Iowa State Fair 2010

Dave, Arabella, and I went to the Iowa State Fair yesterday. Arabella was so excited. We did the "park and ride" because it was cheaper than parking close to the fair. Arabella was so excited that she got to ride on a bus. As we got off the bus, Bella told me the bus was her favorite part of the fair (we hadn't even gotten in the gates yet)!

Dave and Arabella at the Iowa State Fair

This is my very favorite part of the Iowa State Fair... Monkey Tails! They are a frozen banana on a stick dipped in chocolate - so delicious! I finally got to share this love with Arabella... she enjoyed it, but later told me she only liked the chocolate part.

Our friend's daughter Caitlynn was working at the fair and she hooked Bella up with a free ride on the Giant Slide.


Bella LOVED it!

We went to the Baby Animal Exhibit. Bella loved seeing all the tiny baby farm animals. She even got to pet the calves and goats. She thought the pigs were cute, "but really stinky!"
Then, we were walking by a big cow pen and realized that the cow was giving birth, right then and there! So we stayed and watched. Bella (and Dave and I) were amazed! It was so cool. Definitely a learning experience for us all. Arabella still hasn't stopped talking about it.

WARNING: These pictures are graphic!

The calf's hooves were sticking out as we walked by. The vet had to come into the pen and help pull the cow out. In order to do this, he had to reach his arm in ("he put his arm in the cow's bum, Mommy!") and hook a rope onto the hooves and pull the calf out.

Here's the calf right after birth. "He's all yucky Mommy! Ewww!"

The mama cow cleaning off her baby. "The mommy cow is telling her baby a story!"

UFF-DA 2010

Dave's family reunion (UFF-DA) was held in Okoboji, Iowa this year. We had a lot of fun planning it with Patti, and it all went great! Here are a few pictures of our fun:
Arabella and Amara watching Dave tee off on the 3rd hole

These girls play so well together!

Me: "Arabella, how did your feet get all dirty?"

Bella: "Mara and I were playing in that sandbox over there!"

Me: "That's not a sand box Bella, it's a sand trap!" The Classic "Leighton Boys with Mom" pose!

The whole UFF DA crew (minus about three people)

Ballet Class

Arabella just began taking her first dance class - a ballet class! She loves it, she even asks everyday if today is ballet day! :) Here are a few pictures from her first ballet class

Birthday Pictures!

Here are some pictures from Arabella's 3rd Birthday!

Princess Arabella wearing her new tiara!

Happy Birthday and 4th of July Cupcakes

Sharing her cupcake with Grandma Patti

______________________________________________________

We celebrated Arabella's birthday over the 4th of July weekend in Okoboji! Dave's brother Steve and his fiance Joanna, Dave's younger brother Mark and his girlfriend Sarah, and Dave's mom Patti all came up to help us celebrate. We had such a fun time! It was great weather and we made some great memories!

_______________________________________________________

On Arabella's birthday (July 8), she woke up and came downstairs to her big birthday surprise - her new big girl bike! :) She was ecstatic and wanted to go ride it right away. She loves riding to the mailboxes to get the mail - she even puts the mail key into her princess pouch on the front of her bike. We also celebrated at Incredible Pizza for dinner. Her favorite part was going on the Go Karts with her Daddy.

_____________________________________________________

Arabella and her Great-Gramma Alice having a tea party in the swimming pool

Daddy and Arabella

Arabella requested a "Balloon cake with suckers" (just like we saw at Target), so we made our first Jello poke cake! It was really good! :) You can see the sucker "balloons" were a big hit! She was really excited.

Three Year Old Swimmer Girl!

___________________________________________________

We also celebrated Bella's birthday in Sioux City with my parents, my Aunt Debbie, Uncle Al, and my Gramma Alice. We had a pool party, complete with a serious volleyball game and tea parties with Arabella... Then we grilled and opened presents. I love that our families are so involved with Arabella and they all come to help celebrate her birthdays with us. :)

______________________________________________________

Arabella Ann Leighton - Three Years Old

I can hardly even believe that my beautiful baby girl is already three years old. It seems like just yesterday we were swaddling her every night for bed and debating whether or not we should start solid foods. Here are the facts about Arabella at Three:

Her favorites are:

Foods - Cheese and Fruit

Movie - Snow White

Book - Just One More Swim by Caroline Pitcher

Game - Candy Land

TV Show - Super Why and Dinosaur Train

Color - Purple

Song - Yankee Doodle

She is exactly 36 inches tall (10th percentile) and weighs 27.5 pounds (25th percentile)... She is still just a tiny little bean! She wears a size 24 month shirt and size 18 month pants - can you believe it?!

Bella wakes up between 5 and 6 mostly every morning, no matter what time we put her to bed. She's definitely an early bird! However, she does wake up with a smile every morning! She loves to cuddle in the mornings - those are some of my favorite times, sitting on the couch cuddling with Bella while she drinks cocoa and I have my coffee. :)

Arabella is very girly at times but also loves to get dirty... much to my dismay, Arabella loves playing in the sand and the dirt... eww! She loves to run and roll in the grass, but she would dress up in princess clothes everyday if we let her!

Bella is very excited to be three... she now has chores at home because big kids need to help out around the house. She feeds Mondavi every day. She also sets the table for dinner and helps me with laundry. She is so responsible, often remembering to do her chores without prompting.

She is a really fun little girl... but she is very strong-willed (not quite sure where she gets that - LOL) and the terrible two's that didn't actually happen are carrying over into the terrible three's! We'll get through it by the Grace of God and a little patience... hopefully!

I'll post a few pictures tomorrow, too tired tonight! :)

Adventureland

My sister came to Des Moines for a work event at Adventureland so Arabella and I met up with her there. It was REALLY hot, but we had a lot of fun anyway! There were a lot of rides Bella could go on and she was so excited about all of them! She says her favorite was "the tea cups 'cause they spin round and round and faster and faster!" We also spent a lot of time in the waterpark, Bella went down her favorite slide about fifty times! Even though I ended the day with a really bad headache, it was a great day!

Arabella and Sara on the Merry-Go-Round

Arabella "flying" on the airplane ride - just like Grandpa!

Okoboji - cation # 1

Dave had hockey practice in Des Moines, and I had FINALLY gotten out of school for the summer, so Arabella and I decided to take a trip to Okoboji! Grandma Patti, Uncle Mark, and his girlfriend Sarah were there too! It was a lot of fun... nice and relaxing! Not the BEST weather, but not horrible either. We went boating on Saturday and I even managed to make two bonfires (even after it rained!) for us to hang out!

1st Bonfire of the year! Even with wet wood!

Chillaxing in her Dora chair - she loves bonfires!!!

Mark and his girlfriend Sarah! We had a great time getting to know her!

Grandma Patti and Arabella hanging out on the hammock!

I let her roast her own marshmallow for the first time - she didn't want to do S'mores, just eat all the ingredients by themselves!

Marshmallow Mouth!

Uncle Mark gave Arabella a really tall ride!

Uncle Mark let Bella drive the boat for a while too!

Grandma Patti and Arabella loving the boat ride!