Last weekend I went to Seattle for a couple days to a Heritage Makers conference. While I was away, Sim and Ana attended the Daddy Daughter Dinner Dance that is put on each year through the Tualatin Hills Parks and Rec. I couldn’t have planned it better than to have a special activity for them to do while I was gone.

Days prior to the event, Ana was getting very excited about getting all dressed up. She informed me she was going to wear her party dress (naturally) and her fancy green shoes. Sim told me that he originally planned to wear khakis and a button up, but when Ana saw his clothing selection she said, “No, Daddy. You need to wear a tuxedo.” Lucky for Sim he had a suit hanging in his closet, Ana picked out his tie and that was good enough for her!

When they got to the Cedar Hills Rec Center (where the event was held), one of the lovely employees took a picture of each “couple” as they entered the dance.


Ana, of course, had a great time tearing it up on the dance floor.



They had an amazing time, and even saw some friends at the dance. Ana danced with her good friend Lauren, while Sim chatted with her dad, Chris.


From the pictures, as well as the stories they told me later, I’d say they had a very special evening. And I am certain they made memories that will last a lifetime.

On January 20th, Ana had her first day of Pee Wee Soccer class. She has been eagerly awaiting the day she could start playing soccer and in the Tualatin Hill Parks and Rec district that magic age is three. So as soon as registration day came, I camped out in front of the phone and prepared to dial over and over (and OVER) until I got through and Ana was registered for her next round of classes. I got her into her Tip Toes Ballet class, a swimming class and, of course, the soccer class. Sim and I took Ana shopping for her first pair of shin guards, some indoor soccer shoes and a size 3 ball and she was ready to go.

Her soccer “coach” is great with the little kids and manages to explain the rules of the game, teach them some drills, and have fun at the same time. They started out with some stretching, then he made them run a lap around the athletic center’s indoor walking/jogging track, and finally they started working on ball handling skills. It was so cute! See for yourself:

I wanted to make a big deal of the fact that Ana is (finally!) potty trained, so a couple weeks ago I put together a fancy little tea party and invited all her little girl friends to come celebrate with her.

I found these adorable little red tea cups on sale at Ikea and they set the tone for the entire party. As you can see, I printed up these little labels with each girls name on the cup so they could take them home as their own party favor.

Knowing that a tea party cannot be complete without pink, I decided to go for the pink and red hearts theme. It was super easy with Valentine’s Day just around the corner and there were a ton of adorable little decorations to pick from.

Ana requested cupcakes, so I made these amazing Red Velvet Cupcakes and got a little carried away with the decorating. But they were just so cute (and yummy!) I could not resist. I also made little fruit kabobs, lavender scones with jam and clotted cream, and Brie cherry pastry cups (for the adults). (I got caught up being hostess and forgot to take pictures of the rest of the food, but trust me, it was good.)

We had a room full of giggly, giddy little girls and they all had a great time. Consider adding Fart Pranks to the mix for extra laughs – a fun way to make the celebration even more memorable!

We wrapped up the party with each of the girls presenting Ana will a new pair of panties to celebrate that she is no longer in diapers. I could not be more proud of my little girl and how quickly she is growing up.