to take a group shot of the kids. This is all that would sit still. While these pictures are being taken, Ella and her friend were sitting on my lap. One of Ella’s gifts was a baby doll, and these two little girls started fighting over it. I was laughing as Ella and Lilah pulled the box back and forth until one hit the other one. Oh, are we in for it.

So if you look, you can see the two little girls on my lap fight over a pink box. Ella received lots of clothes, a baby doll, and a book from friends , and a little kitchen toy from us.

As everyone left, they got to grab a box with a balloon.

A few friends stayed to help clean up. While we cleaned, the kids all sat down for a movie. It’s a good thing we have lots of little chairs, because they all want to sit on one. I was laughing that they were still wearing their hats.

After cleaning, while these children watched a movie, we had a photo shoot happening in the other room.

Jameson ate candy and wore his hat until bed time. After everyone was gone, all of us took a nap. Except Kevin. I think he played computer games. We had an eventful, fun day. We’re so glad to have made such good friends that will celebrate birthdays with us when family is so far away.

Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate with us!

(The ladybug on the left is an extra I found from our “Find the Ladybug” game. The card and ladybug on the right was made using my new toy… a Silhouette SD. Man, I wish I had that before the party!)

The Thankyou card reads:

I’m one lucky lady to have friends like you

To come celebrate my first birthday and have cake too!

(Insert personal message thanking them for gift)

Bugs and Kisses!

Ella

Those will hopefully get sent out tomorrow. Happy Birthday to our Baby Girl! We love you so much, Ella!

Every one interested to see who won?

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

12

Timestamp: 2011-03-07 07:20:15 UTC

And who was comment number 12?

Kris Stokes!

You are the lucky recipient of my first craft using my new Silhouette SD! I know you’re so excited. It may look small, but this actually took me a long time to figure out. So, it will be filled with your favorite Easter candy. Email me your address (because I’m sure you don’t want the whole world knowing that little piece of info), and tell me what your favorite Easter candy is.

Can you see that little chick and broken egg on there? Yah, that took me a long time to figure out. So now you have a new Easter candy dish. You also will be getting a set of these “Family” frames.

(The family pictures will not be sent with it. Sorry.)

Oh wait. There’s another winner!

We hit 800 comments, so we thought we’d pass along another prize for that person. Who could that be?

Steve Adams!

You my friend, were our 800th comment. You have won yourself some Chocolate Scotcheroos! They should be fine in the mail, and I’m sure Jake will love them.

Today is Weston’s birthday! Yes, my baby brother is now 18. This means he is no longer a minor, and will go to jail. So keep that in mind, Weston. Just kidding, he is a pretty good kid. I was almost 9 when he was born, so he was always our living, breathing, baby doll. It was awesome. We had our own “baby alive” doll. Want to know what he was like as a child?

He was an active little boy, who would call his friend by the age of 3, many times a day, all day. He would ride his tractor over to his friend’s house. Before we had a chance to notice he disappeared, they would call telling us Weston was at their house. He went through many sets of stitches before age 3, and still loves to ride 4 wheelers. (That last picture was not fun. The back axle wasn’t quite right when we left on a ride, and 15 minutes later, the back wheels no longer turned. Weston had to hole the handle bars straight, while I held the back axle to keep the bike on the rack of my bike. I didn’t realize how many hills there are between that spot and the cabin. Down hill was just as bad as going up hill. I was either holding on to the bike so it wouldn’t roll off, or pushing on the bike so it didn’t roll on top of me. Rough ride, but Weston had fun.)

To finish off my siblings, some things you might not know about Weston:

• He bed hopped when he was little. He slept with Christina almost every night. Sometimes he would get the courage to come to my room (it was in the basement), and then I would send him back to Christina anyway. Poor kid.
• He could tie knots by the time he like 4. He definitely tied us in our rooms a few times.
• He’s not a fan of ice cream? I think that’s right. I know it’s some delicious dessert food.
• He really enjoys to dj.

Happy Birthday, Weston! We love you so much!