Chuck is part of the Heartland Winds Community Band, and tonight was the Christmas concert. The girls loved watching Daddy play, and made it known to the entire audience that their Daddy was up there on stage. Anna even ran up on the stage at the end to greet him.



Also, since the girls were all dolled up for the concert, we decided to have an impromptu photo shoot.

Ella, with her eyes perpetually rolled to the side - in every almost picture!The girls with their Nana, who looked exceptionally pretty for the concert.
Me and my girls.
Silly Anna.
Pretty Ella.
And, of course, it wouldn't be a photo shoot without Anna's antics.
Here she is showing me her "bup" (butt).
We had a great night - Daddy did a wonderful job!

For the annual "Holiday Goodie Week" at work, I made this cute little Christmas tree out of Peeps and rice crispy treats. It was a hit, and pretty easy to make!


On a more somber note, Anna (and Ella, for that matter) has had a wave of sickness over the last few weeks. One fever after another plagued the little stinky. One especially trying night, her fever rose to 104 degrees. Luckily, she fought it off and is back to getting into trouble.

Thanksgiving 2009!

After a long day of food and family time, the Pearsall's headed home for some family pics and tree trimming.

First, the sweet girls.
Then, we attempted to get a self-portrait of the whole family, which is much harder than you would think.



After family pictures and trying to figure out why some of the lights don't work on our tree, we started hanging up ornaments.Then I couldn't resist taking some more pictures of the girls.
Ella just LOVES her new dress...


At the end of the day when both girls are tucked in their beds, it is easy to see we have so much to be thankful for.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM THE PEARSALL'S!!

Ella the artist.

Leaves

Moon and Stars

Patrick

Ella

Height predictor results from BabyCenter:

Ella 5'5"
Anna 5'7"

Both significantly taller than me, and I'm okay with that. Maybe they can actually buy pants that are the right length right off the rack!

The girls had their yearly checkup today!

Ella at 4yrs - 41 inches tall (75%), 40 pounds (75%), 5 shots (4 regular vaccines and 1 H1N1 vaccine), and an ear infection

Anna at 2yrs - 35.5 inches tall (75%), 25 pounds (20%), 2 shots (1 regular vaccine and 1 H1N1 vaccine), and an ear infection

Both girls are just perfect, no problems except the ear infections!

Halloween 2009! This year, Stella joined us in our trip to the mall because her Momma and Papa are in the hospital enjoying the birth of Stella's new baby brother, Elliot!

Jasmine, Kitty Cat, and Kangaroo (take 2).

The girls all loaded up on tasty candy!
Yummy!
Where did it go, Anna?The End...by the way, if this picture looks familiar, check out the Halloween post from 2 years ago...

We went to Crawford Farms pumpkin patch today with the Tiesman's. The girls had an awesome time: corn maze, petting zoo, stacks of hay, scary tunnel, and picking pumpkins! Then, we all came back to our house and carved our masterpieces!

From left to right: Danna's and Ella's, Zac's, Stella's, Chuck's and Anna's.
Chuck's in the dark.
Danna's in the dark.

Chuck playing with the camera...I forgot my camera for the actual farm part, so I hope Bethany emails me the rest of the pictures soon so I can add them here. ;)

Ella driving Anna around in Nana and Papaw's front yard. She is really moving!

Ella and Anna had a great visit with Nana and Papaw this weekend!

They found a wooly worm.
And followed it around.
Anna wanted to pet it.
And then they followed it some more.
Then, to continue their fascination with bugs, they found a ladybug.
Anna said, "Where! Let me see!"
"Oh, there it is."
Nana drew pretty flowers all over the driveway.
Then, of course, they drove their jeep around the yard.

Finally, Ella helped Nana cook dinner; something she LOVES to do.

Ella twisting Anna up in the swing and then letting go! It looks like a nauseating move to me, but Anna seems to enjoy it.

I just had to document Ella singing in the car. Almost every time we get in, she demands, "I want Daddy's song!" She means "Troublemaker" by Weezer, and I'm not exactly sure why it is "Daddy's song," but we play it and she sings right along, or at least mouths the best she can. She also knows many of the other songs, and does quite well with the high parts in "Greatest Man That Ever Lived," which is good because that means we don't have to suffer through me singing those parts. Anyway, she was only captured on video because I was covert and pretended not to be filming. She refuses to sing or even pretend to sing if she thinks anyone is really paying attention. Enjoy!

My parents continue to spoil these girls. I am coming to the realization that there is no stopping them. The latest acquisition? A pink Barbie Jeep. Ella already has the "diva" look down.
Anna, as usual, wants to be the daredevil. She stomps the gas and just goes, dogs, trees, other cars be damned.
Thanks Nana and Papaw!

Ella and Anna's Birthday Party 2009!

Before the party, the girls wanted to goof off with a little spinning and floor rolling.

After all the kids arrived, we made princess and pirate accessories. It was a little crazy, but it gave the kiddos something to do besides run wild through the house.
...and Sam was just so darn cute in his pirate hat!
Anna sported the eye-patch,
while Ella wore her "Birthday Girl" crown and sash.And then we opened presents. I had no idea this would be such a fiasco! I had no idea who gave what to whom, but I think I got most of it sorted out after the fact. I still don't know who gave Anna the kissing Elmo or from whom most of the books and coloring books came.
Presents, presents, everywhere!
Finally, the cakes!! I made Anna and Elmo cake and Ella a Kai Lan cake. The Kai Lan cake was my first experience using fondant, and I was quite pleased with the results. While the Kai Lan cake looked nice, I'll admit the icing on the Elmo cake was tastier!
Blow out the candles! Anna is TWO!
Ella is FOUR!
The party was a huge success. Everyone seemed to have a great time, and I know the girls couldn't be happier. Thanks to everyone who attended! These girls are so lucky to have so many people who care about them!