Happy Fourth Birthday Ella Chase!

This past Wednesday, Ella turned four (A little four or so she says. She makes sure to tell people that she is a little four unlike her cousin, Ava, who is a big four.) !

On Saturday, we celebrated her birthday a little early with an ice cream theme. The theme just kind of happened as I was making her invitations. Ella really wanted to have her party at Monkey Joe's, but after adding it all up a Monkey Joe's party was going to be outrageous! So, we settled on a two-part party: the first half was in Georgetown at Fat Katz and the second half was at Monkey Joe's. All of Ella's family and friends came to Fat Katz for pizza, presents, and ice cream cupcakes. It was quite fun!

All the kiddos had a coloring sheet to work on.

I was trying to go along with the ice cream theme and attempted these cupcakes.

Ella had a blast chatting with her friends and family!

After all the Fat Katz fun was over, all the kiddos who wanted to jump headed up to Monkey Joe's. They had a blast and stayed until they closed the doors! :)


Since Ella's actual birthday was the following Wednesday, her daddy promised her a birthday date with just the two of them. They ended up going to see Spy Kids, making a trip to the Aquarium, and lunch at Mitchell's Fish Market.




Of course, I received a picture text while at work of them eating at Mitchell's (no fair)!


After I got off of work, Grayson and I headed to met Ella and Kermie for a Mexican birthday dinner and a trip to the park. It was neat to see how much those two missed each other while they were apart!

We all had a blast celebrating another year of Ella's precious life!

Nice Little Surprise

While eating lunch with my students Friday, I received a text message from Kermie saying to hurry home after school so that we could pack. I was confused at first because we had not talked about going anywhere, but was most definitely not going to complain! A mini-vacation sounded terrific!
Kermie refused to tell any of us where we were going, but instructed us to pack for at least two days and not to forget a bathing suit. So, pack for two days is exactly what we did. Once we loaded up the van and got on our way, he let us in on the surprise.... we would be staying downtown Cincinnati for the weekend.
We arrived at our hotel around 5:30 or so, sat down our bags, and headed out on the town! It was a beautiful night other than it being miserably hot! I am so ready for fall!


After dinner, we walked around down by the fountain and then headed back for a little swimming! The kids really enjoyed getting to swim again since we haven't been in several weeks! Ella also met the sweetest little boy (6th grader) ever! They played for quite a while together.
After a terrific night of sleep, it was time to get going with our day! The kiddos enjoyed some play time in the bath!! Grayson cracks me up how he will climb over Ella and sit on her lap to sit by the faucet!

A late breakfast at IHOP was scrumptious! Pancakes, omelets, hashbrowns, my oh my! Our tummies were full!
After debating on what to do the rest of the afternoon, we decided to do a little shopping at the Kenwood Mall and then head to the Children's Museum. I really enjoyed getting to shop without any interruptions!! It has been forever.
One of the highlights of the day was getting in the museum for FREE! When I asked the attendant if they did a military discount he said yes and then gave us 4 tickets absolutely free! YIPPIE!








The kids had SO much fun! There wasn't a part of the museum that they didn't love. Kermie and I really enjoyed getting to watch them play.

What better to top off a fun day of play than icecream? It was delicious! :)

I guess we wore them out because this is what we saw about five minutes after getting in the van!
Kermie and I have wanted to go to Montgomery Inn for a long time, but just have never made it for some reason. Once the kids woke up, that is exactly where we headed. I honestly think my California Salmon could have been my most favorite dish ever!!!! The others enjoyed their food too... as you can see!



After dinner we headed back to the hotel and did a little more swimming. And, finally.... it was bedtime!
We woke up this morning and took our time getting ready and packing up. We had toyed with the idea of staying another night or even going somewhere else to stay, but Ella said she missed her blue home and was ready to go back! LOL
Lunch at Cheddar's was terrific and a quick stop at the Gap Outlet topped our mini-vacation off!


I love taking trips like this one: unexpected, no plans, rules or regulations! I am very thankful that Kermie decided to plan this one for us! It was perfect! :)

Converted Van Fan

Pretty much since I have been able to drive I have had in mind the "type" of car that I wanted to drive. Doesn't everyone have their dream car? Well, about 4 years ago my husband brought home my dream car or so I thought! I had always wanted either a BMW or Volkswagen Station Wagon (seems weird to some, I know). Due to the fact that nothing BMW is within our budget, I got the Volkswagen Passat Wagon! I was in love at first sight!!!

The Passat was wonderful for quiet some time and then we ran into issues. From lug nuts and recalls to side mirrors and deer mishaps, the Passat and I were not made for each other! Then, when the second kiddo arrived, we completely ran out of room! Driving 15 hours in a cramped car just isn't my style!

So, after much deliberation and going against my, "No way am I ever getting a van!" statement (not that a van is much different from a wagon??), I gave in! I looked at many different vans and finally decided on the Nissan Quest. Everyone in the Donovan Clan is enjoying the extra space and hopefully we will enjoy the Quest for many years to come!


One last picture with the Passat!

My sidekicks for the day! Yes, my mom, my sister and I did the car buying!! Kermie was brave! P.S. Notice Bekah's cute little belly!!!

Proud van owner!

Awww.. we have tinted windows and look at all of this space! The small joys in life :)

Yes, you've got it, this is my van!

Preschool Update

So, in my last post I talked about Ella's first day of Preschool and how we were hoping that her second day would go okay...

Turns out when we woke up Thursday she wanted nothing to do with Preschool! She cried and cried saying that she didn't want to go anymore. Between Tuesday(her first day) and Thursday I had tried to pry as much information as I could from her about her first day and she seemed to like it overall minus a few parts of her day. I don't know if I had mentioned before, but she had woken up from her nap crying and upset on her first day. Ella has mentioned being afraid of rest time and being by herself. In result, I did not even attempt to take her on Thursday! Our mornings are hectic to begin with and leaving with her unsure is not an option!

Since Thursday, I have talked to Ella about Preschool and I honestly don't think we are going to even push the idea of it for a while. She tries to get herself excited about it, but I can tell she really doesn't want to go. I can remember my first and only day of Preschool all too well!! I didn't want to go back either. Some people probably think it is crazy that I don't send her anyway to teach her to deal with the situation, but my thoughts are much different. First of all, I could never leave her somewhere crying or even with the thought that she would be upset during the day. If I were able to run and pick her up it would be much easier. However, that is not the case. If it were Kindergarten or something else that was required... well that would be a different story. But, Preschool isn't mandatory and I don't want her optimism about school to diminish! She is super excited about coming to school with mommy and I wouldn't want anything to put a damper on what she thinks school is supposed to be! The main reason for sending her to Preschool was for the social skills she would learn, but anxiety isn't something I want her to have to deal with at the age of 3. I guess she will just have to continue mingling and socializing at Children's Church and on playdates for now! :)

Preschool Woes.... Preschool Joys

So, preschool has been a pretty big "to-do" in the Donovan household for many reasons. First, Ella has lived a fairly "sheltered" life the past 3.75 years. She has not been around many kids and has only been watched by immediate family. Therefore, she has had the full attention of the adults watching her and in a sense, had full range of how her day was structured. Second, I really want her to venture out and find her own identity. With her not being around many other children her age during her day to day, she really has no clue what life has to offer her. She only knows what her parents and family teach her. In ways, keeping her sheltered like this is a blessing, but I also want her to be able to see diversity and decide for herself who she is (keeping in mind she is only 3 years old)!

On the other hand, preschool hasn't been the easiest thing for us either! I have gone through the whole grieving process not wanting my baby to become a big girl. Not to mention we have had difficulty deciding where to send her as well. With both of us working full-time, a half-day preschool was not an option as transportation would be impossible. I also didn't want to send her everyday of the week! So, we finally decided on Grace Early Learning Center which is located where we go to church. We figured it would be a familiar place and not so scary for her!

This morning was the BIG day. We had gone out to school the week before to show her her room and with a little confusion she was able to see where she would be going and learned her teacher's name. This morning when I woke her up she was a little leery of the idea. She couldn't understand why it was still dark outside (with this being the first day in 7 weeks we have woken up before the sunrise!). When she found out I was taking Grayson to Nana's before taking her to preschool she had a total meltdown!!! I knew right there it was not going to be a successful preschool day! So, I headed to mom's with Grayson and Ella in tow! There was no way this mommy was dropping off her baby at preschool crying!

So, about 2 hours later, mom called me at school (my first day mind you) saying she was on her way to take Ella to school!! I couldn't believe it and was so proud of her for changing her mind! She was proud too as you can see from her pictures!

As soon as the bell rang this afternoon, I ran out the doors to pick up my BIG GIRL! Ms. Gina said Ella had a terrific day! Other than waking up from nap scared and missing her mommy, she had a total successful first day of preschool! She is even excited to go back on Thursday!! WOO HOO :)


Here is Ella posing in front of her very own cubby!

This is Ella with her teacher Ms. Gina!

The Birthday Boy Turns One

A year ago today we were welcoming our sweet baby boy into the world and now he is turning one! I knew having another child would change our life, but you really don't understand how profound the change is until it happens. The moment I laid eyes on this little boy I was head over heels and overwhelmed with love! I was so excited to be having a boy and excited to see how different it would be. Turns out... it is absolutely wonderful! Grayson is the sweetest and most content baby. He laughs non-stop, genuinely loves everyone, loves to play, adores his sister, enjoys to cuddle and give kisses, eats like it's the last time he will ever get to, sings in the most precious voice, enjoys balls and anything with wheels, can make a mess in a matter of seconds, thinks he can do everything on his own, and loves sugar (like the rest of his family!).

Today, we had Grayson's first birthday party with immediate family and close friends. We did a ball theme since he loves balls and anything in the shape of a ball! I really think everyone had a fabulous time... especially the birthday boy!


Amy Johnson made his birthday cupcakes! I knew we all loved the strawberry so Grayson got to have pink cupcakes. :) She also made him his own special ball cupcake which he thoroughly enjoyed.


I decided to put together a string of balls that showed Grayson's growth over the past year. It was neat to see it all put together today.


Grayson's Nanny, Grandbubby, and Uncle Casey were there to celebrate.


Grayson got all sorts of cute gifts, but was not into opening any of them. So... mommy got to do it all (with the help of Ella and Ava of course).


Grayson and his daddy made a fashionably late appearance for the party. We all clapped for the birthday boy when he arrived!


My Aunt Denise made Grayon's birthday shirt! She is very talented and he enjoyed showing it off!


Grayson's Granny, Papa, and Aunt Jackie came to celebrate.


Grayson's Nana, Pa, (soon to be) Aunt Jess, and Uncle Daniel all came out to party as well!


The boys enjoyed talking in the corner!


Everyone enjoyed the pizza, salad, and cupcakes!


A good time was had by all!


The birthday boy chowed down on some pizza!


Keaton and Grayson spent lots of time sitting in the ball pit!


The cupcake was his favorite part of the day!


He loved it!


He made a little too much of a mess, so we bathed him in the sink!


He loved this part of his birthday too!


The party was a total success!




Happy first birthday Grayson! Mommy loves you so much!