Happy Birthday, Adelie!

This post may be a little over-due for Adelie's actual birthday, but it's never too late to reflect back on what makes Adelie uniquely and wonderfully her.  We love to tell the stories about all the crazy things that Adelie did in her younger years.  But there is so much more to Adelie than just her wild and crazy side (which, to be fair, has mellowed dramatically over the years).  

From the moment she was born, our Adelie stole our hearts with her sweet nature.

She was easy and happy and social and fun...and always on the go!

She kept us on our toes with her constant world exploration and boundary pushing.

Her sweet and loving nature balanced out her wild and crazy size.

Adelie has always been thoughtful and generous and kind.

Adelie has always had the sincerest faith and the most empathetic heart.

Adelie is a girl with many things she loves.  She loves school (and all her friends at school)...

her siblings (and her cousins)...

reading (and writing and drawing and crafting and creating)...

fancy, glittery, cute things (and making fancy, glittery, cute things to give as gifts)...

mermaids (and manatees and dolphins and water and swimming),...

and acting (and singing and dancing and doing gymnastics).

Adelie has so many things that make her uniquely her.  And all the things...the wild and crazy to the empathetic and thoughtful...the goofy to the sweet...the kind to the creative...the smart to the sincere...the faith driven to the people pleasing...the loving to the generous...are all mixed together into one amazingly wonderful little girl who is growing up right before our eyes.

Happy birthday, Adelie!

You are so loved!!

Truth

 

Briggs' room is always a hot mess of creativity.  And as much as I love that Briggs is so creative in his play, often all I can see is the hot mess.

Interview with an 11 Year Old

Favorite color:  Lavendar

Favorite food:  Grammie's meatballs and fruit

Least favorite food:  Cauliflower and Mexican casseroles

Favorite restaurant:  Cornerstone and Busy Corner and the little Dutch restaurant (that we stopped at on the way home from New York)

Favorite stuffed animal:  Fuzzington

Favorite animal:  Manatees

Favorite game:  Clue, MarioKart, and Forbidden Island

Favorite toy:  Hoverboard

Favorite movie:  Wonka and the new Little Mermaid

Favorite sport:  Volleyball because I haven't joined swim team yet.

Favorite extracurricular activity:  NTA 

Favorite thing to do at home:  Make bracelets, write, play

Favorite thing to do at school:  Read

Favorite subject in school:  Reading and science

Favorite place to go locally:  State Farm pool, the library, Stella's house

Favorite place to go on vacation:  Disney, Florida, Acadia, Washington DC

Favorite thing to do with Staley:  Do lifts and quizzing

Favorite thing to do with Briggs:  Play 'Grabby Monster', Play 'Grumpy', listen to books on tape

Favorite thing to do with Mom:  Talking

Favorite thing to do with Dad:  Go for walks

Favorite book:  Harry Potter, Goose Girl series

Favorite outfit:  Jeans and a cozy shirt

Favorite pajamas:  Fluffy pants and a t-shirt

Favorite play you've been in:  Beauty and the Beast

Favorite play you've seen:  Wicked

What are you excited about doing when you are 11?  Swim team

What are you scared of?  Weird things, murky water, upsetting my friends and family, bad things happening to my friends and family

What is the best thing about you?  That I'm nice.

What are you good at?  Being weird, acting, being nice, acro (When I asked what acro is, Adelie said, "Like gymnastics.  Twisting yourself into weird positions.)

What is something you'd like to learn how to do or get better at?  Gymnastics

Who is your best friend?  Stella, Lucy, Stanley, Sadie, my friend group.  Me and Staley are best sisters.  And Caroline.

Where is a place you'd like to go that you've never been?  Hawaii, Ireland, and Italy

What is a play you'd like to be in and what part would you like to play?  I'd like to do Frozen and be

 young Anna.

What do you want to be when you grow up?  A writer, a teacher, or a St. Jude nurse

My big 11 year old!

March...So Far

March has been a mild reprieve before the storm of crazy that comes at the end of every school year.  Although track practices started for Staley mid-month, they were primarily before school and only a few days/week until this past week.  Apart from NTA , a few lessons, and church activities, we didn't have any other after school or evening activities for most of the month of March.  It was beautiful.

We are leaving for our Spring Break trip today after school (so I really should be packing and getting things ready), but instead I decided it would be a good time to do a quick post about the other activities that have filled our month so far.

Staley started off the month heading to Taylor University in Indiana for a quiz off with her Bible quizzing team from church.

They drove over to Indiana on Friday and enjoyed a dinner out, swimming at their hotel, and some fun together before the quiz off on Saturday.

At the last minute, Adelie and I decided to go together to watch the quiz off.  Although the route the GPS took me (primarily 2 lane roads through the country and tiny towns) made the trip a little stressful, we were able to enjoy our audiobook ('Ella Enchanted'), sleep at our hotel, enjoy a good free breakfast, and even fit in a little swimming between quiz matches.

Staley's team ended up getting 3rd place, Staley quizzed out with bonus in all but the final match, and the kids all had a fun time.  Staley was having such a good time with her team that she chose to ride back to Illinois with her team rather than with Adelie and I.

The girls went with Zach and I to see the NTA adult show of 'Godspell' while Briggs got to have a fun sleepover with Grammie and Grandpa.

The girls performed in the pre-show with their Rising Stars group, and then we all enjoyed seeing the NTA teaching artists and some of the older NTA kids take the stage.

We got together with my family to celebrate Adelie and Briggs' March birthdays.  We enjoyed our yummy brunch, visiting, and play time with cousins.

Staley and I went to see some of her friends from Central in Washington perform in their school drama production called "Villian School."

Staley knew a large number of the kids from NTA and liked getting to watch their show.  However, as she was taking this picture with her large group of NTA friends, more members of the cast joined in.  Soon Staley ended up being in a large group cast picture of Central students.  We kept quoting the line from Mean Girls..."She doesn't even go here."

Since we'll be celebrating Adelie's actual birthday while we are away on Spring Break, we started the celebration a little early with a fun activity with her friends.  Lucy, Sadie, Stella, and Stanley joined us after school one day for some pottery painting at Fired Up.

Adelie and her friends had a great time painting and then coming back to our house for pizza, Trefzger's cookies, and play time.  While we were out celebrating Adelie's birthday, Briggs was having a great time with Uma and Papa going to the Caterpillar Museum, eating at Steak and Shake, going to their house to play, and picking out a fun new Lego set for his birthday.  Staley, with her schedule packed as usual, filled her time with track practice, dance team try-outs, NTA rehearsal, and then dinner out with Daddy.  Everyone had a great time even if Adelie was the one celebrating with her friends.

We'll round out our month with a week of Spring Break fun and Easter.  And then it will be April.  And spring.  And track.  And the end of school with all the end of school activities.  And I'll be writing yet another blog post, reflecting on the activities that have filled our days, wondering where the time went, and looking ahead to summer.

He Says...

Briggs was talking about going to the school playground to play for a bit after dinner last night.  Very excitedly, he said, "It will be awesome!  There will be no one else there so we can play whatever we want.  And we can talk about things that aren't school appropriate even though we are at the school."

#ummmm...no
#inappropriateconversations

#whatwouldthatevenbe

Briggs' Birthday

Briggs' birthday snuck up on me a bit.  I guess in the midst of Zach's surgery and recovery, coupled with our general schedule and life activities, Briggs' birthday preparations were not at the top of my list.  So the few days before his birthday (which was on a Tuesday), we made birthday dinner plans, picked out treats for school, I did some last minute shopping, and we threw together a birthday activity for Thursday.

On Briggs' actual birthday, he took Cosmic Brownies to school for his birthday treat, and then I brought him a Subway sandwich and had lunch with him at school.  Then Grammie and Grandpa came over for Briggs' birthday dinner of choice--mac and cheese, chicken strips, peas, and bananas.  (I did make a fruit salad for those who didn't just want to eat bananas for their fruit.)

His dessert of choice was Funfetti cake balls and cotton candy ice cream.  My first attempt at making cake balls went better than I expected.

Briggs had a few gifts to open from us and Grammie and Grandpa, including some Super Mario Hotwheels cars, Lego sets, an Illustory book writing kit, and Tic Tacs.  He might have been most excited about the Tic Tacs.  Staley gave him the third and fourth Harry Potter audiobooks on CD.  Adelie bought him a 3D turtle puzzle.

For his birthday activity of choice, Briggs wanted to go to Elevate with a few of his friends.  Thankfully they were all available on the short notice we gave them.  So on Thursday after school, all his friends walked home with him and then we went to Elevate for a few hours of jumping followed by pizza, cake balls, and a little play time at our house.

It may have been planned at the last minute, but this guy didn't seem to mind.  He got to enjoy all the birthday festivities...school treats, birthday dinner, gifts, and fun time with friends.  What more could a 9 year old want???

Happy Birthday, Briggs!

Although I'm 10 days late with this post, I never pass up an opportunity to take a trip down memory lane as I celebrate the moments and milestones that have built up over these quickly moving years.  Looking back, it's hard for me to believe that my last baby is already 9 years old.

This snuggly baby entered the world and completed our family.

Those big eyes and sweet smiles stole our hearts.

All his firsts were celebrated.

As he grew, we continued to learn about all the little things that make Briggs who he is.

We learned about his sweet, sensitive nature...and how he's a creature of habit.  (Remember hand socks??)

We learned about his love for trains and cars and all things that go.

We learned about his goofy, silly side.

We learned about his cautious nature and his specific likes (and dislikes!)

We learned about his bright mind and his creativity.

We learned about his kind, friendly personality.

And we continue to learn more each day about this amazing kid.  He is still showing us his sweet and sensitive side.  His silly and goofy side.  His cautious and careful side.  His structured and regimented side.  His kind and friendly side.  His bright and creative side.  His loving and thoughtful side. I love all the sides of my favorite 9 year old.  (Well, sometimes I could do without the short-tempered side, but we're working on that.)

Happy birthday, Briggs!  I hope you know how loved and special you are!!