Annie's Birthday

Annie had her sixth birthday last week.  Here are six wonderful things about my girl: 1. She is very tender hearted.  2. She is smart.  3. She loves her family so much.  4. She is a hard worker.  5.  She is very helpful.  6. She is motivated.

She's been talking about dress up clothes a lot lately, so I saved half of the fabric from the project she made for her friend to make her this for playing dress up.

I had to stay up late to do it, but it was fun to make.  In all, it took about 2.5 hours.

She was excited to wear the church dress her grandma gave her the Sunday before her birthday.

We started her birthday fun by putting sprinkles on the kids' morning oatmeal.

That afternoon we made cookies for her to take to her dance class.  She was pretty excited to take a treat to share for her birthday.  After her class, we had cookies as a family and let her open her family gifts.

Alex was so excited to give her the bubbles he'd picked out.

I LOVE this picture because it's a rare capture of Alex's NATURAL handsome smile.

Thank you hugs...

Abby really liked Annie's presents, too.

We also gave her some store bought dress up items.  

Her party was the following Saturday.  She and I were both happy when I saw the idea for this cupcake dress.  I baked and decorated the whole thing in about an hour right before the party.  I was so glad it was simple because I was running way behind!

She was all decked out with her new dress and accessories.

Annie wanted a purely girl party, so we had some girly activities.  We fixed hair.

We painted nails.

Everyone made their own necklaces.

While those activities were going on, I helped all the girls make flower barrettes for their hair.  I was very grateful for the help of two of the girls' moms!

After the girls were as beautified as they wished, we took pictures.  They were all so cute.

Logan and Jim had been hiding upstairs during most of the party; I had to force Logan to come down for cake.  He didn't want to be around so many girls.  

We had a fun little photo shoot right before presents.

Alex decided he wanted to be in the pictures at the last minute.  

Happy Birthday Annie girl!  We love you so much!

Outdoor Play

Now that the weather has warmed up, we've been enjoying the fresh air.  It is SO nice to go outside!

On one of the very first days after the snow had mostly melted, we spent quite a while outdoors.  We set up the little slide set finally.

 We explored our property and found an old bird's nest on the silo.

While we were playing one of the kids shouted for us to look at the dog.  He was on TOP of the broken building!  (Yeah...we have some major outdoor projects now too.)

We played basketball.  Annie's hand-eye coordination is quite good.

Last we bird watched.  Thanks to our "woods" we have lots of birds.

The kids have been having so much fun playing outside, but today was the first time I've had Abby playing outdoors.  This was her first time enjoying a sand box.  She loved it.  She apparently liked the taste of it too.  After her first sample, she made a face and tried to spit it out, so I thought she'd learned.  So I was surprised that she tried it a second time and then a third!  Silly girl.

Alex's Birthday

Alex turned 4 a couple of weeks ago.  I say this every time a kid has a birthday, but I can't believe how fast the years are flying!  Here are four awesome things about my little guy: 1. He's hilarious.  2. He's a wonderful cuddler.  3. He loves to help me.  4. He is very affectionate.

On his birthday we made cookies together.

That evening we ate cookies and let him open his family gifts.  He was very excited about "my dollars" from his Aunt Sarah and my Nana.  He's been talking about his dollars constantly.  (We'll be having a date to spend them soon.)

Annie gave him bubbles.  This was pretty hilarious because when we took the kids shopping for each other, he chose bubbles to give to Annie and was really distraught that I wasn't buying him any.  Little did he know that Annie had already selected bubbles for him.

I love the hugs he gave everybody when he said thank you.

After he opened his presents, we sat back and watched them play with his new building set.

A couple of days later we had his party.  He wanted a train cake, so this is what I came up with.  This was my FIRST attempt to use a decorative frosting tip.  Other than the drippy '4', I thought it came out just fine.  Simple is my specialty.

His friend helped him blow out the candles.  Ha ha!

Mmmm...cake.

Other than cake and presents, he just played with his friends for the party.

 Happy Birthday Alex!  We're so glad you're part of our family!

Random Pictures

I'm playing catch up yet again.  :)

One morning I realized that Abby's crib needed to be lower.

All better.  She didn't think so, though; she looks like she wants out of jail.

About twenty times a day I look at my sweet little darling and think I need a picture of her.

Jim told Logan that he could earn $20 if he leveled this pile of dirt for us.  It's been slow going, but has provided the kids with all sorts of fun.

When the house gets quiet, I know that Alex is either no longer in the house, reading, or asleep.  He is my noisiest child by far.  It sure is nice when I find him like this.

Two days in a row was even better.

Again, I just needed a picture of my little sweetie.

And again...

Once everything melted outside, I couldn't wait to shave the dog.  We let his fur grow all winter because he's so little, but keep it short the rest of the year.  He's a ball of matted fur by the end of winter.  So here is before:

Afterwards, he looked like a different dog and seemed to have shrunk several sizes.

It's next to impossible to get a picture of Abby with her eyes open, in focus, and a smile.  I'll take two out of three.

Mother Son Date

Logan and I had a fun date last Saturday.  We were invited to his friend's baptism an hour away, so we combined that with some errands and extra fun.  It turned out well because we'd been wanting an excuse to visit Half Price Books down there.  After the baptism and going to lunch, we spent a long time in the bookstore.  Fun fun.  We came away with a nice load, too.

Pre-Birthdays

Alex and Annie have their birthdays coming up within the next nine days.  We spent last weekend with Jim's family, so we had an early family party with them.

Audrey put some creativity into a shared cake.  They each had special candles and chose sprinkles for their half.

We sang 'Happy Birthday' twice so they could blow out their candles separately.  Ha ha!

Their grandparents and aunt gave them some fun presents.  

Monthly Catch Up

I'm constantly promising myself to get back to my old 'regular' habits with blogging, but it doesn't seem to happen.  Ah well...perhaps someday.  Here's the catch up again.  :)

Annie created this outfit one day and felt very beautiful.  She wanted to know if she could wear it to church. 

March rolled around and we were STILL buried in two feet of snow.

Abby is the cutest little sweetheart.

Alex loves water, and so he loves to help me with the dishes.  He very meticulously rinsed the dishes with a washcloth this day, and it took a LONG time.

Jim and I were amused to see the kids hanging out one evening with the encyclopedias.  

Mom and Dad's bed is always a fun place to hang out.

March 10th was a day to remember this year.  The snow started MELTING!  The kids ran outside barefoot and danced around celebrating.  Annie was ridiculously excited about it.  She was saying, "It's hot outside!  It's like summer!  We can finally take down our Christmas lights!  (Yeah, it's been too cold to do that.)  Can we have a picnic outside?"  They did, indeed, have a picnic on the porch that day...barefoot...and without coats.

We had our very own pond for a few days while most of it melted.

Last week, Annie received her costumes for her dance recital; she is loving dance and we're excited for her recital in May.

We've also had several fun outings lately, so look for those posts on our other blog:
In Search of Truth and Wisdom

Kids Say

We were low on milk so Annie seriously suggested, "I think a robber has been coming when we're asleep and drinking our milk."
The conversation continued in a serious manner between the kids until Alex added, "I woke up and the robbers was going to fight me!  So I hopped upstairs and I hopped into bed!"

Alex, "I hear Dad at work!"  Me, "What's he doing?"  Alex, "He's talking to himself."  (FYI: Jim does NOT work at home.)

Alex, "I have wittle kisses for Abby while she still a baby."

Logan out of the blue, "Mom!  My wrist is a saddle joint!"  Me, "Where'd you learn that?"  Logan, "Out of a book!"  Of course...

Alex, "Is it 2 o'clock?"  Me, "Not yet.  What happens at 2 o'clock?"  Alex, "My birthday!'  Sadly, his birthday was still two weeks away, but his party really will be at 2 o'clock.

Alex randomly as he sunk to the floor, "I'm melting!  I'm melting!"

Alex, "I like this kind of house.  Yeah, because I like to walk everywhere in this house."

Alex in a public restroom, "Don't worry!  The pee didn't get on my pants, just the floor."  Then with a reassuring nod, "Somebody will clean it up."

While Alex was opening birthday presents Logan hopefully asked, "Does he have to share all his presents Mom?"