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.