Emmaline is the Big FIVE!

Today Emmaline Jade is five years old.

I can't really believe it has been 5 years since I first held my first baby. What a bittersweet week it has been! We have been celebrating her birthday week since Monday and she has loved every minute of it! She is my party girl..always ready for one and never too tired!

I wanted to do something each day that was special and new for her. First, she got to be the 'leader' (basically she gets to do things first, lead the line when we are walking in somewhere, etc) all week long! She got to do a photoshoot (which she really liked after the fact and kept saying she wanted to do it again), fly her 1st kite she picked out (a princess one), buy Skittles from a convenience store and keep the change (she was more excited about her change than the candy I think!), go swimming in the pool with Gauge, making her favorite meals (ravioli, pizza, spaghetti) and desserts. She got to have lunch with Daniel at his hospital by herself. We had movie night with popcorn and gum (her faves) which always makes her day! We also went to see the Lorax with Granddad and she requested Skittles and her 'special drink' that she gets with MaMa (a cherry slurpie)!

Sugar effects her quickly and she gets so hyper. She gets the giggles and can't help herself from laughing. She also can't help but do things she knows she isn't supposed to, even if she is going to get in trouble she will do it. Not a good thing for our future years together! HA! Here is a typical attitude picture {of a tween}! Emmaline weighs 43 pounds and is about 43 inches tall (my measurements) At the dr. she weighed 41 lbs. and is 43 inches tall! She is 75th % for height and 60th % for weight, just like she has been since she was born!

I do want her to read this one day and know how incredibly blessed me and her Daddy feel that she is ours for this time here on earth. She was the one to make us parents, a family..she taught us about ourselves and how to love unconditionally. Emmaline is a great big sister with such a mothering personality. She is sensitive, sassy and a tattle-tail. She loves her family and says, "what makes me happy the most is being with my family!"

She apologizes without being asked, reminds us to bless our dinner, and thinks kissing on the lips is gross! She has already mastered the eye roll and knows how to be a smart-alec. One of her latest things is to tell Georgia she wants to 'do math' and they will talk about numbers and what equals what..it is serious business! Emmaline loves to learn and wants to be smart. She can spell pretty well and I think will take up reading easily..she can sound things out now decently when she tries..I do forsee our homework future being a bit ugly though. She is a bit shy but warms up quickly to friends and is proud of herself when she does meet someone new! She can't keep her hands off her brother and does not like naptime. She helps me clean and loves the water! She loves animals and has a softhearted soul.

What a special, amazing, smart angel you are, Emmaline! We love you so much and are so thankful for your kind and loving heart. I am privileged to have a front row seat to see what God has in store for you! love always, Mommy

Punta Cana - dia dos

Thursday was the 2nd day we were on vacation, our 1st full day. We had a good breakfast and headed to the beach. The weather was perfect and it took no time to get burned..the wind sure makes you feel like you had enough sunscreen on.

There was kite flying, drinking, and lots of jokes. It was great to be back with old friends and get to catch up on a gorgeous beach. We ended up at the pool with the whole gang later on and there were contests!

Some of our group got up there, then my mom somehow got involved and the girls were all supposed to dance on this old guy. Once the girls figured that out, they scrambled in all different directions! It was hilarious!
We had strict orders to be at the Meet N Greet (rehearsal dinner) at 7:30, so we high-tailed it out of the pool and made our way to the room.

{They had these random characters, if you will, each day that had a new unique personality..it was interesting to say the least!}
Well, wouldn't you know we ended up taking a little nap in the room, instead of getting ready, and woke up to D's alarm (at 7:30((the start of the party))) How convenient! We rushed to get ready and made it fashionably late.

I have to bring notice to 2 things at the party...1)I tried sushi for the 1st time (and probably last)..it was awful but Daniel liked it ok..I don't eat that stuff.

2) Michael wore hand-made mariachi pants and leather shoes, all custom made for him! I just couldn't get over it..I didn't realize he was serious, but I guess since he lost lots of weight he wanted to show off a bit.. and he looked great, I am really proud of him!

Tom and Claudia showed up during the party...FUN!!

There were shots of Mamajuana of course then the real party started!

The casino was seen again and we won some money on roulette...go RED 14!! We headed to the bar and danced the night away!!

It was so much fun again and the next day was the big wedding!! There were early plans for a Bachelorette Entourage meeting at an adult only pool the next morning...let's just say, some goodies out of this bag were completely necessary! ;)

A Cut Above the Rest!

Friday morning, almost to the blessed weekend, Daniel swishes back into the bedroom before leaving. I leaned his way for a kiss, my eyes still closed but I got this down to a T so I know where to lean for the goods even when I'm half asleep, and instead hear a crash on my nightstand. Startled a bit, I hear him say, "The girls were cutting their hair. Here!" And I look over to see the blue 'safety scissors' I had left out. Super way to start the day!

{before}
I don't get out of bed right away because now I had the scissors and what else more could they really do? You see, I HATE MORNINGS. Almost any morning you will find me curled up in bed with 3 pillows (if I'm trully comfortable - 2 if I'm staying somewhere random and don't want to seem needy and really 1 is not sufficient for me)trying to squeeze out the last few moments of the night. If I can 'sleep in' til 8 I am happy. Even if I get woken up, I am not one of those that can't fall back asleep...oh, just give me a moment and I'll be out again or at least I'll pretend I am. I think years ago I tricked my body into thinking I was sleeping so I could survive motherhood. If I am lying down and my eyes are shut in a semi-dark room, I feel like I am getting rest.

OK, so I didn't dash out of bed to see the massacre of hair everywhere..I knew they would come to me..they always do! And soon enough there they were, climbing into Daddy's spot, giggling and asking for breakfast. I ask them about their new hair-dos. And before they answer I tell them that however short it is that is how short that I am going to cut all their hair off to. E slides off the bed wailing with tears and snot and uneven hair to her room (which is WAY TOO CLOSE to ours). G doesn't really understand what I mean.
So I get out of bed, grab HB up and snuggle him, cause he has done no wrong, and head off to the kitchen. While we eat, I ask the girls about the cutting of the hair. Emmaline is over her tears by now and Georgia is still not really saying much. I curse myself in my head because I had left out the art bin on the table (and even thought in my head that they wouldn't do anything bad with the scissors). I even had this conversation with a friend from MOPS about their hair.."I don't want to cut it, I love it long, but it's so hard to do, it's always tangled."

I ask Georgia what happened and she tells me that E had cut her hair. She didn't cut anyone's hair. It's pretty apparent that's the truth. Her hair is much worse off and E's is just snipped a few inches shorter here and there. G has a new cowlick look in the back and some nice layers in the front. I reminded them we were going to get their hair cut and it would short. I told E hers would be the shortest since she did the cutting. She was sad it would look like a boy's, like Hayes! Then, in true Emmaline attitude, she said she actually wanted a new haircut and wanted it to be easy to brush. She loves to turn things around!
Later on, we were cleaning up the playroom and I keep finding more and more blonde hair. I found a wad of it hid between the couch cushions. It made me sad to see all that sweet blonde hair! I seriously said a prayer it wasn't Hayesmans. I would have been furious!

{after}
So anyway, we eventually made our way to the salon and the girls got about 6 inches off at least. It is still plenty long and looks pretty! G's lady did a good job 'framing' her face.
It was bound to happen and it finally did..who knows if this will be the last time, but I will try and keep the scissors hidden. I will probably not be getting up any earlier in the morning though.

Leap froggin' for Leap Year!

After reading one of my favorite crafty blogs, introduced to me by one of my SILs, I knew what we had to do for this once in a 4 year day...
We headed to a nearby park, took a big blanket, snacks, beads and lots of energy!

The wind was mighty (which I think is the norm here) but we were excited to find a shady spot underneath the bridge. We set up shop and anchored ourselves so we wouldn't blow away.

We did blow bubbles and HB was so beside himself. He was trying to eat it each time I took them out, so I let him try it. He didn't like it much.

We also did a little Bible story from our AWANA book and sang songs. The girls do well with one each week or so and we usually color a picture that goes with our story and verse.

The other thing was making 'jewelry' with a bucket of beads that I usually don't get out.

The pieces are tiny and HB was trying to eat them mostly. He did like picking them up and dumping them out though.

Then it was time for our big Leap Year activity! I tried my best to explain the every 4 year bit to them but I'm sure it went over their head, so we just decided to go for the game -Leap Frog!
It was really cute..Emmaline said she already knew how to play,

Georgia said she was too little to jump over people but she did it and HB was hilarious...he loved it and tried so hard to climb over all of us. He smiled and danced around the entire time.

Hayes helped carry my water bottle to the car!It was a great Leap Day!