Celebrating 5!

This handsome little man of ours turned FIVE last Friday.

Five.

Excuse me while a go cry a moment.

..........................................................................

OK, I'm back.

This sweet, lovable, ball of fire is so much fun. It is almost midterm of the first half of school and we can't believe how much progress he has made already. He is doing much better with color, number & letter recognition and can write his name on his own. He loves riding the bus and attending school. His love for his sister is steadfast and unchanging. He goes where she goes and does what she does. This is both good and bad as I'm sure you can imagine.

He loves playing in the yard or out front and has become quite the proficient rider on his razor scooter. He learned how to ride his bike without training wheels way back on Mother's Day but hasn't shown any interest in riding again since then. Go figure.

Dawson loves to be his Daddy's helper. The morning of his birthday the two of them spent in the front flower beds trimming back the rose bushes, ornamental grass and {gasp} pulling out all the mums.

Ms. Kiersten baked and decorated Lego sugar cookies for both Dawson's classroom celebration as well as his party that evening at the park. 

(I'm hungry for one right now as I look at that photo)

We had a small party/celebration at Black Hoof Park Friday evening with just a handful of friends.

Dawson with two of his classmates, Dexter & Brandon. Oh, Dexter buddy. That face!

Little man had a short wish list this birthday. It consisted of a dream lite (see above picture and his excitement), a replacement DS, a robot toy and a new remote control car or truck. He received each of those as well as added to his Lego collection.

This was the face we got when he opened his "new" DSI, case & Lego game. He was thrilled to say the least.

I do my best to remind D often that although he is getting bigger and isn't the baby of the family anymore that he is and always will be our baby boy. He soaks it up when he hears us say it. I'll continue carrying him to bed and letting him crawl up in my lap as long as it will last! 

We love you Boo! Happy 5 years little dude!

Meadow Lane Jogathon 2012

Gabi participated in her elementary school's annual Jogathon fund raiser event and her very first Spirit Squad performance on Tuesday night.Unfortunately I didn't take any photos of her Spirit Squad performance. I did intend to video it as Travis had to work BUT the video camera battery was completely dead and the video clip I did manage to take with my phone a goliath of a girl was standing right in front of her blocking her.

Our 2nd grade beauty running her heart out. She had a difficult time this year due to her allergies and associated asthmatic cough. She did her best while not pushing herself too hard.

A concerned Papa encouraged Gabs to take a break for a drink of water. Gabrielle enjoyed having Papa join her on a several laps. They walked them because of Papa's bad knee.

Little Miss was right in the mix of all the action. She didn't miss the opportunity to keep up with the bigs on the playground equipment, watch all the girls perform with the Spirit Squad or join in the running during the jogathon. She was right in the middle of it all. Maybe a little too much so :)

Gabrielle with her amazing teacher, Ms. Mary Williams.

Just Me & Little Miss

Well hello! This little blog break of mine hasn't been intentional. I've just been occupying my time with other things. You know like relishing in the peace & quiet of the afternoons while #1 & #2 are off at school and baby girl is fast asleep; catching up on reading (I'm currently doing two Bible study plans via You Version, a Beth Moore Bible study with the women's ministry at church, a marriage growth group study & reading another marriage related book with my mentor. That equals a lot of reading!); doing LOTS of childcare; cleaning, purging & reorganizing the playroom, laundry room & Gabrielle's bedroom; and most importantly enjoying this little ball of fire.

McKenna maneuvers her way into the exercauser and does one of two things. She either bounces like a mad child which creates an unbelievable level of noise or she spins herself dizzy twisting herself round and round. I caught a short little clip on video the other day because it really is a sight to see. If I were on top of things I would post the clip here. Use your imagination.

She has SO much personality for such a little thing. She is a going to be a trouble maker fo'sure. We can't seem to keep her off of the kitchen table and island and she is constantly getting into drawers, closets, oh and the most fun - the toilet. Gross! She'll even find stray razors and chew on them. True story. She continues to be a terrific eater and has mastered hitting the pantry door whilst demanding "Snack, please!" until we oblige.

How can you say no to these beautiful blue eyes? This momma finds it difficult to do.

These pictures are over a month old, but I wanted to include this photo to show how much her hair has grown. It is a mop of curls when it is wet. She is thee absolute cutest with a high ponytail or pigtails, but we don't do it often as they don't last.  

Baby girl,

My love for you is a crazy one! You are such a joy and delight. I lay in bed at night and often say to your daddy how I wished I could go into your room and swoop you up to snuggle in bed with us because I am not one bit eager for you to grow out of being a baby. Some of my current favorites with you are singing the B.I.B.L.E. song, the ABC's and most recently teaching you to count. You don't have the vocabulary that your siblings had at your age, but you have more than your fair share of words. You have started calling me "Mommy" versus "Momma" and my heart melts a little each time I hear you say it. You've also begun to call Gabrielle "Gabi" and call out for her often. Dawson is now "Daw" or "Bubby" instead of bubba and Micah has become "Maa." If I were to ask your Mema what her favorite thing is right now she would say when she sings to you, you press your head tight into her chest as if you are listening to the words from her heart versus those coming out of her mouth. You love loud music and dancing, food and Quila. Oh Quila ... if we had a quarter for every time you say her name, your college fund would be fat :) You are fiercely independent, fun loving, smiling and belly laughing most of the time but in keeping things real ... 

 When you get mad ...

You let it be known!

Love you Sunshine!! Forever and Always!

Mommy