Elena turned 4 on January 17th. We enjoyed a nice family birthday party. We went to SciWorks that day (despite Kevin being sick), and then had a nice evening at home with cake, a pinata, and pin the tail on Boots. Elena wanted a "Dora" themed party. She had a great day and was a happy (and spoiled) girl.
The Party:
Bethany drew this picture of Boots. Elena actually got the closest to pinning the tail on Boots. After we'd all had a turn, Elena had about 10 more. :)
Get that pinata, girl! We all had turns, and Granny had packed it with lots of goodies. :)
Kevin was so sick that day and wasn't very interested in the party, but he did tap the pinata a couple of times from his chair.
This was the cake that she asked for: Pink with red (red-ish) polka dots and flower sprinkles.
The Science Museum:
This was at the science museum. Elena loves doing everything with her Aunt BB!
Notice Dan in the background? He and my mom spent about half an hour in this one section of the museum working on a couple of different puzzles. My mom finally got hers, and Dan left convinced that his was impossible.
My mom (and Elena too) had fun pulling the intestines out of this giant blue-haired boy.
This is
so my dad. When we left the Sci-Body section, I caught him putting all the organs back into the stuffed thing, so that the next people that came along could have fun pulling them out.
The Gifts:
Her first field hockey stick! She starts playing in two weeks. The university here does a free program for boys and girls age 4-11. She's very excited; it will be her first team sports experience. She was also thrilled to get a big fleece blanket with matching rabbit (from Abuelita and Abuelo), an awesome zoo duplo set (from Aunt BB), and a little chain-stitch sewing machine ("I got it at Ross" - Remember that jingle on the commercial?).
Here she is opening the sleeping bag from Granny and Grandad.
I just realized I haven't done a video in forever.
In our city, you have to be 4 to get a library card. Elena was excited to go and get a card of her very own just 2 days after her bday.
Taking a shot:
Showing good ball control. :)
Her #1 fan:
Bookin' it:
She kept right on working on her cookies after the rest of us were done.
These are my kind of cookies: Heavy on the sprinkles and frosting! Well done, Elena.
CHRISTMAS DAY:
I love the resurgence of 80's toys like Strawberry Shortcake:
A favorite gift of Dan's:
BOXING DAY (if we were in Canada):
He could not walk at all.
On the 27th, Grandad used his boundless energy to pull the grandkids around the yard on a boogie board.
Even my dad did some bowling! I couldn't believe it. :)
For some reason, nothing is more fun to these kids than pulling out all the cereal and playing peek-a-boo in the cupboard. Elena introduced Kevin to the fun, and then he taught Ari in the video below.
It was so good to see Erin and Bami while we were both in town. I'm so, so, so grateful that our parents still live across the street from each other! I love that whole family. Poor Erin was sick at the time, but she was still a good sport to take a picture with us. :)
Look at my sweet niece's little pigtails! So cute!
This was the family (plus a couple of missionaries in the back and minus an under-the-weather Ari and her parents) caroling at Nana DiSistos.
Our view of some of the DiSistos from the front porch. There's more of them in the front room. Is it any wonder that it's our favorite stop each Christmas Eve?
This wasn't in Virginia or in December, but I love this pic of Kevin sleeping at the science museum. He's such a good boy. 5 minutes prior, he was running around and laughing.
Bethany drew this picture of Boots. Elena actually got the closest to pinning the tail on Boots. After we'd all had a turn, Elena had about 10 more. :)
Get that pinata, girl! We all had turns, and Granny had packed it with lots of goodies. :)
Kevin was so sick that day and wasn't very interested in the party, but he did tap the pinata a couple of times from his chair.
This was the cake that she asked for: Pink with red (red-ish) polka dots and flower sprinkles.
The Science Museum:
Notice Dan in the background? He and my mom spent about half an hour in this one section of the museum working on a couple of different puzzles. My mom finally got hers, and Dan left convinced that his was impossible.
My mom (and Elena too) had fun pulling the intestines out of this giant blue-haired boy.
This is so my dad. When we left the Sci-Body section, I caught him putting all the organs back into the stuffed thing, so that the next people that came along could have fun pulling them out.
The Gifts:
Here she is opening the sleeping bag from Granny and Grandad.
Dan styled Kevin's hair.
Bounce U was a ton of fun:
(Free) Transportation Museum: This was also Elena's second field trip which I never remembered to make a post about. So nice to kill 2 birds with 1 stone. :)
Moments before this picture was taken Kevin tried to jump through this little open window. He is so fearless. Luckily, Dan had a good grip on him. How can my two children be such total opposites? Elena got nervous even looking out for this photo.
It costs $1 to ride on this turntable as it spins around.
