Bianca Turns Three...

Bianca turned three a little more than a week ago now and we celebrated in style at one of Bianca's favorite places in the world - the zoo, of course! And the Miami Metro Zoo comes complete with a carousel that has an elephant so that was the icing on the cake. But, what really made Bianca's birthday weekend special was Amy and Francesca coming all the way out from Las Vegas to spend some time and help us celebrate! We went the park, played ring around the rosie, built a gingerbread house, made cupcakes with Bianca's new Babycakes machine, ate giant lollipops...all in addition to our day at the zoo. Mommy and Amy were wiped out but, it was great fun and so sweet to see the two girls together again. I wish I had a video camera handy to capture Bianca's face when she first saw Francesca.
As for our Bianca...she is just continuing to grow in every way. She has such a kind heart and has become the best big sister this past year that anyone could ever ask for. She is still my strong-willed and determined little girl but, she cracks us up daily with the things that come out of her mouth. She is learning so much at school (although she doesn't really tell me about much of it) but, I notice her singing new songs or talking about things all the time that I know I didn't teach her. She still loves anything that has to do with animals and is not really into the princesses at all. In fact, she is asking Santa this year for a candy cane (again) and "a big horse with a long mane that I can brush". Hopefully Santa can deliver.
Brace yourself for the pictures...

Eating enormous lollipops at the park!

That's my girl - always sneaking a lick of icing!

The "masterpiece".

Ellia in zoo party gear!

Our only family picture...nice, right?

Highly recommend the giraffe feeding at the zoo!

Getting a lift from Aunt Adelmis!

Hijacking the safari bikes with Vanessa and Cesca!

She's back on the elephant, her favorite!

Princesses always wear tiaras when making cupcakes!

Bianca's actual b-day! She received this gigantic dinosaur from Zarin-joon and Pappy Teddy and named him "Gicky". Don't ask me where she comes up with these things. She had him sleep in bed with her the first few nights she had him...I am surprised she had any room for herself in the bed!

So happy to be enjoying yet another cupcake!

"I'm a doctor" as Bianca says...receiving her animal doctor kit from Mommy and Daddy.

Thanksgiving Festivities

We kicked the Thanksgiving holiday off with a feast at Bianca's preschool. The children in the class made Indian dresses, necklaces and headbands and invited all of the families to join them for their Thanksgiving celebration. They sang "10 Little Indians" and then everyone dug right into the food. They had even made special Thanksgiving place mats for the event. It was really sweet (and funny) to watch all of them enjoying a meal together.

I guess she had to make sure the cracker was edible???

Ellia, where is your other shoe?

Then we packed the girls up and headed off to Jacksonville to celebrate the long weekend with Mimi, Poppy and Gigi. It was pretty much non-stop while we were there. It started with a delicious meal on Turkey Day. Next it was off to Marineland where Bianca and Mimi had a special dolphin encounter and were able to feed, pet and play with the dolphins. Pretty incredible! That evening we celebrated b-days again and everyone enjoyed even more cake. The next day Mimi, Poppy and Gigi took the girls into St. Augustine to ride on the carousel and play at the playground. We ended the trip with a X-mas boat parade in downtown JAX.

Opening birthday gifts!

She is always all about animals!

Ellia Turns One

Ellia turned one last week and it was definitely something to celebrate! What can I say except that she fills our lives with so much love, smiles and laughter? I had no idea how much she would change our lives when they placed her in my arms one year ago. To know her is to love her. She is a busy little bee these days running around like a "tornado" as I lovingly refer to her with a smile on her face. She "talks" quite a bit but, unfortunately, we have not figured out what she is saying just yet. She claps, waves and follows simple commands such as "give Mommy a kiss" or "hold Mommy's hand". She loves her big sister, bubble baths, hugging her baby doll and bouncing on Bianca's PBK chair. She eats almost anything you put in front of her to the point where most nights I have to cut her food supply off for fear that her tummy will explode! She has at least 5 teeth that have cut through at this point with more on the way. She is our little princess and I wouldn't trade her for the world.

P.S. We are going to the doctor tomorrow for her one year check-up so weight and height stats will follow.

***Update*** Height - 30 1/2 inches - 90th percentile
Weight - 20 lbs. 4 oz. - 50th percentile


Where's my cake???

Getting a hug from her big sister...

Bianca and Vanessa

Brianna and Bianca

Party hats are on...let's get some cake!

She actually wasn't that into the cake. She kept squishing the icing in her hands...I don't think she knew what to make of it. I fed her some pieces that she ate but, all in all, she could have passed on the cake.