Happy 5th Birthday, Aubree!

Aubree is 5!!! To celebrate, we had a Cinderella themed birthday party. Here are the highlights:

The decorations included several carved pumpkins, including Cinderella's carriage, glittery pumpkin centerpieces made by Danielle, and magic wands.

My friend Shannon, who usually makes the beautiful yummy cakes decided to run a marathon instead of partying with us, so I was left to my own devices when it came to the cake. I have to say, I was pretty pleased.

We decorated pumpkins, and Cinderella herself came to party with us!

I tried to convince Aubree to turn 4 again, but she would not agree. She said next year she'll turn 5 again, so we'll see!

Happy Birthday, Aubree!!!!!

Here are 100 things to know about 5 year old Aubree:

1. After a lot of negotiation, Aubree got her ears pierced.
2. She cried when she got them pierced, but as soon as she saw the earrings, she stopped.

3. She loves all things girly, especially lip gloss.
4. She loves her high heels and gets many compliments on them.
5. She would wear a dress everyday, and especially loves long dresses. There is one specific orange dress she wore all summer. I had to hide it from her once it was washed so she didn’t wear it every other day.

6. She is a fantastic sharer, almost to a fault.
7. When I thank her for cleaning something up without being asked to, she will continue to clean up more things.
8. When she’s telling you something that happened in the past she will say it happened, “the other day.” If she’s talking about today, she will say “on this day?”
9. She wants to learn to read. Until then, she makes up her own words.
10. She likes to ask me how to spell things so she can write it down, then she’ll read the word back to me and say “I read it!”
11. She likes to wear my jewelry.
12. She likes to wear my shoes.
13. She is full of compliments. She is constantly telling me that my clothes, shoes, lipgloss, etc are all very pretty.
14. She gets shy when other people give her a compliment.
15. If something’s in her drawer, it’s automatically hers. Usually it’s something of Caura’s that was accidently put there.
16. She rarely matches her clothes when she picks them out herself. Usually it’s not stripes and polka dot combination, but a pink shirt with different color pink pants.
17. She is so happy and excited whenever anyone gives her a gift, she will say “I always wanted this!”
18. She is not very good at eating dinner.
19. She is not a dainty eater.
20. She cuddles her baby doll when she sleeps.
21. Her favorite thing to do outside is play in the playhouse.
22. She also loves to play in the sandbox, and she’s not afraid to get dirty.
23. She has the prettiest dark brown eyes I’ve ever seen.

24. She likes to give our cat, Ranger, a scoop of food.
25. She likes to very gently pet Ranger, and will pet him on his feet and then tell me that Ranger didn’t even scratch her.
26. She likes me to take pictures of her.
27. She loves to paint.
28. She is shy in a big group of girls, but has no problem playing with one or two boys.
29. She’s cautious.
30. She’d rather eat tuna or egg salad sandwiches without the bread.
31. She was so happy that Uncle Ben and Aunt Lindsay got her a fishing pole.

32. She likes to sit in Caura’s car seat when Caura’s not there.
33. She is often living in her own dream world. Where many kids will pretend that they are playing at the beach, I believe she transports herself to the beach and think she’s really there.
34. She has a hard time with abrupt change. For instance, being told to brush her teeth while she’s still reading a book.
35. She likes to change words in songs just to be funny. Then she looks at you with her eyebrows raised and waits for you to laugh.
36. She likes being a helper in Saige’s dance class.
37. She’s proud of Saige when Saige learns something new.
38. She really knows how to push Caura’s buttons.
39. She loves to give hugs and kisses.
40. She’s polite.
41. She’s patient.
42. She takes her time.
43. She likes to drink from re-useable water bottles.
44. She’s very proud that she learned how to fold clothes.
45. She’s happy when I tell her she can wipe down the cabinets or baseboards.
46. She likes to wind up the vacuum cord when I’m finished with it.
47. She loves to play in sand ,dirt, rocks, mulch, etc, everywhere we go.
48. She wears her Easter dress any chance she gets.
49. She sings all the time.
50. She likes to sing “Via DeLaRosa” , especially during the Spanish part (but has no clue what the words actually are).
51. For her birthday, she wanted “everything that Caura got for her birthday.”
52. She likes to dance, and really likes dance class.
53. She is cuddly.
54. She swims under water pretty well, but has a hard time swimming over water.
55. She recently asked me to call her “Pud” again, the name I called her when she was 1-2 years old.
56. She loves to over-accessorize.
57. She would live in a costume if I let her.

58. She likes to wear her hair in a bun.
59. She loves to play with imagination toys, such as pretend restaurant or doctor’s office.
60. If she’s playing with the shopping cart, she’ll say she’s playing “Shop Rite.”
61. She likes to look at the wild animals outside, and likes to tell me what they’re doing.
62. Her favorite color is Hot Pink.
63. She doesn’t stick to favorites very much, you could ask her what her favorite show, food, etc. is and every day she’d give you a different answer.
64. She likes to eat on a big plate and drink from a big cup (meaning not the plastic children’s plates and cups).
65. If you give her and Caura cups, she will want to compare them to see which is bigger or wider.
66. She gets very excited when she finds out a show she likes has a new episode.
67. She does not like water to drip in her face in the bath, she will yell for a towel.
68. She is often a loner.
69. She likes me to skip with her when we’re out in public.
70. She likes to swing “superman” style on the swings.
71. She will often seek negative attention if she’s not getting positive attention.
72. Out of all my Girls, she is the most “free spirited.”
73. She doesn’t like when Danny watches sports, especially football.
74. She likes to brush her hair with my comb or my “soft”brush.
75. She is growing up and likes older kid shows like Good Luck Charlie, but still likes shows like Dora and will answer the questions.
76. She calls obstacle courses “apple” courses.
77. She likes “dippy”eggs.
78. Her favorite treat is ice cream, she likes to turn it into ice cream soup.
79. She likes to make Uncle Danny’s Grumpy Face.

80. She’s a little actress. I love when she plays the Big Bad Wolf, and the Lumberjack from Little Red Riding Hood.
81. She can sing several Keith Urban and Audio Adrenaline songs.
82. She likes to take selfies.

83. She likes to watch Caura play computer games.
84. She likes to know the order of who woke up first.
85. She played the “Dead Girl” in the passion play.
86. She likes to make up songs and play her pink guitar.
87. She made up a song about Stompeez (Slippers) where she sang “I love them…I love them…Mommy’s not letting me have them, but I have them already. I love Stompeez.”
88. She likes to wear a blanket while eating breakfast at the little table.
89. She cut a chunk of her own bangs this year.
90. She loves to look at past year’s photo books.
91. She doesn’t mind when Saige crawls into bed with her. She says, “If I’m scared, I just hug Saige.”
92. She likes to do yoga.

93. She likes to play hide and seek with Saige.
94. She got her first bee sting, and got very swollen.
95. She likes to play in the sink.
96. She likes to try to blow up balloons.
97. She likes to give people pretend food to eat.
98. She wants her blanket spread out completely.
99. She likes to spin in her dresses.

100. She’s really cool, but doesn’t care if other people think so or not.

Caura The Happy Birthday Fairy

Caura is seven! To celebrate, we had a Rainbow Magic Birthday Party.

There are 7 Party Fairies, 7 colors of the rainbow, and 7 years that Caura has been on this Earth.

We put up Rainbow themed decorations.

Served Rainbow themed food.

Had fun with a Rainbow Pinata.

Had a delicious Cherry the Cake Fairy cake.

Made a Caura the Happy Birthday Fairy poster.

And had a super fun party! We painted nails, put on tattoos, launched flying balloons, opened presents, and of course, jumped on the trampoline. Rainbow Magic Birthday party was a success!

Happy Birthday, Caura!

Here's a little bit about 7 year old Caura:

1. She wants to know everything about everyone, their birthday, if they have kids, if they have pets.
2. She doesn’t want to disappoint anyone.
3. She wants to know about people in other countries.
4. She finds it strange that not everyone goes to church.
5. She likes to buy her lunch once a week.
6. She likes to know what time it is at all times.
7. She wants to know exactly how long it will take to get somewhere, and how long we will be there.
8. When you ask her what time it is, she’ll tell you the exact time, no estimates.
9. She feels special when I let her stay up to watch Wheel of Fortune.
10. She tells me that she’s going to be a really good Mommy.
11. She’s a comfort to Saige when Saige is crying.
12. She loves to play soccer.
13. She started her first grade year at an “end of 2nd grade reading level.”
14. She doesn’t like when people miss-pronounce her name, but also feels shy about correcting them. She instead just complains to me that I gave her a hard name.
15. She loves to read. All day long, whenever she can, especially the Rainbow Magic book series.
16. She got her hair cut short like me.
17. She can do more things herself this year, like make her own PB&J sandwich.
18. She can make friends anywhere.
19. When she comes home from school, she asks “what are we doing today?”
20. When she comes home from school, she also asks what the rest of us did that day.
21. As we pass by houses of people she knows, she has to point them out and tell us who lives there.
22. She really wants to go to a concert.
23. She is very giggly with her friends.
24. She’s always looking for rainbows, and when she spots a rainbow, she gets really excited and says, “That’s a promise from God.”
25. She has lost 8 teeth.
26. She finally likes strawberries.
27. She finally likes tacos.
28. She loves Sour Cream and Onion Potato Chips.
29. She is modest now.
30. She gets upset when you do something differently than the way she’s used to.
31. She’s very good with road directions.
32. She points out cars that look like family members’ cars.
33. Her favorite part of our Maine Vacation was that there was a hot tub at the house.
34. She still points out airplanes.
35. She really likes being with the older kids in Junior Church.
36. She comments on current conditions, like “Oooh, this road sure is bumpy.”
37. She loves Good Luck Charlie and Jessie.
38. She can sing all the songs to Teen Beach Movie
39. She wants to bring a stack of books in the car every time we go out, even if it’s just for 5 minutes.
40. She’s in Jazz and Tap for dance this year. She did great during her last recital, she remember most of the moves.
41. She’s very proud of Saige when she does a big girl thing, like sleep in a regular bed.
42. She suggested that all three sisters sleep together in one room.
43. She still would rather wear a dress than pants.
44. She likes fancy shoes.
45. She loves wedding shows.
46. She wants to go to the Dress shops on the wedding shows when she gets married.
47. She has discovered mini golf, and loves it!
48. When I turn off a song or show she’ll ask me if I turned it off because it was inappropriate.
49. She likes to play games on the computer, and can work it without any help.
50. She loves cantaloupe and pineapple.
51. She is usually the first kid up every morning.
52. She waits until her clock says 7:00am before she can get up.
53. She sleeps with a stuffed elephant named, Ellie.
54. She runs to her bus and runs off her bus every day.
55. She’s pretty compliant.
56. She has a teacher’s pet personality.
57. When she’s excited about something, she’s SUPER loud and excited.
58. She likes Toby Mac, Newsboys, and Audio Adrenaline.
59. Her favorite show is America’s Funniest Home Videos.
60. She likes to smell the scratch and sniff on Yankee Candle Catalogs.
61. She desperately hopes every day that she gets mail.
62. When she runs during soccer, she crosses her fingers.
63. She likes learning motions to songs.
64. She loves to do crafts.
65. She likes to sit with “Uncle” Jason during worship at Church.
66. She points out that a song on is one we sing at Church.
67. She loves having water balloon fights.
68. She can swim in the deep end.
69. She can swim underwater.
70. She can jump off the diving board!
71. I can still get cuddles in with her.
72. Every morning she asks Danny if he will make her pancakes, because she knows she has a better chance of him making them than me.
73. She likes to be in charge of the remote.
74. She loves parties and wants to know the theme and what activities we’re going to do there.
75. She was the “screaming girl” in the Passion Play this year, and next year would like to be a Servant girl.
76. She loves to sing the Passion Play songs over and over.
77. She likes to run up the slide.
78. She can catch a chicken very quickly.
79. If she’s wearing heels and someone wants to take a picture of her, she’ll pose in a way that shows off her heels.
80. When a song comes on, she wants to know who the singer is, and if it’s a band, she wants to know the band member’s names.
81. She noticed that when she eats McDonald’s, it hurts her stomach.
82. She sleeps with an alarm clock in her bed.
83. She still doesn’t drink soda. She tried it, but didn’t like it. She said it stung her mouth.
84. She won’t eat eggs anymore, but loves egg salad sandwiches.
85. She loves to get her face painted.
86. She likes to be a helper.
87. Every day she asks what we’re having for dinner, but usually complains about it.
88. She loves roller coasters.
89. She had absolutely no problems holding the cicadas at camp, but cries at stink bugs.
90. She’s gotten pretty good at throwing a Frisbee.
91. She likes to point out that Ranger (cat) was my first baby.
92. She likes to “work” at Nanny and Grandpop’s greenhouses, and gets very excited when she gets a tip.
93. She still likes to mow grass with Dan on the riding mower.
94. She hunts out “wishies” (dandelions).
95. She gets upset if she doesn’t get 100 on her test.
96. She does not like football or that Dan watches it.
97. She likes cards that “sing.”
98. She sings all the time.
99. She likes to roast marshmallows, but doesn’t like to eat them.
100. She is 7 years old, and no longer has baby features, but she will always be my first baby!

Running with the Potty Princess

I want to be one of those people who love (or even just like) to run. When I was in high school, a friend of mine asked me to start running with her. Knowing that she was there waiting for me was the usually the only reason that I would actually go to run. Now, at 32 years old I decide I want to run again, so I asked my friend and neighbor, Ashley, if she wanted a running buddy, as I have seen her running in the neighborhood. She said it was perfect timing as she was wanted to start running again. After the third run, my knees started to hurt. This is probably not the first time a runner at any level has had knee pain, so I was hoping it was just my body getting used to running and in a day it would subside. Five days later, they still hurt (in a get out of bed and have to hold on to something because of the pain). In those five days, it occurred to me that when I was a kid I used to have to wear orthotics in my shoes when ever I participated in any athletic event, and that was probably one of the reasons I was now in pain. (I have also gotten tips on stretches and good running shoes).

This week, we have VBS at my church. We're going into day three and it has been such a blessing to me! It is so encouraging, and everyone is having fun and learning "Who Is Jesus?" During prayer request time last night, I was told that Aubree asked for prayer for me because my knees hurt after I ran with the Potty Princess (played by Ashley, with a tiara and toilet brush as a scepter collecting pennies to build potties in Guatemala). It was so funny, but it reminded me of the sweetness of Aubree and also that she is observant and does have a clue to what's going on, when I think she's mostly in her own little dream world.

I was very happy to tell Aubree this morning that my knees felt better. For five days I've had the same level of pain, today I woke up and they felt better, still sore but definitely better. She was so happy to hear her prayer had been answered. God is a great listener to little voices in prayer!

Babies Are Sweet!

Danny's Brother and Sister-In-Law, Ben and Lindsay, are having their first baby, due September 11th! We were so excited to hear the news. Yesterday, we held a Baby Shower for her. Here are some pictures of the day.

The shower was a success! Lindsay even prepared a speech where she shared a little about her Mom giving her the strength to be a good Mom, and also a way to thank everyone she worked with and those who planned her shower. She even gave the planners a very pretty charm bracelet as a thank you. She may not even realize how much she is like her Mom. Her Mom did the same thing at Lindsay's bridal shower, giving out a little gift bag of goodies to all the girls who planned the shower. Last week when I was looking for a gift bag, I found the bag from the bridal shower. The tag was still attached, and Nancy wrote "you are a gift to me." Of course, I cried, but I was also so happy that I didn't throw this little note out all those years ago. It's something I will treasure now.

I know that Lindsay and Ben will be great parents, they are already a fantastic Aunt and Uncle to my daughters. There baby is already so loved, and we can't wait until September when he or she arrives!!!!

A Pink and Green "Floo Floo" Party.

Saige turned two, and of course, I had to throw a big party for her. I don't know if "floo floo" has a real definition, but it seemed to describe the theme well!

The Decorations



The Cake



The Pink Lemonade Stand (I asked Danny, "Hey, can you build a lemonade stand for the party?" "I guess. What do you want it to look like?" I showed him a picture. This is what he came up with!)



The Photo Props



My Beautiful Birthday Girl