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Birthdays Galore

By Mom | February 12, 2010

The new year started out very busy for the Dykes family as we celebrated many birthdays last month.

Grace was invited to another preschool classmate’s birthday party at Pump It Up. We’ve been there before so she knew what to expect. Lots of jumping around!

She’s been really obsessed with playing air hockey lately so she was elated to find one there.

There’s also a few big slides which Grace loves. There’s no fear in this child.

Like her Mommy, she turns beet red after a workout.

Pizza time! Cole enjoyed the food too.

January is also Daddy’s birthday time. He was away on band business on his actual birthday but we were able to celebrate a day later with a nice home cooked dinner and cake. Well, the dinner was home cooked but the cake was store bought anyways.

A few days later Grace’s best friend Ava turned the big 3. And what better way to celebrate it than with some miniature golf. It was Grace’s first time and she had no clue what to do but had fun nevertheless.

Later that weekend it was Ava’s birthday party at the Clubhouse! This is Grace and Ava’s favorite meeting place. The birthday girl is showing off her special mermaid dress to go with her Ariel theme.

Grace even saw a classmate there at Ava’s party. Small world.

The Tutor Time gang.

It was time for cake and all the kids gathered around Ava to sing happy birthday. Ava looks a little sad in this picture. I think she didn’t want us to destroy her beautiful Ariel cake by cutting it.

After the party we headed over to Ava’s house to open presents and watch Toy Story II. Baby Mila was the only one actually paying attention to the movie.

By the end of the month we were pretty partied out. We needed an energizing smoothie to give us a boost.

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Scoot Scoot Scootin’

By Mom | February 6, 2010

Grace has been having a blast riding her new scooter Santa got her for Christmas. She loves that it’s pink. She loves that it has princesses on them.

But I think she loves the way she looks while riding it the best. Strike some poses Grace.

She need very little instructions on how to ride it. What a natural!

She’s such a hot shot that she can even ride with only one leg.

But like any good big sister, she even let her bubba Cole ride the scooter.

She’s so busy scootin’ that I can hardly get her to sit still for one second to take a picture. Ciao!

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Christmas 2009

By Mom | January 23, 2010

Well, it’s nearly been a month since Christmas and I’ve just got around to blogging about it. Better late than never I always say. I’m doing my best people! 😉

As with every year, we begin our Christmas festivities with a Christmas Eve party with the extended Dykes Family. This is when Grace and Cole get to see their cousins and open a ton of presents. After getting all dressed up in her pretty Christmas dress, Grace posed with Great Grandma Dorothy for a picture.

Grace was so excited to see her cousins Taylor and Emily all dressed up too.

First it was time to make Christmas cards at the craft table.

Then it was holiday carol karaoke time.

We tried to get all the kids on the couch for a quick shot. I think we’re missing one.

The kids even make up their own poses.

After a quick dinner of clam chowder, it was present opening time!

On Christmas morning we had to wake Grace up. She must have played hard the night before.

What did Santa bring her you ask? Well, she really didn’t want to find out at first. For some reason I think she was freaked out by the surprise of a gift from Santa. Eventually, Grace got to see her special princess scooter.

She couldn’t wait to go outside to try it out so the kitchen will have to do.

Then it was time for presents from the rest of the family. And by the way family, we are definitely putting a present limit this year. As you can see, Grace was a bit overwhelmed by all the thoughtful presents she received. She loved it.

Later that morning we visited my mom in Moreno Valley where Grace got more presents. Yikes! She loves getting to play with cousin Navaeh.

But she likes Navaeh’s swing set best.

Thank you everyone for making Grace’s 4th Christmas so special.

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Roller Skates

By Mom | January 13, 2010

For Grace’s 4th birthday she received her very first pair of roller skates. She was pretty dead set on getting these for her birthday and not Christmas. Yaya and Papa searched everywhere but finally found the perfect pair.

On the morning of her birthday, December 21st, Grace got to see her special gift.

Also for her birthday Mommy and Daddy promised to take her to the Disney Store in Downtown Disney so that she could pick out anything she wanted. To my surprise she picked out a Princess Jasmine outfit from Aladdin.

We couldn’t let the day go by and not sing Happy Birthday to her once more. A yummy cupcake is the perfect choice too.

Grace also got to spend the day baking cupcakes with Yaya and decorating them too.

She’s a great baker.

We decided to stay in Fullerton that whole week leading up to Christmas. Grace couldn’t wait to try out her new roller skates the day after she got them. But she had to put on the safety gear first. Helmet, check. Knee pads, check. Elbow pads, check. Wrist guard, check. All done.

Her first few moments on her skates were pretty shaky.

But she never gave up. She’ll be roller skating backwards to disco in no time.

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Scooby Doo Birthday Party

By Mom | January 8, 2010

Hi everyone! I’m 4! And to celebrate my turning 4 my Mommy and Daddy had a birthday party for me and my friends at the YMCA. Usually I go there for swim classes or ballet class but this time it was for a party. I got to invite my good friends and classmates too.

I finally decided that I wanted a Scooby Doo party theme this year. I’ve been obsessed with Scooby Doo lately. My Mom and Dad said they used to love Scooby Doo too so they were really excited to hear about my choice. When we first got there we had to decorate.

My Mom worked so hard on my Scooby Snacks goody bags for my friends.

There was a big TV to watch, what else, a Scooby Doo movie.

The party area also had a huge, and I mean, huge play structure for all of us kids to run around. It had a scary dark tunnel slide that whips you out pretty fast.

After we played a little we finally ate some grub. Pizza pizza.

My Daddy went up into the structure to take some pics of us. That’s my friend Noe. All the girls in my class have a crush on him, including me.

The view from top.

My brother Cole is just a little buddy so he couldn’t play in the structure. But he had fun playing with my Scooby balloon. Where is the balloon Cole?

Oops.

That’s okay, he had fun playing on the basketball court that was located in the next room.

It was time for cake and all my friends and family sang Happy Birthday to me. My birthday wish already came true. I had the best birthday ever!

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Snowbunnies

By Mom | January 1, 2010

We took Grace up to the mountains to visit Ava and her family in their cabin recently. This was Grace and Cole’s first visit to the snow.

Before hand, Grace had to test drive her snow cap and mittens to make sure they still fit.

As soon as we got there we ate a quick lunch and got the kids dressed for some snow sledding fun. After what seemed like an hour of getting dressed we finally ventured out into the snow. Thanks to Ava’s Daddy, the girls had a good hand to hold while walking on the slippery ground.

Dan was also the designated sledder with the kids.

If they weren’t sledding they were making snowmen!

And building up their artillery for…..

Snowball fights! Nicole was the target.

Afterwards, we headed to the park nearby. And guess who was the designated swing pusher? Thanks again Dan!

Apparently, Nicole is also the bus driver too.

The next day some more visitors came by for snow fun. It was Nicole’s nephews Briar, Eli, and Sammy. That made 7 kids! Here we are trying to get them all in a shot.

Time for more snow fun!

Who is that coming with his ninja turtle gloves? Daddy! He made it to the mountains the night before and took some time away from work to sled with the kids.

Grace even went on the sled by herself! What a champ!

More park fun. But this time we stumbled upon a deserted snowball maker. Get to work kids! We need some snowballs.

That’s a nice stock pile for….

Another snowball fight!

We had some pooped out kids that night. They were ready for storytime and bed without fuss.

Thanks Ava and family for a wonderful time!

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Disneyland Part Deux

By Mom | December 30, 2009

One the 1st of December we went to Disneyland with the family. This was Grace’s second time there. Last time we took her she was barely two and didn’t remember a thing. This time around was like a whole new experience for her. And boy did she love it.

Disneyland during the holiday season is a great time to go. Short lines, cool weather, and xmas decorations galore! Grace looked very festive with her Christmas Minnie Mouse ears.

As part of our Christmas gifts from Dan’s parents, they bought us all annual passes. We’re waiting in line to get our pictures taken. Yes, I’m wearing my Mickey t-shirt again. And I will wear it every time I go to D-Land!

Grace’s very first ID card.

We went on a ton of rides as a family including Dumbo.

Small World.

Grace and Papa were locked in the slammer in Toon Town.

We couldn’t miss a tour of Minnie’s house with Minnie herself there to greet us.

Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the cutest little girl of them all?

After lots more rides, we waited around for the parade. Grace had a perfect view thanks to Daddy.

After the parade we had some yummy clam chowder for dinner. We were hoping to hit more adult rides like Pirates and Haunted Mansion but Grace was too tired to go on. Thank goodness for those awesome passes. We can come back anytime. Luckily though as we were leaving they lit up the castle lights.

Bye Disneyland. For now.

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Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas!

By Mom | December 25, 2009

Hope you all have a very very merry Christmas this year and an awesome new year!

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My Little Flower Girl

By Mom | December 23, 2009

We finally uploaded pictures from Thanksgiving weekend that includes Thanksgiving and Shane and Cara’s wedding. We forgot our camera that weekend but luckily Yaya had hers available for us to use. Which also explains the delay in uploading the pictures to Flickr. Anyhow, it was a huge weekend for all of us. Dan and I both were part of the wedding party and Grace was their special flower girl. Grace was giddy with excitement all weekend long.

She was even practicing her poses.

Thanksgiving was kind of a blur so the pictures were kind of blah. However, we did manage to get some family shots. After all, Thanksgiving is all about being thankful for what you have and that includes your family.

The ladies.

And the dudes.

Cole spent most of the evening behind this plant.

While Shane and Cara taught Grace how to jump rope.

The next day was the rehearsal before the wedding. The wedding ceremony was to take place in a beautiful catholic church in Santa Monica. There was no flash photography allowed so most of the pictures were blurry. Afterwards, we headed to a seafood restaurant for the luncheon. Cara let Grace wear her special bride Mickey ears.

Cara also gave Gracie a book called “10 Best Things About Being a Flower Girl”.

After lunch, we checked into our hotel room at the Marriott in Marina Del Rey. It was a beautiful hotel where the reception was being held. Grace and I hurried over to the nail salon where we were going to meet the other ladies for some pampering. I promised Grace she could get her nails done. She was sooooo happy. She even had a little flower on her two thumbs.

The next day was the big day! We woke up bright and early to head over to the bridal suite were all the ladies were getting their hair and makeup done. And guess who was also so excited to get her hair done?

She waited for 4 long hours before it was her turn. She didn’t cry or whine either. I couldn’t believe how patient Grace was. But finally it was her turn.

Here’s Grace’s aunt Cara (the beautiful bride).

Because both Dan and I were in the wedding and I was a little worried about Cole and how he was doing, our picture taking that night was very limited. Most of the pictures are from the professional photographer, especially of the ceremony. But here’s a picture of the happy couple.

Grace was a beautiful flower girl. And she did her part so well. Here is a picture at the reception of her beautiful hair.