Macie is SEVEN.

Seven. I remember being seven. I remember my birthday party when I turned seven. I remember a lot about being seven. And this makes me nervous as a mother! If I remember being seven, she sure will...so I better not mess up!

She has been counting down the days til her birthday since about September 17th of last year. For some reason she has been DYING to turn seven. I'm not sure why it's been such a magical number to her, but she seriously could not wait. She's got a later birthday, so she's one of the youngest second graders, so the fact that most of her friends turned seven during first grade could be why she was so eager to turn seven. She was also insistent that she would grow the morning of her birthday. We measured her the night before on the wall, and the first thing in the morning she brought me a pencil and wanted me to measure her again. And, guess what? She had grown! It was crazy. Like seriously. She had grown a little. Maybe she was just standing a little taller because of the excitement of her birthday, but that mark on the wall was a bit higher than the one the night before, and she was ecstatic! 

She was a little disappointed that she had to go to school on her birthday.Who wouldn't be? I never had to go as a little girl, but I knew that I wouldn't want to! So, I wrapped up her lunch. Everything in her lunch was wrapped like a gift. I knew that she would either love it, or be really mad at me. Turns out, she loved it.

She got to open the present from Momo, Pa and Cory before school. {I kinda knew there would be birthday clothes inside! ;-)}

She got a little excited about her birthday cinnamon roll. She's a goofy girl, for sure!

I had high hopes of surprising her with balloons after school. However, Mother Nature had other plans. It was 104 when it was time to pick her up. I know the balloons wouldn't last. They would either just fall or pop, so we decided against that, and just showed up with Daddy and lots of hugs and kisses! Just having Daddy there was enough, really.

At home she had to wait to open presents until after cake. It was killer! Luckily, they get out of school at 3:20, so by the time we got home it was nearly 4, and pretty much time for an early dinner. She got to pick anything she wanted for dinner. I told her that I could make her anything she wanted, or she could pick ANY  restaurant. I was sure she would pick Olive Garden. She didn't. She picked Del Taco. Del Taco? Yeah, I don't know why, either. However, she changed her mind to Chick Fil A. That was a step up, but whatever. She wanted to go. So went head there. When we got there, there was a tent set up outside with princess stuff everywhere...including horse drawn carriages. I was sure that this was a private birthday party, and we would be screwed because it would be packed. It was a but busy, but it was Chick Fil A's princess night! Macie picked the perfect place on the perfect day! 

After eating and playing in the playplace, Mace decided it was too loud inside and we headed outside to all of the hoopla out there. The line was far too long for a carriage ride, and she just wanted cake and to open presents, so we got off on that one easy, but she did want a picture with Rapunzel. When it was our turn, Macie told her that it was her birthday, and Rapunzel broke out into song, singing Happy Birthday to her. I didn't have enough warning to video it, but it was pretty awesome.

We finally got to eat the cake and open presents. She was a little over the top while opening presents. She is our drama queen. My goodness. I can see an acting career in her future!

To end the night, she got "Golden Pepsi". That's pretty much all she wanted, really. She was a content, sugared up, seven year old! It was a fun day, and although she had plans to do so much more for her big day, there wasn't enough time in the day! 

She's such a grown up little girl. I do have to remind myself several times a day that she is just a little girl. She may be feisty and know what she wants, but she's still just a sweet little seven year old. Never grow up, baby girl. Never grow up.

Avila is two.

I seriously am in denial of my baby girl turning two. Even with another little one on the way, Avila is my baby! She's so tiny...totally opposite of my other three, so I think of her a lot younger. However, she thinks she's at least five. Seriously. If you ask her how old she is, she will say, "Avi five." And she walks around as if she is five. She potty trained herself a few months back, she will not take a bath...only showers. She washes herself. She has to buckle her carseat by herself. Only she can put her shoes on. She is a little diva girl. But, we love her all the same!

I had orignally decided that I wanted to throw her a Snow White birthday party, but she didn't like that idea. She requested "Min Mouse". And so that is what she got. She is obsessed with Minnie. EVERYTHING Minnie. And it's funny. I never pushed anything on her, she just liked it! And not just any Minnie, she prefers the red polka dots over the pink, but likes the pink, too! {Secretly, I was all for the red and black decor, knowing that Macie's Taylor Swfit party was just around the corner and I could totally reuse it!}

 She started out the day with her birthday muffin. Naked, of course. She called the shots. She attempted to hold up two fingers...it's difficult when you're only two. I guess we should have practiced sooner!

 Since she is two, she wore a tutu during the day, pre party. Clever, huh? A tutu for a TWO year old? Ha, it still gets me for some reason! Oh, the thinks that amuse me. BUT, Avila would not have a photo shoot. This is what I got. She would much rather play in the dirt. Again, she called the shots.

 And then it was off to Fazoli's for her birthday lunch. She loves her Italian food! And then it was party time...well, a few hours later. The nice thing about just having family birthdays, they can start whenver you want. There is no deadline. It's perfect! We ate hot dogs, and just hung out with Momo, Pa and Cory who came to celebrate with us!

She loved everything she opened. And examinied every little thing about each thing. When she found the "flop flops" and the sunglasses, she just had to put them on. Completely a girly girl, for sure!

 Uncle Cory used his mad cake decorating skills to while out rice krispie treats in the form of Minnie's head!

 The picture in the frame is also a Cory masterpiece. It looks a lot like Miss Avila! {Thanks, Cory!}

It was a fun little day for the special two year old! My baby is two. It's going to take me a while to sort through that one! She's a funny, spunky little girl and makes everyday an adventure!  I love you, baby girl!!

Noah

{{I'm seriously like a year {or more} behind on my  blog. With no real hope of ever getting "caught up", I'll just keep moving forward! Good intentions, but if those good intentions actually end up with what is intended, it'd be a miracle! ;-) With that, I'll update each child.}}

Noah. Noah. Noah. He is a good kid. Although a bit emotional at times, he's a good kid. I actually heard that boys his age (7-11) have more testosterone in their bodies than when puberty hits...I'm pretty sure any hormonal spike causes emotions to run wild! So, it's understandable! AND, he is the first child. I am not, but I've heard that the stress levels of the oldest are bit higher! My oldest sister thought her life was over when my brother was born, she was only 13, but she thought she had to give up everything and hold up the fort. She gave up her bowling career...what could have been. ;-)

Noah loves, loves, loves Avila. I'm pretty sure that we tell him not to pick her up at least 10 times a day, but probably more. He sure loves that girl, and she loves him. He is very sweet with her. He's very sweet with everyone really.

 

He has been involved in Cub Scouts. He loves it. He gets to go to a Den Meeting once a week and do all sorts of scout things. His very first Pinewood Derby was in January. He decided that he wanted a Batmobile. Not the old one, but the new and improved one from the latest collection of Batman movies. Adam was right on board. "They" made a pretty cool car. {we all know how the pinewood derby works, and who does most of the work ;-)} However, at 11 PM the night before the race, something went wrong when attaching the wheel, and Adam had to make another in a mad dash. It worked out, was within the parameters it needed to be, and won a lot of the heats. I think in the end, he came in 4th out of about 15 scouts. Not too bad!

 

 

 Noah is a goofy kid. He is always doing things to make people laugh...and laugh we all do. He's been polishing a few jokes, too. He loves to make people laugh, and make people happy. Almost to the point where it just stresses him out!

He loves to draw. He is always drawing. He doesn't just do stick figure drawings they are pretty detailed. His best drawings were always on the magna doodle, which always get erased, he has graduated to actual paper. Although there is paper all over the house, it makes me happy to know that his imagination is hard at work!

He loves school. Like loves it. He loves math. It's his favorite subject. He definitely did not get that from me. He excels in it. Reading is another thing that comes easy for him. He is reading at about a 4.5 grade reading level in 2nd grade. His teacher said that there are a lot of kids that do this, and it isn't uncommon, but what is uncommon is his comprehension level. Again, something he did not get from me! He can read a book and tell you exactly what happens and when and where it did, too. That, he gets from his dad! His favorite books are nonfiction...especially the ones about bugs and spiders. But, only so it will make me cringe. He finds joy in that for some reason!

Just recently, he recieved the Principals Award at school for "consistently demonstrating caring and kindness for classmates and being a positive role model". Awesome. Everyone always loves Noah. He's always got a following at school! He's always been friendly. They had a jog a thon at school a little bit ago. I went an watched him run, and everytime he would go past where I was, he was talking to someone. Just leisurely

And, he's handsome. He's growing up. It's sad. But, he's just so good looking! He does have some big teeth, but what 8 year old doesn't?? ;-) He's also getting very tall. He's about half an inch away from being too tall for the IKEA playland, which makes him about 56". He used to fit under my armpit, but not is about to my shoulder. It blows my mind. It's quite a show when me or Adam have to carry him to bed. Sadly, because he so big, he gets to wake up and walk most of the time! He is in a size 4 shoe and weighs about 62 pounds. Oh, how time flies!

We love Noah! I could go on and on about how great he is.