Valentine's Day

This is the first year in a long time that we have been with Ben on actual Valentine's Day.  We did a few fun things to celebrate.  We made cupcakes and Valentine's to share with friends.  The squadron had a play group, so Rhone got to make his first Valentine Box (well we used a can) to get Valentine's in.  We had fun eating treats and playing with friends at the party.  Our friend was so sweet and offered to watch Rhone on Valentine's since her husband was on a mission.  We got takeout from our favorite Indian place and ate it at home while we watched a movie.  We even had the handy man stop in to give us an estimate on repairs.  Super romantic :)  I made some photo mugs for Ben and Rhone and Ben got me 2 books.  We had such a fun time being together and celebrating the love of our little family.

 

Rhone working on his Valentine Box.  He picked green.

Opening a few treats on V day morning.

Rhone's mug is his special cookie dunking cup and Ben's has a picture of him flying the C-5

Decorating cupcakes for the play group party.

Rhone with his tin full of Valentine's

What a fun crowd of kiddos.

The night be fore Valentine's Rhone helped me make one of Ben's favorite dinners, Chicken Courdon blue with mashed potatoes and gravy.

Rhone and Ella on Valentine's Day.

Baby Love

The ladies from Ben's squadron threw an amazing baby shower for me.  It was a love bug theme since it was right before Valentine's Day.  We played a few games, enjoyed yummy food, and good company.  It was so fun to be together with friends and to get celebrate this little girl.  It has been a long hard pregnancy, so the shower was really helped get me excited and make it feel like she will be here soon.  In these pictures I am just about 35 weeks pregnant.  I will definitely miss the ladies from the 9th squadron when we move.  Now we just have to wait for her to get here and decide what we are going to name her.  I have the feeling it's going to be a long 3 weeks. 

 

My friend Tami had a baby shower that morning.  She is having a girl in May!

The goody table

More treats

Love bug diaper cake.  I forgot how tiny those newborn diapers are!

Playing baby gift bingo

Measuring my big ole belly for one of the games.

Sitting in my special chair.

The lovely hostesses, Lauren and Rebecca

Ben and Rhone came to help clean up after the party.  Rhone LOVED getting to play with Ella while we picked up.

Here is the crib painted gray with the bedding.  Rhone wanted to be in the picture, but he is covering up the blanket that I made to go with her bedding.

Around here

Ben started the new year off with a trip to Hawaii, training in Illinois, and is back on the road.  Rhone has been keeping busy with swimming lessons, playing in a tiny skiff of snow, and other random activities.  We spent about 10 min in the freezing cold for my friend to snap a few 3 year old pictures of Rhone.  We lost his lightening mcqueen car in the process.  Ben was a good sport and put on his wader, but we didn't quite manage to rescue the car.  We've also started getting ready for little tater baby.  One friend gave me a whole bunch of hand me downs, so I've been sorting through them and another friend helped me make a baby quilt.  We put together her dresser and painted the crib.  Rhone loves helping anytime there are tools involved.  Just before Thanksgiving we got new carpet installed and new furniture from Lovesac.  I spent today cleaning up the house so we could take pictures to post it for sale, so I thought I'd include one with the carpet and couch.  The couch is completely modular and can be arranged tons of different ways.  Speaking of moving, Ben has a tentative new assignment to Beale Air Force Base in Northern California.  We were pretty surprised, but now that we aren't so shocked, we are getting excited about getting back to the West and hopefully Ben will like flying a new plane.

Painting the driveway with a new birthday toy

One night we put ivory soap in the microwave to expand it.  Then we played with it like "snow".

New furniture and carpet

Our little 3 year old monster!

Trying to find the car in the freezing water.

Enjoying a tiny bit of snow.

On the first day of swimming lessons, Rhone wouldn't get in without Ben, but he goes all by himself now and is loving it.

Assembling "little sis-ers" dresser from Ikea.

Painting the crib with mom.  Hopefully there will be some after pictures of the baby room soon.

How can he be 3 already?

 We tried our bests to make Rhone's birthday a special day, Ben even took leave so he would be home to celebrate.  Rhone specifically asked for a "ka-chow and buzz" cake, so we tried to use both Cars and Toy Story party gear.  Pancakes are Rhone's favorite breakfast, so he got to help me make green alien ones.  Then it was off to school.  While Rhone was at school we picked up a few things and I finished the cake that he helped me make the night before.  We headed to Chuck E Cheese for pizza and games for lunch.  After a short nap, we opened presents and then met one of Rhone's friends at Chick Fil-A for dinner.  He always eats well there and loves playing there too, especially with Ella.  Then back to our house for cake and icecream and finished the night web caming with family to open the rest of his presents.  Whew, it was one busy day!

The next day Rhone got to head to the store to pick out a toy to buy with the money his grandmas/grandpas had sent.  That night we had a little party for him.  We let him pick 4 of his little boy friends to come and play at an indoor playground.  By the time we threw their  brother's into the mix, we had a pretty energetic and fun crowd.  He really liked talking about his "party" and had lots of fun running around.  A big thanks to everyone who called and sent gifts and cards!  We sure love this little man.  He keeps us on our toes and certainly keeps us entertained too.  We are so blessed to have him in our family.  Happy 3rd birthday Rhone!

 

Look close to see the Toy Story alien on the plate.  I thought they turned out pretty adorable.

Opening presents.

Rhone and Ella with his Ka-chow and Buzz cake.  There is even a Buzz hot wheels car and RC.  I thought I was pretty creative to pull it all together.  After the picture they were driving the cars through the cake.  It was pretty messy and funny.

Family Picture

Blowing out his candles.

Modeling his new birthday robe.  Doesn't he look so grown up.  I love it.

Picking out his toys to buy with his birthday money.  It's an imaginext set from Toy Story 3.  He has been playing with it for months at Target and was pretty excited to bring it home.

Indoor playground at Xbos.

All the boys eating pizza and just being silly in general.

Cheesing it up with his cupcakes.

He was pretty upset we made him stop for a photo. 

Showing off his skills with his new birthday scooter.

Happy New Year

We had some friends over to help us ring in the new year.  We had some yummy food, party hats, balloons, and even some fireworks.  Ben left New Years Day on a mission to Hawaii and then on to Italy.  It's been a while since he's been able to fly, so he was pretty excited about starting his new year off on this trip.  2011 was a pretty hectic year for us.  We are looking forward to 2012, meeting our little tater baby, and seeing what other adventures life holds.

Ready to party :)

These 2 had so much fun together.

Sparkler fun!

Watching our tiny firework fountains.

Ben and Rhone doing a little mission planning before Ben left on New Years Day.