Birthday Girl

A couple of weeks ago, we had a birthday party for our best girly.  It was so much fun!  In the past, we have done the big, blowout birthday parties and invited her whole class...but this year, we decided to "simplify" things and only invite a few super close friends.  Kinley loves Cupcake Wars, so we decided to do our own version of her favorite show.

Decorations

We set up everything so that the girls had easy access to the kitchen and all of the necessary tools.  We had plans for the girls to choose a cake flavor, icing flavor, and decorations.  We chose a beach theme because our girly loves the beach and summertime!  We also got all of the necessary supplies to make displays for their tasty creations.

Each team had their own bowl, complete with measuring spoons and a cute cupcake pot holder.

They chose their cake flavor and baking cups.

There were plenty of options for decorating too!

We had the table set and ready for lunch when they got home from the gym.  Each girl had a cupcake headband and an apron for the festivities!

We even gave out awards--they were decided upon AFTER the cupcakes were created, and ranged from "Best Use of Beach Theme" to "Most Random Cupcake Ever" (that was Kinley's pink cupcake with candy lips all over it.  Beach romance, perhaps?).  Special thanks to my sisters for "judging"!  Each girl also got to take her tasty creations home in the plastic cupcake trays, thanks to Publix!

The Party

We picked up the girls at the gym after their Saturday morning workouts, and after a lunch of Chick-fil-a nuggets and chips and dip, they got serious about partying.They started by making their aprons using fabric markers.  They turned out so cute!

After making cupcakes and display stands (which I'll have to post pictures of at another time because I can't get my camera to work!), we had birthday cake and let Kinley open gifts before we headed out for an evening at Bridge Street.

A Night On the Town

The girls had dinner at PF Chang's (and we were so proud of those who tried new things!), and then did some shopping.  We had a blast watching them run around and play and be in that in-between little girl and big girl stage.

We came back home for a sleepover to end the night, and although I'm not sure how much actual sleeping took place, I think they had a good time.

Mommy Thoughts

It is hard to believe that my girly is NINE.  Half of eighteen years--wow...that went by in a hurry!  I heard John Croyle say years ago that when a baby is born you should imagine them with a suitcase, and you have eighteen years to pack all of the good things that you can into that suitcase so that they will be ready when they leave you.  At the time, eighteen years sounded like a loooooooong time.  Now...not so much.  The days are long, but the years are short.

We have loved every minute of Kinley's nine years with us, and this little party was such a fun way to celebrate her.  Here's to the next nine, E!  We love you!

Kiddo Update

Life is busy this month.  Crazy, fun, busy.  So here is a quick kiddo update, just to share some pictures of what my favorite little people have been up to.

Kinley

If you read this post, you saw that she is wearing a lovely fashion accessory these days.  She did participate in the Little Miss Rebel Pageant, and was first runner-up, boot and all!

She and her gymnast girlies cleaned up the chalk and glammed up--it was sweet to see them together.  

My favorite moments of the night were the high five she and Ellie shared after being called up on stage a second time and the little "good job" that I saw her whisper to the winner as she stepped back into the lineup after being crowned.  Before we left for the school, I kept telling her that it's what's on the inside that counts--and she proved that she understood.

She is winding down her year in third grade, getting ready to turn 9, and making plans for a fun summer.  I love hanging out with her right now!

Case

At two and a half, this little boy has reached a silly point where everything he says is funny!  His favorite things are to tell us the story of the Three Little Pigs, say "Wet me see..." while pretend scratching his chin, and excitedly exclaim, "I ha a good idea!"  Sunday morning when I was getting dressed, I saw this little face peek over the drawer:

He also loves showing off his muscles!

As always, he loves playing with tractors.  He found this helmet on the day of our yard sale and now thinks he has to wear it to drive his "dat-doo trac."  

He found a dirt patch that is perfect for digging in the front yard, and if we even leave the front door cracked just a little, he and his brother will find it and escape to their favorite place:  outside.

I always wanted a little boy to dig in the dirt. :)

Camp

This little boy is going to be the one who keeps us on our toes.  He is starting to talk and loves the /b/ sound.  He has started running and I love his little squatty running steps.  He loves going outside as much as his big brother, and can escape in a blink.  As a matter of fact, last week he escaped while we were playing in the front yard and this is where I found him:

He's a climber!  He has always loved to play in the cabinet where my mixer is, and Sunday night THIS happened:

Y'all--while I was in the kitchen putting up groceries this happened.  I thought he was just playing in the cabinet.  He started whimpering, then crying, and when his cry changed tone, I looked down and saw that his head was STUCK in the cabinet between the braces that hold the mixer shelf in place and the wall.  His poor little ear was bright red from trying to get himself out!  I yelled for Zeke, whose first question was whether I had taken a picture!  Luckily, we just had to move the shelf over and make his head go down and out instead of up and out like he was trying to do.  In the past month, we've swallowed a battery, called poison control, and gotten a head stuck.  He's going to be a challenge, this one.

And, I couldn't resist sharing this photo:

That is cousin love at its finest.  These two are inseparable when they are in the same house.  Audrey will crawl, wiggle, push you, whatever it takes to get close to her Kinley--and once she latches on, she doesn't let go.  We really can't say no to her charms...so if she wants K, she gets K, even in the middle of dessert.  We are love, love, loving having our sweet A close by--and from that sweet grin on her face, it looks like she might be loving it too.

These babies are my sweet chaos...even in the midst of a packed month, STILL the most fun I've ever had!

A Big Boo-Boo

Last Monday, I was giving the boys a bath and waiting on Kinley to come home from the gym.  I heard Zeke say, "Mama?  Ankle!" and looked around to see him carrying Kinley like a baby into the bathroom.  She had folded her foot under when she tried to land her vault, and then it popped to the side.  Of course, in true gymnast fashion, they gave her a cold pack for it and she continued her workout on one leg.  (Grr.)  She was in pain, we called Papa to come check it out, and we all assumed that it was just a bad sprain.  It really started to hurt (and swell!) at bedtime, but we gave her Tylenol and she went to sleep.

When she woke up Tuesday, she was really hurting.  I didn't want her to hop all over school, I couldn't take off work, and people at my parents' house were sick, so I gave her such sweet motherly advice: "You are going to have to limp on it today, and I'll call the doctor."  I am sure my Mom of the Year medal is arriving any day now (sarcastic font).  Little did I know that her third grade day consisted of not one, not two, but THREE trips out to the playground!  By the time I saw her around 12, her face was pale and drawn and she was in mega pain.  

We left for the pediatrician's office right after school.  She hobbled in and Dr. Parmer took one look at it and sent us to the orthopedic doctors for x-rays because of a growth plate close to the place where most of her swelling (and, at this point, pretty colors!) was.  After an x-ray, Dr. Ellis informed us that her growth plate was, in fact, fractured.  He said that she would be in an air cast/boot for around 4 weeks and asked if we had any questions.  Kinley (in her most grown-up 8 year old voice) spoke up. "Um, actually, yes I do.  I have a pageant Friday night, and I was wondering if I would be able to take this off for that?"  He was amazing with her, and very seriously answered her very serious question by telling her that she had to be careful because even a slight twist of the weakened bone could cause it to break, and because of the location, she would have to have surgery.  She was satisfied with his answer, they fitted her with a boot, and we left.

It was almost 5:00 (time for gym!), but no fractured growth plate could keep this girl down!  We called to let them know that she would be late, picked up her brothers, changed her clothes, and off she went to the gym.  These girls are tough as nails, I tell ya.  

I'm proud of how she has handled her injury so far.  She has been super brave and hasn't let it get her down--or slow her down!  She is still going to the gym and following doctor's orders so that she can heal soon and return to her regularly scheduled program.  She's a tough cookie!

My Girl.

My girl will be nine years old this month.  It is so hard to believe.  She is my firstborn--the little person that made me a mommy.  She is my guinea pig and for that reason I will probably always feel somewhat like I owe her an apology.  She is like her Mama when she squishes her food before she takes a bite, like her Daddy when she puts together our IKEA bookshelves by herself (true story!), and like her Aunt Lori when she argues you into the ground.  She loves the color pink, reading, pop music, summertime and flip flops, and picking on her little brothers.  

When she watches TV, she splits her time between the Disney Channel, How It's Made, The Pioneer Woman, and Cupcake Wars.  After watching cooking shows with me, she has turned into quite the foodie herself.  She loves to help in the kitchen, and is old enough to start making her own goodies--and she is really good at it!  We don't mind too much when she asks to make brownies :)

 

She is always up for trying something crazy on in the stores, and has the most beautiful blue eyes behind that mask. I prayed for a little blue-eyed Terry girl, and that is EXACTLY what I got!

She LOVES her brothers and has even admitted that she can't imagine life without them.  She is an amazing big sister and helper.  She has even taught Case to count to ten.  I heard her in the playroom last week beating on the table..."Now Case, listen and tell me how many loud noises you hear!"

She is silly and funny and isn't afraid to laugh at herself.  She has a wicked sense of humor--probably from 6 1/2 years of being our only baby and being treated as the third adult in the house.  Her April Fool's joke this year?  A note on her teacher's desk that simply said, "You're fired."  It was signed, ahem, by the principal, in perfect, third grade cursive.  And when she put it on the desk and giggled with her two friends, her statement was, "If she asks who did it, we ALL have to raise our hands!"  At least she values honesty, right?

She is fiercely competitive--even to the point of knocking her little brother out so that he won't win the race to slap Mama's hands.  She is an amazing gymnast and in all of her competitions, at multiple levels, has only finished outside of First Place on floor ONCE.

She loves art and I love displaying her art, so we work well together.

 

Being a girl mommy is a challenge.  I look at her sometimes and see me, which means we sometimes butt heads because we are, in fact, much the same.  I want so much for her that sometimes my heart hurts.  But mostly, I just want to know her, and be there for her, and love her, because my spunky, sweet, silly girly is growing up, and I don't want to miss a thing.