Graceyn's 4th Birthday

  We had a great time celebrating our little princesse's very special day.  I gave her the choice of what she wanted to do to celebrate.  She really wanted to go to Monkey Business (an indoor play place). I surprised her and her best friend, Kolton showed up to play with her. She was beside herself with excitement to have Kolton to play with.  After they played for a bit, we went to Chick Fil A for lunch with Kolton and his sister and mom.  They had a great time playing in the play place.
    I had to tutor that day, so Gracie and Joey hung out for a bit and decorated for her party that night.  Gracie decided she wanted to go to a pizza place for her birthday dinner.  They have a slide at this pizza place which makes it extra special and fun.  You really can't beat pizza and a slide!  The kids have an absolute blast going down the slide.  After dinner, we headed back to our house for cake and presents.
    She wanted a cake from Costco for her cake.  When I showed her the choices, she very randomly insisted on the one with surfboards.  I thought it was pretty random, but she was insistent that's what she wanted.  The cake was delicious and she was showered with lots of presents.  She said she had a terrific birthday.

The birthday girl

She awoke to the Elf's surprise visit

The elf did a good job decorating 

Eating the breakfast she requested

Sweet Emmy celebrating her sister's birthday

Pizza time 

Making a train on the slide

They got pretty creative with the slide

Ashlyn even decided to ride 

She chose Peppa the Pig for her decor this year

The very random cake she picked

She loved her cake

What a great picture of her that captures her happiness.  

I accidentally bought trick candles which was quite an adventure in itself.  

Present time

Grace at 4

   Our spunky little girl turned four on March 21st.  I can't accept the fact that she is already four.  Where did the last four years go???  Graceyn is our super special girl.  She keeps us on our toes at all times and I can guarantee any gray hairs I may have came from her.
   She is such a sweet and loving little girl.  With all that sweetness, comes lots of sass.  She is a very determined and strong willed child when she wants to be.  I hope that she uses this one day to get very far in life.
   She is also a very, very funny child. She says some very funny stuff and has me in stitches at least once a day.  My life would definitely be very boring without her in it!
     Gracie is a very girly little girl.  She loves all things princess and Barbie. She likes to play dress up and plays Barbies and dolls all the time.  She is a very good mommy to her baby dolls. She also loves to play outside and it becoming a pro on her bike.  Her papa bought her a bigger bike for her birthday and she rides all around the neighborhood.  She loves to draw and color.  She likes to read and be read to.  She often "reads" me stories. She is a bright girl and she loves to work on her workbooks with me.  Gracie will start preschool in the fall.  I can't wait to see what she thinks of school.
      Gracie and Emmy have a very special bond.  She takes such good care of Emmy. She does a great job of playing with her when I'm trying to get things done.  I know that one day they are going to be great playmates.  Poor Gracie gets left out a lot because her older siblings pair up with their cousins and she is left with no one to play with.  Gracie is so excited for the day that Emmy can really play with her.
     Gracie keeps us on our toes on a daily basis.  There is truly never a dull moment with her around.  She is so sweet, smart, spunky and sassy.  We love our little Gracie Belle so much and we are so lucky to have her as our daughter.
   

Gracie recently started ballet classes.  Here she is at her class.  

Our little ballerina 

Gracie also loves to cook.  She is always helping me in the kitchen when I'm cooking dinner.  She is also by far our most adventurous eater. She will pretty much eat anything that we are eating.  It's very nice to have one child that is not picky.  

Busy girl cooking

Gracie really likes the show P.J. Masks.  Her auntie bought her a costume the other day and she was so excited to put it on.  

Emersyn 2 Months

   I figured I better get around to Emerysn's two month blog post since she is closing in on three months already!  I am so glad I do these posts even if no one reads them.  We publish our blog into a book each year.  It is such an awesome way to preserve detailed memories.  I often go back to previous years to see what the other kids were doing at the same age.  They are truly priceless!
     Our little chunky monkey is now two months old (as I write this she is actually 11 weeks old).  She is just growing like a week and clearly likes to eat!  The doctor is always very pleased with her growth.  We are both blessed that my body can provide for her so well and give her everything she needs to grow and thrive.
      She had her two month appointment a few weeks ago.  She weighed 12.1 pounds (63%) and is 22.8 inches tall (55%).  She is pretty proportional and I can't get over that she has gained 5 pounds and grown 3 inches in just two short months!  No wonder her clothes are getting snug for her!  The doctor said she looked great.  We had to end the appointment with the dreaded two month shots.  Poor thing was not happy to get that done.  She was a little fussy for a few days following, but it always better than any of the horrible diseases those shots are preventing.
    Emmy continues to be such a joy in our lives. Her siblings continue to be so in love with her.  They love going up to her and talking to her and making her smile.  She loves them and always smiles so big for them.  She is lucky to be such well loved little girl with some awesome older siblings to look after her.
    Emmy continues to sleep like a champ during the day.  She is awake for longer periods of time, but she still takes some good naps during the day.  She is now getting into more of a pattern with her sleep.  She naps around the same times every day.  Her night sleep has been touch and go.  She will do pretty good, then have a few nights were she doesn't sleep well and is up a lot more.  I am guessing this may be due to growth spurts.  She is in a pretty predictable pattern for night too.  She always goes to bed around 8:00 p.m.  She then wakes up between 12:30-1:30 (more towards 12:30).  She then will wake up again around 3:30 or 4:30.  Again, I would give anything for her to give up one of those feedings so I can get some longer stretches.  But, for now she must still need those feedings because they don't seem to be changing.  I look forward to the day where I get better sleep, but for now I am coping.
   Unless she is tired or hungry, Emersyn is a pretty happy and content little girl.  She loves to "talk" to us.  She continues to love her play mat.  She is just discovering her hands and is now able to start to hold and manipulate toys.  That is a very exciting development to watch.  This week I got out her frog chair which she absolutely loves.  I think she loves being able to really look around and take in all of her surroundings.  She will sit in that thing as happy as a clam the entire time I cook dinner.  It has been a lifesaver to say the least!  She is also getting very, very close to rolling over from her back to her belly.  If I put her on her back, she almost always immediately rolls onto her side.  Today she came so close to getting onto her stomach.  She will be moving very soon!  She is definitely out of the newborn stage and is doing a lot more than just laying there and looking around.  It is such a fun and rewarding thing to watch.
    We love our little girl so very much!

Our little princess at 2 months

Big sis loves to get in the picture

Her shirt sums her up quite well

Crazy big sister

Another two month shot

   I am also adding a bunch of various shots I have taken in the last month of my phone.  I really need to be better about taking pictures and posting them.

All the kids reading together

Emmy has started to take baths in the big bath tub with Gracie.  She absolutely loves taking baths with her. She just lays in her seat so contently and watches Gracie.  

She does not like getting out of the bath.  This is the face I usually get when it is time to get out.  

Always smiling

I thought this picture was so funny

She loves sitting up

Chunks

Cuddling in Daddy's arms.  Like her sisters, she is such a daddy's girl.  

Just realaxing

Looking festive

She loves that pacifier and it is always nearby

Posing with her sister

Kisses from her sweet sister

Toy time!

Those cheeks!!!

I bought this new device for shopping carts.  She is finally big enough to ride in it.  She loved it!