#5!!

Nolan wanted a Robot party at the roller rink for his 5th bIrThDaY.  We found a really cute robot cake for his party, and for his actual birthday, he had robot sugar cookies.  I always enjoy having the kids' parties on their actual birthday, but this year we couldn't do that because the skating rink wasn't open on his birthday.  So we had it 1 day early.  Along with Robot birthday cake cuteness came the very cute party favors for his buddy's(thank you for the idea D!)
I absolutely love to listen to Nolan, he has a super cute little voice, is hilarious, full of questions, curious and wants to know just about everything, and talks constantly ;)  He asked me what a Christian was the other day, and I enjoyed explaining it to him.  He is very funny and in his 5 year old mind, he thinks that if we were to get a dog, he'd like a "regular, or plain dog."  He says this a lot about things in life, "Mom, I'd like a regular..."  At 5 he has a creative imagination, is passionate, sensitive/yet tough, loves to cuddle(and when I say cuddle, I mean CUDDLE he'll move my arm and tell me to wrap it around him tighter, I LOVE HIM,) to give and receive hugs/kisses, he has always loved hard/fights hard(can be so stubborn,)  he wants to dress like his daddy in plain white t's and comfy shorts daily(usually his Adidas shorts,) is a GREAT eater(all of my kids are, I can barely keep our food stocked up, plus we don't eat out much so it goes fast around here.)
He is growing up so fast, they all are.  He's learning so many new things, his current most proud moment, learning to ride a 2 wheel bike!(video in previous post.)  He is really enjoying Kindergarten, it's pretty great watching him learn more about life, about God, about people, and learning to adapt in new environments.  He is finishing up soccer and is asking to try skating.  It would be so great if one of my brothers, or Dad could teach him to skate,  I was raised in the ice rink.  We shall see if we have a future skater in our house ;)
Here are some pictures of his 5th BiRtHdAy BaSh.  Lots of yummy snacks, treats, cousins, friends, family, & FUN!

Favors

Nolan's 5th Birthday Cake, it was delish!

Make a wish!

Happy & Sweet boy!

Cute & Creative wrapping idea, from Tabitha

Celebrating Nolan on his actual birthday, #5!

He has asked for a hooded towel for so long, so we got him one, a shark =)

Can't think of a better way to end a birthday!   This is LOVE!!!

Things that just happen Out of the Blue!

We walked over to my friend Kara's on Sunday and while we were chatting something seemed odd as I noticed Nolan zipping by us, back and forth on a 2 wheel bike without training wheels!  It took me by surprise, couldn't believe he just hopped on his buddy's bike and took off!  I am so proud of him, he literally learned this by himself, we haven't even practiced.  I guess the moment he sat on that bike on Sunday things just clicked!  He's over the moon and so proud of himself :")  Of course I didn't have a camera with me, it was an out of the blue thing.  So yesterday we took a little video of him cruising around the cul de sac happy as can be!

1st day of school 2012!

Thought I'd take a break from scrubbing toilets, and dusting( of my least favorite household duties!)  AND do something that makes me happy, like looking at pictures of my sweet faces and writing about what they are up do. 
Liv & Nolan are both in school 5 days a week now, so weird!  Olivia is in the 3rd grade, loving it, enjoying her friends, and getting to know her teacher, whom she seems to really like.  My little Nolan started 1/2 day Kindergarten.  He has an early September birthday so misses the cutoff by just a couple of days.  God orchestrated something really cool for him.  Olivia's Kindergarten teacher had a large group of young 5 year old kiddos that signed up for Kindergarten this year.  So this year he is so fortunate to have one of my favorite women on the planet, Mrs.Tammy, and he will be in full day Kindergarten next year(which will make more sense for him as a 6 yr old.)  Nolan is also enjoying Kindergarten, making new friends, learning , & loving this new adventure he is on. 

1st day of school 2012!!!

Can you say excited?  and HAPPY!

Nolan with his buddy Landon

The K class, 12 boys...only 2 girls!

They love the playground, which is the woods, very cool for little boys!

I snuck in to see where Nolan was sitting before class started.

My little Dolly the morning of her 1st day of 3rd grade!

A friend that I used to teach with at Mt. Spokane said the funniest thing the other day so I have to share. "I got every single thing done I hoped to while the kids were in school," said no one ever."  This is so hilarious and is so true in my life right now!  Cleaning, cooking, laundry, running errands, and more dumb errands, managing a house with kids, and a husband~whew, it takes everything I have!  When I do get a 1/2 second to do something, it's usually to read a page or 2 of a book that will take me forever to finish, write on here, or quickly check the Internet.  My day will come when life isn't always moving full speed ahead in the F-A-S-T lane =)

8 is GREAT!! Olivia has had a BiG last month!

Birthday Morning Pictures!

I have been taking her birthday pictures in this same spot for years & years! Would be fun to look at them all side by side to see how much my Noodle has changed!

~I am a month behind, but I have very good reasons ;)  Life has been so crazy for us this summer!  I will share more on that another time.
~Back to this post, Olivia turned 8 on August 4th~yes 8!  Hard to believe!  She wanted her party at an aquatics center, and lucky for us, we have a great one just a few miles away, it's one of the nicest facilities I've been to.  We spent many summer days there actually.  Summer biRThdays really are so much fun, especially with the nice, HOT weather.  We had our good friends the Wiley's in town over Liv's birthday weekend as well.  Oh how she LOVES little Lilah & Eden.  It's crazy to think that the Wiley's were here celebrating Olivia's 3rd Birthday with us, and now Lilah is 3!  How time flies.
~Liv wanted an Olivia the Pig cake this year.  I knew I wouldn't be able to make something like that for her, so I hired a baker =)  The cake turned was super cute, and so delicious!  Needless to say she had a blast on her birthday, and was delighted to see all her family and friends.  In return, we were delighted to celebrated her!
~ Olivia is a little doll, she hasn't changed a whole lot~still has a tiny little frame, long legs(partly why her daddy has always called her Noodle,)  has a sweet & spicy personality, is sensitive, passionate, observant, creative, compassionate, animated, loves to dance, cheer, sing, do her own hair, pick out her own outfits, writes letters to her friends & family(and my favorite, little notes to Shane & I,) journals daily, loves pretending she is a mama/teacher to her little brothers, she is very active and enjoys riding her bike, and scooter. 
~Most importantly, I pray she continues to have a pure heart, a good GOOD heart and desires to do the right thing in life, to LOVE God/and to follow Him, to love her friends and family, to be truthful & quick to forgive, and treat everyone with kindness! I love her dearly and am so happy she's mine!
~She started one of her favorite activities, Cheerleading, about a month ago, and started dance with her BFFFF ;) last week. She also started the 3rd grade last Tuesday, which is also hard for me to believe! Lots of things going on for us right now, so I am ready to plug into our new routine of busy, busy, busy! I don't think I have ever seen as much written on our calendar as we do right now, life with kids=always busy & NEVER a dull moment right?!

 

 

BiG sister to liTTle brothers~

This title has nothing to do with the post. Since we have celebrated all 3 of the kids' birthdays(*actually Nolan's 5th is today) I have been going through 1st birthday pictures. Wanted to share Olivia, Nolan, & Leo's 1st birthday pictures. These three look alike, but Olivia & Leo resemble each other the most~especially with the blue eyes and curls! They all 3 have similar mannerisms/expressions AND all have their Daddy's nose :)

Noodle on her 1st Birthday!

NJP on his first Birthday!

Leo my squishy little marshmallow on his 1st Birthday!