Tooth Fairy!

Luke came running down from upstairs yelling, "Mom! Mom! I've got to show you something!!" He proudly held up his first tooth and gave me a huge smile,  revealing the gap where he pulled it from. It was a very exciting moment!  Love this boy that feels all emotions deeply and I easily joined his excitement.  For some reason, this really made me feel like Luke is growing up so quickly!

The next morning, he shared his experience he had with the tooth fairy. "She was wearing a pretty crown, held a wand and wore a sparkly dress. We talked about all the money she has and how she gives to people. We also talked about all of the teeth she carries around." 

Sounds like a pretty good gig, minus the bit about carrying around teeth that belong to others. :)

Freebies!

We took advantage of 7-11's free slurpee day. We were watching a friend's daughter as part of a "baby swap" that day. She is so stinkin' cute and chill. We were all smitten by her.

 She is not sharing the same enthusiasm that Myles is displaying. :)

The next day, we joined the massive herd (yes, herd) of people for free food from Chick-Fil-A. In order to score free food, one needed to dress up like a cow. I think the only reason I'm documenting these two days is for the pic of Myles in his cow costume. I didn't bother taking a pic of the rest of us; black felt circles on our white shirts…nailed it.

Cutest calf I've ever seen.

BirthTEA Party!

Emma's birthday party this year was centered around a tea party. When we first discussed birthday parties, she first thought a "Wonder Woman" party would be great. I'm sure it would have been great…but when I asked her what she thought about a tea party for her birthday, she quickly changed her mind and didn't look back. She has a pretend tea set and plays with it almost every day. On the day of the party, we ended up having yard work done where I wanted to host the tea party. Thank heavens for my neighbor and one of my besties, Elizabeth. Not only did she let me host in her backyard, but she lent me the plates with matching glasses and also found the perfect napkins. Shout out to her! Each guest was provided a tutu to wear while enjoying pink lemonade and other goodies at the tea party. We also included painting (I didn't anticipate the tutus being as wild as they were and we ended up with multi-colored tutus, oopsies!), balancing games with paper teacups and a bean bag toss. 

When Emma saw the table she asked, "Is this really for my party?!?" She was beyond sweet and thankful for how "pretty" everything looked to her. She exclaimed, "I love it! I love it!" 

That was one of the best parts for me.

Anyone else remember these clear, glass dishes from waaaay back?!? 

We love our girly-girl, yet she is also one that can hold her own with her brothers.

Luke wanted to be there to help make Emma's friends laugh. He wasn't too sure about the tutu thing, so he played it cool and jumped in every once and awhile. Myles enjoyed his morning nap and then playing at the park with his Dad.

Finishing touches.

Their masterpiece. 

Balancing the tea cup on their heads from point A to point B required a lot of concentration. 

Luke was a little perplexed by this game, as noted in the background. 

Next up, tea cup stacking. 

Luke got into this one.

It's funny, for being such simple games, the kids loved them. 

We played several rounds of both balancing games.

Tea Party Time!

Emma's favorite food was the chocolate dipped strawberry made to resemble a tea pot (of sorts!). 

It was nice to be appreciated for my efforts!

Hard to pass up a good tea party! 

We ended the party with a bean bag toss. Charlie and Luke thought it would be fun to be inside the target. I don't think they thought it was such a good idea when they realized those girls could throw with some heat!

Emma celebrating a direct hit with her toss.

A few goodies in tissue paper inside the tea cups as a party favor. 

When it was over, Emma reported loving her tea party and having lots of fun with her friends. She also mentioned. "Mom, I think I have a tummy ache. Those strawberries were just sooooo good." 

Happy 4th Birthday, Emma!

On Emma's actual birthday we celebrated with our family. After the excitement of waking up to streamers, balloons, banners and donut holes, we headed for a brunch at Mt. Vernon for Bryan's work. Emma was excited about all of the bacon she could eat and everyone wishing her a happy birthday. After the luncheon, Bryan took Emma and Luke to 'Finding Dory.' Next, we opened up presents from the family. She is at such a fun age and loved each present. Emma's one request for her birthday was pizza at the pool. We can meet those expectations. We headed to the new neighborhood pool and partied it up.

Myles was excited with all of the birthday action...

…and then found the brunch to be exhausting.

This was the year of the nightgowns. This girl LOVES nightgowns.

She also is very much into coloring, painting, drawing, etc.

Her own princess reader books.

Emma helped put the cake on the table. Hence the creative icing design. :)

It made us laugh then, and I'm still chuckling when I see this pic!

Best family pic we snagged!

We rounded the day off with an evening bike ride on her new bike.

Happy Birthday, Emma! We had no idea how much pink, spunk, laughter (and tears when you were sick), and love would fill our family when you joined us! We love you.