I'm Late! I'm Late! For a very important Date!

No time to say,

HELLO!

GOOD BYE!

I'm late!

I'm late!

I'm late!


I'm late telling you, that is, about the wonderful & perfectly elegant & fun TEA PARTY Flynn was given in honor of her birthday.

Nana took over the plans & hard work as a gift to Flynn & rounded up as many secondhand dresses as she could. Then she altered them & embellished them & even had a hat or hair accessory for every single guest.

Fine china was set & each guest enjoyed a finger sandwich, pickle & chips...and of course, 'real' tea in a real tea cup.

After a fun game & the dress up time, the lunch & the (super duper cute) cake, Flynn enjoyed opening her gifts.

The tea guzzlers had an ah'mazing time & this party will not soon be forgotten.

Happy 4th Birthday, Gabe

My Baby Boy, the morning after you joined our family, 2009

Dear Gabriel,

Where do I begin? Except to tell you that if nothing else, you've taught me the lesson that time goes by far too quickly.


There hasn't been a milestone of yours that stayed long enough... there hasn't been a stage that you went through that lasted as long as I wanted it to.


You've proven that your Momma is mushy & that I'm actually a real softy.


And there are lots of reasons you've stolen all our hearts....





You still love Spiderman & have already claimed it as your Halloween costume.


You love cars & all things with wheels.


You have a penchant for tools.


You love your Momma.





You hate day care. You actually already "dropped out."


You don't like being away from your Momma.


You dislike being petted on uninvited.


And don't ever want to get your hair cut.


You just finished with speech therapy & went from 2 word sentences to us not getting a word in edgewise.


You love your sissy & hit her in the same breath.





You absolutely love church. If you think we're headed there, but aren't, it brings tears to your eyes.





And boy, are you handsome. Everyone who sees you & your Daddy, know exactly where you get your good looks. You tower over the others your age but can't keep your pants up with that skinny waist.





You have your Momma's sweet tooth & are the recipient of everyone's sneaky chocolate-giving.





You have my heart. You always will. And you make me proud every morning when you stumble out of bed & my heart bursts.





And if my love keeps growing with every year, I better have an ocean-full.





Happy 4th Birthday, to my Baby Boy,


Love,


Your Momma

Gabe, July '09, Not too sure about this posing-with-princesses thing

Madamine's* Bday Party

We have the advantage of a blessing that not very many allergy-families get to experience: a MILK-FREE birthday party.

That's right... Flynn's BFF, "Mademine" (as Gabe refers to her...and also says she is HIS SISTER) & her wonferful family, blessed Flynn with enjoying a DAIRY FREE PARTY. SECOND YEAR IN A ROW.

As Amanda now knows, throwing a party that is completely milk-free is NOT easy. She even bought cake decoratives a la carte to be able to have the theme chosen by Madelyn in a dessert that she knew would be safe for Flynn. All the way down to ordering from Chic Fil A because she had heard me say that Flynn can eat there.

Now those my friends, those are good friends.

And what could be even nicer than that?? --- Letting a little brother join the festivities.

*Madamine = Madelyn

(Gabe Lingo)

PePaw's Surprise

A couple of Saturdays ago, we were very sneaky & pulled one over on PePaw

(which was not so hard, he is his son's dad for sure!).

Flynn was so curious as to how a SURPRISE party worked.

And I told her ahead of time (which could've been risky).

But on his actual bday, after we'd called him & sang to him, she told me

(very curiously, new word), "Mom, I think PePaw knows about his suprise."
"He does??" (thinking, she let the cat out of the bag to him)

"Yes MOM!, He knows it's his birthday, WE SANG TO HIM!!"

Happy 60th Birthday PePaw!

The Birthday Song

Don't let them fool you,

they might try to act embarassed,

or like they'd rather not have the entire staff of Bob Evans

come to the table & sing to them...

but the truth of the matter is,

that they LIKE having the birthday song sang to them.

Information about Flynn's awesome outfit: IT WAS HER DAY! I LET HER PICK OUT HER OWN OUTFIT! And boy, did she ever clash. What she chose was her hand-me-down & very worn-out pink sweatshirt (complete with satin bow) teamed up WITH her orange & glittery silverish leggings, a hand-me-down from Madelyn.

I mean, if you can't pick out your own outfit for your 5th birthday, when can you pick out your own outfit?!?!

Birthdayness

After an exciting Bob Evans dinner (sarcasm), we came home, put on PJ's & birthday crowns (well, just one). It was time to sit in the birthday chair & open more gifts!

What's this? Lots of books? And an off-brand Polly Pockets set from Bubby?
A close up of the 5-year old.

The scooter was a big hit. And she was off! And thank goodness for a good open basement to practice the new 'scootin' skills.

And then some downtime with the new books.

The next day, Flynn asked, "When are we going to have my next party?"

Um, yah.

Hmmph! And They Say Teaching Has No Perks!

Actually, that's us that says it. All the time, we complain -- we get no swag, no paid business trips for the whole fam. No business trying to impress us, by paying for dinner & golf. No Christmas bonus. Not even a paid Christmas party (yes, 'til true, in the past if we wanted to attend, we must pay a hefty fee + bring a dish).

But there are perks. Other than the I Believe the Children Are Our Future changing lives, shaping futures, making learning fun....there's other 'stuff'.

Like really cool middle schoolers. Yep, I put cool & middle schooler in the same sentence. I used to DESPISE this age group. They were geeky. They were ackward. I didn't even know how to talk to them. My standard line, when asked what my certification was in, was, "Elementary. Yep, can't stand the kids older than that. Once they get boobs, b.o., & a bad attitude, I can't be around them."

But that's totally changing. Well, for one thing, those little 2nd & 3rd grade sweeties I taught 6 years ago? Guess what, they're still sweeties, but now they're middle schoolers. And those sweet darlings at church who ooh & aww at our kids. Yep. Middle school. And 1/2 my wonderful nieces? Middle School.

And hot hubs teaches my new tolerable age group. And comes home with stories of their hilariousness. And how much he likes them. And how glad he is to have added that certification.

And you'll never guess what those little darlings did...

A handful of them, in one of his classes, pooled the money together, and bought FLYNN a birthday present.
And boy did they ever get it right! They must've known that Snowball's days are numbered. As they gave her a BRAND NEW WEBKINZ!

PERRY the PLATYPUS!

And that's way better than an engraved mug anyday!

Happy 5th Birthday Flynn

minutes old

November 19, 2003, the day you made me a momma

5 months old

Your first Easter, 2004

14 mos old

Daddy's birthday, your 2nd January, 2005

17 mos old

Your 2nd Easter (& a few short mos before becoming a big sis), 2005

2 years old

playing doctor

2 1/2 years

4th of July 3 1/2 years
on vacation at the beach

4 1/2 years

first time on the west coast

Dearest Flynn,

I can't believe this day has come. When you were tiny, I used to think about this day & how 'five' was so big & how far off in the distance this birthday was.

Well, it's not far off in the distance now. It's here. And I can't believe how fast it got here.

I'm probably more emotional than I should be about this particular birthday; but to me it means the end of anything-baby, it's the official end to your preschoolhood (even though you are still in preschool) as five typically means the beginning of school. (don't even get me started on that, I don't have enough tissue for that)

You could not be more of what I wanted & hoped in a daughter. Really. You are so smart. Incredibly clever. With your big dark eyes & matching lashes. You don't seem to care what anyone thinks about your ideas & the things you want. You think outside the box. The movies you ask for, the things you want to do in your spare time, they aren't typical for little 5-year old girls....and I like that.

You have faith that can move mountains. You ask questions that I would need a theology degree to answer. A couple of months ago, you asked who was bigger, 'God or Jesus?'. You regularly pray that God would heal you of your allergy, and I know that in His timing, He will honor that.

Your latest obsession is babies. If you spy one, you say, "Ohh!!!!" You love to hold them & rub their hair & help take care of them. It makes Daddy & I question our timing of having your baby brother when you were still a baby (far before this love of baby stage).

You have a deep love for your family, particularly your cousins. Your normal sibling rivalry always makes way to wanting to please Bubby. Recently when we were having lunch with friends, you gave Bubs your seat after he cried five minutes to sit where you were sitting.

You have great friends. Lots of them. And grow close to each friend you have.

When asked what your profession will be as an adult, you still consistently waiver between "a doctor" & "a firefighter". And with the strong traits you have, I believe either of those could be a reality.

This year, you traveled further than you ever had. To California! And you experienced a plane ride for the very first time. You also learned what it means to miss someone & ask about your girl cousins across the country, at least once each day.

You just changed preschools. This would be traumatic for lots of kids, but not you. You kept with your go-with-the-flow attitude. You love the new place, especially being in a class with your best friend Madelyn.

You love church. On Saturday nights, when we're laying clothes out for the next day, you & Gabe squeal, "church tomorrow! church tomorrow!" You love your teacher who always makes sure the snack is a safe (& fun!) one. You spend quite a lot of time there at church as we're one of the first ones there & one of the last ones to leave. But it seems like no prob to you & Bubs who make it pure play just going up & down the long halls.

Nine months ago, you asked me how babies are made. I was dumbfounded & completely not ready for such a question for sure. And my quick (& untelling) answers weren't enough for you, you kept wanting the truth & more of it.

One thing I can really appreciate at this point in our lives is what a 'good' girl you are. I ask it & you do it. You rarely ask twice. Being around so many other kiddos, I see what a comodity your obedience is. Thank you!

You are loved everywhere you go. And especially here at home.

When you came into this world, I thought my heart would burst with love. And nothing has changed...

except,

there's even more of it now.

Flynn, I pray blessings on your sixth year of life (fifth birthday starting your sixth year). I pray that your attitude would continue to be positive. That your love for others would be abundant. I pray that you know no sadness this year but if you do, it leaves you a better person. I pray that what you know about God would grow in enormous amounts & that your relationship with Christ would be stronger & stronger. And that you will keep telling other people about Him. I pray that because He's promised us such, that this will be the year that you don't know the fear of dying or becoming sick from what you're given to eat. That this will be the year that your little body is strong & healthy & whole.

I pray that your bright eyes don't lose their twinkle & your pouty lips keep kissing the people you love.

And like I pray every other year, that you don't lose the huge zeal that you have for everything you do. That mundane will never set in & that each thing you do doesn't seem done until you've given it your all.

More importantly that you will know that everything you do makes me & daddy proud. And that you are so special, no matter what.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl....

More love than you will understand for a long long time,

Momma

Thank God for Sisters With Vacant Houses...

It almost makes me forget that you went off & left us.
Almost.

The advantage is that when your girl wants a 'camp out' party, and you wake up & it's snowing & freezing (literally) outside, you can move the party indoors - even though you let her invite 10 friends & their families.

Flynn had such a great time & was truly honored to have her buddies celebrating with her.

When she walked into Gi's house & saw the long table, she squealed.

Then she saw the livingroom decorated & saw, "Ohhh, I love it."

She started raising each gift. We laughed & said, "why is she doing that??"

Indoor movie (vs the outdoor one we had planned)

Did I ever mention that Jeff's favorite actor is John Cusack?
And that Flynn is a daddy-pleaser??

I think it's no coincidence.