Kesley turns *5*

This is Kesley waking up on her big day. I can't believe she is already 5! This little lady is such a blessing. She just has the best personality--very easy going, but full of excitement. I have never met a girl who can keep a sentence going as long as she can! She makes instant friends with everyone she meets, but her best friend is definitely her brother. I love that. She is the middle child of 3 kids who are all a little too close in age...I was the middle child and know how it feels to always be "not old enough" or "too old to be doing that". Kesley just rolls with it. I have to force myself to stop and make sure she doesn't get overlooked. I sure love this little lady and wish she could stay this sweet forever.

I wanted to make her birthday special, so I got an early start last night. My kids love to walk out of their room in the morning to the "streamer special" mom has done the night before...usually at midnight, in a panic because I almost forgot! I always wonder why, WHY did I start this tradition? But then they come out and love it and I am so happy I did. I did, however, cut the balloons...we are a streamer only family now.

This looks like Kesley head is twisted backwards, but I think she is still a little groggy and wondering what is going on! As soon as she was up, Gavin immediately had her pinned against the wall, pencil in hand, measuring her height! He is very into this after hearing me talk about how he may have a growth spurt now that his sleep apnea is fixed...we pretty much measure our heights twice a day.

Birthday breakfast! Brent makes the BEST pancakes and waffles. They are everyone's favorite. Kesley can't get enough, especially if they have boysenberry syrup...and a lot of butter....yummy.

After we dropped G at school, I took Kesley to Toys R Us and she used her birthday money from Grandma and Grandpa Smith to buy the Wedding Barbie she has wanted forever. I wanted to get her all cutsied up to go, but she said, "Since it's my birthday I get to choose what I wear and I DON'T want you to do my hair!" .....hmmmm....OK! I wish I had taken my camera. She chose her favorite floor length black skirt (a hand-me-down from cousin Sydnee that is WAY to big for her, and is usually in hiding...hee hee), a brown long sleeved shirt and pink shoes. And I did mention that the hair was not done. Luckily we got there when the doors opened and it was not crowded!

I asked Kesley what she wanted for her birthday dinner. Of course she wanted Mac-O-Cheese and peas. I know, I know--that says way too much about my cooking habits. I couldn't talk her into something a little more "special", so I finally decided to let her have it but thought I would make homemade Mac-o-cheese, the kind you bake and is super good. I decided to make some Parmesan chicken to go with it. It may not seem like much, but this plan took me most of the afternoon. I HATE to cook. My parents were coming out to bring Kesley a present so I invited them to stay for dinner (because I was very proud of the YUMMY dinner I had made from scratch and wanted to show it off...) Well, it was yummy but my kids hated it. So much for slaving over a hot stove all afternoon.

Here is Kesley eating her birthday dinner--ALONE, because everyone else was done. You think just because it was her birthday I wasn't going to MAKE HER GAG THAT STUFF DOWN? She's lucky Grandma Trude stayed with her and helped her eat "enough bites" so that she could have cake and open her presents....I'm such a mean mom.

Here is a cute shot of Gavin showing Grandpa how he can read! Grandpa Smith wasn't so lucky. I hear when he came by last night he got stuck seeing the 204 cars in G's car collection ONE by ONE!And finally, Kesley with all her loot. Yes, that is a jar of pickles! Kesley loves pickles and I remembered my sister, Emily getting a jar of pickles for her birthday every year. Now I understand the reasoning....it's all about QUANTITY! It is what you a "filler" present.Kesley, we love you! We couldn't do it without you. I hope you had a wonderful day!...and I am sorry I made you eat that horrible mac-o-cheese.

From the mouth of--my babes

I keep wishing I had been diligent in writing down the funny things my kids say. I've had a couple good belly laughs the last couple days and thought if I don't start now I will never start. This blog has saved me in the scrap booking (well the LACK of) so I think I will start here.

Gavin has never played a video game in his life. Neither Brent or I have ever been into them, so when Amber gave him a little Spider Man video game set I wasn't sure if he would ever play it. I had a good laugh watching him try to figure it out on his own. It would have been easy if he would let someone show him how to do it, but this kid WILL NOT let you show him how to do anything....very annoying at times. Yesterday I came into the living room where Gavin was "playing" his game. He is very excited and says, "Look mom, I'm whoppin butt--no, TWO butts!" I'm not sure if he knows what he is doing, but at least he is having fun!

Gavin does know how to maneuver his way through websites. It never ceases to amaze me. His favorite is PBSkids.org. What cracks me up is that he always asks for it just that way, "Mom, can I play PBS kids dot org?" The other day he asked me, "Mom, what is your favorite "org?" What a cute kid and what a different world he is growing up in!

This is a story Shannon told me on Saturday. She was driving all the little girl cousins home from Naomi's birthday party and getting a kick out of the conversation going on between them. Kids are so honest, and the stuff they feel comfortable talking about is very refreshing. Shannon said that out of nowhere Kesley says, "Sometimes my mom asks me to change Jennas diapers, but she's just kidding because I am only 5!" (Funny, because we all know I haven't ever asked her to change a diaper.) Melissa says, "Jacob and Allison are old enough to change diapers!" Shannon joins in, and for a little shock effect says, "Well they are lucky because when I was little we didn't have diapers that you can just throw away, ours were made out of material and I had to rinse my little brothers diapers out in the toilet before my mom could wash them." Of course they were all disgusted, but true to the honest nature of children, Megan says, "Hey, my mom does that to my underwear if I ever have an accident!" Melissa, not to be outdone, says, "My mom does that to my underwear too if I ever have an accident!" Kesley, very sad and dramatic says, "My mom just throws them away. If I ever make a wish or say a prayer, I just wish that I won't poop in my pretty pants." Hmmmm....maybe I am a little harsh, but I don't think she has ever had an accident!

We just went to see the movie, "Hotel For Dogs"--very cute and the kids loved it. In one dramatic moment, all the stray dogs, including her favorite poodle are picked up and hauled to the pound. Kesley was very worried. She doesn't realize she is talking out loud and says, "Ohhhh, I really like'ted the white pluto!"