Barbie Birthday Party

This past Sunday we had Eva's 4th birthday party. She decided that she wanted a Barbie party! We enjoyed a special time with family and a few neighborhood pals. I wish I had taken more photos but I did get a few good ones :) 

Party cupcakes! I was going to make a fabulous Barbie cake but this ended up being way easier and just as delicious!

 Our dessert bar! Vanilla cupcakes with raspberry glaze, sugar cookies with lots of sprinkles, and brownies!

The awesome thing about a Barbie party was that I was able to resuse most of the decor I had bought for her first birthday. It had all been neatly stored in a box in the attic, bet my husband is glad now that I kept it all!

The lighting in this area always photographs really oddly....you  can see her birthday banner in the back and the table decor but it wouldn't focus in on it. Lots of pink, polka dots, Barbie and glitter!

Her four year old portrait, some pretty flowers (actually mine from Ryan!) and. some girly decor.

The birthday girl with her handsome Daddy! She is an absolute Daddy's girl.

 Me with my beautiful party girl.

Ready to open presents!

Ha! Once a kid has used a party horn they never forget what to do! 

Eva got lots of Barbie things......

 .....and lots of dress up clothes! She has her choice of princess dresses now!

This was her first party to get to invite a few friends. We've gotten to know some sweet neighborhood girls so we were excited to celebrate with them, along with all of her cousins.

 Making her birthday wish!

After desserts it was time to play outside! 

We set out all the fun backyard and water toys we own and just let them go for it.

With Nana and Papa

The birthday girl and Jensen with Dede, Uncle Peter, Mamy, Baba, and Grandpa Hank.

Thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate! Eva loved her party and has spent tons of time playing with her new gifts!

Four Years Old

Dear Eva Kate,
Happy 4th Birthday! Today we are celebrating loving the little girl who have grown up to become!  When I think about you, one of my most favorite things about you is that you can be friends with anybody. You are so outgoing and will walk up and ask anybody to play with you. You are so very social and love to be around people. You've been that way since you were born, and it sweet to see it continue to grow in you as you get bigger.

Sweet girl, you challenge us daily and keep us on our toes and asking God to give us wisdom as parents who love you deeply. When I pray for you I think about all of your incredible energy and passion and I wonder what amazing things God can do with you. A few weeks ago you told me you might like to be a nurse one day, to which I responded, "That is perfect for you! You always care when somebody is hurt. And nurses often work night shifts, which is fine because you don't like sleep!" You also tell us all the time that you want to be a cheerleader. Haha, who knows what you will become...

You are so independent and can do so many things on your own now. You can pick your clothes and get yourself dressed, make a sandwich, make your bed, go potty all by yourself and even buckle yourself in your car seat. You know all of your letters, you are learning to write more letters, and you can count up to 20. All these things are awesome! 

You are a super star when it comes to swimming and doing gymnastics! We aren't doing classes right now, but we have this past year and you still practice all the time. You like to play board games, read books, play dress up, play with Barbies, do puzzles, and bake in the kitchen together. Right now your favorite shows are Sofia the First, Daniel Tiger, and Little Einsteins. You love all Disney princess movies, especially Frozen and Brave. You still race around the house on your scooter or your tricycle and make us laugh all the time! Your favorite foods are tacos, pizza, and cookies. You told me that Pie Five {or High Five as you call it} is your favorite place to go.

You are the sweetest sister to Jensen, and often call all of your close friends your "sisters." You will randomly tell me that you love me all the time, which I love. I always love the feeling of holding your little hand in mine and hope that I get to do that for many more years. Last night at dinner I asked you who your best friend is now and you said....Me! I'll take it. You love going on dates with either me or Daddy and will ask to do that all the time. You talk about going to kindergarten all the time...two more years....slow down sister! Eva Kate, God broke the mold when he made you. You are like no other. I will always, always love you more than you know.
love, Mama

August Awesomeness

Before we fall into autumn {like what I did there?} I thought I would do a post to highlight some of the fun our family had in August. I typically dread August because its that last month of summer where it's so hot but you are kinda over the pool, but this year it wasn't so bad. Let's see....what did we do this past month?

We made trips to the grocery store. Little man was finally able to sit up in the cart! I also have reached the point where I do not enjoy a trip to the store with one mom and two children. Back up from Daddy is always nice.

Jensen sat in the swing at the park! I have a photo in our playroom of Eva in the same swing her first summer too. 

We swam with friends! Lots of friends. And then we said goodbye because they moved away : (

I bought a plastic pool on clearance at Aldi and we enjoyed watching movies in it before it went in the backyard.

Eva did Vacation Bible School for the first time and LOVED it. She asks every week when she can go back....and it's possible we still do the VBS songs that we found on YouTube.

We served with Ryan at Hawaiian Falls. Each summer Ryan is a Connections Pastor there and this summer we had a blast serving together as a family.

We embraced "Thirsty Thursdays" when our Chick-fil-a gave away free frosted lemonades every Thursday. I miss this one already.

We visited the A-MAZ-ING new Cinemark theatre right by our house and enjoyed a free screening of Minions in 3D.

We played at the splash pad with friends. I hope these babies grow up to be best friends!!!!

We went bowling for free thanks to the summer reading program at our local library!

We went on a Mama-Daughter date to ride slides at Hawaiian Falls. I had so much fun embracing my giggly girly side with Eva that night. She is big into "dates" and loves one on one time with either me or Ryan.

We bought lots and lots of fresh peaches at the Farmers Market on Saturday mornings.

My kids wore hats....to keep the sun out of their eyes....okay really it was because they look so cute in hats! I mean, right?!

My uncle Paul came in from New Jersey and spent a fun day with us. 

We hosted youth Bible studies. This moment cracked me up...everybody got out Bibles and Ryan told them where to turn. Somebody helped Eva find the right spot and she turned and sighed, "I can't read this." It was so funny because she said it with such disappointment like she was expecting to be able to suddenly read it. 

We surprised the lifeguards and staff at Hawaiian Falls with sooooo many M&M cookies as our way of saying thanks for a great summer!

We went to a free snake show! Woah. This guy was hilarious and possibly a bit crazy. But it was very interesting and all the kids got to touch this snake.

We went to story time at the library. Wearing matching t-shirts...because you only get so many opportunities to do that when you have girl/boy kids.

We got ready for football season at Meet the Bobcats with some of our favorite cheerleaders!

Buddy prepared to become a crawler. It hasn't happened yet but oh boy, it is coming. 

And finally this handsome man took me on a wonderful date to Downtown Dallas. We walked around, ate pizza, strolled through the church I grew up in, and went to Late Nights at the DMA. 

Goodbye Summer! 

From the mouths of babes

I just tucked my three year old chatterbox into bed tonight and wanted to finally blog about some of the funny things she has said lately. I've started keeping a "note" on my phone so that I can type them in right away to save for later. Eva is so silly and talks non stop these days. Here are some of her three year old quotes:

One night at dinner I handed her a plate.
Eva: Mama, did you poison this food?
Too many fairy tales....

Relaxing, watching a movie...
Eva: I really need a massage.
What three year old NEEDS a massage?

We talk about Dopey, from Snow White a lot in our house. I don't know why. We won't let her watch Snow White but she has a toddler version book of it. One night we happened to be talking about being kind to others.... 
Me: ....we want to accept people, even if they have different color skin, or different hair color, or they are short or tall.
Eva: Like Dopey?

Ryan: Why is Dopey your boyfriend?
Eva: Because he is the only boy I know.

Ryan: Is Dopey still your best friend?
Eva: No, he got too old for me.
Ryan: How old is her now?
Eva: sigh...45.

Talking about Jensen...
Eva: I'm ready to give him back now.

And then a different day that week...
Eva: Would it be bad if I put grapes in his eyes?
Note to self, do not serve grapes for lunch.

At bedtime one night...
Eva: I want Mama to leave. {starts crying}
Me: Why are your crying?
Eva: Cause I'm going to miss you!!!
Why did you ask me to leave then, silly girl?

Eva: Mama, you look angry. How about we talk about your feelings?
Me: Ok. I feel frustrated when you mess with Jensen after we asked you to leave him alone.
Eva: {smiling sweetly} Ok. I understand how you feel. That makes sense.
Ha, I guess kids will repeat what you say!

Me: I'm going to get myself ready. Why don't you find something else to do for a few minutes?
Eva: Ok, I will stand right here and watch you.
#stalker

Me: Do you know what we are talking about? I was saying that to date your Daddy.
Eva: I'm okayyyy with that :)

One morning I had done Eva's hair but it got messed up.
Eva: Now no one will think I'm beautiful.
Me: It's fun to do our hair but our beauty comes from our hearts and the way we show love to people. You are beautiful whether you have lots of hair or now hair at all.
Eva: Yeah, Mr. Norm {one of our church elders} is beautiful and he doesn't even have hair. He's bald.

Jensen and Ryan were in the other room playing.
Eva: They having a man talk?
Me: I guess. What do you think men talk about?
Eva: How they toot on things.

During family worship Sunday when the kids are with us in service.
Pastor Joel: Now we are going to pray. {As in he was going to pray, not the kids}
Eva: {raises hand voluntarily} Dear God, please be with my family.
Pastor Joel: Eva, your dad is very proud of you right now...
Eva: {whispers to Ryan beside her} Go away.

Playing pretend kitchen
Eva: Jensen, I will make you some chocolate milk too. But it's okay. I'll make it with breastmilk.

During snack time
Eva: What is this?
Me: That's a piece of dried coconut.
Eva: It tastes like a piece of paper.
Yeah other people probably agree. 

Eva: There goes the music truck. That's funny, she has pictures of ice cream on her truck.
Me: Hmm, maybe she just wants everybody to know that she really likes ice cream.
I may be misleading her on this one, but I was never allowed to buy ice cream from the ice cream truck because my mom told me that they sold drugs to kid. So we just call it the "music truck." Don't you dare ruin this one for me.

And finally, 
Eva: Jensen, I think I love you. {heart.melted.}

6 Months Old

Jensen at SIX Months

Weight: 20 lbs (90th percentile)
Height: 26 1/2 inches (50th percentile)
Clothes Size: 12-18 months
Diaper Size: 4

Biggest Accomplishment: Sitting up all by yourself!
Biggest Frustration: When you are on your tummy you kick you legs and want so badly to be moving somewhere....not yet, buddy!
Favorite Food: Sweet Potato
Likes: Playing with Eva, Hanging out in your "jumpity jump" {exersaucer}, Reading Eating a good book
Dislikes: Swimming in the pool....I guess you had to have one imperfection :) Let's work on this.

New Interest: Your toys! You suddenly are very expressive about what you want and where you want to be. You really likes throwing toys off your highchair and knocking over anything we stack in front of you.
Best Skill: Sleeping. You rock. 11-12 hours at night. Usually 3 naps, although you have had a few days of 2 longer naps this past week.
My Favorite Thing About You: Seeing you smile and talk! Also kissing you, hugging you, squeezing your chubby things, and watching you sleep. 

Look at that little man grow! We love every squishy part of you! Let's make the next 6 months go by slowly, okay?