Happy Birthday, Addie!

The morning dawned bright and crisp! Addie, sadly, was SO excited to start being 5, she woke up early and was a tad bit grumpy in the morning... But she ended up happy by the time of her party, then took a great nap, and ended the day happy as a clam- whew!

A little sad at her choice of donut- how you can go wrong with a Dunkin Donut, I'm not sure, but she was sure sad.

But after a few bites, she was happy- whew!

Opening her gift from Mommy and Daddy- matching outfit for her and Rosie Kyla

Ready for our guests- pretty princesses (and 2 princes, too)

My pathetic attempt at making a castle cake. When I was getting ready this morning, Addie happily announced that she had finished decorating the cake- putting the princesses in a circle around the 5 candle.

Busy coloring and putting on Princess jewelry

The whole group had fun playing hide-and-seek in Addie's room- they didn't seem to mind that there were approximately 3 hiding spots- they had a blast!

Everyone was thrilled to help Addie open her gifts! She got everything she asked for- and I didn't tell her friends what to bring at all! She wanted a special bed for Rosie Kyla (thanks, Elena), clothes for Rosie Kyla (thanks, Elena and Mommy and Daddy), a Princess Book (thanks, Hannah), jewelry to make (thanks, Hannah), make-up (thanks, Molly and Colin) and then, snow (thanks, God!)

Happy girl to officially be 5!!

Part of the activities included painting nails- Addie wanted Daddy to paint hers. Yes, her Daddy is THAT amazing- he painted, and did a good job, too- her nails! (All you other Dads out there- he has set the bar high!!)

Then the party ended with Princess Bingo- Elena was kind enough to play with Alden. The poor boy was beat and was ready for his nap!

Very intent on playing Bingo...

For dinner, Addie got to choose what she wanted. Up until the day of her birthday, she had been saying she wanted pancakes and green beans (yes, she currently loves green beans), but when she woke up this morning, she declared that she wanted a happy meal at Chick-fil-a- fine with me!

And as we were eating dinner, she got her final birthday wish- SNOW!! You can see the kids a little in this, but the main thing is the SNOW- all those little white dots! Addie was thrilled to get her final birthday wish!! We have encouraged her to wish for a million dollars....

It was a day cram packed with fun, family, and friends!! What an honor to celebrate the life of one amazing little girl- we all love you Adeline Rose!!

Preschool Party for Addie

Addie has been super excited to celebrate her birthday with her classmates! The last month has been filled with her mulling over what flavor of cupcake should be paired with which frosting, the color choices, type and color of sprinkles- important "stuff", you know!

Here is what we ended up with- yellow cake cupcakes, chocolate frosting, pink sprinkles and green lettering- all inspired by the cupcake liners (courtesy of a good friend who actually works at Reynold's Wrap). And since they were going to a school, I put her age in number form and in the number of dots. The teachers thought it was great- whew!

Addie's class has a snack after naps- so I was able to attend- yay! When the teacher was telling the kids to go to the table, there was MUCH discussion over who would get to sit next to Addie- turns out my little girl is quite popular! She ended up choosing Delany (to the left of her) and Lillian (on the right)- and her other good friend, Hannah Grace, sat at the next table, in the same spot as Addie (evidently that is just as good as sitting next to her...).

Yes, that is Alden, at a table, all by himself. Addie wanted him there to celebrate with her- how sweet! Since all the kids in Addie's class could fit at 2 tables, he could have squeezed in, but he choose to sit by himself- he hadn't napped that day, so it was probably best he was by himself....

Silly girl- as her classmates started to sing to her, she covered her ears and giggled...

Miss Cami- she was Addie's afternoon teacher for Sep- and then she was moved to another class. Addie still adores her, asks for her, has to give her a hug before we leave each day- she LOVES Miss Cami- so she was thrilled when Miss Cami came over to sing Happy Birthday to her!

Busy little Eagles (Addie's class animal)- you could have heard a pin drop when they were eating their cupcakes!

Addie Turns 5

It is hard to believe, but Addie turned 5 years old today. It seems like only yesterday I was dreaming of being pregnant- and boom- here is my miracle turning 5- FIVE!!

Addie, my dearest daughter,

You have changed SO much this year. You have truly blossomed and turned into a full-fledged girl- no babyness about you at all! Baby dolls- dressing them, changing their diapers, feeding them, taking them everywhere with you- this is your passion. Someday you will make an amazing Mommy. You also have become quite the little dancer, although I doubt the world will ever know your amazing moves since you abhor crowds and being in front of them, even in with a group of people. Writing and learning to read excite you- you are always asking me how to spell different words- and you amaze me as we are driving and you point out a word you have sounded out, all on your own! Most of the time, you adore bossing your brother around and playing school- I have a hunch you will make an amazing teacher someday! You also have some pretty impressive art skills- drawing, photography, singing- God has certainly gifted you in that area- your father and I can take no credit for that at all! Your impromptu hugs, smiles and "I love you Mommy!"'s are the best in the entire wide-world. When Daddy opens the Bible to read after dinner, your enthusiasm and desire to learn about God, warm our hearts more than anything else you do. God has big plans for you- we can't wait to see what they are!

Your father and I love you and are so proud to call you our daughter!!

Love,

Your Mommy and Daddy- Alden, too

Now for a trip down Memory Lane....

Addie- 1 day old

6mo old

1 year old

2 years old

3 years old

4 years old

5 years old

The time has flown by- and you will be driving before I know it- but until then, I love and am very proud of you!!

And here is her year in review.... She's 1 busy little girl!! You will see some common themes- friends, food and playing outside!

More of Goofy Boy

Alden's latest obsession is football. He loves it. He sleeps with his 2 footballs. He is constantly asking me to catch the ball (trying to get me to let him throw the ball inside).

Ready, set...

Future linebacker- he runs with his hand infront to push away the "bad guys"

TOUCHDOWN!!

In NY my in-laws have this ancient horse- and he LOVES it. It was freezing (literally) and he was happy as a lark riding it around, chasing the dogs!

His new look- his skull hat and coordinating, red, gloves. He wears them 24/7. And he is also growing increasingly fond of his red snowmen PJ's. This lovely look was happening at 4pm- he woke-up from his nap and requested to change into his pj's- and then he "rode" around on his horse, happily for the rest of the afternoon and evening!

He sure is silly and I love him for it!!

American Girl Doll Adventure

Addie is spoiled- and I wouldn't have it any other way!! All her grandparents make sure she has a special birthday, even though it's so close to Christmas. This year, the year she turned 5 (yikes!), was going to be all about her American Girl Doll. Her NY Grandparents were going to take her into New York City to pick out her very own American Girl Doll that looks just like her. She has been SO excited about this, drooling over the catalogs that seem to always come in the mail.

Finally, the week of Thanksgiving came- she had to survive Monday- and then Tuesday we took off to NY first thing in the morning! Al had to work, but he would come and join us on Thursday.

Tuesday morning, she was SO excited to be going into The City to get HER doll- which she had already named Rosie. Here she is all ready to go- wearing a special outfit with the skyline of NYC on it!

Practicing showing 5 fingers- she seems so grown-up- gulp!!

There are no pics yet of her actual DAY there- they are all on PopPop's camera- but they will come and I will post them! She had a fantastic day and now has life-long memories!!

Back home- here she is with her beloved Rosie-Kyla (had to tack on the 2nd name after her good friend Kyla in NC). Notice the size of that bag behind her!! Other family chipped in money so she could go on a shopping spree- thank you all!!

One purchase was a baby carrier that Gramma Jenny purchased- she loves being able to carry her baby and have her hands free!

Combing Rosie-Kyla's hair while watching TV at the end of the day. She now doesn't complain when I comb tangles out of her hair. Why? Rosie-Kyla doesn't cry when Addie gets tangles out of her hair, so Addie doesn't cry now, either!

What a special and fantastic 5th birthday event- thank you MarMar and PopPop!!

Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving day dawned clear and cold! We woke-up and enjoyed my pumpkin muffins, watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and anxiously awaited Al's arrival!

All dolled up (lol) and watching the parade

Alden was obsessed with the turkey- when he saw it in the fridge, when it was getting prepped for the oven, and all the way to the table where he ate a few bites!

Keeping on eye on PopPop

DADDY!!!! When Alden saw Al drive up, he ran outside to greet him!! Al made it to NY in record time- what a great Dad to drive all the way there, leaving home at 3:45am, just so he could watch the parade with his kids!!

The kids' table

The boys had a blast playing together with the Legos

Silly kiddos!!

Alden discovered a new love- peanuts! He ate a ton of them! I love this pic because you see his pile of shells, his Lego creation and his need of water due to all the peanuts!

The boys had a blast tilting MarMar's chair all the way up until it dumped the other out! The played this game for ages- never getting tired of it.

The girls had fun burning off their turkey dinner by playing Dance Dance Revolution. Addie had a blast playing alongside the grown-ups- and she showed us she really IS learning some good moves in her dance lessons at school!

MarMar and PopPop surprised her with an icecream cake with dessert!

What a sweet girl we have been blessed with!!

By the end of the night, all kids were spent. No naps + hard playing all day + lots of sugar = CRANKY kids. Here, Nate was crying because he had just gotten in trouble, and Addie came over and pulled him onto her lap, which he curled into and just sobbed into her shoulder. She was so sweet comforting him- it just melted my heart!

We had a great time with family- and are thankful for them all!!

Silly Boy...

Alden is 100% boy! These pics just sum-up his vivid imagination and need for adventure....

Sunglasses- check (they are Lady and the Tramp)

Laundry Basket- check

Broom- check

Adventure- ready to row all over the ocean fighting off sharks and pirates!

I love this little guy- he is SO different from Addie, I love it!