BEST Girls' Night EVER

Last weekend we had the BEST girls' night out! Me, Annabelle, Grandma, Brittany and Paige all went to Disney Princesses On Ice. The girls LOVED it--more than I thought possible. I have to say, when Annabelle loudly shrieked in excitement when Ariel made her entrance I almost cried with happiness :) How cute is that?! Following the shriek she spun around a few times, not knowing quite how to express all that emotion :) It was adorable. Ursula even made a good impression on her, and the next day she told me that "Ursula was a sweetie!" Ha ha!

This fondness for the villain however wasn't totally out of the blue--she also has a soft spot for Cinderella's step-sisters (who are "cute and funny"), the "monsters" on the new Tinkerbell movie ("Where Monsters is?"), and she's even made requests to watch Sleeping Beauty prick her finger on the spindle over and over and over again! She just doesn't yet believe that anyone or anything in the world is bad, evil or mean--she has a little love for everyone. When we were at Costco a few days ago, Josh and I were showing her all the beautiful Princess dolls. Her response? "Where Ursula is?" Hmmmm...I don't think that doll has hit the stores yet.

All in all she enjoyed a wonderful night, even cheering on Cinderella. Paige was holding up her Cinderella doll in an olympic, torch-like fashion, while Annabelle stood by, punching her fist in the air over and over again. Go! Go! Go! Cinderella! We were all laughing hysterically.

We finished off the night with dinner at IHOP, a homemade Princess cake (Thx Brittany), and a family slumber party in the living room when we got home! Josh and I figured this was the ONLY way we were going to get that excited girl to bed. She had to tell Josh all about her night, so we brought out the big feather bed, lots of blankets, and let her talk herself into sleepiness :) I am so excited for more opportunities like this with Annabelle. Only next time it'd be better if she would allow me to take her picture (too excited to hold still, which made for lots of blurry pictures) :( Oh well, I'm sure the memory will be pretty vivid in my mind for a LONG time! It was a special, unforgettable night. Girls nights and family slumber parties are the BEST!

The Fun Bus

The people on the bus go bump bump bump all through the town!

Dance Class!

This week I was called in to sub a little combo class at the studio, and rather than sending Annabelle to a babysitter, I decided I'd just take her with me. She's only 2, and the class is for 4 year olds, but never underestimate a child's love for dance and enthusiasm! She was SO excited to go to dance class with mommy! She wouldn't even take her nap because she was so excited. I went into her room and asked "Annabelle why aren't you going to sleep?" She looked at me, lifted her little palms up, shrugged her shoulders, and said, "Dance class!" On the way to the studio, she talked non-stop about how she was "so excited" and "so happy." And when we got there? I was beside myself! She went right in, sat down by the first little girl she could find and said "Hi! Dance class!" I turned on a little music for them to warm up and move around the space ("If You're Happy and You Know It..."). She kept shrieking out in laughter and enjoyment, and did just as much or more than the other children in the class. I snapped a few pictures of her during this little song before I started teaching because she was so excited.

Smiling at "Gracie," whose name is actually Maggie. Maggie tried to open the window once, so I told her no. From then on, each time Maggie would venture towards the window, Annabelle would run over to her and say "No Gracie!" I was admittedly happy to have a little T.A. helping me out in the discipline area, but couldn't quite figure out why she named her Gracie :)

"If you're happy and you know it stomp your feet"

Tiny Dancer

Practicing on her own after class was over. She didn't want to stop, so I let her play a little longer in the 2nd studio. She's prepping for a spin in this picture :)

Lookin' good!

She refused to let me take off her tu-tu. This is her in her PJ's with the tu-tu. She even insisted on going to sleep in it!

I will probably start taking her to my classes once in a while, after seeing how well she did, and how much she enjoyed it. She listened well, followed my instructions, and danced adorably. Ohhhhhhh I am a proud mommy! I am so happy she loves it so much! It appears as though dance will stay in our little family for at least a few more years. This makes me smile. Annabelle makes me smile. Love her!

Crouped-up on Halloween

Annabelle came down with the Croup the day before Halloween! Our original plans of attending "Little Haunts" (This is the Place Heritage Park) with the family and trick-or-treating later that night were all disappointingly cancelled. Annabelle was Tinkerbell, and her cousin Paige was dressing up as Tinkerbell's buddy, Silvermist. They would've been an adorable little pair, but alas it wasn't in the cards. As a result, I spent Friday afternoon making a Plan B, and searching for other ways to make the day special for Annabelle. Here is the Bos family's 2009 Halloween: Plan B.

A Halloween breakfast complete with a Pumpkin sipper and Halloween bowl. The little placemat & stickers have nothing to do w/ Halloween, but they were still a fun addition.

Little Miss Tinkerbell! I had to get her dressed up, even if it was for only 10 minutes. Her cousin Olivia loaned her this costume--Adorable!
She's also sporting a new hairstyle! I love it!

Drinks poolside. Seems relaxing to me!!

All cuddled up to watch some Tinkerbell

Mummy dogs and worm juice for lunch!

Annabelle loved it! She sat down and said, "Look at that Daddy!" Then she kept asking for more "bugs."

I know it's a little on the yucky side, but yes...I made booger sticks for a snack

I talked to the Dr. and he said she'd be ok to go outside for 10-20 minutes. So I told her she could go trick-or-treating and she was so excited! She hurriedly put on her whole costume without one complaint, and gave her best "Tinkerbell" smile

"Let's Go treating! I'm on a deadline!"

She got the hang if it pretty quickly! She would knock, then loudly say "Come out!"

This little porch was a gold mine for her! A bucket full of lollipops just sitting there. She LOVES lollipops, and we had to pry her away, negotiating with her to take just one.

"Scary!"

Home to enjoy the treats!

We came home and all sat in the living room picnic-style for dinner: Pumpkin Baked Ziti (Very good)! We dumped her bag, let her check out all the candy, then put her down to bed for a long Winter's nap. Around about 11 Josh joined her in her room and slept on the floor (we've been trading off nights because the doctor told me to sleep in her room until Tuesday, in order to be close enough if she has an attack). Luckily she's been attack-free so far, just really hoarse, totally congested, coughing and fatigued :(

But it was still a great day, spent together at home. I think we made the most of it. Annabelle is a little trooper; she has been so sweet and lovey for the majority of this illness, which makes it a less difficult obstacle to endure. Happy Halloween everyone!!! Hope your days and nights were Spook-tacular!!

Bring on Thanksgiving!

PS: Thanks for all the cute ideas Nikki!!!