Happy 5th Birthday!

I can't believe my "little" girl is 5 today. Where has the time gone? You will be going to kindergarten in just a few months!

Your daddy and I were so blessed when you made us parents 5 years ago. You were a wonderful baby, a somewhat difficult (strong-willed!) toddler, and you're growing up so quickly before our eyes.

You are my picky eater, my dramatic girl, my energizer bunny. You have endless energy that I wish you could share with me! You love your brother dearly and you are the best big sister he could ever have asked for. You love to help "mother" him and snuggle with him when he needs it (wonder how long that snuggling part will last before you just want to lock him out of your room!)

You love chocolate like me. You share my queasy stomach and have to deal with car sickness. You share my teeth and their attraction to cavities (sorry!). You are told how much you look like (a better looking version of) your daddy. You love soccer, dance, and gymnastics--if I ask you to choose your favorite you can't pick just one--unless daddy is in the room then he convinces you to say soccer!

Alex and her dance teacher Miss Liz

You are full of life and laughter. You love to be tickled. You love to be chased by your daddy (as long as he doesn't hide from you and try to scare you). You continue to have an aversion to most movies--we still haven't figured out the reason behind this but we hope that you will someday grow out of it! You have added Cinderella to the short list of movies you will watch--you still prefer to stick to TV or videos.

You are mommy's girl--you love hanging out with me, helping with gardening, planting flowers, washing dishes (sometimes). You love pink and purple. You love wearing dresses every day.
getting ready for her sleepover at school last week

I love our time we spend together at night before bed. You are looking for reasons to keep me in your room so you're always wanting to talk to me about your day, what we have planned for the weekend, and anything else you can come up with. You often come up with your deeper, more thought provoking questions at night, too. You love reading your storybook Bible and asking questions about Jesus, which I love. Your love for Jesus is growing and it's so wonderful to see. We want you to continue to grow up with a loving heart, a heart that loves God, and be a person who wants to love and care for others.

I hope the day doesn't come where you no longer want me to snuggle with you at night, pick you up and give you big hugs--because I love all of these things so much! It makes all the difficult, frustrating moments with you pale in comparison to the special moments we share.
Your dad, Kellan and I love you very much. Happy 5th birthday big girl!

Alex's 4th Birthday

Better late than never, last week my (not so) little girl turned 4! We celebrated Alex's 4th birthday last week while in Philadelphia. She was able to celebrate at a party with all of her grandparents, aunts, uncles (with the exception of our brother-in-law Jon), and cousins, in addition to some family friends from back east. Unfortunately Marlon was unable to be there as he was recruiting in FL, but he made it back home in time for her actual birthday.

The day of her birthday, we (along with my mom and SIL Renee) took Alex, Kellan, and my niece (Mia) and nephew (Nolan) to Giggleberry Fair--a place Alex loves to visit, particularly because of their carousel that she enjoys going on over and over and over!

In addition to the birthday festivities, throughout the time we were in Philly Alex was able to spend a lot of quality time with her "best cousin Nolan", as she now calls him.
It is so cute watching them play together, and watching their bond grow as they get older. Nolan introduced her to the movie "Wall-E", which they watched numerous times over the course of the week. They took "tractor rides" with my dad on the riding lawn mower, played outside, and just had a ton of fun!

Granddad and Alex (driving the tractor)

Aunt Renee and Kellan (riding in the wagon on the back of the tractor)

Kellan and cousin Mia on a "dinner date"

Like mother, like son
A note to Alex at age 4:

Alex, you are such a blessing of a little girl. As you get older, I love how you have become my little buddy in everything. You are ALL about all things girl-related. You want to be with the girls, do what the girls do. Your favorite colors are pink and purple. You are a HUGE mother's helper--to the point that you often feel you can and should be able to do everything yourself. You like to help in the kitchen, help with gardening, yard work, cleaning, laundry...you name it, you want to help me do it. (tonight you wanted to help me cut Kellan's hair...but I have to draw the line somewhere!) Your favorite thing is probably coming along to help me shop at Walmart! You never turn down a trip to the store with me, no matter where it is. You are a great big sister and very caring and loving towards your brother. You have always been, and still are, a very picky, slow eater. You are rarely hungry when it comes time to eat and you can sit at the table FOREVER while you pick at your food, talk, and find ways to stall. You have just finished taking your first dance and gymnastics classes, and you loved both of them (but you still can't wait to be old enough to play soccer!). You have slowly started to become a snuggler for the first time in your life, and I must say I enjoy it! I think you slept in my bed (all night) for the very first time last week when we were in Philly and daddy was away--it was so cute to have you snuggled up next to me! You are extremely independent and very social. You are also very stubborn and can have quite the attitude if you don't like what you're hearing. (it already seems as if you think that turning 4 means you have reached adulthood....not quite yet!). You spontaneously will tell us you love us and give us hugs, which your dad and I love! We love you Alex--Happy birthday!

Hodge Podge

I've been slacking in the posting department and I need to get caught up! Rewind back to St. Patty's Day and Kellan's official birthday celebration. We got him a little St. Patrick's Day cupcake to enjoy (which he later threw up when Marlon was pushing him on the swing after dinner!).
Turning one doesn't necessarily make you smarter, but it definitely makes you more curious! Kellan has enjoyed checking out what he can find in the trash can, and he also was caught eating a piece of the dog's food the same day. Gotta keep my eye on that boy!

Also, the day before Kellan's birthday Alex FINALLY had her cavities filled! I had a sleepless night before taking her and I was so stressed out, but we all survived. The dentist was able to get everything done that needed to be done (although they did tell me she was a bit difficult at first--her, difficult??!! I just can't imagine). She was sedated but awake, and I guess she was still alert enough to know that the drill was nearby! When she came out, she looked at me and in her groggy voice said "They shot me in both legs" (she got her IV in her thighs) so I guess she was somewhat aware of what was happening. She was pretty out of it and cranky--I got a glimpse of what she may be like as a pre-teen (SCARY!) She was moody, wanted to do everything herself, flipped emotions at the drop of a hat--it was like walking on eggshells around her for the first few hours afterwards, but the most important thing was that she made it through, and she hopefully isn't completely scarred for future dentist trips. I have already started telling her that she will be going back again for a cleaning, but that it will not involve the drill and the needles.

The weekend of the 20th we made a trip to State College for the weekend to hang out with our old friends and neighbors. It was great to see everyone there--Alex loves visiting with her friends, particularly since most of our friends have boys so she doesn't get to play with girls her age much outside of school. She was in heaven!! She's already talking about needing to go back there to visit the girls on our next "stay home day" (Saturday). We spent a good bit of time on campus visiting the HUB aquarium, hanging out on the Old Main lawn, eating at Baby's, hitting up the new Dunkin Donuts downtown (more than once!).

The girls on the steps of Old Main

Playing Red Light, Green Light

Enjoying a soft grassy spot to walk around on

My next post will be about our weekend visit from my dear friend Heidi and her 2 little boys!