On Friday morning our oldest birthday girl woke up bright and early! She stayed quiet until the rest of us woke up, although she was chomping at the bit to begin the birthday festivities! She chose blueberry scones for her birthday breakfast so while they were cooking we let her open two presents.
Seven years old!
Peanut and Daddy picked these out.
A Skipper doll!
And the Barbie Camping set she'd been wanting!
They were excited to go play.
Then we heard birthday girl #2 stirring and all went in to sing Happy Birthday to her!
She had no idea what was going on but enjoyed all the attention. :)
Daddy with the birthday girls!
Daddy stayed home so we could enjoy some birthday fun and went into work late.
We decided to let Peaches open a present too. Daddy and Bug picked this out at Walmart the other day.
She was definitely more into opening presents this time! I'm glad we didn't scar her for life with the Christmas presents. Haha.
She kept tearing off little pieces and handing them to whoever was nearby.
Time out to pet her favorite doggy!
Daddy chose this because the church nursery has one and she loves it!
"Oooo!"
Pretty proud!
Daddy headed to work, Peaches went down for a nap, and the older three headed upstairs to play with the new Barbie set.
Then after Peaches woke up and I fed her, we went and picked up Daddy and ate lunch at the restaurant of Boo's choice.
She told them it was her birthday so they brought her a special dessert!
We spent the rest of the afternoon napping (for Peaches and Peanut, who wasn't feeling well) and getting ready for the party! Pictures tomorrow!
Ok, I'm still sorting out birthday pictures but I did take this video on the birthday-eve. Peaches has discovered the piano and she LOVES it! She goes over multiple times throughout the day and serenades us. Funny baby. :)
I forgot to add these pictures in the Christmas recap. On Christmas Eve we all got ready and ran outside to take pictures. I went out and shoveled a path to get up where we wanted to take pictures. It was over a foot deep. It was COLD but thankfully didn't take more than a few minutes to get them. I loved the way they turned out! The truck we're all standing in front of is Queenie, one of the favorite old farm trucks that has been around forever. :)
Our sweet Boo is 7 today! She is growing up so quickly. She is turning into quite the little lady. She is very mature and responsible so I always feel like she is older than she really is. Boo is my big helper and super hardworker. She is always the one who pitches in and helps me around the house, gets me anything I need, and just generally looks for opportunities to serve others.
Boo is very thoughtful. She seems to be always on the lookout for how she can make something better for others. Her dance teacher sent me a text the other day. It said, "I wanted to tell you how sweet "S" was with the new girl last night. She took her under her wing and helped her and talked to her. "J" opened right up. "S" is such a nice girl." That sure warms a mother's heart! :)
Boo finally kicked her thumb sucking habit! This was a BIG
accomplishment for her as we have been working on it for, quite
literally, years! I finally gave up and bought some liquid stuff to put
on her nails even though all the reviews I read said that it made kids
throw up it tasted so bad and was pretty traumatizing. She knew all about it, and the minute the
package came she was done. I haven't seen her thumb in her mouth since. Which is incredible because before we were telling her to get her thumb
out of her mouth at least 20x a day. Best $7 we ever spent! Haha!
Boo is very self-motivated. She often has all of her schoolwork (that she can do on her own) done by the time I get up in the morning. She is very much like me in that likes to buckle down and get done with her work quickly so she can enjoy the rest of her day. She is doing really well with her schoolwork and is very smart. She always scores at the top of the charts in all the testing. 1st grade has been a little disappointing for her in that it there has been no challenge. It still "too easy" she says.
Boo is doing fantastic in dance and is SO MUCH fun to watch up on the stage. She is really hoping to do soccer this year. Because of age differences she and K will have to be on separate softball teams this year so we thought it might be a good time to give soccer a try instead. We're not 100% sure that we're going to sign her up but it's a good possibility.
Boo stays busy at church with Sunday School and Awana. She did an amazing job in the Christmas play this year and it was so fun to watch her leading the Nativity set in "Away in a Manger". Some exciting news for our family is that the 3 older girls were asked to be in a play this Spring! It is at the private Christian school that we hope to send them to for High School. They are doing Sound of Music and the girls are going to be some of the VonTrapp children. There has been much excitement and singing going on around here lately!
Here is her birthday interview:
1. Favorite color: orange
2. Favorite toy: my new Barbie set!
3. Favorite fruit: strawberries
4. Favorite TV show: Fetch
5. Favorite lunch: Tribune
6. Favorite outfit: This one!
7. Favorite game: Whit's End
8. Favorite snack: An apple
9. Favorite animal: Tiger
10. Favorite song: Jesus is Coming Soon
11. Favorite book: I Do Not Want to Get Up Today
12. Your best friend: Jesus! (love this!)
13. Favorite Cereal: Multi-Grain (Cheerios)
14. Favorite thing to do outside: Adventuring!
15. Favorite drink: Pink Lemonade
16. Favorite holiday: Easter
17. Favorite breakfast: Blueberry scones
18. What do you like to take to bed: My new Bearie (from her and Noni's special birthday day, yesterday)
19. What do you want to be when you grow up: a Mommy
20. What do you want for your birthday dinner? Pizza
Dear Boo,
Happy Birthday my sweet girl! Do you know how much I love you?? You couldn't possibly. Because I can't even put it into words. I hope you DO become a Mommy one day and then you will know this indescribable love that I have for you.
You are amazing. You are one of the most precious things in my life and I can't imagine life without you. You bring so much joy and laughter to our lives. You are smart and funny and beautiful, and our family is blessed beyond measure to have you in it.
It's hard to believe you are 7 years old today! We have had 7 beautiful, wonderful years with you and I hope we have so, so many more! I am so incredibly proud of you. You are growing each and every day, not just in body but in spirit and mind.
You love to read your bible, and you have a faith in God that continues to grow deeper and deeper. I pray that He continues to bless you with a heart for Him. Watching you get baptized this year was one of the most wonderful moments of my life, and I am so happy that you are choosing to follow Him with all your heart. Keep going down that path and you will never go wrong.
I love you my sweet girl. Thank you for all that you do for our family. Thank you for just being you. You are so loved.
I'm not sure where the last year went. but I do know it was one of the most joy-filled years of my life! This sweet baby has been such an amazing addition to our family. We are truly blessed that God decided to give us this wonderful girl! I can't imagine life without her!
One year brings...curiosity! She spends her days crawling around the house looking for things to conquer and discover!
One year brings...cruising! She pulls up on everything and cruises with something to hang onto. We have had a few 1-2 second solo stands, but I'm guessing it will be another month or so before first steps. She likes to stand on her tiptoes like her ballerina sisters!
She cut tooth #7 last week! So she now has four on top and three on bottom and anything and everything goes straight into the mouth to get chewed on.
She very clearly understands the word "no" and she knows which things she can and can't have here at home. When she goes for something she can't have I just say her name in a stern tone and she backs off in a hurry!
She still isn't talking much although we are certain we've heard some "thank you" phrases and when we ask questions she says, "Yah!" Although Mommy is her go-to person for nearly everything she adores her Daddy! Throughout the day she will say, "Da-da? Da-da?" and when I tell her he is at work she usually stops asking. She lights up when he comes home! She also loves Noni to pieces and reaches for her whenever she comes over. She loves her sisters, but does not like to be re-directed. :) They have opposing views some of the time, but all three of them can make her smile and giggle on command.
It really is hard to believe we have a one year old! These babies just keep growing too fast for this Mommy!
Since she is too young for a birthday interview the girls and I wrote her a song...inspired by our upcoming venture into the Sound of Music. It's set to the tune of My Favorite Things.
Peaches Favorite Things
Sleepers and pjs,
Pureed sweet potatoes,
Squeakers and bath toys,
and boxes of Duplos.
Pianos and bright lights,
and sweatshirts with string.
These are a few of my favorite things.
Ceiling fans, monkey,
and books with bright pictures.
Mommy and Daddy,
and slobbery kisses.
Sisters and snuggles,
and the giggles they bring.
These are a few of my favorite things.
When I fall and...
bonk my head.
It makes me feel so sad.
I simply remember my favorite things.
And then I don't feel so baaaaad!
:)
Dear Peaches,
Thank you for bringing so much joy into our lives. You are our little ray of sunshine! Your grins and giggles, and "ooh"s and "ahh"s make my heart happy. You are such a smart little baby! Your whole family loves you to pieces. We can't wait for you to get up in the morning and we vie for the chance to get you out of your crib. Your sisters want to smother you with love and I'm sure you get tired of Mommy kissing your sweet, squishy cheeks a hundred times a day.
You have grown so much, and I can't wait to see how you grow and change in the coming year. I am so excited to see what God has in store for your future. I pray that He will bless you with a heart for Him and a desire to serve Him all of your life. I hope you learn, early on, that nothing else is worth living for but Him. You have an eternal purpose...to glorify God with your life. I can't wait to see what He is going to do through you!
Happy 1st birthday my precious baby. You mean more to me than I could ever say, and I love you so much I can hardly stand it. You are one of my biggest blessings and I am so very thankful for you. I love you sweet girl.
Love, Mommy
P.S. Stay tuned for Boo's birthday post later in the day!
Eye appointment the other day...she had such a slight change she didn't even need new lenses.
Nap strike!
Did I already show this picture? Snowman pancakes!
I don't think I showed these pictures...the first time I caught her standing!
And again at church.
I can't believe that one year ago today I had been practically bedridden for two months, in horrible pain, and still thinking I had a couple of weeks to go with this baby kicking me from the inside out. Little did I know that she would be arriving the next day...on her sister's birthday! That is still amazing to me. We sure have had a JOY-filled year with this sweet baby!
We had a wonderful Christmas break! We did some fun things, but we also spent a lot of time at home relaxing and just being together as a family. Most of that was due to Lego. A couple of years ago we decided to make a town layout with all the Lego buildings and got started, but Peanut was so little she destroyed it all faster than we could build it so we gave up. Now that she is older we decided to give it another go. We spent hours and hours in the basement over Christmas break.
Heading down!
I spent most of my time sorting. T and I even stayed up late and watched movies while sorting after the kids went to bed.
Uncle Jason and Aunt Heather gave them Home for Christmas and one night we plugged it in for them downstairs while we sorted.
Peaches was kept contained in her little area whenever we went down. The first couple of times she did great, but now she only last about half an hour before she gets fussy.
The town is coming along nicely. I'll have to post pictures soon!
T took off a week and a half, but on one of the days when he was still working Noni and I took the girls to paint pottery since we were already in town for their dentist appointment. We remain cavity free for all three!
Boo chose a reindeer (moose?) mug.
Peanut chose a Santa mug. She did so well! She sat here for over two hours painting happily on her little mug.
They both wanted their own special mug for when we drink hot chocolate.
Bug had a hard time deciding, but eventually went with the Nativity set. She went for an artistic feel and didn't give them any facial features. I think it turned out really well.
We have some bowls in this exact shape and I love them but they're getting a little chipped/worn so I decided for the next few years I'll paint a bowl every time we go. Blue was my first choice and on the inside I did 6 hearts for the 6 of us. :)
Here's how everything turned out. They did a great job!
Some of our friends didn't get to go ice skating because they were snowed in, so when they did make it out they came over to the Grange and the kids roller skated and biked around for an hour or so. Peaches was napping so I didn't get to go, but my friend sent me these pictures.
Haha!
Peanut got to attend an adorable birthday party on New Year's Eve. It was called Pancakes&Pajamas and they made pillow cases and cereal necklaces. She had a great time and came home talking all about it.
That night we had some friends over for dinner. They had to leave around 8 to get their little ones in bed so we didn't let the girls stay up, but T and I stayed up till midnight (as we did almost every night of the break) and listened to all the fireworks going off.
Fun at Noni's!
We had Chinese food at our favorite place on Aunt Wendy's last night before she went back home to California.
Lots of fun new memories. What a great Christmas break! Now we're back to school/work and plugging away towards summer!
