Sadie's 4th Birthday Party

We had Sadie's 4th birthday party at IVGA (gymnastics center) this year and I'm so happy we did! It was the least stressful party I've every planned. Literally all I had to do was the cake (and some ice cream!) They provide everything else (plates, napkins, decorations, entertainment). I brought along a bag of supplies--knife, server, ice cream scoop, lighter and they had it all laid out ready to go! They also provided treat bags with balloons for all the kids to take home.

The instructor did an awesome job (especially including the 2 year-olds!) She started with some stretching and games. They did an obstacle course and then learned the rules of the different equipment while each got a turn to try things out.

My only picture of the three little monkeys!

Next it was cake-time. Sadie blew out her candles twice before we could even sing (I didn't light them again... and to my shame, I was caught on camera yelling at her after she blew them out the 2nd time!)

After cake, we went to another room for presents...

Sadie with most of her friends (the little boys wouldn't pose for a picture!)

Sadie's new book--"Love you Through and Through" by Mommy and Daddy.

After presents, the kids got some free-play time (their favorite part!)

When we got home, Sadie had to try on this new outfit. She was also very excited about her baby princess doll (from Kinnick). Macey had gotten one for her birthday--Sadie says that Ariel and Tiana are twins. We had a GREAT 4-year old birthday party day!

Baking With My Girls

Last week/weekend was a "sweet-filled" time at our house! We started on Thursday by baking Sadie's funfetti cake (2 round cakes plus cupcakes) and making sugar cookie dough. (I also made three pans of cinnamon rolls and a cinnamon roll ice cream cake which was amazing and simple--I'll have to share that recipe soon!) On Friday Sadie and Macey helped me cut out and bake 3 dozen tiara shaped sugar cookies. Sadie loved having her own dough to roll out and play with and Macey just loved watching! Friday afternoon we pulled our cakes out of the freezer to decorate. Sadie helped me decorate (while K & M were napping). She helped me spread frosting between each layer. When it was time to do the top and sides, I gave her her own "mini-cake" and frosting to work with and she did GREAT! She also helped me make patterns with the candy and stick them on to the castle cake.

Sadie's Princess Castle Cake:

The fun continued Sunday night and Monday as I decorated all these princess cookies for Sadie to take to pre-school for her birthday treats...

I'm happy to say our house is know (almost) sweet-free. We finished the cookies, dumped the leftover cake and frosting... there are however a few pieces of cinnamon roll ice cream cake in the freezer and of course some boxes of girl scout cookies... Not so good for my goal to lose a few pounds before summer!

Kid-Free Weekend

Last weekend, my parents kept our kids for two nights! We didn't have anything going on, Sadie had just been asking to spend the night at Gpa & Gma's. This was our first night alone since Macey was born (and the first night alone that I wasn't pregnant since before kids!) We had a fantastic, relaxing weekend and the kids has a blast also!

When I got home Friday afternoon I found these flowers waiting for me! I was also surprised to find all the laundry done (I usually do laundry on Thursdays) and the kitchen was clean (it was a mess when I left b/c I had baked green cupcakes!) What a great way to start the weekend! (I also enjoyed my quiet 3-hour car trip home listening to adult music and my stop at Target by MYSELF!)

When we were planning our weekend we decided to go to a movie and dinner on Saturday. I asked Marc what he wanted to do on Friday--he said "No kids--we're going out both days!" So Friday night we went to one of our favorite pizza places in Ottawa. On our way home we stopped for ice cream and a movie. It was perfect!

Saturday we slept in and I enjoyed reading for over an hour. We made breakfast together and left around lunch time to make our movie. We saw The Adjustment Bureau (and enjoyed it) and then did some shopping. The highlight of our shopping was picking out a new phone for me! (Some of you may know about my phone troubles... but for those who don't I went through 4 phones since my last upgrade--we decided to purchase the insurance this time!) After shopping we attended Crossroads Christian Church Saturday night service. This is a church that is right down the road from Marc's bank. We enjoyed checking it out and meeting a few new people. Finally we went out for dinner. We drove around scoping out some local places and decided on a little Wine bar & grill. It was in a big old house--very unique. We loved our food!

Sunday we enjoyed another morning of uninterrupted sleeping in before heading to Peoria to meet my parents for lunch... We enjoyed every minute of our kid-free weekend!

Happy Birthday Sadie Sue!

On this day...

4 years ago, we welcomed Sadie Sue into our family!

We had no idea what we were in for!

I have loved experiencing my journey as a Mom with my wonderful 1st born daughter.

Sadie makes me laugh & smile (& sometimes cry)

She likes to be sneaky (in a funny way and in a deceitful way)

She loves to be the life of the party but can also be shy around people she doesn't know well

She's a natural leader, instructing her siblings and friends and directing their activities

(The above mentioned trait sometimes comes across as bossy)

Sadie loves playing games--one of her favorites is Dora Candyland

She love reading Junie B. Jones books (and has an amazing comprehension level!)

She likes her peanut butter sandwiches with apple jelly or orange marmalade

(and often wants them cut into the shape of a bunny!)

She only likes big plates and silverware

Sadie has such a BIG heart!

She loves to make cards for people

She is genuinely concerned and interested when people are sick

She hates to see her brother or sister crying

She is naturally very "motherly"

Sadie is very opinionated... about everything!

She wants to pick out her own clothes

She always wants to get the last word in

Sadie likes drawing, coloring, being creative

She can write her name and is learning to write other letters also

She is proud to tell people that she knows her left from right

She can zip her coat by herself

She can write her bike for an hour without taking a break

She loves playing with barbies, polly pockets, and anything princess

My favorite 4 year old!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

To celebrate St. Patrick's Day we made green-velvet cupcakes with green mint icing. We sent cupcakes to Marc's work and to my old work and enjoyed some ourselves!! Kinnick helped me finish icing while Sadie was at school--he was also the official taste-tester!

Sadie made this "bling-bling" cross necklace at Awana this week. Kinnick LOVES it!! He wore it while we ran errands... to the post office, the church, and to my old school. Too funny!

When Sadie was done with school, we headed to my parents (with a stop at McDonald's play place on the way!) We had fun seeing our cousins and of course loved eating our green cupcakes! Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Ready for Spring!

I think I've determined that the only people that are more desperate than teachers for spring to come are stay at home moms (and of course their kids!)

One Little, Two Little, Three Little Indians

... I mean Native Americans! Last week I found a series of children's books (at the library) called "Cooking Your Way Through History". I decided to try one--we choose Cooking with Native Americans. Sadie's friend Mikenna was over one day last week. We started by making some fun head bands.

Next we made some Indian Fry Bread (water and flour). The kids had fun helping knead the dough. (Kinnick is of course the little taste-tester, as always!)

After I fried it, I was a bit skeptical about them eating it...

But with a little maple syrup and powdered sugar they chowed it and asked for 2nds!

Sadie's Photos

Sadie loves to borrow my camera and do photo shoots. I love looking at her pictures. She goes all over our house taking pics... I love to see things through her eyes. Who knows--maybe we have a budding photographer on our hands.

Her favorite subjects... Macey, Kinnick, and herself! These are a few shoots from her last photo adventure (when I went through her pics there were 58!):