Flower Girls (and a Tooth Fairy + Elsa)

This year's Halloween was a bit different for the girls.

Aubrey wrote about it at school when the teacher asked the class to draw a picture of what they were going to be for Halloween...

"I will be a tooth fairy. Too bad that I can't come to Halloween. I am going to Atlanta to be a flower girl. I am excited."

(See the end of this post for her custom-made costume she wore to a Halloween party. :))

So instead of trick-or-treating on Oct. 31st, the girls were practicing their flower girl skills before Uncle Jacob's wedding the next day.

And let me just say, I cannot wait see the professional photographer's photos!

I know I'm biased, but goodness gracious. These two make my heart swell!

Despite the massive temperature drop and 25+ mph wind, the day was absolutely beautiful!

I even snagged a photo with the best man!
(This guy was made to wear formal attire. Swoon!)

And what's a wedding without dancing?
Daniel captured this gem of a video while I stepped out to help Aubrey bandage her skinned knee.
I'm pretty sure I've watched this a gazillion times...

It was such a great weekend!
Congrats Jacob and Brandy!
Thanks for letting us share in your special day!
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Even though the girls didn't get to go trick-or-treating this year, Aubrey came up with her own costume as the Tooth Fairy for a Halloween party at a friend's house, and Mina has been in non-stop Elsa mode. The girl can seriously NOT let it go.

Aubrey turns 6!

This post is insanely long because the celebration of Aubrey Ruth turning six reached ludicrous levels. I've never known a birthday to drag out as long as this girl's, and the ironic part is that there wasn't even an "actual" party!

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As Aubrey approached her sixth birthday, Daniel and I gave her a choice: a trip or a party.
She has been saying her one birthday wish is to go to the top of the St. Louis Arch, so -- without hesitation -- she chose TRIP.

The closer her birthday got, the more I think she was starting to secretly wish she had chosen "party".
To jazz up the "trip" I decorated the car with some window markers, curly ribbon, and balloons. She LOVED it.

Did anyone notice the Snackeez in her cup holder?! Aubrey saw a commercial for this thing when we visited grandparents. She's talked non-stop about how she NEEDS one of these. "It holds a snack AND your favorite drink, Mom!" I thought it actually made sense for the road trip, and it sure made for one super happy girl!

Once we were all loaded up, and had FROZEN playing in the headrest DVD player, we were on our way to ST. LOUIS!

First pit stop: dinner.
And what's a road trip without a meal at Cracker Barrel?!

We realized the girls had never been to one. They thought it was the coolest restaurant ever! And the fact that they could order pancakes for dinner blew their minds.

Aubrey was determined to "win" the Peg Game.
GENIUS!

We finally drove into St. Louis past bedtime with two squealing excited girls in the backseat.

Daniel reserved rooms at the Union Station hotel downtown.
When we arrived, the hotel concierge presented the girls with little backpacks filled with a train whistle (why?!), coloring book / crayons, Union Station water bottle, a sucker, a sticker, and a cookie. As if they weren't excited enough!

The hotel (the old train station) was fun to explore and the girls loved watching the nightly light show display on the ceiling.

Oh, before I forget!
All Aubrey thought we were doing in St. Louis was going to the Arch.
Well, St. Louis has tons of stuff for kids, so Daniel and I planned out a full weekend of surprises.

To make it feel more like an actual "birthday", we let Aubrey open a small gift before we left. Inside was a charm bracelet. Before each "surprise" she would open a little package containing a charm that gave a clue as to where we were going next. As the trip progressed, her charm bracelet would fill up. At the end of the trip, she would have a bracelet full of charms to remember this special birthday.

(I had originally envisioned a lovely sterling silver charm bracelet with precious forever-lasting heirlooms dangling from it. After a quick search, I realized all that was going to cost waaaay more than I wanted to spend on a six year old, so I went the $5/charm route. )

So, first up...
Charm #1: Gateway Arch

Aubrey was out-of-her-mind excited. Her birthday wish came true!

 

Her most favorite part was riding up to the top.
Me, on the other hand, I almost backed out at the last second.
The older I get, the more of a wuss I become.
These three faces convinced me to face my fear, and I did it.
I almost threw-up in my scarf on the way up, but I did it.

We were assigned elevator / pod 6, which was pretty perfect considering that number is super special! :)

The three of them loved looking out the slivers of windows at the top, while I mentally talked myself down from a full-on panic attack. Daniel took the photo below from one of the little windows. I would have passed out if I had looked down like that. It actually makes my heart-rate go up just posting it.

I've never been happier to be back on solid ground. 

In the end, I was glad I didn't miss out on such a momentous moment for the birthday girl.

Charm #2: Star / The Magic House

This place was SO fun! Aubrey had an absolute blast!
Especially when she was the only one who successfully worked the be-inside-a-bubble exhibit.
Daniel got pretty excited about it... ;)

Charm #3: Butterfly / The Butterfly House

Fun fact: St. Louis turns 250 this year!
Which meant there were birthday cake displays at lots of the area attractions.
Of course, when you're 6 and it's your birthday trip, you think the cakes are for YOU. ;)

Charm #4: Penguin / St. Louis Zoo

So, sad news. The penguin exhibit at the STL Zoo is closed while building a new polar bear habitat.
Luckily Aubrey had just as much fun playing on the sign in front of the empty exhibit. ;)
We did end up seeing lots of cool animals, catching a Sea Lion show, touched real sting rays, rode the train, and the carousel so all-in-all it was a wonderful day in Aubrey's world.

And before loading up the car to head back home, Aubrey picked out a souvenir from the gift shop (a rare treat!) and was conked out before we were on the interstate to drive back home...

The whole weekend she kept thanking us and saying it was the BEST BIRTHDAY EVER.

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The night before she officially turned 6, she lost a tooth!
Would you believe that the Tooth Fairy left her a teeny-tiny birthday present?!
Inside the mini box was this little charm for her bracelet.
There are no words to describe Aubrey's happiness and excitement when she opened it.

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For school, Aubrey wanted to bring a special treat for her class.
She'd been talking about her idea for awhile, and finally we made her vision a reality.
Birthday bots!
We made 24 of these little guys.
The kids in her class went nuts over them, and Aubrey was downright giddy passing them out.
She also got to bring home Birthday Bear from school, which delighted her to no end.

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When she got off the bus, Zubie was waiting for her with lots of fun presents.

She also took us all out to eat at a hibachi restaurant. The girls were mesmerized by the whole experience. I don't think they've ever been that good at a restaurant! It was perfect!

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Then, the following weekend, Grammy and Pop Pop came for a birthday visit. They brought a slew of presents too, and we had birthday cake (picked out by Aubrey from a pic she spotted on Pinterest, ha!). After cake, we went down to the river for the local Dragon Boat races and carnival booths, and then ended with a nature hike lead by Aubrey (of course!).

THE END.

Phew.

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I kinda hope she picks "party" next year... 

;)

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And just to document, like I've done for the past two years, here's a breakdown of all of Aubrey's favorites:

Favorite color? Purple and Blue
Favorite toy? Tiger (souvenir from the STL Zoo)

Favorite drink? Pink Lemonade
Favorite food? Breakfast foods

Favorite tv show? Peppa Pig 
Favorite outfit? The one I'm wearing right now!
Favorite game? Tag
Favorite animal? Cheetah
Favorite song? Jesus songs 
Favorite book? Fancy Nancy: Apples Galore
Best friend? Hope, Wells, Eliza, and Lucy
Favorite thing to do outside? Play freeze tag
Favorite holiday? Christmas 

What’s one thing you don’t like to do: Eating bacon

What do you want to be when you grow up? Teacher

Mina Lately

We recently had Mina's ENT follow-up appointment after the accident, and I am still in awe at God's mercy. We go back in three months for a second test for her hearing. She may have some very, very mild hearing loss in her left ear, but nothing that concerns the ENT. Here she is in the waiting room with Daniel before her appointment. Precious miracle sitting in her daddy's lap...

Other than potty training (Lord, help me.), Mina is seriously the easiest child on the planet.
She is also the most loving child you'll ever meet.
This girl even waves and blows kisses to the potty saying, "Bye-bye, poo-poo!" as she flushes. (She doesn't bid farewell to many toilet pee-pee's, unfortunately...)
She'll -- out-of-nowhere -- announce, "I need a kiss, Mama! And a hug!"
Every time we drive by Aubrey's school, she waves and shouts as loud as she can, "Hi Auuuuuubie! I miss youuuuu!"
She is just downright sweet.

And as sweet as she is, there's definitely a SPICY side to her.
Literally.
She can take down hot food like it's nothing.
Here's Mina just cackling at Aubrey one afternoon while chowing-down on some jalapeño chips. I asked her if she was okay and if she needed a drink. She said, "My tongue is on fire, but I okay! I wike it!"

And below is a rare photo. 

Mad Minxie. 

It doesn't happen often (extreme cases of when she's super tired or hungry), so I feel the need to document it. I do remember Aubrey at this age, so this actually may be a face we start seeing more...

But I can't end this post on that picture.
This little video gem is such a perfect representation of Mina ninety-nine percent of the time.
Adorably funny and as cute as can be!

School, Skating, and Sunshine!

School

Mina has been dying to go to school like "Aubie" so I signed her up for a Mommy and Me class that meets one day a week. The class is like getting to be a fly on the wall at a Mother's Day Out program. The kids are learning how to behave in a "classroom" setting, while all the moms are within reach in case separation anxiety strikes. It's so cute to watch the kids interact, and at the same time I am always convinced I could NEVER be a preschool teacher.

Mina asks me every single day, "Mina class?!"
She is the first one in the door and introduces herself, "Mina! From China!", scurries to hang up her backpack, washes her hands, finds her Mina "Mitten" to place in the basket signifying she's present, and then she's off to do some important preschool work.
Basically, she's the cutest thing ever.

I've always been impressed with Mina's ability to focus.
School is serious business for this girl.
One little boy in her class is always trying to get her to play.
This scene unfolded the other day: he nudged his chair over to her, leaned over to check out her work, and finally worked up the courage to ask, "Mina play?" to which she responded, "No, I'm fine. Busy."

I predict she'll be a brilliant heart-breaker one day.

Skating

I took Aubrey ice skating a couple weeks ago and decided she was / is the most adorable ice skater ever.

I don't think I had been ice skating since Middle School, so we both about busted it when our blades hit the ice. Aubrey said, "It's so slippery! Who even came up with this idea?!"
After clinging to the rink wall for dear life, we started to get the hang of it by the third lap.

This is the pose she struck when I suggested, "Lets take your picture to send Dad." after he texted me to see how it was going.

Then she wanted me to take a video to send him, which didn't go quite as planned...

(The boy talking in the video was calling for a friend named "Temere". 

He wasn't saying, "Come here"  to Aubrey -- just to clarify in case that was confusing. ;))

I was hesitant to post that video of her falling, but I love her resilience afterward. 

"That was a little tumble!"  

She is so awesome.
Gosh, I love her.

Sunshine

The other day the temperature warmed up to 47 degrees. A few more degrees and the girls would have asked to get the inflatable pool out. It felt SO warm compared to the tundra we've been living in since, well...I can't remember. I do recall our pumpkins having snow on them well before Halloween, so yeah. It's been awhile!

I think Mina was in a slight state of shock at first...

But it didn't take long for that smile to defrost...

Ahhhh...SUNSHINE!!!