Elena's 5th Birthday

Elena is now 5 YEARS OLD!

Elena you are beautiful in every single way. You are fiercely competitive, but it's tempered with a desire to verbally encourage others along the way. Your biggest giggles are saved for slapstick comedy, usually performed by Asher, but you do have a special place in your heart for an AFV video you once saw of a cat jumping into a fish tank. You love being given responsibilities, and love it even more if they somehow affect your brothers.

You talk all. the. time. :) And I know I'm going to miss that when you go to school next fall. You are desperate to understand time, so you can know exactly when things will happen. Days of the week are starting to make sense, but telling time will be a ways off. Girl, you can read like nobody's business! Such an accomplishment. You are strongly left-handed which is just one of the many wonderful reminders of how unique you are.

Now we have to talk a little bit about just how sneaky you can be. Many are the premeditated "crimes" you commit in this house. The planning involved in your pantry heists scares us, but we are praying for self-control and a love for truth.

You admire anything beautiful; a disney princess, a purse with sequins, or a colorful sunset. You love roller coasters, hair accessories, and creating things out of printer paper and some tape. Your little 5 year old mind is already looking into your future and thinking about leaving for college (this saddens both you and us), getting married (you are pretty concerned over not seeming to have him picked out yet), and having kids (you don't understand why God wouldn't give you exactly two girls a "Bella" and "Emily").

No matter what you are exploring, creating or destroying we love you completely!

I'm showing off my daughter's mad sprinkle skills.

The Great Debate(s)

Elena and Evan have had many different seasons in their relationship. When Evan was first born, Elena pretty much ignored him. Then as he aged he began to tamper with her things, and the physical bullying began. It was months of hearing shrieks from Evan, running to the room, and seeing Elena on top of him - punches flying.

I'm not sure if it's that Evan is now old enough to understand and obey the rules of "Elena's world", or if it's that he's now big enough to retaliate, but thankfully the physical abuse has become a thing of the past (okay, there maybe a few exceptions... but.... anyways)

But we're now entering another season and this one has a different flavor of strife. We'll call it The Season of Great Intellectual Debate. Here is a sample of the arguments you can hear at our house. Both sides are always extremely passionate on their stand and are usually brought to tears over the other's unwillingness to concede.

ELENA: Eve-A (a robot from the movie, Wall-E) is a girl.

EVAN: No He isn't!

ELENA: Yes she is!

EVAN: NOOOO! He is not a GIRL ("girl" said with disgust). Mom, Ewana said Eve-A is a girl!!!

EVAN (wearing a red hat): Look Ewana, I'm Santa Claus!

ELENA: No you're not, you're the Grinch

EVAN: I AM NOT THE GRINCH. YOU'RE THE GRINCH!

ELENA: NO YOU'RE THE GRINCH!

And on and on it goes.....

Elena running away from Evan. Evan following in tears:

EVAN: Noooo! I AM a friendly dinosaur!!! I'm NOT scary!!!

Conner Lawrence

Meet my newest nephew!

Little Conner made his arrival January 18th!

I AM NEVER GOING TO CATCH UP ON THIS THING!!

Aghhh!!! I am so frustrated at how far behind I am on this blog!

But venting that frustration here has been therapeutic, so thank you for listening.

If you're desperate for pics of our trip to Disney World, please go HERE to my sis-in-love's blog.

And unrelated to the above, but very important:

Please pray for my sister as she is delivering her baby boy, Conner today! We can't wait to meet him and are so thankful for his good health thus far.

This Year's Ornaments

We like to pick out ornaments for each child that serves as a reminder of their year. Elena received a Clara ornament - she began ballet this year and attended the Nutcracker with Ma... and LOVED it! We gave Evan a Hot Wheels ornament - it's actually just like one Ben received growing up. And Asher got a little Moose ornament.

As a photographer I'm just really proud of this picture :)

Asher just wanted Mom and could not be persuaded to get excited about his bag.

Nope! I don't care!

You'll Shoot Your Eye Out!

I think at some point every kid faces the crushing disappointment of finding out that the one Christmas gift you want in the entire world is deemed too dangerous to own by their parents.

A few weeks ago, Elena was browsing a Walmart circular when she suddenly stopped on a page and gasped with glee. She had found a picture of a very happy girl making the most scrumptious cakes with a miraculous toy - an Easy Bake Oven. Elena ran over to me announcing that this was the toy that she "most wanted" for Christmas.

My immediate thought was - no way. Way too messy, way too dangerous for solo play, way too big to store in my kitchen (since it certainly couldn't be kept in her room).

I needed a reason to give her, so I first pointed out the price. When I told her, it was $18, her eyes widened - $18 must be a lot of money based on my tone of voice. Then I looked at the picture of the packaging and saw that the recommended age was six and up (perfect!). I explained the "6+" symbol to her and that it is there to protect 4 yr olds.

She turned around; engulfed in disappointment.

A few minutes later she came back and asked me, "Mom, do you have $1?" Sensing a trap, I didn't answer her question, but reached out for the circular she was again handing me. And then I saw this:

I burst out laughing!! But Elena never cracked a smile. She acted like the new price and recommended age had always been there, that I was crazy for thinking otherwise, and she still does not admit to tampering with the circular. Heaven help us.

Another Moose Party

We had a little family party for Asher on his actual birthday, December 8th. We ordered pizza, sang happy birthday, and then ran out the door for youth group (he's definitely living life as a third child).

My quick attempt at a moose cake: I think it looks like a teddy bear/cat with antlers.

Our extravagant decorations and birthday card from his sister.

"What? ANOTHER BIRTHDAY PARTY?!?!"

SO loved!