You're One, Lil Joe!

Happy Birthday to our Little Joe! Can you believe it's been a year? And he's getting so big. He's actually walking now and chasing his siblings...when they're not around, he's chasing the cat. Still just as happy as could be.

So, five children later, and we still haven't had one who wants to make a huge mess out of their first cake. Joe had to encouraged to poke the frosting. But still, he didn't know what to make of the big, colorful cake in front of him. Nor did he know what to do with the candle. Someone else blew that out for him. Ah well. They all learn by their second what to do with cake and ice cream!

Thanks to everyone for a great birthday! He got some wonderful clothes...which he desperately needed. It would seem that his older siblings have worn out all the "hand-me-downs." Ah well. He'll never really have to complain about never getting new stuff.

Joe didn't know what to do with this ball. It had squishy little spikes coming out from it and the soft plastic texture was not one he even wanted to touch. John, on the other hand, loved playing with it. I guess birthdays can be fun for everyone! Thanks for the happy day.

Here's to loads more birthdays, Joe Joe!

John's Rockin' Birthday Party

Happy 7th birthday to John! Wow! This guy's gotten so big, Mom and Dad agreed to let him have some friends from school come party with him. He did a good job welcoming his friends and trying to involve them all. So cool!

John has gone giddy over rocks (especially geodes) over the past few months. So we decided an appropriate party theme would be Rocks. We played Rock Relay and even the big kids thought that was fun! Then everyone got to search for their rock candy gift bags. The kids were especially excited for the rock crystal suckers. They thought those were cool! I don't know how the parents reacted when they got the bags home. But it was fun.

John also loved all of his presents, even the rocks! Can you believe it? A kid excited to put a rock on his shelf!? It's awesome! We've had to try to keep Jack away from all of John's new toys...but that's a bit difficult when John's at school. John's been a good sport about it. We've been blessed having him as a member of our family!

Happy Birthday, John!

Happy Birthday to Bekah! You're 4!

Bekah has been the sunshine of our lives. She is truly a joy. It was fun to see her get so excited for her birthday party. The other kids had a countdown going (mostly Kelsey) but even they were busy planning how much fun they'd have with their friends. So fun!

I can't believe how big Bekah's getting! She planned her own birthday dinner (complete with veggies) and was very specific on what kind of decorations for the birthday cake. She's in love with Tangled. For someone with blonde hair, she wants to look just like Rapunzel. Awww...but here's a few highlights from the friend party and then our family party. Enjoy!

Thanks, Grams, for the dress! Bekah's so excited about the butterflies! She even wanted to enjoy the card for as long as possible.

"It's so fluffy!" Bekah was so excited to get a unicorn pillow pet! Wow! Thanks, Aunt Helen and clan!

Ooh! A warm, winter coat that's pink. Bekah compared this to John's coat...but she said, "This one's red not pink." Yes, very astute! She's excited to try out her new mittens that came with it. Now all we need is some snow. My phone washed out the second picture...but the coat fits great!

And the pink/white tutu was a great hit! Here's Bekah and Kelsey dancing...one of the few times Bekah gets to be the princess. And she makes a cute princess too.

Happy Birthday Jack Jack!

Jack Jack's two years old!? We very nearly didn't get any pictures for his birthday this year. We had a small family party on his actual birthday and had chicken decorate cupcakes to celebrate. He called them "ducks" but just about any bird is a "duck" to him. He actually blew out the two candles we put on the cupcake. He wouldn't do it for the larger cake we ordered for Saturday. Ah well. So goes life.

But he was in love with the fishing pole and magnetic fish that went with it. His brother and sisters were in love with the Duplo Lego set that he got. He got to play with all of his toys later, but it was funny to see how possessive he was of his fishing pole.

Happy Birthday, Jack!

Happy Birthday, John John Man!

Has it really been six years since John John entered our lives? I'm probably going to say this about all of my kids on every birthday they have! Oh well. He's gotten to be such a big boy and so fun to have around. He's starting to want to plan his own parties more and invite people to them. Maybe next year I'll remember to include him more on the plans (and limit how many school friends can come...I mean, I can only accommodate so many seven year olds then!).

For those of you who don't recognize the cake, it's a Bakugan (Japanese cartoon series) that John has fallen in love with. He has never really seen the show but he loves the idea of creatures being captured in little balls and then transforming to fight battles for their owners. It's rather like Pokemon (if you know what that is) with a more fierce twist.

But John had a great time with his cousins! He was so happy to see everyone that came and then to open the gifts they gave him. We missed everyone who couldn't be there, but John says "thanks and (sheepishly) says I love you."

John loved all of his gifts! I have never seen a kid so excited about the variety of gifts. He was just as excited to get stickers as he was to get new school shirts! He has poured over the Japanese comic books called Gon. Everyone wanted to "read" these at the party (even those who can't read can understand these because it's a comic book without any words). Quite impressive!

I don't know what happened to pictures of the R/C truck he got, but John also loved the newest remote control addition to the family. He loves anything that flies or shoots, and has since driven the truck through some soft snow just for fun. He loves all of his presents and all of you who thought of him on his birthday. Thanks a bunch!

Happy Birthday, Jack Jack!

It's really been one year since Jack was born? Time really does fly nowadays. We have really enjoyed having another boy in the family (John has recently started wrestling with his little brother). Jack's been making life more interesting these days since he's started to walk more unassisted and learned some good words like "no" and "ball." He's learning fast!

Well, we decided to make his birthday a themed one of a beach party, complete with a sand castle birthday cake! John was planning on "tricking" everyone into thinking they were eating sand and then telling them later that it was just graham crackers. Silly boy. But he did help me decorate it.

We had some great friends and family come to help celebrate! Thanks, everyone! We love you!

Birthday present monster! Roar!!!

Kelsey's Fourth Birthday

I can hardly believe it's been four years since Kelsey joined our family on Father's Day! Time has really gone by...some days faster than others but we have loved having Kelsey as a part of our family! What a cute princess she is!

Speaking of "princess," she was so happy to get so much princess stuff! She loves her Ballerina Barbie (thank you, Grams, for getting one without removable accessories! That is a literal lifesaver with an infant chewing on everything!), her chalk, bubbles, and all the wonderful art stuff. She has learned how to trace some of the princesses from her big coloring book so she now has double the pictures to color!

We had a great time with family and friends, and even the weather cooperated so we could splash in the pool. We are truly blessed. Thank you all for your love and support! Enjoy the pictures!

She was pretty much all smiles all night. Thank you all for making our Kelsey so happy!

John John is Five!

This past year has been full of amazing things for John! Can you believe he's five already? He greatly enjoyed sharing his birthday with his cousins! They had such fun eating pizza and having rocket cake. Thanks for the great birthday presents, everyone! Enjoy the pics!

Suck it up, John John man! And with a breath that big, you'd expect him to have blown out all of the candles on the first puff! Well, there's technique involved with blowing out candles, not just the volume of air. And poor Jack Jack eyed the cake and ice cream all night. Daddy gave him some and boy! does he love ice cream!

That was pretty much the same face we got from John all night long. He was filled with pure excitement. I don't think he needed any additional ice cream to make him bounce off the wall. Doesn't he just look full of joy?

The birthday crown was the one he made at preschool. He was so proud of the "watermelons" on the crown. I'm assuming he's talking about the circle stamps. He was so excited to wear the crown at school and then again at home.

Happy 2nd Birthday Bekah Mae!

I should have done this a long time ago...since it's almost John's birthday. WOW! Here's to keeping up with the kids...a New Year's Resolution! Hah!

We celebrated a small birthday party for Bekah on her 2nd birthday back in December (hence the Christmas themed party). Shawn mentioned that she's going to have a Christmas theme to her birthdays forever. Probably true. But she picked out what type of cake she wanted. She got to choose between a reindeer, a snowman, Santa Claus, and the Christmas tree. I think she was most excited about getting a candy cane with her cake. And it was a fun cake to make too.

Anyway, thanks to everyone for the gifts she received. She LOVES her sheets and constantly reminds us that "Gamma Sue give me bed" and then she snuggles into her blanket. What a cute girl!

We later had a combined birthday party for the kids in our development. We had a lot of friends show up to celebrate with us. One family gave Bekah some bath time paints. She decided it would be a good idea to try them out in her bed and on her teddy bear! Good thing they're all washable! Everyone enjoyed the paints in the bath. Daddy loved showing the kids how to mix colors to make different colors. Great bubbles!

And the biggest news for Bekah...she's doing very well on the potty! It looks like she might be potty trained before all of the snow melts! That's wonderful news for all of us! She's truly getting to be a big girl!