A Candy Land Adventure...

...For our Sweet 3 year old Ally!

What a FUN party we had on Friday night for our 3 year old! Ally loves playing Candy Land so I decided to go all out and have a Candy Land Adventure for her and her friends. She loved all the decorations and was very excited each day this week to see the new decorations I created while she was asleep. Here is the birthday girl with her proud big brother standing in front of the crazy candy tree.

After countless photos this is the best family picture I have:-)...it wasn't for a lack of trying!!

The mantle decorations. We had the board game covering the walls of the living room and the garage. I wanted you to feel like you were "in the game". Ryan had the brilliant idea to make the painted arrows and they were my favorite decorations.

The candy table

The garage/food/craft area

Click on this picture to see more detailed pictures of the party. We had mini gingerbread houses to decorate, candy beaded bracelets, Candyland Christmas cards as well as a lot of snacky foods. Mrs. Crumpler really outdid herself this time on the sugar cookies-they looked exactly like the game!

The party wouldn't have been nearly as cute without the help of the Cersey Team. Thank you sisters for your willingness to help put on a great birthday party.

Decorating the houses

Singing Happy Birthday. Ally was singing Happy Birthday all night to herself...so CUTE!

Look at my yummy cookie!

The guests. These people bless my life every day. Thank you for celebrating with us. Sorry Honey, GP, Grandma and Grandpa for the lack of family pictures. Thank you for being there and loving Ally SO MUCH! Click on this picture to see all their beautiful faces.

The Warren family

Presents and more presents. We are so blessed by our generous family and friends!

Ally really enjoys this cake stacker game. The teacher in me loves an educational gift. You can stack this cake by number, then make an 'even' cake and an 'odd' cake. (Really, really cool!)

"Dad look at my Tiny Tot basketball!" She loves dribbling this all over the house (and so does her brother.)

The kids were very interested in the opening of the gifts:-)

Ally, Daddy and I love you so much and we truly count it a privilege to be your parents. Thank you for a wonderful 3rd year!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Ally!

I absolutely CANNOT believe that my baby is three years old today! Where oh where did the time go? Ally, Daddy and I love you more than you can imagine and we are so proud of the kind little girl you are. You are so funny and have the best smile in town. You are in love with your brother and get so excited when you get to play with him. You give fantastic hugs and kisses and you need a lot of attention from your family. I adore being your mother and love how expressive and hysterical you are.

We have had quite a year with our little princess. I thought it would be nice to list all the changes from 2 to 3 but then I realized that there are way too many to list so I am doing a top five birthday post for my angel girl!

The things we said bye-bye to this year:

1. Her crib. She is a wonderful sleeper in her big girl bed. This is a HUGE blessing since she was an awful sleeper as a baby.

2. Diapers. Amen and Amen!

3. Binky. This was a tricky transition but she has been great now for months.

4. Barney. Enough said.

5. Her hot pink Mickey Mouse crocs...they are finally too small. She still tries to wear them but really needs a bigger size.

The things Ally did for the first time this year:

1. Ballet

2. MDO twice a week

3. Tiny Tots basketball. This is brand new and I can't wait to see them in action.

4. Watched Dora, Dora and more Dora.

5. Her first Dentist appointment. We need to start saving now for her future orthodontic needs:).

I always feel a little sad that your birthday is the week before Christmas, but I love reflecting on the day you were born (3 weeks early). The Lord's timing of your birth was perfect and you were an answer to countless hours of prayer. I feel so blessed to be your mommy.

Happy Birthday baby!

We love you SOOOOO much!

Christmas Around the World

Last week I got to attend a field trip with my favorite Kindergartner in the whole world! FWCS headed to the Mayborn Museum and learned all about Christmas in different countries. We had a great time and Ryan loved it. Sorry these pictures were taken with my phone...better than nothing:-). Ryan was chosen to bring a gift to baby Jesus (note he chose not to wear the wise man costume...that's my boy!)

I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to throw the gifts to Jesus.

The entire class thought this was hi-larious. I think you need to be 6 to understand why giving gifts to a fake baby is so funny. I do love hearing his sweet class laugh and enjoy learning.

Next up was the senses room and then onto Ryan's favorite, Science.

They learned all about refraction, static electricity, weather and so much more.

Thank you Ryan for wanting your mom to go with you on this trip. You made my day. I think the best part of the field trip for Ryan was the car ride there with two classmates. The giggles never stopped!

December happenings

Don't you just LOVE December. This year has been so fun to decorate and celebrate the real meaning of Christmas with my family. Each night we have been participating in Advent which actually means coming. Our church put together an Advent activity book with scripture, prayer suggestions and an activity to do together as a family each night. We really enjoyed this special time each night and this has helped us keep the focus on the birth Jesus and off ourselves. I would highly recommend it to anyone.

Here is the book of Advent (email me if you're interested in a copy:-)

I must admit that at first I was a little hesitant of doing a family craft or activity each night, but it is VERY easy to modify if you need to. This night we were going outside to enjoy the night sky. Ryan and Ally thought it was AWESOME to go outside in our PJ's and coats:-).

I also love all the Christmas lights this time of year. Here are our three trees. The kids have been making a lot of homemade ornaments and I love how excited they are to show me each and every one!

Another cool thing in Waco this year was the 30 minute snow fall. Ally watched from inside. She really doesn't like to be cold (another fabulous trait she inherited from me). Ryan got to play outside in the snow at school. I am so thankful for his amazing school and teachers!

The snow didn't last long but it sure was pretty.

We also have been lighting a lot of fires and snuggling up each night to stay warm.

So sweet!

I hope you remember the reason we celebrate Christmas is to honor the birth of Christ and the fulfillment of prophesy. This daily reminder has taken a lot of the crazy December pressure off of me this year.

I also hope you stay warm and peaceful this December!

Cupcakes, Cupcakes Everywhere!

Kacey really outdid herself with this adorable cupcake party. Lila had an absolute blast playing with all her cousins and she looked SO precious in her sweet cupcake outfit. Here's the beautiful mommy and the birthday girl!

All the decorations. I think Kacey made 5 batches of cupcakes as well as all the food and Lila's smash cake the day after hosting the Warren family for Thanksgiving. Whew...Very Impressive Mrs. Warren!

The Warren family

The Purdy family

Uncle Frank making sliders. Nice work Josh, they were Yummy!

The cousins got to decorate cupcakes which they all loved. The cousin age order is: Ryan, Mia, Stacey, Ally, Presley and Blaine, Wyatt then Lila. So F-U-N that they all got to celebrate together with Lila Elizabeth.

The complete cupcake look

She really loved the icing on her super cute cupcake

Lila, I am so glad that you are a part of our family and I LOVE you very, very much. Happy Birthday!

Twins

Kacey and I sure do love getting to dress these two alike:-) Our sweet little Lila LEW just turned one! Pictures of her precious cupcake party to come.

Top Treasure

This week or so has been a really difficult lesson in parenting. We have had a hard time with our precious Ryan. You know one of those weeks when you really feel like a failure. Like there is some rule book that all the other parents got that you missed! Mark and I know that parenting is not for the weak but sometimes it can be incredibly defeating. I'm sure that none of you have had humbling experiences, but we have had a few lately. I love my children with all my heart and unfortunately they both got a double dose of stubbornness, shyness, passion and the need to be right. Mark and I are very different, but extremely similar in those qualities. My mom loves to hear stories of how Ryan won't participate or that he has to have the last word because apparently I was the exact same way as a child. Actually, now that I think about it, I am still pretty much like that. Moving on...So mom my question for you is when did I become the awesome well-adjusted person I am now (he he)!!!! I feel like I need to write down the things that I adore most about Ryan so here goes. My top ten list of Ryan's amazing qualities:

1. Perseverance. This kid must complete a task start to finish, which I love. Last week we had the FWCS Turkey Trot 3 mile race and I am not exaggerating when I say that he ran almost the whole thing. Impressive.

2. Hilarious. I love to see his toothless grin while he tells me a funny story.

3. Tender-hearted. He is very compassionate towards others, especially those in need.

4. Smart. Like uber-smart. He was reading at 4, and he has a crazy memory. He knows every single detail about anything he's interested in. He absorbs more information than I ever did and retains it all. He is really starting to store God's word in his heart and I am amazed at how quickly this kid can learn scripture.

5. Timid. He is always taking in new situations. He's constantly assessing different scenes and people's reactions and then slowly deciding if or when he wants to participate.

6. Loving. He adores his family and friends and gets so excited for holidays and birthdays that he cannot contain himself. His cousins are his best friends and he always looks forward to seeing his grandparents, aunts and uncles.

7. Kind. When I'm not looking or paying attention he is such a great big brother. He is always looking out for his baby sister and cousins.

8. Helpful. I am quite certain that Ryan could run the household if I am ever gone. He knows where everything is and is a HUGE help to me.

9. Quiet. He loves having time alone in his room to play Legos, Star wars, his DS, or games. He needs his downtime and can entertain himself for hours.

10. Detailed. Ryan likes things the way he likes them. He is clean and organized and he likes to know the details of any new environment. He will still need to assess it for himself, but details help.

Now onto a proud parental moment...

Ryan won an award for the second six weeks at school. The top treasure is chosen by his Kindergarten teacher and only one student is awarded each six weeks. To say we are proud parents is an understatement. This award is based on classroom obedience, integrity, and being a good example of what FWCS represents. That is just plain awesome. (Just between us Ryan was not too thrilled to be awarded during chapel because he had to walk up on the platform with Mrs. Purdy to be recognized. But, he did it!)

Mark surprised Ryan when he got home with three of his very favorite things: staying up late, a coke, and a Target gift card. Basically my three favorite things too:-).

Ryan, I am so thrilled that you earned this award and that Mrs. Sims recognizes your hard work at school. We love you very much and love being your parents on both the terrible days and the great ones.

Here he is reading his sweet card from Daddy

And drinking Coke at 8:00 on a school night

Way to go Ryan!!!