20+ questions with Brynn (6 years old)

How time is a flying...Here's the Q & A session with my 6 year old.  Brynn's words are in blue...

1.  What is your favorite color?  Purple!

2.  What is your favorite movie?  Wizard Of Oz

3.  What is your favorite toy?  Woodie and Jessie.  Mama, why are we doing this again?

4.  What do you like to do with Mama?  Go shopping, have sleepovers and get our nails done...and that time we put that yucky stuff on our faces (aka. Mud masks).

5.  What do you like to do with Daddy? Snuggle and go to the zoo.

6.  What is love?  It's when you like someone a lot.  Then you love them.

7.  How do you know that Mama and Daddy love you?  You take me to school, you tell me and you are always nice to me.  Always?  How about most of the time?  Giggles...No, you are nice all of the time.

8.  What do you want to me when you grow up?  A Mommy and maybe a dancer

9.  What do you think Colti will be when he grows up?  A rocket driver or a pirate

10.  Who is you best friend?  Carley.  And Mama and Daddy and Abby and Colton, Kaylee, Riley, Hunter, Aiden, Shayden, Riley and Ava....  Mama, I have a lot of best friends.

11.  What is your favorite song?  Sophia the First and It's Time for your Check Up (Doc McStuffins).  Oh wait!  Can I change my favorite song?  Sure!  Dynamite!  Dynamite?  Yeah you know...(singing) I throw my hands up in the air sometimes saying AAAA-yo, gotta let go!

12.  What do you like most about school?  Everything!

13.  What is the worst thing about school?  Nothing!

14.  What is your favorite thing to eat?  Icecream!

15.  What makes you happy?  Mama and Daddy (melt) and Disney.

16.  What are you good at?  Uh...that's a hard one.   Soccer, ballet, tap and reading and sometimes taking care of Colton.

17.  What is your favoirte thing to do with Colti?  Have a sleepover!

18.  Where is your favoirte place to go?  Disney!  Where else?  The zoo

19.  What is the most fun thing you have ever done?  Go to Disney

20.  What is something that you are looking forward to?  Having a sleepover with my friends and Miss Delaware and going to Disney (FYI:  We do not have a  trip planned for the foreseeable future).

Mama, can we do some more questions?  Uhhh...sure? We'll do a few more.

21.  What is your favorite TV Show.  Sophia The First and Doc McStuffins

22.  How much does it cost to buy milk?  Ummmmm....$5.00.  Is that right?

23.  How much does it cost to go to Disney?  Uhhhh...like $100?

24.  If you had a million dollars what would you buy?  A Disney backyard (the child may be obsessed).

25.  What do you think will be the most fun about being a first grader?  Learning more and all the new work we get to do.

Mama, can we do a few more?  No Brynn.  It's past your bed time and you are stalling!

Brynn and Colton's Birthday Bash

This year we tossed out the idea that the kids have combined birthday parties.  We told them that if they shared their parties that they could have a friend party and a family party.  Option two was that they each have their own family party.  Dan and I were really hoping they would choose the combined parties.  We have a million nieces and nephews and I swear we party every single weekend from March until June.  That makes party planning really hard especially since we had the Wizard of Oz in the middle of that time too.  Fortunately, the kids LOVED the idea and talked of little else for the next 3 months.

The kids and I had a great time coming up with a gender neutral "theme" for the parties. We ended up going with a "String 1 and String 2" theme for the friend party and a Neverland party for the family.  Here's a look at the String 1 and String 2 invite.  I can't include the Neverland one because it has my address on it and I don't want the wack-a-doodles out there knowing that little piece of info.

We had the String 1 and String 2 party at the Kid's Cottage.  They took care of everything from food to clean up and the kids had a blast on the indoor and outdoor playground.  So fun!

Some of the party peeps

Happy Birthday String 1 and String 2

indoor playground

Colton and Trae



Brynn and her girls



Happy kids

The Family party was much more of a production.  I was super excited about the Neverland theme and I just loved coming up with fun food, decoration and game ideas.  Both kids share a love of the Peter Pan movies right now so everyone had ideas.    Here's a quick glimpse:

Peter Pan, Wendy & Nana

Wendy walked the plank before the party but don't worry... Peter Pan was right there to catch her<3

There were lots of pirates and fairies around.

Digging for treasure

All smiles from the birthday girl and boy

Doesn't Wendy ALWAYS wear soccer cleats???

I think it's safe to say that Peter Pan had fun!





The weather could not have been more beautiful and the kids were just surrounded by their family.  At the end of the day both kids were exhausted but declared the Peter Pan party the "best one ever".  At the end of the day, I asked Brynn and Colton what their favorite part of the day was. Colton quickly replied "Cake!" and Brynn said "That our family all came here."  I think they are both right.

Twenty Questions with Colton (3 years old)

It's hard to believe but my little guy is now 3 which means it's time to start the annual birthday Q and A with him. Colti's words are in blue:)

1.  What is your favorite color?    "Lellow" (okay, I know I should start correcting him and making him say "yellow" but it's so stinking cute!)

2.  What is your favorite Movie?  Mickey Mouse (I was positive the answer to this was going to be Wreck it Ralph or Peter Pan which we watch endlessly right now!)

3.  What is your favorite toy?  Mickey Mouse, Mickey One and Big Mickey

4.  What do you like to do with Mama?  Play peter pan

5.  What do you like to do with Daddy?  Play Jake and the never land pirates and daddy is Captain Hook

6.  What is love?  Valentine's day and flowers.  I will give you a flower.

7.  How do you know Mama and Daddy love you?  Because I make good choices and you told me that

8.  What do you want to be when you grow up?  ummmmm.....a scarecrow (Lol...he has seen a LOT of Wizard of Oz lately!)

9.  What do you think Brynnie will be when she grows up?   uhhhhhh....Brynnie will be the tinman.

10.  Who is your best friend?  Trae Loper and Madi and Mama and Daddy and Brynnie and Pumpkin.  Not T.O. because T.O bite me.

11.  What is your favorite song?  I had a little Turtle.  I named him Tiny Tim.  I put him in the bathtub to see if he could swim.  He drank up all the water.  He ate up all the soap.  And now my little turtle has a bubble in his throat. Bubble, Bubble, Bubble.  Bubble, Bubble, Bubble.  Bubble, Bubble, bubble. Bubble, Bubble, POP! (sang at the top of his lungs).

12.  What do you like most about school?  Playing with my friends

13. What is the worst thing about school? When I make bad choices  What happens when you make bad choices?  I get in trouble and it's not good

14.  What is your favorite thing to eat?  Candy

15.  What makes you happy?  Mama (yep, totally melted)

16.  What are you good at?  Playing toys  What else?  Splashing

17.  What is your favorite thing to do with Brynn?  When she read her book to me and when we play in the rollers (roller skates).

18.  Where is your favorite place to go?  Mommom's house

19.  What is the most fun thing you have ever done.  Play toys

20.  What is something that you are looking forward to?  Huh?  What you said?  Uhhh...I don't know.

Happy 6th Birthday Brynn!

Dear Brynn,

Today is your 6th birthday.  I am just in awe.  How did the time go so fast and what did we ever do before you came into our lives? Exactly six years ago Daddy and I were in the hospital awaiting your arrival.  We were anxious, excited and somewhat overwhelmed.  We always dreamed of you and talked about what it would be like to have you but nothing could have prepared us for the surge of emotion we would feel that day.  I will never forget the terrifying lows of that day but the highs were some of the most amazing of my life.  When you finally made your grand entrance into the world you took Daddy and I's breath away.  Our purpose on earth became crystal clear as we looked at your sweet face.  Someone once wrote a quote that said "Choosing to have a child is choosing to walk around the rest of your life with your heart exposed."  That couldn't be truer...you and Colti are without a doubt "our heart".  We love you so much and would do absolutely anything for you baby girl.

This morning we woke up early and Daddy, Colti and I sang Happy birthday to you.  After that you followed a balloon trail to your birthday gifts.  You got a Doc McStuffins outfit, a new pool, some elbow and knee pads and the coveted purple roller skates.  You were so excited to go to school today.  Your best friend Carley and you just happen to share a birthday and are in the same class.  Carley's Mama and I teamed up to create a nice birthday celebration for your class including cupcakes and ice cream.  You are also super excited to head to a family dinner at Chuckie Cheese tonight.

You are growing into the most amazing young lady.  You love soccer and have gotten quite good at it.  It's not uncommon for you to score several goals in a game now.You are also still dancing and getting ready for this weekend's production of the Wizard of Oz where you will be a munchkin and a gem.You are quite the little over-achiever at heart and have quite the list of "lessons" that you advocate often for including horseback riding, T-ball, piano and gymnastics.  You are so smart.  This year, you were one of two kindergartners to win a Reading Counts Award and you scored at the top of your class on the DIBLES test.  You have also been Student of the Month and your principal called me to tell me how wonderful you are doing in school.  You are also a sweetheart and take such good care of your friends and little brother.  Can you tell that we are SO proud of you??

Your favorite color is still purple.  You love rainbows, Hello Kitty, Doc McStuffins and any sort of craft/art project.  Your favorite food is easily ice cream.  You like mint chocolate chip the best but will settle for pretty much any flavor. Wizard of Oz is topping the list of your favorite movies right now along with Wreck it Ralph.  You are also a big fan of the tv show Good Luck Charlie.  You are currently wearing a size 6x and an 11 or 12 shoe.  We have recently started a chore chart at home at your request and you love earning stickers every day. 

Happy 6th birthday Brynnie Chicken Dinnie.  I love you all the way up to God and back 5,422 + infinity times:)

xoxo,
Mama

Hello Tubes and Goodbye Tonsils

I wrote this post months ago but for some reason never published it.  So  here it is...


So this particular post is way over due (like two months...but whose counting) but I'm determined to go back and catch up on some of those big moments that I missed.

We started our fall in not one of the best ways possible.  Both of the kids had to have minor surgery (I say minor but at the time this Mama thought it was anything but minor).  Colton had to get his third set of tubes in his ears and Brynn had to have a tonsil and adnoidectomy.  I was quite honestly a nervous wreck (yea...I know but Drama Queen is just in my blood).

The night before the surgery we stayed at Grammie and Grampie's house (to save us 40 mins of drive time).  Brynn was feeling a little bit of apprehension about the whole thing at this point so I decided to get the kids a cake to celebrate the new tubes and say goodbye to those yucky tonsils.  The cake was supposed to say "Hello tubes, Goodbye Tonsils"...

Whatever, the kids were happy..


Prior to taking the kids into the operating room the nurses gave both them some medicine to help them relax.  The doctor told us that it was an anti-inhibitor.  He said that it would make them feel "drunk".  It had very different effects on the kids.  Colton turned into the life of the party.  He was laughing at everything and being really silly.  Someone asked him if he could whistle and he stood on his hospital bed, shouted "woot woot" and then busted out laughing.  Brynn on the other hand got really weepy and snuggly.  Thus Colton went into the operating room laughing the whole way.  Brynn went in crying for Mama and holding her arms out to me.  It seriously broke my heart.  I stood there and bawled. 

Over all both kids made out great.  Within a couple of hours, Colton was released to Ronald McDonald House with Daddy.  Brynn came out of surgery in pretty rough shape.  She was in a lot of pain.  Once they got the pain under control she was a champ!  She at tons of icecream, watched a lot of movies and enjoyed charming all of the nurses.  There was a vomiting incident in the middle of the night but the nurses quickly got that under control with the help of some medicine. 

Colton was back to himself a day later (he did have the post-anesthesia rage the night of the surgery but I spent the night in the hospital with Brynn so I missed it).  It took Brynn about a week to get back to normal.  She was really pale and tired easily for longer than I expected. 

All in all I'm really grateful that things went smoothly and that we did both surgeries. Neither kid has been back to the doctor since the surgeries (knocking on wood).

Easter 2013

We had a great and traditional Easter. It's a jam packed day for us but one that follows the same pattern every year.  We get up and check to see if the Easter Bunny came.  Next we, go to the sunrise service at church and then eat a yummy breakfast with our church family,  after that we head to my step-aunt's house for the annual Easter egg hunt and then we end the day with dinner at my grandmother's house.

The Easter Bunny came:)  Note to self:  Never let your children pick out their own jammies on Easter Eve.

My cuties in their Easter finery

Taking a little break during the egg hunt. 





 

Cousin time

It was a pretty amazing day.  I was completely exhausted when we got home but could definitely feel all of God's blessings.  Happy Belated Easter everyone:)