Happy Birthday Baby...well you're not a baby anymore, but still. : )

 It's our family tradition that if it's your birthday you get a homemade cake.  No fancy store bought extravaganza for us.  It may not be the best looking but it is made of pure love and tastes yummy!!

 Opening up some gifts.  Alexa was very patient all day and opened up two before the party started.  I found these great paper dolls at B&N.

 Alexa REALLY wanted a watch for her birthday.  As you can see from her expression she was really excited to get it.  She has been telling us what time it is ever since...

 How cute is this?  I love that Alexa gets excited about the simplest things.  It is such a joy to watch her and know that all she is really interested in is being together and having a good time.

 Making a wish!

 It wouldn't be a party without PohPoh and Papa!

 The Chief getting some cherries on top of that cake.  Alexa decided she had to have cherries on top.

Happy 6th Birthday Alexa!  We are so proud of you. You make each day full of wonder, laughter and love.  You are the best daughter in the world!!!!

I heart February~ and a little update

 I think February is my favorite month of the year. We traveled in February of 2006 to China to adopt Alexa, her birthday is the day before our Gotcha Day ( tomorrow..my baby is 6!), I love Valentine's Day, all things lovey dovey, girly and pink.

 Alexa started a new school last month and we are loving it!  It was a difficult decision to initially make.  All year long my gut has been telling me something was just not right about her old school.  I wasn't confident leaving her there like I used to and just could not put my finger on it.  Well,we left just in time.  The school sadly is falling apart ( thanks to the owner) and her Kindergarten teacher actually just left midyear.  They were having lots of financial troubles and it just was trickling down to the kids not getting a proper education.  So we made a big leap from Montessori to public and she is doing fantastic.  Every day she says her day was "incredible!"  She has learned more in the few weeks she has been there than in the 6 months she spent at the old school.  Here she is on her second day at the new school.  We all could not be happier!!

 My smiley girl.  Alexa is a ball of energy 24/7.  Talks nonstop, is constantly busy and laughs all day.  She is infectious! We laugh all day too.  She is turning 6 tomorrow.  I'm sure 6 will be even more fun than 5 was.

 "Before" photo of 8 month Tika below...please someone help this dog...what a mess!!!  I brush her every single day and 5 minutes later, this is what she looks like.

 "After" photo of Tika....yea!!!  Isn't she so cute?!  It's like having a brand new puppy.  She is so soft and cuddly...love my little teddy bear.

 My bloggy friend Deb sent Alexa a cute little package all the way from Scotland.  She really enjoyed sewing this puppet.  Thanks Deb.  I have to say, I love how blogs have opened up literally a world of friendships.  Deb had been following my blog and then we started emailing.  I feel like I have known her for years and we have never met ( hopefully we will someday).  I feel like people come into our lives for a reason and we just never know where they are going to come from. : )

Hope you all are enjoying your February so far.  We have Alexa's family birthdayparty tomorrow, a father/daughter dance at her school next weekend, her friend party/luau here at the house and FCC Chinese New Year still on our calendar.  I will try and take lots of photos this month...gotta get back on my camera!!

Papa's B-day Lunch

 Every year for my dad's birthday we go out to lunch to celebrate.  It was a gorgeous sunny day to enjoy lunch out on the patio.

 Alexa chose her outfit and jewels.  She wore her Chinese dress that we bought in Chicago's Chinatown last summer and lots of accessories. She loves to get gussied up and hit the town!

 Checking out the turtles in the pond.  There was the funniest turtle sitting on top of another just basking in the sun.  I just crack up every time I see his legs...how did he get up there?

 My mom and me.  I thought this photo was interesting that our bodies are positioned exactly the same way...like mother like daughter. : )

 Laughing at those silly turtles!

Happy Birthday Dad.  We are so lucky to have a great guy for a Papa and dad!

~When the Sun Shines, I Must Face It~

I've been the worst blogger lately...sometimes when so much is going on it's hard to sit down and digest it all and put it into words.  I'll be back soon....for now, enjoy some sunshine! : )

Our Best One Yet

 We spent Christmas Eve at my parent's house.  Alexa chose her outfit and Elizabeth's.  I just loved the way she looked that night.  We had a delicious ham dinner and then opened gifts by the fire.

 Alexa with her Poh Poh.  You can see that our weather was beautiful.

 Alexa and PaPa.

 I love the look on both of their faces.  Sort of cheeky.

 I was having a bad hair day this night.  I thought we were supposed to be at their house at 5:00 and instead I got a phone call at 4:00 saying "Where are you guys?"  Oops..we rushed to head over, hence the dorky hairdo.

 This photo makes me laugh because it looks nothing like any of us.  The Chief has some weird silly grin on his face, Alexa looks 20 pounds heavier, and I have some sort of deer in the headlights look.  My dad was taking the photo ( big mistake) and I think the 46 flashes coming at us had us all acting strange.  All 46 photos had our heads cut off, so my mom had to take over on this one.

 Alexa opening her riding outfit for Elizabeth from American Girl.  She really loved it.

 Christmas morning.  Here are two of her favorite gifts.  The horse in the background is for Elizabeth to ride and she got the bed from American Girl. I was really happy with how beautiful it was.  Alexa put it next to her own bed.

Her other favorite gift was her scooter. This was a last minute decision on my part.  I found it at Target on clearance and thought great!  Turns out it was missing the tassels and front plate but Alexa never noticed.  She is getting better every day on it and seems to really enjoy it.

We had a wonderful Christmas weekend. I really think it was our best one yet. 

~Tis the season...

 In our town they have a snow morning with Santa.  Alexa's school goes every year before school starts and enjoys the festivities.

 We are convinced this is the REAL Santa. ; )

 Alexa enjoying hot cocoa with one of her friends.

 This is how we roll after a long day of Christmas shopping.

 On the last day of school before break.

We are really enjoying getting ready for Christmas this year and have been really busy with parties, shopping, wrapping, and baking.  On Tuesday we are going to the Nutcracker Ballet again.  Hope everyone is enjoying the season!

Fairy Friends

Here is Alexa with her best friend Claudia.  Cluadia came over today to play and the weather was gorgeous .  They found two of Alexa's summer dresses and adorned them with wings.  They truly are the best of friends.  This year they are at different schools and after they kept asking for each other we connected again and now make it a point to get them together at least once a month.  Kindred spirits. : )

Love

World's Fastest Snowball Fight

The other morning we got snow!  Not the normal occurrence here in AZ.  About once a winter we do get this nice surprise living here in the high desert but it was really early this year and we were not expecting it.  When we saw it coming down, we bundled up, though still in our pj's, and ran outside.  Alexa and the Chief had a quick snowball fight with the smallest snowballs possible, and the dogs danced a little jig to join in the fun!  Thirty minutes later it was melted and the sun was shining again!