Blythe is five!

It's ridiculous and sad and sad some more that I haven't posted ANYTHING since November. It's almost February, people. This is borderline depressing. I love to write and in the past this blog has been so cathartic, as well as just plain FUN as a place to document all our silly (and serious) little family stories...so. This year, I've re-dedicated myself to writing here once a week. A story, a short post with photos, a long, drawn-out digging-into-my-soul...this place has been and will always be first and foremost for me, my family, and the friends who want to keep up with us.  And I'm bummed I let "busy" get in the way of that. So, now....

                                                               Blythe is Five!
(please pardon the watermarks on the photos-I'm testing out some new software before I buy it ;)

 Clockwise from Center: B at 2 months, 1 year old, 3 years old (her first Daddy-Daughter dance!), 2 years old (on her first trip to Paris-I miss those sweet, crazy curls!!), 4 and happy in a mud puddle, and FIVE!
We celebrated her birthday 2 days early, on the 17th of January, with a morning "tea" party. True to her nature, she wanted to be sure every detail was just as she'd envisioned it; so we had planned every detail together on a mama-daughter date in Durango over New Year's (thank you, Pinterest). She wanted a Frozen-themed winter tea party, complete with petite fours... and it was so much fun to bring that to life! I'd never done a party like this before, but my parents were in town and Grammy was, of course, a huge help.

 We hunted in our backyard for branches and pine cones and then proceeded to cover them with glitter...messy, but fun! Good thing it's nice enough here in January to do the glittering outside-my marriage may not have survived that much glitter exploding all over our house :). We (I) also strung cotton balls onto thread and hung them up as "snowflakes" falling; and baked teeny Russian teacakes (which my kids call Snowballs). I made a delicious white cake, half of which we filled with homemade lemon curd (again, thank you Arizona winter/citrus season!) and half which we filled with Nutella, before cutting them up into small rectangles and drenching them with frosting. Maybe not the prettiest, but they sure tasted good!

We'd asked the girls to come in "fancy dress", and then Grammy and I helped the little girlies make Fascinators one by one with tulle, ribbon, fake flowers, and gems on headbands while Adam led the rest of the gang is assorted Olaf-themed games. They had a blast and it worked out perfectly! After games, they all put on their fascinators and sat down to "tea" (peppermint hot cocoa). The cutest part was that as soon as those bouncy girls sat down at the elegantly-set table- they all got quiet. And showed beautiful manners. They knew it was special! Pax, with a vest and tie on, served the tea sandwiches (cut in crown and snowflake shapes), and everyone feasted. It was so much fun! Our first "kid party" was an easy, stress-free success. And our little girlie was thrilled beyond belief!
Blythe Linn, Daddy and I love the vibrant, fancy, twirly, graceful girlieness you bring to our family. Your passionate heart and strong will will carry your small-but-mighty body far in life! We love seeing who God has made you to be continue to develop each year; and helping you pursue the things you love is a joy to us. We pray you would never forget who created you the way you are, or how very much you are loved-by God first of all, and also by us. I had so much fun planning and creating this party with you, B.B. Doll!

1000 words.

I know there's been a lot of pics of this little princess lately-but that's because she's the most enthusiastic about the camera at this point! I love being her mama. I love the late-night "Mama, can we just talk? Girls, well, they need to talk more than boys, you know." Which is true! Especially for her...my folks took all the kids out to eat once last winter and the boys fell asleep while she talked all.the.way.home. My mom said to me, "You know how most women have 5,000 words a day? I'm pretty sure she has 50,000!" it's so, so true-and something we've come to love about her. We have some very, very interesting talks after I put Pax to bed with a few songs and an "I love you, Pax." ("Ok," is his response to that....)

And then she was four.

 I think this about every birthday any of my littles have...but HOW IS SHE FOUR already?? No longer a baby, even a little bit (although the 18 month old who talked in full sentences didn't seem much like a baby at the time, either...).  
      It was so much fun to listen to her plot and plan with Pax about her birthday; about having a little party and who would come, what cake she'd like (a dollcake again-surprise!), what they'd eat (enchiladas-yum!). She's always enjoyed her birthday, of course, but this year was the first she really got super excited about everything. So, we had a little party the day before her birthday with a few little friends. Thanks to my dad, there were streamers and balloons to please any little girls' heart; and between my mom and I a dress fit for a princess was whipped up the day before. Blythe chose the fabric and the pattern herself-which will come as no surprise if you know her at all! She's definitely sure she's a princess right now. Or a ballerina. Or a ballerina-princess! I'm pretty sure "ballerina-princess-doctor" was the future career of choice last time I checked.

 The gold crown was part of her gift from Adam and I. This dress...I didn't think she would take it off even to sleep! And she's worn it almost constantly since. I got so much joy out of watcher her joy over every little thing-I remember how much I loved twirly dresses and sparkly anything as a little girl, too; and I sort of get to relive it all with B.

We had cake, of course; but she needed Pax's help with the candles. She was a bit too shy to blow them out with all eyes on her! A funny mix of sweet-and-shy and crazy emoter right now, our girlie is. I'm never quite sure what to expect; but I love the way she always looks to him for protection and help when she's feeling uncertain around others.

The next day, on her real birthday, we had a little family celebration-the "flatted-out" tutu was a five-star gift from my folks. Adam had made her a balance beam, so we spent the morning playing on that after church; and then went to our good friends' house to watch the Broncos. Hey, it was playoffs!! and she got to play with their two girlies, whom she loves. So really, it was like a second birthday party for her. We even had enchiladas again-leftovers from the day before :)  Their youngest girlie commandeered my dad as her third grandpa; and wanted to cuddle with only him when he was hurt, which was totally adorable. I managed to snap a picture of my dad, Cora, and Blythe watching the game together...but it's on my phone, and won't upload, and as it's the end of February and her birthday was last month...I think I'll just post this now and save that for another time. First world problems...




oh, and Little Brother loves the balance beam, too! He's pretty good at it, too, when his big 4-year-old sister isn't trying to "mother" him along :)

Muddy Buddies.

 Once there were three little buddies, living in Arizona.
The older two were told stories of when they were tinys- of winters of snow and ice and cold...

but-
 it was all rather of hard to believe
on a February day
that was 75 degrees
and a yard full of dirt begged to be turned into mud.

So-

"su! su!" the littlest begged, running with silly baby steps to the drawer that held his swim trunks.

The bigs dressed themselves, bolting out the door.

Then pies were mixed and mud was thrown and really, really big sticks were dragged around by too-small boys

     until Daddy came home and it was time
for dinner and dark.



And that, my friends, is winter this year
     in the land of Arizona.

A little bit chilly.

The weekend before Thanksgiving, it rained. A lot...for 2 days almost straight-thru, which is a super-rare occurrence here. I was soaking it up...no pun intended! It almost truly felt like fall!                                      Saturday morning we bundled the kids up (it was cold! At least in the 50s...) and went out into the yard to play kickball, which was of course super fun. Once we finished, Blythe was "brr-ing" (that's "cold" in Blythe-speak) and Pax was, well, not boiling hot; so they asked if they could have hot cocoa in front of the fire. An easy request to grant, since our fireplace is gas...and they loved it.

Although, if you look closely you can see that neither one has socks on. You can also see that Pax put on shorts after coming inside...so they couldn't have been THAT cold :)










....toasting his fingers....
since Blaise was outside with Daddy removing a dead palm tree, I took the time to actually grab the big camera and snapped a few shots, instead of using my phone. Some things just need to be documented well.















Hot Cocoa simply tastes better when you drink it out of pretty cups in front of a blazing fire, don't you think?
So thankful we get to make memories like this with our kiddos.

So Tinkerbell, a Jedi and a doctor go out one night....

... it sounds like the beginning of a bad joke; but really, it's just Halloween at our house. A month late. Please note the bells on Tink's ballet slippers, ankle and wrist--that was my dad's brainchild dreamed up with B while they were here for Pax's birthday; and she was adamant that she MUST have bells so she would sound like Tink, too. (She was beyond thrilled with the bells! And thank goodness for Halloween in Arizona, so Tink didn't need to wear a snowsuit.)Blaise was a doctor because, well, he'd been carrying the stethoscope around like a security blanket for the entire month. He was excited! he didn't know why! but he got to "go" and that's all he cared about!
         Pax's costume choice was no surprise to us, and pretty easy...I made the robe out of an old comforter. I knew it would come in handy someday! And his light-saber lights up and makes the "battle"sounds, which came in handy in the dark.We went to Arcadia with our across-the-street neighbors again to trick or treat, and hit up the big houses where they give out (not even kidding) king sized candy bars, even to the baby. Which works out well for Adam, as I'm pretty sure he was the one who ended up eating most of the candy...

...and I'm loving my stair-step children right now :) Just a quick post to document (although the pictures aren't great-sorry about that. Phone photos.) because, really, I'll want to remember the way they looked in 10 years...and that, the day after we carved pumpkins Pax asked me if next year, he could not watch while I scoop the "guts" out of the pumpkin. "Why not?" I asked him, "It's kind of fun,"

"nah," he replied, with a shake of his head and a flick of his wrist;

"It makes me feel like I'm gonna throw up,"

So, I'm thinking maybe not surgeon as a career choice for him.

WHO is in your room??

The other night, Adam came out from Blythe's room chuckling a bit and told me I should go give her one last kiss. So I went in, sat on the edge of her bed, and she began to explain to me that she didn't like sleeping by herself(very dramatically, with lots of gesturing) because "Pax and Blaise get to sleep together and you and Daddy get to sleep together and I'm" (head shaking, more gesturing) "I'm just in here with God and wisdom!!!"
Somehow, I manage to only smile at her as she says this so earnestly; and I tell her that maybe someday soon, we could get a cat...."yeah...and then the cat could curl up on my pillow or sleep on a little bed next to my bed and...." at this point I'm kissing her, saying goodnight, and heading out the door-- and wondering who, exactly, wisdom is!
But I'm pretty sure if she has anything to do with it there will be a cat named Wisdom here very soon. Or Lucy. She likes Lucy, too...
"I'm just in here with God and wisdom!!!" 
seems like pretty good company to me :)

Sew what?

      Among other things, I've decided that this year I will become a better seamstress. Clothes sewing, in particular...with the long-term goal of being able to sew more of my own clothes and more of the kids' (I already sew some of them) and actually not have them look too homemade :) My mama made sure I learned how to sew as a girl, for which I am forever grateful, and I've sewn off and on throughout the years; mostly home goods with several skirts thrown in the mix. For my birthday last year, I asked for a new sewing machine...and with it, I think I've sewn more in the past year than in our entire married life! Including the first "fancy" dress I've ever made for B. She wore it to the Daddy-Daughter dance...and now, she has a new dress. I've been wanting to learn to sew with knits (like the ever-popular jersey...maxi skirt, anyone?) for months and, after getting some ballpoint needles and some advice about the stretch stitch from the girl at the sewing machine store, I dove right in. My first project...well. It turned out fine, but the jersey I used is absolutely see-through (oops) and so will not be featured here today. Or ever.
     I decided for my next project to do something small...3t sized, to be exact. And since I made up the pattern from another tank top and my own sewing knowledge, I have to say I'm thrilled with how it turned out! Especially since it cost me nothing, being made up of leftover fabric from other projects. The best part, however, was absolutely seeing the joy and excitement on her face when she put it on...when the girl won't stop dancing or twirling long enough to eat breakfast, and then starts to cry that night

  because she has to take it off for bedtime....well, you know she's truly pleased! Which, of course, made my Mama-heart overwhelmingly happy. She is a gem. I will never, ever get tired of watching my children in full-joy mode.

Shaving cream and food coloring. (Because I can't think of anything more creative than that.)

         I'm editing a photo session from last night, and I took a little break to upload and look through 54,000 photos I've taken since March which, in the craziness that has happened since then, got abandoned. Sad. But I found these! And since I told my friend I'd post this, oh, 2 months ago or so, I'd doing it now. Plus they're fun, and I think a little fun is needed around here...

This is my friend Beth. She's great-creative, funny, and waaaay more organized than I am! So when she showed up at my house the day before we left on our grand adventure with a kiddie pool, shaving cream, and food coloring; I just grinned and said "Oh, yeah!!" 

We stripped the kids down, and kid bliss commenced. Except for Blaise, who stayed as far away as he could...Beth put some on his walker and he freaked out. (Seriously, the kid wants to climb the rock wall of the fireplace, but shaving cream? Too scary, people. I love toddlers.)

 The big kids all looked like Easter eggs by the time they were done; it was a great lesson in color-mixing, too. (Science class!) Pax and Charissa (Beth's oldest girl and Pax's buddy) decided to jump in the pool after we'd hosed them off; and swim season was officially opened-in March. Yes, the pool was about 65 degrees. Nope, Pax wasn't about to come out!

  This was SO fun to watch, so easy to set up, and-best of all-a wonderful brain break from packing for both the kids and I!

Beth, you can bring your organized creative-ness to my backyard anytime ;)

I found these in my files as I was searching for something the other day...Sadie (almost 4 at the time) and Blythe (2 1/2), on a hot August day in LA, waiting for their daddies to fill up enough water balloons to have a fight. We stopped to visit the Danquahs on the way home from visiting family up in northern California. And dominated at Chick-fil-A game night, among other things. (oh yes, we did! Get 4 adults from the 80s-2 mamas especially- and some Disney trivia, and we'll rule the resturant. Those little kids never stood a chance.)

 I think they're both pretty darn cute, personally...

...and between the two of them, there's enough fire and passion in this picture to move a mountian. Maybe two :)

tres.trois.THREE.

       Our Blythe-girl turned three yesterday. Which is just nuts to me because a) wasn't she just born?? and b) I very clearly remember MY third birthday (my mama made me an elephant cake-wish I  had that picture! My mushroom hair was amazing.) and it's a bit crazy to think my daughter is now that age. But she is....Adam brought her into bed yesterday morning about 6 (he got her up early for a daddy-daughter donut run) and she snuggled under the big comforter with me, and I sang her Happy Birthday (she sang herself Happy Birthday, too...), and then I told her again the story about the day she was born, and she was SO excited. And THEN....
"Mama, can I see my doll?"
I made her a doll cake this year per her request (anyone else remember those??) and the cake wasn't "dressed" last night when she went to bed. So I gathered her up and  we tiptoed down the dark, quiet hall so as not to wake up her brothers or Aunt C.C., who is staying with us this week. I didn't turn on any lights until we got to the kitchen. Then-
"Ready?" I whispered. A nod. I flipped the light on and pointed to were the doll now stood in her yellow-frosting-splendor in the middle of our island...and then just watched her face. She just looked and looked...and finally got the sweetest little smile on her face and sighed,
"Beautiful."
And all i could think was, "That's what your daddy and I think about you, little BB....beautiful. Inside and Out,"

After Adam and Blythe got back from their outing, we all got "fancy" (as Pax puts it), loaded up the cake and a few other things, and headed to the Lobmeyers to celebrate two special little buddies. Peyton is just 2 days older than B and although the two of them didn't ever really have a choice about being friends, they also happen to love each other and have such grand little girl adventures together that Nicole and I knew that they would love celebrating their birthdays together. And we were right! Between Nicole and I, we pulled off a pretty fun breakfast/birthday/princess party. And for two mamas that have never thrown a "theme"party before, I think we did pretty well!! We set up a little backdrop and had some fun with the camera.....well, Jade and Chloe and Peyton did anyways. Jade and Chloe were also my fabulous balloon-stringing assistants...

 

Peyton and her daddy, Jason....this is what our daughter was doing during the initial picture-wall time.

 Taking her baby for a drive in her princess dress. And yes, that's a bridesmaids dress I wore once-upon-a-time and retrofitted for her :)

Adam and Blaise enjoying the sunshine. It was 70 degrees! Perfect!! And Blaise loved crawling everywhere in the yard exploring.

 After cake, we had some fun with the birthday girls and the balloons (which by this time were disappearing quickly at the hands of the two brothers, a plastic bat, and a plastic golf club. I bet you can figure that one out on your own. They had fun, and they did it outside, so we didn't care! Although Blythe kept stopping her game with Peyton to pick up balloon pieces and put them neatly in a pile. I think she takes after her Daddy and Grandaddy on that one...it's for sure not her Mama!)

                                      

 I just have to say that this is what you get when you have Jason in the pictures. It's really almost a miracle their family session turned out as well as it did...

 LOVE her. And this next one is really just to prove that the boys were actually there. Although I know Pax is still MIA. They were busy! Wish I'd gotten a picture of the two of them in their vests, though...so cute!

Cake time!

This is actually the second go-around with the candles and singing...Peyton's a pro candle-blower-outer and had all six blown out before the song ended the first time :)

 I'm always thankful for the friendships that are in our lives. Today, though, I'm extra-thankful for these tiny girl friends...for the fun they have together as well as the mischief they make. I pray that, as the years go by, their friendship would only strengthen, and that they would strengthen and encourage each other to be the joyful, courageous, creative, beautiful women of God they were created to be-just as they are now. May they be blessed enough to celebrate many many more birthday parties together.