Emma's Birthday . 3 years old

After seeing her brothers have birthday parties year after year Emma decided it was finally time for a party of her very own. I agreed that three would be a good age for a little girl party. She wanted to have a princess party and invite some of her very close friends. They all dressed up in their favorite princess dresses. They actually let me take their pictures....the boys would have never let me do that. The girls had fun coloring and using their princess stickers to make their pages just beautiful. The best of her birthday was a surprise that came through the door just as the party was starting....her DADDY! Mike was somehow able to come home early and surprise Emma for her first birthday. I wish I had a picture of the two of them hugging. It was really sweet.

I used to make cakes for the boys when they were younger and realized I had never made Emma a fun cake. Thank goodness for Michaels and their great cake pans. I made a princess castle cake for Emma and it turned out pretty cute. Peter got all excited when he saw that I could make him a knight castle for his birthday in April.

Emma had fun opening her gifts from her friends. Cute Taylor read her card to Emma because Emma can't read yet and explained what she drew for her. It was priceless. I am so thankful that Emma has good friends.

Emma enjoyed opening up cards from her grandparents and presents from the rest of the family. I made Emma a doll and a quilt for her doll that matches the quilt I made for her bed. I also made her a pad and pillow to go with her doll cradle. The cradle was given to me from my grandfather when I was a little girl. He actually handmade the cradle and a couple of years ago my mom sent me home with my cradle so Emma could enjoy it. I had Mike paint it white because I love girls and white things. Emma has really enjoyed it and loves her dolls even more that they have a comfy place to sleep. She also got a cute white high chair for her dolls from the boys. Happy Birthday my sweet princess girl.

To see a picture of her new doll and the quilt, click HERE.

Girls and Dinosaurs

Who said that girls can't play with dinosaurs? We are huge dinosaur fans here. Peter is clearly the dinosaur expert in our house. He loves any and every dinosaur. Since Emma and Peter play together so much it is not surprising to me that she has grown attached to those dinosaurs as well. Am I worried? Not one bit. She loves her dolls and dress ups but will play dinosaurs, cars, legos and anything else the boys have in their room. She also loves Diego. I thought it was cute one day when she wanted to play with the dinosaurs and was insistent that Abby play with her. Those days of the girls playing together are soon approaching. For now Abby just sits and chews on everything. Emma doesn't mind because she is still in charge. It will be interesting to see what it is like when Abby gets a little older. I can hardly wait!

Abby . 7 months

ABBY . 7 MONTHS OLD

15 lbs and 26 inches long

can sit up and play with toys

has her first tooth

eats baby food and loves it

can grab tiny pieces of food and make it in her mouth

is a bottle girl now

has a real fun belly laugh

biggest, bluest eyes ever

has a cute tubby belly

loves her siblings

great sleeper

still bald as a bat

likes to grab things (aka mom's hair)

starting to say baby sounds

WE LOVE YOU ABBY GIRL!

*for more fun pictures of Abby, click HERE*

The Mess

On Mondays I swap running with a good friend. I was so tired after my run that I came home, put Abby down for a nap and then just let Emma and Peter play like crazy. They are really good playmates and usually have so much fun dressing up and just playing anything and everything. Emma will even play with the boy's dressups and it is not uncommon for me to hear her and Peter running around as cowboys and knights. When I asked Emma if she was a cowgirl she promptly corrected me and said, "I am not a cowgirl, I am a cowboy." Oh, ok Emma. By the time they were done playing Emma's bed was full of toys and the entire floor in Peter's room was covered. Usually they are pretty good at sticking to a few toys but today it turned a bit crazy. While it should have bothered me to see such a disaster right before taking Peter to school I actually felt thankful that they played so well together. I am grateful that my children really do love each other despite their differences. And when they do fight, because they do, I am quick to remind myself that more often than not they play really well and do love each other very much!

Peter's Looses His 1st Tooth

The first week of January Peter came to me and said his tooth was loose. I didn't really believe him because he has said that to me before just because I think he wanted it to be loose. Sure enough he was right this time. For the next four days I watched him as he would wiggle that little tooth with his fingers anticipating it coming out. He kept talking about the tooth fairy and was so excited that it would finally be his turn. Andrew has already lost 8 teeth and so the tooth fairy has already made it to our house many times. On January 11th after scripture study Mike was playing the guitar for the boys while they did summersaults and ran around and that is when it fell out. Luckily he didn't swallow it. Look at that gap! Congratulations little man!

Sitting and Playing

Abby just started sitting up on her own and since then the kids have been having so much fun playing with her. After school today Andrew brought home one of his Christmas projects that had cotton balls on it. He ripped one off and started throwing it around in front of Abby and she just thought it was the greatest thing in the world. She would give the cutest belly laugh and so Andrew would keep doing it. It was so sweet how he wanted to make her happy. Sitting up has opened up a whole new world for me and for Abby. I love this 6 month stage!