Shock and Disbelief

I am in SHOCK!!!
I am in DISBELIEF!!!
I CANNOT believe that it has happened already!!!
The baby that made me a momma and Jas a daddy just turned 6!!!
I know it sounds so incredibly cliche' but time has gone by so fast!
I think back to when she was born and I remember what a perfect experience it was.
She was a planned cesarean which meant that we got to choose her birthday, the time of surgery, etc.
(This works well for the planner in me)
We were able to enjoy a last dinner out with some dear friends and Jas' brother, Uncle B, was able to join us. Then we returned home, and Jas and B and I had a quiet night; mostly talking about what we thought the baby would be (boy or girl-didn't know) and how much we were anticipating their arrival.
Well FLASH FORWARD 6 YEARS...
...and let the Birthday Festivities Begin.
(a picture that I took of her Wednesday night before bed...her last night being 5)
As soon as her little 'biscuits' were snuggled in bed and asleep,
I got my 'biscuits' in the kitchen and got to work making her cupcakes for school the following day.
We decided that we would have 'dirt' cupcakes for the boys...
...and pink lemonade cupcakes for the girls.
Funny thing was that boys were so intrigued with the straws in the cupcakes that they mostly chose the pink ones as well.

Thursday
Here A is when she woke up Thursday morning...
She climbed onto Jas' lap
(he took the morning off to hang with us)
and asked if she was 6 yet...
because she didn't feel any different
and her hands hadn't even gotten any bigger :-)

Jas took A and Had and the little boy I watch to their 'usual' weekend hangout for donuts.
Look below...can you tell why?
On your birthday, the incredibly sweet owners of the donut shop build the birthday kiddo their VERY OWN BIRTHDAY TOWER OF SUGAR...(I mean donuts).

A looking less than thrilled that they all sang Happy Birthday to her...
but it certainly didn't curb her appetite.

Later at school just prior to passing out sugar...
I mean cupcakes, to her peers, A got serenaded yet again.
We ended her actual birthday night with tee-ball practice, 2-dozen more cupcakes and her requested dinner of spaghetti and homemade meatballs.
SUPER FUN DAY!!!

FRIDAY
Since A's birthday fell on a Thursday, it made it a little difficult to do any fun with her friends because of early kindergarten bedtimes...
so we opted to extend her birthday to Friday as well.

Here A is on her playhouse porch with some of her most favorite girls from school.

Aren't they adorable?
They were so silly and goofy!
I am anticipating and hoping that they will remain friends through high school and beyond.
They are each such good girls and their parents are all wonderful...

After a little silliness in the backyard, we ventured out to
Red Robin (YUM!) for dinner.
While waiting for our table for 7,
we spent a little time in the arcade.
You know what I learned,
these girls had just as much fun pretending to drive without the quarters
(I'd forgotten them).Here are the girlies eagerly and patiently waiting to order.
(and in case you're wondering what that stuff is filtering through the blinds...
it's this thing called sunshine..which we haven't had much of since...
Gosh, I can't remember when)

Here's Had...perusing her menu and trying to narrow down her options.
She finally settled on chicken strips and cantaloupe.Jas was such a trooper...he was the only boy amidst 6 girls.
He wins "Dad-Of-The-Year" cause he just sat there smiling, thrilled to see his A having such a great time.

Here A is talking to Uncle B who was calling to wish her a
Happy Birthday.
She looks so mature!

This picture was taken approximately 4.8 seconds after the girls had received their balloons.

The car ride home...

Once we arrived back home, the girls stayed in the house,
while I hid Easter eggs for them full of fun birthday goodies.

Here's 'M&M' spotting one near the playhouse.

Miss R found the one I hid near the roses.

A making a mad dash towards the hydrangeas.
(Lord, I hope that we get some sunshine soon so that our
'Wall-O-Hydrangeas' bloom)

And Miss Abbra-Cadabbra tucking one into her bag ever so gently.

And Sister Had doing her best to blow up her balloon.
(It kept her entertained for a good portion of the night)

Miss R and A with her newest toy...
ZOOBLES!!!
I had never heard of them before...
but they are kind-of cute and A loves them because they are small and animals.
She got quite a few of them and also some TeaCup Piglets...
which are so stinkin' cute.

Anticipating and preparing for their Senior Year Book and Slideshow...
I had to get a few shots of the four of them as kindergartners.
(I know...I'm taking my planning to an extreme here, huh?)

These girls are such crack ups.

Now the original plan had been dinner and an egg hunt...
but A took it upon herself to tell everyone it was a slumber party.
So after receiving an email from another parent trying to get clarification...
we added 'slumbering' to our agenda.
(I honestly didn't think that kindergartners' were ready for slumber parties...
but they proved me wrong...because after watching
Despicable Me and having popcorn, then brushing teeth,
they all crashed on the floor.Saturday

After breakfast, we all headed back to our Donut Shop for a
little sweet treat before returning the ladies home.
"Amy, Jonelle and Janelle...You can thank me later."

Miss Abbra-Cadabbra wins the award for best hair.
Isn't she adorable?

Had eating her favorite part of the donut...
THE TOP!!!

Oh! Such nice friends...sharing their water.

Then the girls returned to their families and Jas and his two girls headed to the river.
I had 2 more dozen cupcakes to prepare for for our family party Saturday afternoon.
That's right...a third party...
this girl sure is spoiled.

Here was my favorite of all of the 6 dozen cupcakes that I baked over the course of
A's Birthday Extravaganza.
They are 'Cherry Cola' and they are as DELICIOUS as they look.
I'll admit, it is a little odd to bite into a cupcake and taste soda...
but OH MY STARS!!!
They were a hit!

A has really taken a liking to tee-ball
and loves to play catch with anyone with a mitt...
or not, she'll lend you her dad's.

She and dad got to spend a lot of time playing
because God decided to gift A with the most gorgeous day of the year.
I'm not sure there is anything that makes Jas more proud than playing catch with his girl...
(this may change once she's killed her first deer...but for now, this is it!)

She and I got in some 'catch' as well.
The girl's got a great arm for 6 (and her aim is improving).

We're gonna have to remodel our home to make room for all of her
birthday goods.
Z and Had were more than willing to help A with her gifts.
Thanks to all of our friends and family for their generosity.

By the time the party was over, we were all winding down from the birthday festivities.
Had and Oobie took a stroll around the yard...smelling the different tree blossoms in bloom.

Had sure loves her Oobie Doob...she kept saying out of the blue,
I 'yub' you

A getting in some quality Grandma-Time reading books;
something they are both very passionate about...
I hope that we can nurture A to continue to be a reader.

And of course, one last round of catch with Oobie
(Jas and I were cleaning up the party mess).
I can't tell for sure...
but doesn't it look like Had is tying his laces together...
I wouldn't put it past her.

Again a GIGANTIC thank you to those who helped up celebrate our girl!
She is a wonderful 6 year old (with a few feisty moments) and we are eager to see what this year of being 6 holds in store for her.

Alright, just enough time to relax, recoup and get ready for Had's birthday in just a few weeks.
HAPPY SPRING!!!

...with my peeps!

Have I ever mentioned that amidst all of the crazy animals that we have throughout our home that we also have a bunny?
Well...
We Do!
His name is Oliver.
And he is a wonderful bunny to have as a part of our family.
Oh...and he makes a wonderful 'prop' in pictures this time of year.
During a visit with a new friend, Kristal {Kristal Joy Photography}, who is a very talented photographer, I had mentioned that I wanted to have her take a few pictures of our girls for Easter and that I wanted to include Oliver in them as well.
(you see, Oliver has been in ALL of our Easter pictures that we've had taken of the girls...even back when it was just A)
Actually, it was at a session at Yuen Lui Studios that we learned that Oliver was up for adoption at the end of his scheduled Easter photo sessions...and me being OVERLY sentimental and too easily attached, decided (after some gentle coaxing to Jas) that he must become a part of our family (so we could continue to use him for our Easter pics).
That's right, we have a bunny that we care for, feed, etc for 365 days a year, basically so we can use him for our girls Easter pics.
But I WILL mention that we DO love him.
Anyhow, back to my original thought...
(cause I did have one)
after mentioning this to Kristal, she told me that she in fact had planned on hostessing a
Spring Mini Photo Shoot for any of her clients that were interested and was in the process of looking for a location.
She asked if she could do it at our home...
and after some serious consideration (took about 1.4 secs) I blurted,
'Of course you can do it here!'
Thus began my immediate motivation to spruce up our gardens and yard.
In addition to using our bunny-boy,
Kristal's momma, Pam, also brought along 6 baby chicks.
(insert big 'AAWWW')
My girls were infatuated with them...
I mean, how can you not be.
A was a very good 'chickie momma.'
The one she was holding even fell asleep cupped in her hands.
Had fell in love with the black one...
(there were 5 yellow ones and one little black one)
She was so sweet and gentle with her new-found-friend.
HONEST, she was INCREDIBLY gentle with it.
Very loving and nurturing!
Our kitty-boy, Reuben, took a liking to them too.
And while you would think that he was probably licking his 'chops' and wanting to get a hold of one to snack on...to know Reuben, you would know that he was probably standing guard to make sure that our 'other' cat, Carlos, wasn't getting near them.
OK...so after 7 families had shown up with their a.d.o.r.a.b.l.e. kiddos all dressed in their Easter best...
it was A and Had's turn.
(Actually, Had was still napping, so we started with A).

OH MY!!!
She is beginning to look like quite the little woman.

...but she'll always be our little girl.
I love how sweet and demure she looks in this picture!

Loving on Had's chickie...
Had was obviously still napping, or this picture would NOT have happened with this chick.

'MORNING HAD!!!
Yes...you can hold your little chickie some more.'

Here's Had's version of 'sweet and demure.'
But to know this girl...is to know that this moment quickly passed.
Don't get me wrong, she is a very sweet little girl, but she is also such a little 'firecracker.'

SISTERS!!!!

Had was in her element and was just 'hamming' it up.Had loves to have an audience to 'perform' in front of.
Since we were the last clients of the day,
Kristal was able to spend a few extra minutes with us
(THANK YOU FOR THAT KRISTAL)
and a few neighbors had gathered to see why we had had random cars coming and going all morning and afternoon.
...and while they may not admit it...
they were also wanting to hold some of the baby chicks as well.

MY FAVORITE !!!
I {love} EVERYTHING about this picture.
You see, A wasn't just wearing these boots as props for the pictures...
they are her 'daily's!'
And she 'rocks' them.

I love how this picture somehow captures some of A's spunky personality in it...
even though you can't see her face.

And finally, A showing off how old she was going to be in just 5 days.
(yes, we were counting down)

The {entire} day was WONDERFUL...
I got to spend some time with a very talented photographer,
who is expecting soon and sweet as can be.
I also got to spend some time with her lovely momma, Pam,
who I've known for gosh, 8yrs (I think).
And I got to see some absolutely adorable kiddos 'play' around in our yard and have their pictures taken.

Kristal, what do you think?
Do it again next year?

Happy Easter to you all!