Dear Bella

Today I had to register you for preschool. I am SO excited, but so nervous at the same time. Will you be happy there? Will you have fun? Will you make friends? Will you get your feelings hurt? I don't think I'm ready for this!! Right now, one our favourite songs together is this. Here is how it goes (Taylor Swift, Never grow up.):

Your little hand's wrapped around my finger
And it's so quiet in the world tonight
Your little eyelids flutter cause you're dreaming
So I tuck you in, turn on your favorite night light
To you everything's funny, you got nothing to regret
I'd give all I have, honey
If you could stay like that
Oh darling, don't you ever grow up
Don't you ever grow up, just stay this little
Oh darling, don't you ever grow up
Don't you ever grow up, it could stay this simple
I won't let nobody hurt you, won't let no one break your heart
And no one will desert you
Just try to never grow up, never grow up

Honestly, this song makes me cry EVERY time I hear it. You are the most amazing gift, and I want to always keep you by me. I know that is so selfish, but you are the best little sidekick to me! You are beautiful, and funny, and so smart, and I am so proud to be your mommma. Some crazy things you are saying right now that are keeping your dad and I laughing are:
whoa there big gunner!! (copying your dad!)
holy cow! (normally repeated at least 3 times!)
oh my goodness gracious, great balls of fire!! (again, copying your dad!)
are you serious?! are you freaking kidding me?!
I just love you so much. You are my best friend.
Hey there baby boy!! (while grabbing my belly and talking directly into it!)
Mom, your belly is ginormous. It is SO BIG. Baby boy is going to be so big, and so stinking cute!!

I am probably forgetting some more...but these have been the most hilarious ones as of late. You're a sassy one, that's for sure, but I wouldn't have it any other way!! Just try not to grow up too fast lil Miss...
xoxo Mom

Our December: Part 1

Oh man life is busy!! December was so fun for us, it's always busy with my birthday, Christmas, and then Bella's birthday! We went to Magrath to stay with Mason's family for 2 weeks over Christmas, and had a blast. Bella was in heaven being able to have Grandma Kath time (that's what she calls Mason's mom!) and being able to play with her cousins tons. There was a bout of flu going around which set us back a couple of days, but luckily it was right near the beginning of our vacay so we were good to go by Christmas! Here is our month in pictures....

First up, I got to sit in on one of Bella's ballet classes for the first time! I was so excited, she has been in ballet since September and so far seems to really love it! Unfortunately I don't get to watch her (too much of a distraction, which proved true this time!) so this was super fun!

open the window, close the window....showing me her plies!

the "ariel on the rocks" pose! her fave of course!

touching her toes...

this is my fave picture! hilarious, best chubby thighs ever!!

Next up: my bday! I was SO spoiled this year! My bday fell on a friday, so naturally it turned into an all weekend celebration, starting Thursday night! I was lucky enough to be invited to the pre-opening of Anthropologie at Chinook, so I went with Janae and met Bree and Keshia there too! It was AMAZING, of course, super busy, but I got some cute stuff and the snacks and drinks were yummy! After that, we headed to Cheesecake Cafe where a ton of awesome girls met up for appetizers and desserts! It was so much fun, and I was so touched that there were so many people who came! Friday (my actual bday) I was pampered by a delish crepe breakfast by one friend and a mani/pedi/lunch by another! Perfect day. That night was our ward Christmas party and I'm so glad we went, they did such a good job and the "tropical" theme was fun to dress up for! (esp. Bella!) Saturday night Mason took me out....to the Nutcracker!! I was so surprised and excited, I LOVE the ballet and it has been forever since I've been, it was such an amazing experience! Sunday I had a cake baked for me by fabulous friends and then we went to the Nativity...seriously, best bday weekend of my life! Almost made me forget I'm only 2 years away from 30!!!

Anthro opening!

waiting in the ENORMOUS line to try stuff on!!

my little Hula girl, dressed up for the ward party!

at the ward party

dressed up for the Nutcracker

first set at the Nutcracker

another set at the Nutcracker

Birthday cake!!

Next up: Christmas in Magrath! Stay tuned...I'll get to all of this evenutally!!

BELLA-RINA SNOWFLAKE PARTY!

So my little Bella boo is turning 3 on Dec. 29....we are going to be away and I really wanted her to have a fun birthday party before we left! So the theme was ballerina/snowflake (tis the season!), and my amazing friend Ashley came up with the invites and the idea of calling it a "Bella-rina" party, just perfect!! I posted a slide show of everything, but here are the fun details:

DECOR: Ice blue and pink, ballerinas and snowflakes! I made a hanging "chandelier" by taking a white ikea frame and hanging ballerina and snowflake ornaments from it! We hung it in the dining room above the party table. Behind that was the banner I made, it said HAPPY BIRTHDAY BELLA and the "Bella" part was on 5 pictures of her that Ashley took in her studio...amazing. I had a pink sparkly christmas tree, pink tulle tied around the chairs, and snowflakes everywhere!
FOOD: For the little ones, sandwiches cut into snowflakes, fruit kebabs, pink punch, sugar cookies (that I MADE!!), and delicious cupcakes made by the fabulous Dorienne with snowflake/ballerina tutu toppers that I made!
GAMES: Decorating sugar cookies and I had my dearest friend Emily (a former ballerina!!) make an appearance (all dressed up!) and teach the little girls a few moves! It was such a huge hit, they were all SO cute, I could barely stand it! For favors, they got little gift bags with either a ballerina slipper ornament or snowflake ornament and of course candies....

I had so much fun planning this party, and it was all SO WORTH IT when Bella repeatedly came up and thanked me and hugged me throughout the day!

Make a scrapbook

Summer re-cap

I know, long overdue. But I thought I would post about some of the fun stuff we did! After all, I can't post my cute fall pictures until I've posted about summer!! So here it goes....

It was my long time friend Amber's wedding, and Bella was a flower girl for the first time!! It was AMAZING, a seriously beautiful day, Bella also had her first ride in a limo! So fun!!

Next up: trip to Utah! Business for Mason, shopping for me!! This was our first time driving there, which was good and bad. Good because there was WAY more room to fit in my retail therapy (seriously, home decor rocks in Utah!! and the prices are awesome!!). Bad because holy crap that is a long drive! Sooooo long. But worth it! We went to the cutest place called Gardener's Village, and I will be visiting there again for sure! Petting zoo, cute little boutiques, it was heaven!! And the temple grounds were just gorgeous, of course. It was a really fun little trip!

After Utah, it was home for a short while, and then a Dahl family trip to Whitefish, Montana. When I say Dahl family, I mean: Mason's mom and dad, his 2 older sisters their husbands and 8 children between them, his younger brother and his fiancee, and his 2 youngest sisters. Can you say full house?!! But somehow, in this amazing cabin on the mountain, every family had their own bedroom and bathroom! Fabulous! So much fun, we slid down these slides DOWN the mountain, we did a little shopping, A LOT of hanging out, and we went to Big Sky waterslides, where I basically suffered 3rd degree burns from the burning sun! So worth it though, I can see why so many people from Southern Alberta vacation down there all summer long! Oh, plus on the going over the sun highway we saw a bear! Right on the side of the road, it was SO close! I absolutely LOVE that drive.

Pouty face...not sure why!!
Can you say diva?!

Okay, these things were awesome! There was this random little park that had go-carts, spray boats, mini golf, etc. and of course like little kids Mason and his brother in law jumped on these! It was hilarious, they all got soaked. And Bella is naked because approx. 5 mins before this she had a massive diarrhea attack and ruined ALL HER CLOTHES. So much fun. Can you say white trash?!!

Next up on the Dahl agenda: Magrath Days and our anniversary!! Except I forgot my camera for Magrath Days. So so sad. But I did take ONE picture of us on our way out for dinner for our 5 year anniversary!

Next....Mason's 28th Birthday! I sent him golfing for the day (poor guy, it was his first time out all summer...we are WAY too busy), had a yummy bbq and made him his fave: German Chocolate Cake. Not my favourite, but he LOVES it. I have to make it every single year.


This next picture is of Bella on her new Strider bike. She loves it, but is still getting the hang of it. Maybe if we were around more...!!! Good thing is, this bike is good up until age 5 or so! Plus it's pink. Need I say more?

Bella got the chance to be a flowergirl for the second time this summer....at Melissa and Randy's wedding! It was just beautiful, a gorgeous setting and the little flowergirls were adorable!!

And our last adventure of the summer? ARIZONA!! This was the perfect ending to our summer. Great friends, great weather, and a backyard pool...nothing better! Not to mention endless drink concoctions from our fabulous hostess Val!! This is also where Mase served his mission, so we got to go around to his areas and see where they lived and stuff. Very cool, a little alarming in some neighbourhoods!! Bella loved the pool, she wasn't scared at all, with her water wings on she would just go!! The boys went golfing a few times, the girls went shopping...just perfect! Oh and the restaurants in AZ rock. Seriously, we had some good food!

I couldn't resist posting this picture! Sooooo funny!!

Okay, yay for you if you read this all the way to the END!!! I will try not to go so long without posting next time!! I still have to post about California (3rd time Bella was a flowergirl) and Katelyn's wedding (yep, Bella's 4th time being a flowergirl. She's a pro now!!). Then I should be caught up!