Wyatt Turns the BIG 3!!

Where are the years going? Blink and I feel like I miss one. Sweetness passes before my eyes and if growing up so quickly. Don't get me wrong, it's fun, oh so fun, to watch, but at the same time sad. I keep asking him to please stay small forever...he thinks that's funny. Well, this year we celebrated dinosaur style. He's infatuated with dinosaurs and it's fun. Oh, and what made this birthday extra, extra special was that he got to celebrate with Grampy, side-by-side, blowing their own cake candles out together. What a great memory. My Dad always tells us that Wyatt was the best birthday present ever. Love that.

This year we did an archeological dig, a dino egg hunt, pin the tail on the dino, you get the picture...anything that we could think of that would remotely relate to a dinosaur.

After the roar of the party died down, the Pastor from Church came over to dedicate Wyatt to God, so great that we could do this with the whole family present.

We closed the night down with the smores at the firepit and a little serenade from Wyatt and his new guitar, great, sweet memories :).

Wyatt, you are a special, special boy, unlike any other that I've come across. Your sweetness oozes out your pores, you have such a big caring heart. You Daddy, Sister and I just adore you to pieces and can't imagine life before you were part of ours. What a blessing you are, straight from God, perfect in every way, made in his likeness. Thank you for all that you do. Please, don't every change.

xoxoxo,
Mommy

She's 5!!

Everyday it seems like a new milestone has passed and this weekend was no exception. And WOW, it was a biggie. Mia turned 5. With 5 comes the big K...grab your Kleenex, get ready, yes, K for Kindergarten. That's right, no more sweet little pre-school. I truly can't believe it. I'm rushed with emotions. Excitement, anxiety, sadness, comfort and disbelief all in the same breath. Moms and Dads out there, you know what I mean by each and every one of these adjectives.

It's crazy, where do the years go? With a blink of my eye, she went from just learning to walk to 5!!

Here's how the day went. Exhausted from the party prep the day before I was hoping to grab a tiny bit more sleep, but that wasn't in the cards. I was woken as I overheard Mia and Wyatt quietly talking in her room.

WYATT: Mia, what are you doing?
MIA: Getting my dress on, today is my birthday. I went to sleep when I was 4 and woke up and now I'm 5. It's my birthday today!
WYATT/MIA: YEAH!

After hearing the sweet exchange, I got up to soak it all in. Mia was dressed in her Snow White dress because Sunday, August 1st, wasn't just any ol' birthday party, it was her princess party.

The kids played while my Mom, Dad, Cary and I ran around getting all the last minute pieces in place.

At 1 o'clock the kids started arriving, the girls dressed like their favorite princess and the boys like charming princes. At 2 o'clock sharp we had a guest arrived that knocked the kids socks off...it was none other than Snow White herself. The kids stared at her in amazement, hugged her, stared some more and then started to pepper her with questions. "Where's the dwarfs? You could have brought your little bird friends. Who's at Disneyland if you're here?" TOO CUTE!! Snow White entertained the questions like a champ.

Ellie, my kiddos nanny and one of their favorite people on the planet, did the girls hair beautifully while Snow White's assistant did some face painting. It was great.

At the end of the day we all collapsed with exhaustion...but it's all about celebrating Mia's life and creating memories. And, at the end of the day, I think we succeeded.

Mia said it was "a great day!" Really, that's all I needed to hear.

We love you honey!
xoxo,
Mommy & Daddy

A Month of Being Thankful "B" is for the Beach"

Although we don't take advantage of it enough, we love living at the beach. Last Christmas we took our photo at the beach. We have so many fun memories of the beach. Mia's 3rd birthday celebration was at the beach. We've celebrated the majority of the last 10 4th of July gatherings at the beach. In college I used to run on the beach. Audrey loves to play at dog beach. The beach always brings a smile to my face...just not when I forget my sunscreen.