Kate Turns 6!

We can't believe it but our Kate is 6 years old today. The day was entirely as she requested beginning with Lucky Charms cereal. Then on to the pool where we spent 7 hours playing in the sun and eating popsicle after popsicle. She said on more than one occassion, "It's my birthday Mom, so can I ________. " Smart little girl, eh? As each hour passed, she begged for "one more hour" at the pool. I couldn't refuse the birthday requests.

After the pool we came home and had the family party. Kate's meal of choice-spaghetti and meatballs with a side of strawberries and sourdough bread. How lucky am I? It's a good thing it was quick to prepare as we were all famished from the day in the sun.

Everyone had fun watching Kate open her presents but Jackson and Ava really enjoyed feasting on Carvel ice cream cake. For my family members reading this, I know you are totally jealous as you imagine me eating those chocolate crunchies! Kate's favorite gifts were a Hannah Montana/Mylie Cyrus CD, Tiny Ponnieville My Little Ponies and The Last Unicorn DVD.

All in all, this was a wonderful day to celebrate Kate and to remember that very special day when she joined our family.

A Patriotic Performance

All 5 kindergarten classes at Kate's school put on a Patriotic Performance yesterday. Words fail me (I know that is a rare event, but it's true) as I try to describe just how amazing the performance was. Every one of those kids learned each word to the six songs that they performed and one of the songs was even done in sign language! One boy in Kate's class recently had his father leave for a 14 month tour in Iraq. They dedicated the event to him and those kids sang their little hearts out. I am pretty sure that there wasn't a dry eye in the auditorium!

The first clip is of Kate leading the Pledge of Allegiance and the second is of the signing song. The quality isn't great because we were using my camera but you'll get the idea.

Father and Sons Campout

A week ago, Jackson and I went on the annual Church Father and Sons campout up in Lake Alatoona, which is about 45 min north of Atlanta. Unfortunately, it started by getting lost and driving around for an extra 90 min but wefinally made it.

We had plenty of time to cook our hot dogs and chow down on some s'mores (a lot of s'mores). Jackson had never had one before and his first was not his last. After a short program by the Church leadership, we headed off to our luxurious two man tent for bed. I realized that when camping, an 8 year old's clock gets kind of messed up as Jackson stayed awake until at least midnight (probably longer, but I drifted off). At 3 a.m., it started raining very heavily. This, of course, woke Jackson up, who then woke me up to tell me that he was awake and it was raining. After an hour of heavy rain, we both went back to bed, only to wake up again as soon as their was daylight at 5:45 (did I mention an 8 year old's clock get kind of messed up?). We headed to breakfast, which consisted of eggs, pancakes, bacon and cereal. After the whole evening, we were pretty exhausted (okay, at least I was pretty exhausted).

Still, Jackson said, 'Dad, this was one of the best days of my life.' While, sleep derived, I could only say the truth, 'Me too, buddy.' I wouldn't have it any other way.

My Buddy

This blog is not about bragging. It is merely an expression of awe over my 3rd child. I am by no means declaring her my favorite mind you, but she has been the easiest of my three, hands down! When Jackson and Kate were 3 years old, both they and I were ready for a few days of preschool each week. Against my better judgement, I enrolled Ava in preschool this year and then withdrew her when one month I realized that I'd paid a month's tuition and only taken her twice. I'd only taken her twice because she slept until 9am every morning and was then much fun that I hated to part with her.

One day last week, Ava and I went to a Mommy and Me swim class, followed by a trip to the gym and then we rounded out our afternoon by sharing a salad on the patio at Chipotle. (That's right, she even likes to eat salad for lunch - sounds too good to be true doesn't it?) My other children would have complained about my lunch selection ad nauseum, until I finally caved and went next door for some chicken nuggets but not Ava. As I sat on the patio chatting with her, I realized that I couldn't have asked for a more perfectly suited little buddy. Her good natured temperment allows her to go with the flow and tolerate so much of the running around that we do. I just love that she is happy to hang with me and I am so lucky to be able to spend most days enjoying her company. I am especially grateful to have the mornings with her because once Jackson and Kate get home from school she often has to take a backseat to them and their activities. I know that if I have more children there is no chance to duplicate this little spirit so I am going to enjoy every minute I still have her at home with me. From experience, I've seen that the time goes by WAY too quickly!

Lest I forget, here are a few things that I have recently thought, "I love it when she does that".
* She says, "I snuggle you", when she wants me to hold her.
* Answers "Sure" or "I help you" and smiles whenever I ask her to come help me with a chore.
* She loves to cuddle up and read a story.
* She howls like a wolf (will add a video clip of this soon) when she wakes up in the morning and giggles when we howl back. For the life of us, we have no idea where she got this from!
* She sucks her thumb and rubs her "lovie's" ear when she needs comfort. I know that I should care that she is still sucking her thumb but I really don't.
* She greets me with an ear to ear smile when I open her door after she gets up.
* She can tell when I'm tired or sick and suggests that we "go sleep".