Halloween 2012

Scary Fairy and the Monster High girl

Dancing Queens

Here are some pictures from the dance recital a few weeks back.  Aunt Rhonda, Gramma and Grampa Wagner, Gramma and Grampa Rambo, Uncle Ryan and Aunt Brittany, and Aunt Nicole drove over to watch them.  They also had Meme and Papa Don, Nanna Bonnie and Richard, Gramma Bruce, Uncle Bob, and us there to watch.  What a cheering section!

They did a really great job.  Isabella knew her dance routine much better this year than last.  Kennedy seemed much more at ease up on stage and smiled alot.  She showed alot of personality in her routines.  She did 3 - which I have no idea how she remembered all those moves - hip hop, jazz, and tap. Isabella did a tap routine this year.

All the eye makeup aside, they looked beautiful!  I look blah and tired compared to these made-up beauties!

 

Punk party

The girls had a punk party a couple of weekends ago.  They had a blast getting ready for it.  This party was right up Isabella's alley with her 'real make-up' obsession and tendency toward mis-matched clothes!  They were party rockers!

Fun at Freddy's

Slide!

Isabella is growing so fast - it seems like she's getting so tall.  She still loves playgrounds and when we were at the carnival there were a zillion games to play, bouncy houses and kids but she was very content playing with us on the playground.

Shane and her tried to race but she won everytime:

 I attempted to win but even with a head start she still won:

 Reach!

 

Princess Fort

Isabella got a princess castle for Christmas from Gramma and Grampa Wagner.  The great thing about it (in my opinion) is it's manageable size.  It doesn't overtake an entire room in the much smaller living space we're now in and can be folded up/down very easily. 

Last weekend Kennedy spent the night with her Meme and Papa.  Isabella has recently become afraid of the dark and didn't want to sleep in her room alone.  This was all made better by being able to sleep in her princess tent on her princess air mattress in our room.   And unlike at Christmas, this time you did not have to be wearing a tiara to go inside it.

Isabella Writing

Isabella's writing is getting so good!

The more I'm around the girls the more natural it feels to do things a Mom would do in the evenings.  We have fallen into an evening routine and I find myself (suprisingly) liking to do the routine things I remember my Mom doing.  Simple things like packing Kennedy's lunch for school, helping with bathtime, reading bedtime stories, and giving lots of hugs. I know I'm the stepmom and that can sometimes come with negative connotations to kids.  Shane's girls have been as welcoming to me as any stepmom could ever ask. I'm SOOOOO lucky.

I talked with a patient a few weeks ago that was in his 30's and he had really great things to say about his stepmom and how he was really happy she was part of his life.  I can get fairly discouraged sometimes and his conversation really uplifted me. Of course, it is PRICELESS that Shane is so supportive of me.  He seems to sense when I need help finding my way or when he should let me find my own way and not say anything. He is an amazing hubby that way.    

But sometimes despite what Shane (or a random patient) says, sometimes it's just best to feel love from the girls.  Sometimes they do or say things that make me feel like they've really accepted me as part of their family and it touches my heart so much.

Isabella drew this the other night:

Isn't this the best looking family you ever saw?!  I didn't happen to see this picture until Shane put it up on the fridge.  This picture meant the world to me and came at just the right time.

In Case You Were Wondering...

In case you were wondering if Isabella wears the nappy hair extension she keeps in her Rapunzel purse....yup....she does:

It's her "Tangled feather".  You can say that again...that thing is ratty!  Shane's friend, Ryan, jokes that if you saw it laying around you'd want to beat it to death.  She wanted to wear it to school one morning so she attached it to one of her pigtails. Phew Unfortunately, she didn't actually wear it to school. We had to suggest she leave it at home so it wouldn't get lost at school.

Shots & Mobiles

Kennedy spent the night Friday with her friend, Laney Lacey.  Laney Lacey (isn't that the funnest name) and Kennedy are classmates and have become really good friends in the past couple of weeks at school.  They went to an orchard and picked apples and peaches, swam at Tri-City Court Club, went to the park with their American Girl dolls, and styled their Barbie mannequin heads.  She was supposed to be back early Saturday morning but was having so much fun, she called and wanted to stay until later that afternoon.  Can you blame her?  Wow! That is alot of fun stuff!

So it left a unique opportunity to spend time with just Isabella.  I saw a picture of a really cute hanging mobile last week and thought it would be a fun project to work on with her. 

Shane cut the perfect branch, she picked out all the leaves, and helped me string on the maple and oak leaves with fishing line.  She is a little sketchy with these big scissors - I always forget to pull out the kiddo scissors until I look back at our pictures - eek.

We couldn't really find a great place to hang this beautiful crabapple branch so it's the centerpiece on our mantle:

Isabella was a little under the weather Friday night - she had four shots that day at the doctor.  Here are her 4 band-aids (oh, and her vampire teeth made a comeback Friday night too - it's been awhile since she dug those out of her purse):

Guns up!

After we finished the mobile, and many MANY bandage changes, we watched a little "Tangled", read a couple books, and went to bed.

Shane likes reading with us too and snuggles in with us.  He adds in his own funny rhymes the girls think are funny. 

The next morning we met Debbie at Toys R' Us to find Mason a birthday gift - he turned 10 this past week.  Same age as Kennedy now!  Isabella really accessorized:

Head to toe: headband, 2 bang clips, ponytail holder, earrings, 4 band-aids, 4 silly bandz bracelets (2 on each wrist), and Barbie stiletos.

What can I say?  A girl can't pull off Barbie stiletos for very long in her life - rock it while you can!  I did pack regular flip-flops in my purse for when she wanted a shoe change but surprisingly she made it all the way through Toys R' Us without twisting her ankle. 

Isabella Name

Isabella has been practicing her letters.  She used to write all the letters of her name in no particular order and show that that it was her name.  Now she’s writing them all in order and in a line.  

I love the wave she writes her a’s.  They kinda look like q’s.  It’s a circle and a swoop.

Justin Beaver & the New Kids

Several months ago Isabella told us she is going to marry Justin "Beaver." And after she does, she is going to hug him. 

Her love for him has not dwindled because she told us this week: "Justin Beaver is looking for me.  He wants to marry me."

We saw this shirt at Children's Place this weekend and thought for about one second about buying it for her.

It's funny to see how being a parent makes me appreciate my parents even more...I went through a New Kids on the Block phase - oh how I loved sweet Joey.  And this picture can demonstrate what patient parents they were better than words:

Purse

My purse weighs a ton but every time I try to clean it out it just can't get any lighter.  Everything I have in there is crucial so I continue to carry around a ton of bricks on my shoulder. 

Isabella has a purse that is slowly starting to resemble mine...full of essentials.  I had to peek inside it the other night and see what items she considered vital that I too, carry around in my purse.

Sunglasses...agreed

Curling Iron - No; Cell Phone - agreed

Lip Gloss - agreed (but maybe not 4 of them)

2 shades of Nail Polish - nope but maybe I should consider it

Nappy Blonde Hair Extension - that is a big Hay-ell No!! 

The only other thing missing in here are her vampire teeth.  Maybe some items you should consider too.

Dance Recital Weekends

Isabella's ballet recital was in mid-May.  Here are some pictures from that weekend.

 In June, both girls had their dance recital.  Isabella did her tap routine and Kennedy did both hip-hop and jazz routines.  They had so many supporters, it was a fun weekend!  Their Nanna and Meme watched their routines on Friday night.  Saturday night was a repeat performance and their Gramma and Grampa Wagner, Great Gramma and Grampa Rambo, Great Aunt Rhonda, Aunt Nicole, Aunt Brittany, and Uncle Ryan all drove here to watch.  Their Aunt Heidi, Uncle Tyler, Meme, Papa, cousins Mason & Brady, and their Great Gramma Bruce all came for a BBQ lunch.  Shane made amazing brisket and then we went to the dance recital. 

Kennedy's hip hop routine

Kennedy's jazz routine

Isabella's tap routine

 Thanks to everyone who drove so far to watch them.  They really appreciated having everyone come watch them.  Kennedy had looked forward to it for months.  Their Meme and Aunt Heidi did alot of shuttling them around to their practices which is also WAY appreciated.  It was a fun weekend!

Just a few of the supporters - we took up almost a whole row :)