ad's bday party

adelyn's 4th birthday party.....little mermaid themed....

papa and grandpa....

great grandpa john and daddy....

uncle doug and uncle t-bone....

the girls eating dinner....

opening gifts....

a little fun....

e made ad a big mermaid picture....ad's not too sure about it....haha!!

all the fam looking on....

we gave the girls a book ("you're all my favorites") for the both of them and e read the insert aloud....it read "looking forward to reading this with my two sisters in novemeber!  happy birthday adelyn!  love, your little brother or sister".....

no one quite seemed to get it for a minute, not even elena....she read it again.....and adrienne got it first!

then the grandmas!!!

too bad my mom wasn't surprised at all!! haha!  no one else had gotten at this point....

and it was super loud from nana nad grandma screaming....

everyone kinda caught on and we had e read it very loudly one last time!

we explained to the girls that momma had a baby in her belly - they were going to be big sisters!  ad was shocked!  ha.

we celebrated and such.  i think we managed to shock everyone once again.  oh my how i get such a kick out of that!  ;)  i explained it was water and lemonade in my cup and i was only 6 weeks along, so we asked to keep it among family for now. miss ad had one more gift to open...

my little birthday girl!

blowing out the candles....

soon to be parents of 3!!

me and my birthday girl.....

"God schedules a birthday, not man." ~Robert A. Bradley

ad is 4 yrs old

four!?? really? my baby is four?! i'm so not ready for my little adelyn to be four!  she's the baby.  not a four year old!!  adelyn, you have grown up so much this past year and it's been such a pleasure to watch!!  but it's hard to believe that it was four years ago that you rocked our world.....in such an amazing way!!

your favorite color is still orange, followed by pink. you love to play with cars! you also love little people and baby dolls. you love to dance - your style is more hip hop then anything.  your move is to 'raise the roof' with closed fingers.  it's adorable, of course.  your favorite phrase is "oh yeah!" said in a spunky way. you also love to sing made up songs.

you seriously have the best expressions! the faces you make are hard to describe. they are rarely fitting but make everyone crack up. you're hilarious. you truly have a punk side and it's hard not to eat it up. when you know you're not being as good as you should be you flash the biggest fakest smile.

despite your occasional punkness, you're a very good listener. you love the praise and reward when being good. you have a lot of pride, but can easily turn that off. you will whine/cry for a few minutes when tired and things aren't going your way. but you quickly get over it.

you are just starting to fit in size 4T.  and you just need them for length.  you're still wearing 24mo stuff for capris, shorts, etc. you barely weigh 30lbs and are 33 inches tall.  you still feel as though your bones are filled with helium.  but you're becoming stronger and stronger.  you love to exercise and ask all the time, "is this exercise?" as you're trying to work it. ;) you love tumbling and have been asked to move out of the preschool class - skip the next class (the "beginner's" class) and move right into an invitational class!  pretty impressive for four years old!!  however, you say you're not ready.  i think you really like being top dog and that is ok with me.  we are letting you let us know when you're ready for the "big" class.

you're still a picky eater, but finally a good picky eater. meaning you will eat it all up as long as you like it. you're still obsessed with orange juice. we cut you off after 2 glasses a day. and you've gotten so much better with water. you love love love sweets!! you would much prefer to snack throughout the whole day if you could.

you love school.  but i really believe you love the social/life skills part of it.....which i can't blame you (it's what i liked about school too).  you despise being quizzed at anything! you know your letters, you know your numbers. but god forbid - to go over them in any way, shape or form - it has to be YOUR idea. you can count to 13. you know the rest of the teens, but mix them all up. you write small words when told how to spell them. and you love to read to your friends and us.

you have a hard time sitting through a whole movie, but love to watch tv. you are really coming out of your shell with others this past year. you no longer need me right by your side. you get great satisfaction out of behaving when others are not and are sure to point it out. you most definitely like to get your way. and are able to stand up for yourself no problem. shyness seems to simply vanish then! ha.

you still really love your thumb and ear! i'm not too sure when that will go away. we are trying to get you to suck your thumb less during the day. you're doing pretty good with it, but also "forget!" you're still a #1 cuddler. everything can be fixed for you by snuggling up on my lap and getting as close as you possibly can. you still love for us to lay with you while falling asleep. you love to be nose to nose and will place my arm around you.

you are fine with whatever i pick out for you to wear. and overall easy going and go with the flow. you still get lots and lots of compliments on your hair and eyes. you're so so good with babies. i'm surprised at your interest since you so like to be coddled, but you truly LOVE babies. you're such a great little sister and are going to be an even better big sister!! you try and be first at everything. and it can almost always be a meltdown when your not.

your super sweet, super funny and super punky. you add so much character to our family. i simply can't express the love and the silliness you bring. you teach us so much. and i can't thank you enough for it. you are one of a kind miss ad. and we love you for it!! happy 4th birthday baby girl!!

"Because time itself is like a spiral, something special happens on your birthday each year: The same energy that God invested in you at birth is present once again." ~Menachem Mendel Schneerson

dad's 65th

my pop turned 65 this year! and uncle t-bone's birthday is just a week prior so that meant = family party time!

adelyn with papa and nana....

together with a lot of my dad's friends, we put together quite an amazing gift....

a book filled with over 70 stories about my dad.....told by his family and friends.

 my pop is quite the story teller and has enough to fill a few people's 65 years!! so - it was the perfect 65th gift! hundreds of pages that will have you laughing, crying and snickering....perfection.

papa opening the book....

skimming through it....

re-telling a story....

uncle e and little e.....

much later in the night....girls in their pj's and sisi was already down for the night.....

we headed back for breakfast in the am and got some more time to play with sisi....

and hang with fam....

happy birthday uncle t-bone and papa!!!!

"Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional." ~Chili Davis