Ella and Katie's First Big Music Show

Oh My, What a Night!  Tonight, you had your first music show.  You started taking music from Ms Karen about 2 months ago and she was immediately blown away by your voices, especially yours, Ella.  In the middle of your first lesson, Ms Karen had you stop so she could come talk to me.  She said, "This kid has a voice...  She's GOOD!"  In truth, I thought she was just telling me that so that I would sign you up for more lessons, but I was wrong -- Ella, you have a voice and you seem to have found your 'thing' -- you love singing, you love the one-on-one attention from Ms. Karen, and, as we discovered tonight, you LOVE being on stage.  You are a natural! 

Katie, you too, have a beautiful voice.  Yours though, has taken a little longer to be heard.  Initially, you were a little less confident (and less excited at being the center of attention) than Ella, but you are growing to like it.  Just before going on stage you said to GiGi, "Well, we're about to see if I'm shy or not."  Turns out, you're not so much, shy that is.  You got up on that stage and belted it out.  You have presence, my dear!

Your first song was a slow, beautiful "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" followed by the peppy and snazzy, "If I Had a Turtle".  You performed with another 6-year-old little girl who turned out to have terrible stage fright!  I don't think she sang a word, she was so nervous. 

Next, you all did a wonderful song, "If I Was A Butterfly" -- I still have that song bouncing around in my head -- so cute and it has a great message about being thankful for being me.

This verse had a fuzzy-wuzzy bear who was thankful for his fuzzy-wuzzy hair.  Oh how I wish my video camera had been working --  you two were too cute on this song!

Next it was time for Ella's solo, "Lolly Pop".

You were so poised and I was so proud of you.  The only thing that told me you might be the tiniest bit nervous was how you gripped your dress -- the entire song. 

Then Katie sang, "Getting to Know You" from The King and I.  You did not flinch, my girl.  You stood up there pretty as a picture and belted it out like you had been doing it all your life.  I can't tell you how proud I was of you at that moment.

Lastly, you dressed up as kitty cats and sang "We are Siamese" from Lady and the Tramp.  You did forget some of the words on this song, but you kept going and picked up just as soon as you could and finished with a bang.  I'm certain you two got the most applause!

Ella and Katie after the show with GiGi.

Pumpkin Patch Aurora Style

Well, it's officially Autumn and time to find a pumpkin patch.  There are a lot of wonderful things about living in New Orleans; unfortunately, pumpkin patches are not their strong suite.  We were very spoiled by the awesomely great pumpkin patches in Northern Virginia!  But, mommy managed to find a church in our neighborhood, Aurora, that had a good lot of pumpkins to choose from.  We went one Sunday afternoon late and had great time perusing the rows and rows of pumpkins, looking for the perfect one for each of you.  Both of you wanted the cleanest pumpkin you could find, which made me laugh because I kept reminding you that we could always wash them when we got home.  Katie, you found yours pretty quickly -- you always seem so confident and assured when you make your choice.  Ella, had a little more difficulty making a selection.... I can't tell you how many times we went up and down the aisles until FINALLY you found the one that was meant for you.  But, I have to say, you picked a perfectly beautiful pumpkin!

We had fun too taking a few snapshots while there...

Little Autumn Flowers - Katie yellow; Ella orange

Ella the Scarecrow

Katie being a scarecrow

Katie feeding the "pig"

Ella, Mrs. Pumpkin-Eater

(this display reminded me of the nursery rhyme, Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater, which I shared with you.  We all three realized how little sense it made, but it was certainly fun to recite!)

Katie showing off the pumpkin she brought home

And, Ella's "littlest pumpkin"

Look How Much You've Grown!

Click here to view these pictures larger

When you were in the hospital, just born, we gave you your first bath in a little hospital bucket; one said 'Brigman A' and one said 'Brigman B'.  At the time, we knew the buckets were small and we certainly knew you were itty-bitty, but these this picture -- 6 years later -- puts it in perspective.  

Grandma's Project

Grandma came to visit for your birthday and grandma LOVES projects.  You two were not short on ideas and convinced her you needed to paint and decorate your play house.  I was pleased to have someone else lead the project and content to be the official photographer.

We went to Walmart for paint and painting supplies -- to my surprise, Katie picked out RED (not pink!) for the walls and Ella picked out a sort of beige color for the trim. It was a very nice combination and sort of reminded me of Aunt Shelley and Grandma's bathrooms -- red and khaki.

Everyone getting ready to paint...

Ella and Katie getting to work.

Arranging the furniture and decorating...

Ella testing to see if the paint is dry.

Project Complete!  Good work, Ella, Grandma, and Katie!!!

Happy 6th Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday Katie & Ella!!!!

Your 6th birthday party was on a beautiful Sunday morning at Storyland in City Park in New Orleans, LA.  10-10-10 -- a perfect day to celebrate the anniversary of your entry into the world! 

 The night before your party, we went to Target and you each picked out a new outfit.  Katie chose a flouncy pink dress and Ella, a blue Tinker Bell shirt and a cheerful bright yellow skirt.

 Storyland is full of story-themed play things -- this is Katie speeding down the Puff the Magic Dragon slide.

Miss Muffet sharing some of her curds and whey with the girls.

Friends sitting on the moon with the cow, who appeared to be resting rather than jumping.

Note: The little boy on the end has a HUGE crush on Ella.  You do NOT have a crush on him, however.

Ella with one of her classmates visiting Little Red Riding Hood's granny -- or is that the Big Bad Wolf?

Giving Rapunzel a hug...

Giving Daddy a hug...

Visiting with our friend from school and the Three Little Pigs. Our super fun big cousin, Starr, watching over us.

Old King Cole's Castle

Time for singing and cake... 

Happy Birthday,  Ella!!!

Happy Birthday, Katie!

Make a wish!!!

The lady at the children's show led the kids in a 2nd line, New Orleans style!

A crazy group of cousins!

After the party, we went to the amusement park and rode the carousel

and the giant slide.  We went down this slide about a MILLION times!

We had soooo much fun racing one another.

The end of a fabulous party at Storyland!

Little Readers!

You can READ! 

Katie with the FIRST book SHE READ all by herself, "Mat". 

Katie, at times, you seem less determined to read than Ella, but when presented with a book, you dive right in, as if you already know you have the ability but just don't feel like showing off for me (or anyone else for that matter).  Like everything, you do it for yourself and no one else.... a very admirable trait, I might add. 

Ella's first book SHE READ by herself, "I Like Bugs". 

You have read it so many times now you pretty much have it memorized, but in the beginning you diligently sounded out each word until you figured each one out.  The only word you really had difficulty with was, 'any', which has increased my respect for reading teachers by tenfold.  Seriously, 'y' sounds like "yha" except sometimes when it sounds like "ee" -- go figure?  I was amazed at the perseverance and determination you showed getting through this book the first time.  It's as if some internal "reading clock" has gone off you and you are bound and determined to read everything that crosses your line of vision.  One of my greatest hopes for you both is that you love reading as much as I do.

Katie's Recipe

This is Katie's recipe.  For what, I'm not certain.  But you definitely pour in water and mix it up and then you add love (note the hearts!).  Then you put it in the oven and take it out when it's done. 

That kid is too cute for her own good!