Wednesday 29 August 2012

Amelia's Early Birthday Party

I decided to celebrate Amelia's birthday while we were in St. Louis.  She was going to turn 4 just two weeks later.  We squeezed in a quick celebration the evening before we left to fly back to England.  We left plenty of room in the suitcases for small gifts.  I did not want to burden my family to go out and get presents, so I made a quick run to Toys 'r Us and Target.  It was fun to do the shopping for everyone else!

I like to make the cakes for my kids' birthdays.  I had two problems...first, I did not have my cake decorating tools.  Second, I did not have much time!  Amelia requested a Lady and the Tramp cake.  I found a picture online, and I was able to borrow Eric's Aunt Trina's decorating tools.  Luckily, it was a little easier than the Belle princess cake I made her last year.  I used a toothpick to draw the design.  Then, if I made a mistake, I could smooth the icing and draw it again.  As I was decorating it, Amelia said, "Don't worry mom.  If it doesn't turn out right, you can make me a new one."  I think it turned out just fine. :)


It is so hard to believe she is 4 already!  Why does it have to go by so quickly?  Amelia brings so much joy to our family.  Her creativity and imagination bring smiles to our faces all the time.  She says the funniest things, and she often makes up her own words and tells us their meanings.  She loves to dress up, and we learned that when she is dressed up as a character, we must call her by the character's name.  She loves to sing (wonder where she gets that from?).  She often makes up songs as she sings them, and they usually rhyme!  It is very impressive!  Amelia is a bright little girl with some BIG words in her vocabulary.  For some reason, she loves to tie things up and tie them together.  She is too funny!  She is always looking out for others, and she can be the biggest sweetheart.  She is also very determined, and a typical strong-willed child at times.  She is my little "mommy's helper" with Cora.  She loves to play with Dylan, most days.  Sports are not her forte, so we are looking into continuing dance class.  We are just so proud of our tall, caring and smart little girl!  Happy 4th Birthday, Amelia!  We love you!!!!   










 






It was a wonderful night celebrating Amelia!  She was in heaven with her new Strawberry Shortcake dress up and remote control car.  It was also a very sad night because it was time to say goodbye to our families once again.  It would be 5 more months until we would see them again.  Two more babies will be born during that time, and all of our little ones will grow and change so much.  We will miss more birthday parties, baby showers, Halloween and Thanksgiving, not to mention just the usual get-togethers.  Tears were flowing all around the room as we gave hugs.  Dylan was even sad.  On the bright side, we had such a WONDERFUL 3 1/2 weeks with everyone!  Also, Great-Grandma Reed and Marilyn were flying back with us the next day!  I am so thankful we live in a day and age where technology makes it easy for us to stay in touch.  It would be very challenging to live this far away without e-mail, blogs and Skype.     


 

Tuesday 28 August 2012

Even more from July...

During the last week of our 3 week stay in St. Louis, we continued to stay busy with family and friends.  If I kept track correctly, Cora met 141 new faces during our trip to Missouri.  There were even more people I hoped to visit while we were in town, but the days were never long enough. 

Sunday: Eric's Uncle Dave and Aunt Nina were so kind to host a gathering at their house for more time with the family.  Cora met several new faces here.  Dylan and Amelia had so much fun with their 3rd cousins that they did not want to leave.  It is great that young kids can become friends so quickly.  We hope to see all of them again at Christmas. 

Zac or Danny (I can never tell them apart) and Elaine

Elaine has the secret touch!

Uncle Jack, Owen, Grandma Marie      Aunt Maria, Marie, and Grandpa Trost

  
Joe Joe and Dylan            Maria's clan...Bill was in town too

Nana, Aunt Jessie and Cora

Dylan and Evan...they look a lot alike!

Monday: My aunts threw a beautiful baby shower for my sister, Carrie.  I am SO glad I was able to be there to enjoy this special night with Carrie.  She and Drew are expecting a GIRL in late September! 

Carrie looks great!            Cora loved meeting my Aunt Debbie!


Cora and Aunt Carrie                      Vivienne and Amelia...twins!

 Carrie and Baby Girl's two grandmas

The hostesses sporting their new Stella and Dot bracelets
Christine, Terri, Carrie, Paula and Kellie

Barb and Becca...mother and daughter, can you tell?!

Grandma Reed, My Mom, Carrie, Angie, and Becca (just missing Michelle)

Tuesday: We enjoyed such a fun day playing with my college roomie and best friend, Michelle Wiegmann's kiddos.  Piper and Finley are so sweet, silly, and fashionable!  We loved hanging out!



Tuesday evening, we met up with some of our best friends from Aiken.  They are originally from St. Louis, and they moved to Aiken, SC when we did with the same company.  They are in the process of relocating back to St. Louis.  It was great to see Rachel, Grace, Tyler, Claire and Emma!

Wednesday, the kids were in heaven playing at my cousin, Lindsay's house.  They had a great time with Samantha and Brooks while I enjoyed a much needed pedicure.  Then, the kids enjoyed more playtime at Nana and Grandpa's house while I went to dinner with my best friend since second grade, Erin.  Cora and I enjoyed a nice evening out catching up with a dear friend.




Thursday: My Aunt Kellie and Uncle Mike had us over for a nice dinner.  It was great to catch up with my cousins, Jordan and Dalton.  Dylan and Amelia loved sitting on their jet skis in the garage, where it was at least 110 degrees!






Cora was SO cute laughing in the car!

Friday: We enjoyed dinner and hung out at Dan and Becca's new house.  The kids had a great time playing with Lily!  Dan and Becca were so thoughtful to give Dylan and Amelia new activities to take on the plane ride back to England.



Saturday: We met lots of our cousins at the Chesterfield pool.  What a great place!  My kids loved it! 






After spending some time with Nana and Grandpa Trost, we went to Kate and Brad's Saturday evening for a great BBQ, playtime on their swing set and baths!


When we got home from the Eisel's, I asked the kids to dump out some half-filled water bottles.  Then, they wanted to fill them up and dump them again.  That led to this fun with the hose...


I feel so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends who made so much time to spend with us during our time in St. Louis!