Ella's 5th Birthday

Our little one turned 5 on May 16th.  Seriously, I can't believe Ella is 5.  I have very mixed emotions about 5.  It's wonderful to see your little one grow up, but so very bitter sweet.  Ella you are a precious child in every sense of the word.  You have brought so much joy to our family.  I can honestly say that in 5 years we've never had a day where you didn't give us something to smile about.  You are a beautiful, sweet little girl & have many friends.  Everyone at school & you meet loves you.   You dance through life.  If I could remember a snapshot about the person you are at 5, I would remember you skipping & dancing through Disney telling us that everyday was the "best day ever!"  You love life, you always have & I pray you always will.  You see the best in everything.  Your favorite show is Paw Patrol & this year we made a cake the day before your birthday to enjoy at home....Paw Patrol of course.  You love your kitten & call him "Pumpkin Wumpkin".  You enjoy coloring.  You really love doing anything outside.  Frisbee & soccer are your 2 favorite activities when you are not riding your Frozen bike.  You & Jessica really enjoy spending time with our little neighbor Corbin.  He's kind of a surrogate brother for the two of you & you look forward to playing together in the evenings or on weekends.  This was a special birthday for you because Daddy likes to make your 5th birthday a big one by giving you your 1st big girl Bible.  You are the popular girl in your Pre-k class especially with the boys because you are not afraid to get dirty & to dig for worms with them.  You favorite food is fruit & mac & cheese and for a treat you love gummies of any kind.  You do have a strong willed side & occasionally throw a tantrum to get your way, but are, thankfully, almost always good.  I love being your mommy & am so proud of the little girl you are.  You were showered with gifts this year & got many paw patrol related item, including light up sandals, new summer clothes, you got other goodies too including puppy surprise, which you had been asking for since Christmas.  It was a wonderful birthday & you said you had the "best birthday ever."

The day before your birthday with your Paw Patrol cake

Opening gifts

Her big girl Bible

Mother's Day 2016

Love these little ones more than they will ever know!  Blessed to be called their mom :)

Michael's 43rd

Dear blog, I'm sorry, but I don't have very much time in this season of my life to write.  We're busy & enjoying so much.  Michael celebrated 43 on May 9th.  We kept it simple this year with dinner at home & a homemade raspberry pie....made by yours truly.  The girls were thrilled to pick out cards for daddy this year and to "help" make his pie.  It was a simple, but sweet celebration at home.  Love you Michael!

Art show 2016

Tonight was a big night for Ms. Jessica....the 2016 art show at her school.  Of course, Jessica was over the moon excited to show us all of her exhibits.  She kept saying, "it's a big night."  She gladly took me & Ella through all the areas of the school & proudly found each of her little projects.  So proud of the creative, happy girl she is at 6.

Her snail sculpture, which was in the library, she told me numerous times not to touch it...since it's fragile ;)

Her mouse drawing, she said she didn't think I'd like it since I don't like mice

The glow in the dark hearts....it was pretty big in her world

Her jungle

Jessica's 6th Birthday

This weekend we celebrated Jessica Marie's 6th birthday! 6 is a big step for Jessica as she will be starting full-day school next year (her Kindergarten program has been 1/2 day this year with afterschool enrichment on the days I work).  No matter how much I'm not ready for this next step, she certainly is ready.  She's grown up so much this year with starting Kindergarten.  She reasons & thinks on a much more complicated level & we are always amazed by her quick wit & sense of humor.  Jessica is our observer & so creative.  She loves to play dress up & use her imagination.  She continues to be strong-willed, but her temperament has mellowed as she has gotten a little older.....thankfully.  She is reading stage 1 & simple stage 2 books (the books with many repeating words).  She loves math, although, she doesn't like math homework.  She's always telling me..."Math is....SO easy!"  Jessica is our force of nature child!  We are mostly getting the hang of directing her "force" to productive things rather than wild behavior.  She recently decided to stop gymnastics & to "focus on her music", which in her words "is her thing."  She has told us several times she would like to play violin....her father is thrilled.  It has always been his dream that the girls play violin.  For months now, Jessica has been asking to have her ears pierced for her 6th birthday, so that's precisely what we did.  Additionally, Michael's mom came to surprise her.  My parents spoiled her with a box full of goodies, namely many beautiful dresses.  She had a great day....Jessica awoke to balloons in her room.  She came down to open her gifts from my parents, then she headed to school to take in her treat for her class.  She could not take in food, but we came up with little bags with pencils, erasers, & bubbles for each child in her class.  She got her birthday crown & her class sang to her.  Once school was finished she wanted a happy meal, which we rarely do, but she got that & we returned home to find grandma waiting for us.  Jessica was totally shocked & asked "who is that at our house?" when she saw grandma.  She soon realized it was her grandma & ran to see her.  We all headed out for the big event, getting Jessica's ears pierced.  Jessica picked out the cutest little blue flower earrings for her starter set.  She was nervous, but sat really well for the ladies to pierce her ears.  I had told her beforehand that there would be a pinch, with tears in her eyes, she said, "Mommy that was not a pinch, that hurt really bad".   After 2 min. she was totally fine & happy to have her new earrings in place, it was a big day!  We returned home to open more gifts.  Grandma/Grandpa showered her with many unicorn themed gifts including a beautiful unicorn music box to hold all of her new earrings.  Daddy, of course, spoiled his little daughter & presented her with beautiful aquamarine earrings for her 1st set of real earrings.  They are gorgeous & she was thrilled.  That night we let her choose our place to eat, she chose Applebee's & was delighted when they gave her a small sundae & sang to her in the restaurant.  We came home to eat her requested cookies & cream ice cream birthday cake.  She loved every minute of the day & being the center of attention.  She gave me a big hug that night & said it was her best birthday yet!  Bitter sweet day for me as I know she's a real big girl now, but so proud at the same time.  Happy Birthday to our oldest daughter, we are so proud of the young lady you are becoming! 

Blue earrings in place, she's pretty proud of this big step