A party worthy of 4!

Yesterday Grace had her Princess Birthday Party, and she certainly was the princess! We had a blast with many grandmas and grandpas, aunts and uncles, and of course a brother, sister, mom and dad!
My mom made the princess dress for the party, and Grace loved it! She looked so beautiful and just like a princess!
I made the cake- a castle with a princess, of course. She had hot dogs with pickles, chips and dip, veggies and dip, punch, and cake and ice cream. Lots of yummy favorites!
Grace had a great time being with family, and received some fun gifts from some very fun people! It is always fun to get together and celebrate something as wonderful as a fourth birthday!
Here is a picture of Grace and Emma, at the table after eating their birthday food! Emma is wearing the party hats that all guests were offered, but not required, to wear.
This is a dress that my mom made for Grace for her birthday gift. It is super cute, and Grace loves it.
All in all, it was a great party, a great birthday, a great week for a fabulous girl!

Four is a lovely number

Grace turned 4 on Tuesday, and has had a fun week of celebrating! We do weeks in our house, not just one little day. Happy birthday to our sweet girl!
She started the day with gifts from Mom, Dad, Ben, and Emma- she got many fun things, but new Playdough was one of the highlights. She loves anything that she can sculpt, draw, paint, cut, or otherwise do arts and crafts with!
She got to have a special lunch with Mom, a special dinner with Aunt Janelle, Grandma Pam and Papa Randy, and a fun day in general!
She also got to bring cupcakes to school, where they sang to her and gave her gifts!
A fun time, and it was not over yet!
Grace is such a sweet girl who loves to be helpful to anyone, loves her family, and loves to play and have fun. She loves the Fresh Beat Band, Dora, and princesses. She loves to dance, sing, and color her days away. Baking anything for everyone is one of her favorite past times, and she does it better than me! She is kind and loving to her friends and family, yet she will stand for what she believes in. It is amazing the girl that she has become, and we are so excited to watch her continue to grow and learn. It is a journey that we look back on with joy and love, and look forward to with excitement and amazement.
Happy Birthday Sweet Grace! We love you!

Family Happenings

Many exciting changes have been made in our family lately- for everyone. Josh ended work and started school. He is doing well, enjoying what he is studying. I have started working, and finishing school. I hopefully will graduate in the Spring, but will have some more credits next year for my license in special education.
Grace started pre-school, and loves, loves, loves it! Her favorite part of her day is anything at school, and the worst? "having to go home". Yup, loves it!
Ben started kindergarten, and has been very busy with friends and school. It is very good to be that busy when you are 5. We have to let him stay home on Saturdays, just to relax a bit.
Emma has been adjusting to being home without any siblings, and just a mom or dad with her. She is not upset about the special time that she has. Not one bit!
Some of the changes have been harder than others, but we are adjusting. It has been an interesting few months, but we are finding our new roles, and doing what we need to do.

Ben's 1st day

Big things have been happening in our family, and the biggest of all is that Ben Started Kindergarten! It has been about a month and he is enjoying it! He is making friends, enjoying his teachers, and getting into a great routine. It has been a great first month of school!
He loves Transformers, and had to have a Bumblebee shirt, which he wore the first day. He is one handsome kindergartener!
Grace and I cried the first day we brought him to the bus, and we cried everyday that week. Now we wait for Monday, and do not know what we will do next summer- school is gooood, very goood!
Yay for Ben and a great first month of learning, making friends, and GROWING!