Eight.

Today my oldest child turned eight. Eight? When did this happen? My sweet little boy is getting so old! He has grown up so much lately. And not just height...he has gotten so much more mature. Its kind of sad, really. I remember just a short five years ago, noah was still sucking his,pacifier and I thought for sure he would still be sucking on it on his eighth birthday! He defied the odds, thank goodness. Noah, we love you. You are such a great kid! It is great ti be eight. I promise!

Super Halloween

The theme this year was picked by Noah. He wanted everyone to be superheroes. However, not just any superhero. Oh no. Noah wanted to be Superman. Jacob wanted to be Captain America. But...Noah would not let us mix "brands". Captain America is a Marvel character. Superman is DC. We had to stick with one. And since Macie was set on Wonder Woman, DC it was. Luckily, my mom found Superman and Green Lantern on good deals. Their costumes were easy peasy. Noah had black sprayed hair to complete the look.

Wonder Woman is not the most modest costume. In fact, it's pretty awful. So, we modified...a blue tutu, sparkly blue leggings, red shirt withe the logo on it, headband, arm bands, belt...and the wig completed the costume. {And then at the last minute, I duct taped her rain boots with red duct tape we just happen to have laying around!} It was the most perfect wonder woman costume. I loved it. She looked awesome. Avila got to be Batgirl. Originally catwoman, but when Adam and I decided to dress up, she got swapped! She wouldn't keep the mask on, but we tried. Her black lace leggings killed me. 

Next year is "Mom's Choice". So far they are all on board. We'll see when it finally come down to it!

almost eight.

How can Noah almost be eight? I am in serious denial about this. I should be planning his baptism, but it seems so surreal that he can be eight. We took him to the San Diego Temple for a little Pre Baptism photo shoot for his little invitations. Seriously he's so big. Where did my baby go?? This one was my favorite...however, can you spot what's wrong??

Witch party

{October 5}

 

Last year I started planning Macie's sixth birthday party. Yes, she had just turned five, but I had to plan! We decided on a Witch's Tea Party theme. She had wanted to do a witch party last year for Halloween...but, I decided to do it this year because then I could get all of the stuff on mega clearance after Halloween. And, boy, was I right. I'm talking Mega 90% off clearance for everything for her party: witch hats, broom, crow, garlands, feathers, party favor bags, crafts...the whole thing. So, feeling pretty good about myself, I started pinning things left and right. There were so many things I could have done with that party. Sadly, the best ideas came like the day before the party! I guess maybe I should just wait until the last minute! 

Since it was her sixth birthday, she got to invite six friends. However, I did not take in to consideration, apparently, that not everything likes witches. One little girl couldn't  come because of the witch theme. But, really...it was very innocently witch. Nothing scary. No spells were done. No one was cursed. Really, just slap on a witch hat, and call it a Witch Party, but whatever! She still had fun with the kids that were able to come!

Our friend, Paul makes pinatas. He makes some pretty rocking pinatas. This year was a witch head. It was awesome. A little creepy...but awesome! ;-) We had witch finger pretzels, witch brew jello in mini cauldrons, sand"witches", witches spell kabobs, and no dry ice. Seriously, we had a witch party with no dry ice. Who knew it would be so hard to find?? Oh well. The girls made "spooky gardens" in jars, played Witch Pitch, had a freeze dance party {which was the total highlight of the whole party}, drew witch pictures {and they could have probably done that the whole time, too!}, and whacked the pinata. 

Of course, there were regrets of what I could have done after all was said and done, but whatever. She loved it!

the party

 You can't have a birthday without a party. Although small, it was perfect for a one year old who really doesn't care about a party! We invited just a few people {lets me honest, we don't even really know many people!}, grilled pizzas by the pool while the kids...and a few adults swam, and the other adults sipped their Italian sodas. After a good swim we came into enjoy yet another cake smash! Avila is quite a spoiled little girl! But, who wouldn't want to spoil her??

{I am so kicking myself, however. As I was going through all of the pictures, I totally didn't even take a picture of my favorite decoration! I hung up a picture of every month above our couch with cute clothespins and everything...I guess if you want to get the full effect of my parties, you gotta just come. I promise you, I won't disappoint! ;-)}

avila is ONE.

{september 7...her actual birthday}

We celebrated with a little family birthday on Avila's actual birthday, with plans of a bigger party the next day. Of course, she wouldn't have known or cared one way or another, but we had leftover cupcakes from Adam's birthday the day before, so we did the traditional cake smash! She opened family presents, which we just rewrapped for the party the next day. She's one...things like that are okay! 

She loved having a birthday and having the kids sing to her all day long. She glowed everytime with a huge grin and danced throughout the song, too. Gosh, I love this girl!