8

It's going to take me a while to get used to saying that.  It just seems so OLD.  How can I have an eight year old?

In honor of my sweet boy's birthday...

Eight Things I Love About You

(although there are so many more)...

• Your infectious laughter.  You have such a goofy, all boy, sense of humor and it's not hard to make you laugh - and when you get started it's hard to get you to stop!  You love to be tickled and I love to listen to you being tickled.
• Your sweet, sensitive soul.  You have become such an empathetic person.  You think about how your actions will effect others and many of the things you do (or don't do) are a reflection of that.  You show such compassion toward animals.  When you are around, we need to be sure to carefully release unwanted bugs and spiders to safety (rather than killing them which I am more inclined to do!)     
• Your self-confidence.  You continue to amaze me each time you volunteer to get in front of a crowd whether it be to participate in a game or skit at church, play an instrument or help a speaker at school, sing karaoke at an unknown place, the list goes on.  You have no problem getting up in front of others, which is something I have always struggled with.
• Your friendliness.  You can strike up a conversation with a-n-y-o-n-e!  We lovingly refer to you at "the Mayor" because (just like your dad) you  can literally talk to anyone, anywhere, about anything at all!  It could be the cashier at the grocery store, a random fellow shopper, another male in the bathroom, a passer-by on the street, etc.  Elderly people, young people, classmates, teachers, babies, you name it!  You make friends so easily.  Within minutes of arriving at a park, you have introduced yourself and joined another boy or group of boys to play.
•  Your love for your sister. The two of you are very close, which is a wonderful thing.  Although you know how to push her buttons, for the most part, you want to be around her.  You stand up for her when she's being treated unfairly or unkindly, and want to make sure she's being taken care of.  You immediately take her side when someone has made her cry (you even get upset with Daddy and me when we punish her)
• Your endless energy.  How do you do it?  I would be wealthy if I could find a way to bottle up some of your energy and sell it.  You are on the move from the moment you get up until the moment you go to bed.
• Your sweet, snuggly side.  Always at bedtime, and occastionally other times, you snuggle up real close to me.  You tell me how much you love me and smother me with kisses.  My favorite is when you tell me that I am so cute you can't even stand it! 
•  Your intelligence.  You are such a bright child with an eagerness to learn new things.  You are very inquisitive and like to find out how things work. 

I love you sweet boy...each and every ounce of you!

Puerta Vallarta

Birthday Week was a little different year. We spent the week childless, in bathing suits, relaxing in lounge chairs, surrounded by lush green palm trees, and spending time with dear friends. Yes, this is the view from our condo at Villa La Estancia in Puerta Vallarta, Mexico.  Breathtaking, right?

This trip is just what Matt and I needed.  With Matt's new job consuming most of his time, we've barely had time to catch up.  As soon as the kids were tucked in, I was pooped and had little energy to wait up for him. This trip rejuvinated us, and allowed us time to catch up and spend some quality time together.

This guy was crawling along behind me as I sat in my lounge chair at the pool

Monday evening we took a cab into the small quaint town of Bucerias, right on Banderas Bay.  The locals set up tables selling their wares in the courtyard just to the left of where we are taking this picture from.  At the far end, booths lined the streets, with more vendors.  This is where we picked up our souveniers. Luckily, many of them knew the US Dollar to Peso conversion and were able to give us accurate prices - which of course were negotiable.  Thank goodness for Matt, because negotiating is not.my.thing.  (Actually, Doug was the expert.)

 The sunsets were the most beautiful I've ever seen.  Our camera doesn't even come close to capturing the true magnificence of them.

Chiveros on the Beach...on.the.beach...literally. Our feet were in the sand. We enjoyed our dinner by candlelight once the sun set.

 Tuesday...my birthday!  We spent the morning at the pool.  Matt took this picture from our balcony.  Sally, Doug, and I are the three people in the lounge chairs by the pool.

I was pleasantly surprised when our favorite pool butler, Juan Jose a.k.a. "JJ" and his buddies strolled up banging dishes and singing "Happy Birthday" to me.  They had a piece of cheesecake with basil, yes basil, ice cream for me.  We all wondered if basil ice cream is truly authentic Mexican or whether they just tossed some leftover basil into some vanilla ice cream and mixed it up :)

Then we headed out for a half day trip Whale Watching.  On the plane, a woman sat next to us who visits Puerta Vallarta often and she recommended taking a whale watching trip.  Our intial plan was not to leave the property and spend the entire week relaxing at the resort.  But she really enticed us!  Apparently, humpback whales make the trip from the waters of Alaska to Bandares Bay each year from December to March to mate and birth their young.  I must admit, we were a little apprehensive when we saw the size of the boat we would be taking out into the Pacific...see it below!  Yep, it's like a blow up raft!

This guy must've been really trying to impress a female, or us, because he continually performed for us!  A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

Then we went out to Mezzogiorno for an Italian dinner.  Yes, even the Mexicans can cook Italian!  Our food was delicious, but the view and company really made it extra special.

(And, yes, contrary to what the pictures portray we all wore sunscreen and reapplied regularly!)

 This was one of our favorite spots.  This hot tub was right on the Bay and adjacent to a fire pit.  We enjoyed a few fruity drinks in here, wathcing the sunset wondering how on Earth we could ever explain this to anyone.

The rest of the week we did more of the same...relaxing, reading, talking, swimming, walking, eating, repeat!  WOW!

What a wonderful, wonderful trip! 

This is definitely one birthday I will never forget!

She's 6!

I know I say this each year, but I just can't believe that she's really six years old. Time is just getting away from me. I'm holding on for dear life.

Sweet Carly - you have grown so SO much this year, yet you are still the sweet little girl whose smile can brighten any room and whose laughter is contagious. Your tender heart is still very sensitive and you care a great deal about others' feelings and I can't imagine our lives without you. You add so much joyfulness to our family.

Here are some things I never want to forget about YOU this year:

Your ear-to-ear smile on the first day of school as you got off the school bus for the first time.

Your eagerness to learn and determination to read and write (and memorize your addition and subtraction facts faster than your brother).

How easily you make friends. You have such an outgoing personailty and have no problem making friends. Within minutes of arriving at a playground, library, sporting event, you will undoubtably be seen running around, playing, or having a conversation with someone new.

Your willingness to take risks. Girl, you are unbelievable at times. Riding on a tube being pulled behind a boat, swinging from the monkey bars, roller skating, diving off the diving board...are you afraid of anything?

So, Snuggle Bug, Sweet Girl, Mimi, Carly-girl...it was such an honor to celebrate you this week!

This weekend we celebrated Miss Carly's sixth birthday. The house was full of five year old girls and lots of laughter and all things girlie! This year's theme was Candyland.

The invitation:

First stop: Peanut Acres

The girls searched through bags of packing peanuts to find the real peanuts and then hurled them over their heads to their partner who had to catch them in a net. There were peanuts flying everywhere!

Next up: Peppermint Forest

Here, teams competed in the Peppermint Relay, balancing a peppermint on a spoon.

Then, Lollipop Woods

Several varieties of lollipops were on a tray and the girls had to examine them. Each girl took turns removing a lollipop while the rest of the group guessed which one was missing.

Then is was time for cupcakes!

How cool are these cupcakes!? Yes, I made them (got the recipe from here) and will not, most likely, make them again. They were very tedious and time consuming.

We love this face :)

Last stop was the Candy Castle, where the girls filled their bags with sweets from the "Candy Bar".

Each girl went home with a Whirly Pop from Sweet Spot and a toothbrush.