{7up}

Little Miss Lauren turned 7! She's getting so old!  We celebrated with cupcakes at school with her class, pedicures with her friend who shares the same birthday {and almost the exact same birth time!} and then cake and ice cream at home with family.  Dean made her cake {definitely not a talent for either of us} and she was excited for the sparkly pink frosting.  She opened some fun presents and had an all around pretty fabulous 7th birthday!  We sure love our sweet & sassy little 7 year old!

 

 

{My Mom's Birthday}

My mom turned 60 this year and we knew we needed/wanted to do something special for her.  We knew that the traditional surprise party was not the answer.  In fact I am pretty sure she would have severed all ties with us, written us out of her will and ran away, had we thrown her a surprise party. {I hardly blame her. I despise surprises just as much!}  Then I remembered this idea I saw online {HERE}, the others liked it, so we went with it!

It is almost like a surprise party in a box, without the awkwardness of a room full of people staring at you!  We contacted everyone we could think of that knew my mom; people from all stages of her life.  Then we asked them to send us their favorite memory of her or just a fun birthday message.  I then compiled all 60 of them in envelopes and this awesome box.  We then presented her with the box of 60 Years worth of Memories of her.  I cried through every letter that was sent to me and she wasn't immune to the tears either.  I know it is hard for people to actually put into writing about how they feel about another person, so we sincerely appreciate everyone's willingness to participate in the gift. It was worth it.  She loved it! Because my dad and Bradley headed to Bagdad Christmas night, she opened the present before they left.  Then on her birthday us ladies went to eat at Olive Garden.   Fun girl time!  We are lucky to have mom.  She is a wonderful person and I hope that she now realizes how much we all love her!

I made a few scrapbook pages to go along with the stories.  A picture is worth a 1,000 words!

{The Big 4}

Kylee Sue celebrated her 4th birthday! When I asked her what kind of birthday party she wanted, she picked having all the family over for Birthday Breakfast!  She wanted pancakes with chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, whipped cream and a side of bacon!  It was fun to celebrate with breakfast instead of cake and ice cream!  The family gave her the Little People Princess castle {A gift Mom was probably more excited about that the Birthday Girl!} and Grandma and Grandpa hooked her up with all the princesses to go with it!

We really are lucky to have Miss Kylee Sue.  She sure adds humor to our little house.  Her current nickname is Merida.  Not only does she have the same spunk and determination, the girl looks the part.  Kylee is learning more each day.  Somehow she has managed to learn her numbers, abc's, days of the week, colors, etc. etc. without much work on our part.  She has a memory like a steal trap, but her retention is not limited to book learning.  Kylee is the queen at quoting movies & memorizing song lyrics.  

She loves wearing dresses & purple crocks, watching movies, making messes, going to grandmas, playing barbies, princesses & polly's, white ice cream, playing outside, being with her daddy, buckling her own seat belt, laughing and making others laugh, cheerios for breakfast, juice boxes for lunch, taking showers without getting wet {she always manages to skip the washing part}, going to her primary class, dreaming about going to preschool, reading books, getting her picture taken, not going to bed on time, not getting her hair done, asking questions, smiling, technology, her sisters, and just being happy! We love our Kylee!

{Gettin' Old}

Dean celebrated his 33rd Birthday this year.  With his birthday just a week before Christmas, he tends to be forgotten or jipped! This year, I decided that was not going to happen.  So I planned out the 12 Days of Christmas for him, in hopes he would feel extra love from us this year.  Each day he got a number-coordinated gift.  For the day of his birthday {day 5} we took  5 birthday balloons to him at work, just what he wanted I'm sure.  Then of course we gave him a few other fun gifts, I hope he liked.  For birthday cake, he chose Holy Cow Cake {we use toffee bits instead of butterfinger-it's delicious} and we invited all the family over to celebrate, eat cake and open presents.

We sure love Dean.  We are lucky to have him.  He works hard to take care of our little family.  He's the motivation behind all the good things we do and he's always trying to do better, be better.  The girls already think he is the greatest thing ever.   I still crack up how all 3 of them run for the door when they hear the garage open at the end of the day {no one does that when I come home!}.  When Bailey gets upset, it's Daddy she screams for, whether he's home or not.  It's daddy they want to sit by, be with, spend time with, laugh with and play with.  I don't blame them.  I feel the same way, it just so happens I'm 4th in line!

Happy Birthday Dean! We Love You!

{Baby Bailey}

Our little baby girl turned one!  She's growing like a weed!  I took her for her one year check up and of course all the doctor could talk about was how big she is! Her height was in a higher percentile but nothing crazy.  However, her weight and size of her head were off the charts!!

One Year Stats
27.5 pounds
30.5 inches long
19 inch head

Otherwise, she is healthy and happy.  She has her 8 front teeth, with 2 molars coming in on top.  This obviously leads to a lot of tears and sleepless nights, but for the most part she is one happy little girl! She loves to play, clap, read stories, be outside, eat your food, play in the toilet, drink through a straw, throw Farar Fits, give you dirty looks and make messes!  It's so fun to watch her own little personality show through, the older she gets.   

For her birthday we had the family over for cake and ice cream.  She had a good time digging right into her piece of cake.  She got some fun gifts and had a good time playing with all the kids!

{The Big 6}

After Lauren was born,  I remember spending the first few days {or weeks or months} of her life, sitting in the rocking chair, holding her, wondering what in the world I was going to do with this little person.  I remember the panic I felt as I realized we were suddenly completely responsible for another human being, who was totally incapable of caring for herself {Sometimes I still feel that x3}.   I remember leaving the hospital wondering why they would just let us take this baby and leave?!  {Surely they could tell we had no clue what we were doing!}  Now six {yes, I said SIX} years later my little baby girl isn't so little anymore, although I still sit in the rocking chair and hold her.

Lauren is the best little girl.  She is so loving and kind; an obedient little girl and a great helper.  She knows how to push Kylee's buttons, but protects and loves her just like a big sister should.  She so badly wants to be able to play with Bailey and loves to hold her.  She is a good, thoughtful friend to her friends at school and church.  She is smart, witty, feisty, funny, and happy.  She has a very sensitive heart and wears it on her sleeve.  She has a great memory {like a steel trap!} and loves to play, sing and  dance around!  She  would change her clothes 10 times a day if I let her, adding makeup and accessories.  She will never own enough shoes {like her Daddy} and would spend all day crafting & creating if she could {like her Mommy}. She loves school, learning and growing up!

I had to explain to her a few times that she was not having a party this year {we will probably only do them on ages 5-8-12-16}.  However, once she learned we were taking a treat to her class she was elated!  Since another mom was bringing cupcakes for her daughter who had the same birthday, we brought cookies!  She was crowned the birthday girl and passed out the cookies.  A few of her friends gave her cards or pictures and one gave her a BFF necklace!  So cute!

 That evening we had the family over for cupcakes and ice cream!  She received a lot of fun gifts {ie she was spoiled!} and had a blast playing with her cousins!

We love our Big {SIX} year old Lauren and look forward to another great year!!

{Grandma's Birthday}

Grandma Beth celebrated her xxth birthday. I will keep the actual birthday number concealed, but just know she's old! {hahah--love you Mom!} We went to a pizza place for lunch that had a room where we could eat away from the general public {A nice thing to do when you have 6 crazy kids with you!}.

The Birthday Girl:


The kids had fun helping open all of Grandma's presents:


Grandma with the quilt that I made for her:






One of these is not like the others:


We sure love Grandma Beth and love that she likes spending her birthday with us!

{I'm Three}

A few days before Kylee's birthday, we started telling her it was almost her birthday and that she would soon be 3. She tried so hard to figure out how to make just three fingers stay up! When her birthday finally came, she was so excited. She went around all day saying "It's my birthday!" By the end of the day, she had mastered the 3 finger hold!

Kylee helped make her own cake. She picked the sprinkle cake, with purple frosting and sprinkles on top!


After birthday dinner {pizza-her choice} all the cousins and grandmas and grandpas came over to celebrate and eat cake and ice cream.



Then came the presents! She had tons of helpers when it came to getting all that wrapping paper off!





She received many fun presents from everyone, including: legos, a puzzle, a princess toy cd player, new shoes, a stroller and baby carrier, a movie, a helmet and a new bike!



She was so excited to get her very own bike like Lauren's! One that is just her size that she can actually ride!

We sure love our Kylee Sue. I can hardly believe that sweet little girl is already 3! She is so loving and happy. She has a wild imagination and I love to listen to her play and pretend. She has a very tender heart and a short temper! She acts timid and shy when she doesn't know you and crazy and loud when she does. She is a very patient little sister and a gentle and sweet big sister. She is her own person for sure. I look forward to the years ahead, watching her grow and change, but I am holding on, with all I've got, to this fleeting 3 year old moments.

{Five}

Lauren turned 5 this month! I finally gave in and agreed to let her have a party. She picked Pinkalicious as her theme. All the girls came dressed in pink, pink and more pink! They played pin the cherry on the cupcake and musical chairs {I read the book instead of playing music-they had to sit every time I said pink}. Then the girls decorated their pink cupcakes, made a pink bracelet and got their nails painted pink! There was a lot of girls and a lot of pink!









Then on her actual birthday, we had the rest of the family come over for cake and ice cream. Lauren opened more fun presents and played and played.

Birthday Muffins:


She even got a package in the mail from Aunt Ashley!:








I can't believe my little baby girl is already 5! F-I-V-E! She is ready and excited to start Kindergarten in the fall {I on the other hand am not too sure!}. She is a sweet {and feisty} little girl and we are so grateful she is ours!

{Old Man}

Dean celebrated another birthday this month. Unfortunately it was nothing spectacular. Dean says he is used to that. Sadly that is one of the realities of a birthday that falls the week before Christmas. {But one of these years I will blow his socks off with a birthday extravaganza!}

He opened his present and then went on a date with his wonderful, spectacular wife...


I don't know it could get any better than that!! :)

We sure love our Daddy {or "Daddy Dean" as Kylee likes to call him}! We are lucky to have him!
Happy Birthday Dean!

{It's My Party}

Early Sunday morning Lauren woke up with the flu.
It was not pretty!

I kept her home from church and she was fine all day Sunday and Sunday night.

Monday morning when Lauren woke up I asked her:
Me: Lauren how old are you?
Lauren: {with the sweetest grin} Four! And I am not sick!

And she was right! My baby went to sleep 3 years old, but woke up 4 {How does that happen??}! She was so worried that she would wake up and be sick on her birthday! But she didn't!

Monday morning her daddy made her pancakes for breakfast just like she wanted.
Then she made her strawberry cake with strawberry frosting with her daddy just like she wanted.


Then she decorated the house with me just like she wanted.
Then all her family came to celebrate just like she wanted!
Just as the first people were arriving, Lauren threw up all over my bathroom because she said the smell of my new air freshener was gross! {Remember THIS} Nice!

But the party continued!

Everyone had cake:










She opened her presents and played with her cousins:




And was totally surprised {and embarrassed} when she saw her new bike!


Then she threw up all over the kitchen floor!
It was a great way to end the party!

{Apparently she was still sick after all! I couldn't believe it! I felt bad for having all those people over and prayed they wouldn't get sick! So far so good!}

She ended the birthday festivities the next day at her 4 year check-up with 4 vaccinations!

Let's just hope turning 5 is better than turning 4, or she may quit growing up!
{Ok--wait--that could be a good thing!}