Eleven

Of all the kids, Brenna is the hardest to photograph! She's at that age where she cannot comprehend her own beauty. She also doesn't enjoy too much attention. We went to Disneyland on Monday, which was her birthday, and I made sure she got a "It's my Birthday" pin. She took it off about halfway through the day because she didn't like all the happy birthday wishes she was getting. Happy eleventh birthday to the girl who keeps our lives lively!

In the morning, this angel turns 9!

This little girl is the glue that holds our family together. She is loveliness and silliness, kindness and toughness, generosity and intelligence, hard work and hard play. She is everything a little girl should be and I cannot imagine life without her! Here are just a few pictures of our favorite nine year old.

Childhood moments to treasure

First:
For Gwen's birthday we watched home movies of her birth and her earliest days with our family. All the kids enjoyed watching together and seeing what everyone looked like way back when. But the best moment of all was watching the movie of the nurse cleaning up Gwen for the very first time right after I had given birth to her, and all the kids looking on. I look over to see Nate wiping tears from his eyes  and saying, "That's the sweetest thing I've ever seen!" Precious, precious boy.

Second:
Gwen got birthday money from her grandparents so last week when the ice cream truck came by (yes, my friends and family in the colder northern climes, he works year-round out here) she was able to run inside, grab a couple of bucks, and buy herself something.

Yesterday it was a little chillier (read: mid-50's) and Brenna, Gwen and I were crafting at the kitchen table. With ears like an owl Gwen heard the ice cream truck again. She quickly rushed outside but missed it. A few minutes later I realized that she had gone out the garage door just seconds earlier so I went outside to see what she was up to. She had run halfway up the block with a $50 savings bond and was trying to buy ice cream from the mail truck. Imagine her disappointment!

Do you wanna party?

If I told you it was a My Little Pony party would you change your mind? 

Gwen woke up bright and early on her birthday (in my and Scott's bed, of course) and had her breakfast in bed. When I offer her anything in the world for breakfast what does she want? Bacon, toast and orange juice. She's a simple girl with simple needs. 

Her birthday fell on MLK day this year, so it was a school holiday. By 11 a.m. we were welcoming a house full of little girls. Here is Gwen coming down the stairs to greet her first guest.

Lovers of the TV Show, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (and don't pretend that you're not one of them), know that each pony has a cutie mark. So each of our little guests got to choose the cutie mark they wanted and either Brenna or I painted it on their cheeks.

Sure, she's 11 and way too cool for most things these days, but big sis wanted her own cutie mark when she was done painting the little girls'.

Allie, Lila, Gwen, Lily and Carlin posing before lunch. Gwen wanted fancy sandwiches, fruit and veggies with dip.

 After lunch we played pin the tail on the pony. The Pinkie Pie artwork was courtesy of the talented Brenna. She was a fantastic help for this little shindig.

No birthday would be complete without a piñata!

Brenna came in handy again. After everyone had a chance to take a whack at Pinkie Pie, Brenna put her softball skills into action and demolished it. Candy for everyone!

Then came cake and ice cream. I was a little disappointed in my cake decorating skills (yet again) but my kids assured me that they liked it and it was nowhere near worthy of an appearance on Cake Wrecks. 

Blowing out the candles.

The whole group.

After cake and ice cream we played musical chairs and opened presents.

Happy birthday, Gwennie Goose, and thank you to all your sweet friends who helped make the party so much fun!

Happy Birthday, Gwen!

That first, wonderful day:

One:

Two:

 Three:

FOUR!!!!!

 Favorite phrases:
"Give me a break!"
"Can you be kidding me?"

Favorite breakfast:
Toast & bacon

Favorite drink:
orange juice

Favorite TV show:
My Little Pony

Favorite toys:
tea sets, My Little Ponies, Barbies, Polly Pockets, dolls, dinosaurs, puzzles

Favorite book to read before bed:
Hansel & Gretel
Dora Goes to the Doctor

Best Friend:
Lila, always, but expanding this year with some new friends too

Still a climber, jumper, and hard-core player. Learning to roller skate. Likes to ride her tricycle and scooter.

Learning to fight with the big kids. Definitely holds her own.

Tons of personality. Plenty of charm. Still sucking her thumb. Talking and sharing everything of which she thinks.

So glad she came to our family four years ago today!

Christmas Day

Finishing up our Christmas report here. 

Christmas morning started at 5:30 a.m. with a wake-up call from our cousins who live in the Eastern time zone. Mind you, that's 3:30 a.m. for us Pacific time zone dwellers and it felt like it.

Still, the fire was warm, the tree looked beautiful, and the kids were adorable. They loved their presents and had so much fun playing with them all morning long. Even better for the kids, a light, lovely snow fell on Christmas morning and left the world sparkly and white. Heaven.

The snow was charming until we got in the car to drive to Grandma and Grandpa K's house. The roads were a little icy, but we drove slowly and avoided the overpasses. We opened presents and relaxed together that afternoon.

Gwen got a Sleeping Beauty dress from Gram and Pops and she wore it all day. 

The following day, Scott's sister and her husband and four sons flew into Lubbock for a visit. Their boys are so fun and our kids enjoy hanging out with their Nashville cousins. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures that first day, thinking that we would have a couple more opportunities to take photos. I should have known better! A Christmas respiratory bug/cold/stomach funk struck Ava. She spent the 27th with a fever, coughing, and throwing up. I wasn't sick to my stomach, but I had a variation of the same virus as well, so Scott and the other kids went to lunch with his family and I stayed home with Little A. Later that afternoon Scott's dad experienced chest pains and ended up in the E.R., followed by a few days in the hospital to clear some blockage and put in a stent. Thankfully he's doing well, but both events put a damper on the remainder of the trip.

Still, we love our families and were so happy to see them and spend time with them. We wish we could live closer to each other. It's hard to love and enjoy your family as much as we do and only be able to see them a couple of times a year. The internet, Face Time, and cell phones are a real blessing.

During this Christmas visit we also managed to fit in the Larsen family picture, Tex Mex at Chuy's (sweet Maria, I miss Tex Mex!), a cousin party at Chuck E Cheese, fireside caroling on Christmas Eve, playing in the snow, crafting with Grandma, a wee bit of shopping, and a lunch with just me, Aunt Sarah, and Brenna. Not bad for just a week.