Reese turns FIVE... Well, almost...

Mama's birthday girl!

The month of June started with a plea from my kids' Aunt Allison...  "Please have a birthday party for Reese at HOME this year!!!"  You see, we are always on the road when Reese's birthday rolls around.  Every... Single... Year...   Since my doctor's visit required that we be home on June 9th we decided to stay home through the weekend so we could have a big blowout party for Reese's 5th birthday.  I was so happy we did because it was a great party, and I had one happy little girl!

Reese picked an ice cream theme, and then the ball started rolling!  My friend, Ellie, and I worked all week to get this party into tip top shape.  My daddy made a canopy stand for me, Ellie scooped mountains of ice cream, I taped labels on water bottles, David built a sandbox.  It was definitely a team effort, and I cannot begin to thank everyone enough for their help. 

One of our first projects was making the cake.  I haven't made a cake in YEARS.  I made one for Katie's first birthday party and swore I would never bake again.  It was that hard for me!  Well, Reese really wanted a rainbow cake, so I decided to try my hand at baking again.  I would never have worked up the nerve to attempt it, but Ellie encouraged me and basically did most of the cake for me.  That's why it came out so great!  Thanks Ellie!  You're a rockstar!!! 

We also set up a sundae bar so the guests could add their own toppings to their ice cream.  We had cherries, pineapple, chocolate syrup, caramel syrup, coconut, a million sprinkles, whipped cream, you name it!  If it is good on ice cream, we probably had it!  As I said before, my daddy made a canopy stand for me, so we used an old tablecloth and made the cutest little 'ice cream stand' type canopy.  We set up two tables at each end of the toppings table.  One was for lemonade and water, and the other was for cones and the ice cream!

TIP: Scoop ice cream into cupcake liners before the party
and put them in the deep freeze.  Voila!  Self serve ice cream!

After we ate ice cream and before we had cake we played a few outdoor games and let the kids play on the trampoline and in the sandbox.  We played "Stomp the Balloon", and Nathan was our big winner.  He was so proud of himself, and I managed to catch a great picture of him!

David did a great job building the sandbox!

Alyssa Reese and her good friend, Alyssa!

The fun and games outdoors slowed down a bit, so we went inside to have birthday cake and let our big girl open gifts.  She was so excited to have her friends there to celebrate with her, and was doubly excited when we cut the cake and it was the EXACT cake she picked out.  I was so happy that she was just thrilled!

When Reese started opening gifts it was obvious that her friends and family knew her well!  She got TONS of the character cars from the 'Cars' movie by Disney.  That was exactly what she wanted!

Overall we had a wonderful day and Reese felt very loved.  We are all so blessed to have such good friends and such an awesome family!

Happy Birthday Katie!

Sunday was Katie's birthday, so we took her to see the 2008 Tour of Gymnastics Superstars. It was amazing! The gymnasts were all something special to see. Katie loved it, and so did I. Anna, Alyssa and Nana all had a great time, too.

We left after the show and headed to Chuck E. Cheese for a little more birthday fun with the cousins, Caleb and Nathan, Aunt Allison, David and Reese. Nana had to leave for work, but the rest of us had a ball.

Formal birthday pics for Reese

I have already talked about Reese's second birthday, but I didn't post the birthday pics we had taken of her at Images by Gayle here in Searcy.

Gayle has been our favorite photographer since she did Katie's first birthday photos over six years ago.

She did our wedding, and we take the kids there for Halloween pictures every year.

I thought Reese looked adorable in these pictures! Gayle really captured her personality. Happy Birthday baby!

My baby girl is TWO!!

Reese had her 2nd birthday on June 20th. We had a party out at Nana's house. She had such a great time! Anytime that she can be outside playing is a good time for her!

Katie turns seven today!

Seven years ago, I experienced a miracle. I held a beautiful, brand new baby girl. A girl who looked at us with eyes wise beyond her years.

Her hair wasn't blonde yet, heck, she didn't even have any hair! Her eyes weren't gray, they were blue, and she didn't have any of her cute little freckles, her skin was golden yellow from jaundice! I didn't care. She was my baby girl, and to me she was perfect.

Katie is still my little miracle. She sees things about people and this world that most people never slow down enough to recognize. Some of the things she says really open my eyes. She always looks for the good things about every new person she meets, and with Katie's personality, we meet LOTS of new people!

She is painfully honest, and can't tell a lie (and get away with it) to save her life. There is not a sneaky bone in her body. She is outgoing, loyal, friendly and enjoyable. She is highly rambunctious, a little wild, a tad melancholy and very loving. She seeks approval from everyone, and being rejected by anyone just kills her. She is always a champion for the underdog, and I love that.

Our little girl grows bigger every day, but I will always think of her as that tiny miracle that God sent to save me. Sometimes she drives me crazy, and sometimes I am overwhelmed with how much I love her. She is the life force that keeps me going when I am too tired to move, and the one person who can wear me out more than anyone else. She'll always be unique, and I'll always love her more than life.

My baby girl is a whole year old!

You know, it's just amazing how quickly they grow. I simply cannot believe that it has been a full year, 365 days ago to the minute, that Reese was born. WOW! It seems just like yesterday she was just a little baby blob that didn't do anything except eat, poop and cry.

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Now she's such a big girl! She can crawl, walk, smile, play pat-a-cake and scream amazing baby cuss words at you when she's mad. She can eat by herself, and won't allow anyone to feed her. She's a BIG GIRL now!

I am just grateful that, when she's tired, she will let me hold her and cuddle her. She still gives her kisses freely and giggles when you tickle her under her chin. She still has little dimples on the backs of her hands instead of big kid knuckles, and her skin is still just baby soft.

She no longer calls me Mama. Everybody (except Nana) is Dada. For some reason she calls Nana by her name. The only time I hear "mama" is when she's not ready to go to bed and is standing in the crib wailing "maaaa-maaaa!" What a guilt trip!

I am just so grateful that she is happy and healthy. She loves her big sister and she hates to be restrained. She is talkative, even though you can't understand a word she's saying. She has the cutest dimples in her cheeks, both the ones on her face and the ones on her bottom! She loves the water, and tries to get in our little wading pool everytime we're out in the yard. She is a voracious eater, and hasn't found much of anything that she won't eat. She is one of the biggest treasures in my life. She is my baby girl. She is Alyssa Reese.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY! I LOVE YOU!