Lila is Six!

Well, my little baby girl turned six last week, and I haven't even had a spare second to blog about it! Why is it that that I have two children - one with a birthday a week before Thanksgiving, and one with a birthday a week before Christmas?! It's a crazy holiday season here.

Lila's birthday was last Thursday. We tried to hang birthday decorations to cover up the Christmas ones. She was thrilled to receive "Felicity" her new American Girl doll. She told me she was "the prettiest doll she had ever seen in her whole entire life". :) I love having daughters!

Lila continues to entertain us with her funny and whimsical ways. She's witty and smart. She loves going to school every day, and is having a terrific year. Her teacher reports that she is a leader - we knew this, but were happy to hear that other kids are actually starting to follow. Lila is helpful both at home and at school. Her big sister is her hero, and she can't wait for weekends when she is allowed to sleep with Emma. She loves to play with Barbies and organize her enormous make up collection. Our dog, Trudy, is her best friend and the two of them play for hours. Lila love animals of all kinds, butterflies and insects, nonfiction books from the library, snacks, and messy crafts. She finished playing soccer this fall and is loving being in a Daisy Girl Scout Troop. She loves making new friends and is quite the Kindergarten social butterfly. There's a funny/adorable story about Lila every day of her life, and we just love her and are so proud to be "the famous Lila" 's parents! What joy she brings to our lives!

Birthday morning

Birthday cupcakes at school

Birthday evening

Family party

Lila with her family

Pink cake with raspberries

Lila's Butterfly Birthday Party

My beautiful Butterfly Princess

The Kindergarten Krew :)

The picture she drew in her journal of her family celebrating her birthday.

Just look at all the love in the air!! :)

Christmas Treat Helper

...and her job was "bowl-licker". She took the role very seriously...

Sweet and Sassy

Well, it has begun. My second child now has a social life and Ryan and I are at the mercy of our daughters' social calendars. Kindergarten must be the official beginning - we have Birthday party invites every weekend. I know we can pick and choose what we attend, but it's all so new and exciting! :) Lila has been dragged around her whole life to everything Emma ever has, and now she's loving her new role as social butterfly. Plus, if other parents are insane enough to pay who-knows-how-much for super extravagent parties at awesomely fun locations, why shouldn't we take advantage of that?!

Last Friday was a highlight. Lila had a party at Sweet and Sassy - crazy girly fun! The 24! girls all got to dress in a gown, get their hair, nails, and makeup done, learn some party dances, and then walk the runway with their "new" look! While my feminist side knows that my daughter should be pulling her self-worth from within, the rest of me admits that it was a 5 year old's dream come true - and so cute and funny! Here's a peek:

This Friday Lila and I are going to a bouncy place for a party while Ryan is chaperoning the "Fifth Grade Event" at Emma's school. I sure hope the kids in Lila's class are all tired of all the glitz and high-energy fun by the time we have her party later this month. It's a butterfly party - at home with cupcakes, crafts, and a pinata. :)

Sleepover Party

Well, I survived my first sleepover party as the Mom! Emma had four of her friends come to a spa sleepover for her birthday last weekend. They were really nice girls and gave me nothing to complain about! It was a bit surreal when I (who must have just attended a slumber party as a girl last week - it seems that way, anyway!) had to get out bed, go downstairs, and in a mom voice, ask if they were going to sleep yet. In that moment, I felt for all of my childhood friends' moms who had to sleepily do the same. Here are some pictures from the adventure:

Lila, entertaining her sister's friends over pizza.

The whole gang

Presents...

Manicures - Emma's idea was to have each girl design a fingernail. Since there were 5 girls, they each had a set of the designs on each hand.

Birthday Girl

Hot Tub Beauties

They all got spa robes for a favor thanks to great deal at CVS last month :)

PB&J French Toast - yum!

So Thankful

Where do I begin to say what I'm thankful for?! I'm thankful for the wonderful life God has blessed me with to live for Him. I'm thankful for the responsibilities, opportunities, relationships, and comforts He has given me. I'm thankful for the peace, assurance, and joy that comes from having a relationship with Him.

Here are some action shots of the Thanksgiving Appetizer Party at my house:

"That Boy is a Running Fool"

Ryan completed his second marathon last Sunday in Philadelphia. He did really well, and we're all pretty glad it's over. He trained hard for this and was even ahead of his goal pace until his knee stopped working around mile 18. Still, he finished in 3:57 - under 4 hours! I can't even imagine running for 30 minutes, let alone 4 hours!

It was a beautiful day, and our friends were here visiting so Brad could run the marathon too. So Melynie and I took our six girls in to watch them finish.

A beautiful background and adorable fans

Yeah! Here he comes!

"Run, Daddy, run!"

So proud of their dad

Ryan and Brad with their medals

Ready to go find the car

Eleven!

My beautiful Emma turned eleven last week! She continues to make us incredibly proud to be her parents. What a wonderful young lady! Besides being sweet, loving, and gorgeous, we continue to hear reports from other parents about how nice and polite she is and how she includes others and stands up for herself and others who need her strength. She's having a great soccer season, plays the piano beautifully, and just got her report card with straight A+'s (well, she only got an A, a 95, in her accelerated Math class!). I know I'm bragging, but how can I not?! This is my annual blog post to tell you all what Emma's like, and she's just a terrific kid!

Aunt Becca gave her a straightening iron!

What a different look for my curly-headed beauty!

Family Shot

No fancy-themed cake to make this year - just Gramma's Chocolate Cake

New Converse and a vest

Lila was SO excited to give her a Pillow Pet!

New jammies for Emma and her American Girl dolls.

My little baby with her curls back

Woo hoo! It's game time!

Vacation

It was a rough week in Longboat Key, Florida.

Lots of relaxing on the beach,

fishing on the dock,

gorgeous sunsets,

experiencing wildlife,

going on rides,

dancing, shopping, and eating downtown,

and don't forget trick-or-treating.

It's a rough life, but someone has to live it! ;)