Super Seven Spa Party

Katie Blair turned 7 years old this month.  She asked for a Spa Party and wanted to have it at our house.  Personally, I am a fan of having kids' parties somewhere else and paying them to take care of it.  But Katie begged me for a spa party at home and I gave in.  I spent 2 weeks gathering supplies and recruiting volunteers.  We invited 11 of Katie's friends.  And all of them showed!  Katie must be pretty special!  :)  One of my Besties, Crystal Brown, came to fix the girls' hair.  (This was after much begging on my part!)  I cannot tell you how awesome Crystal is!!!  All of the girls' hair looked gorgeous when she was done with it.  Not to mention, she was a HUGE help in prepping for the party and cleaning up afterwards.  When I say I could not have done it without her, I can't tell you how much I mean that!  Here she is fixing KB's hair.

 And of course when she was done, Katie wanted to take a selfie.  :)

 I also recruited 2 8th Graders to come help with the party.  Payton and Emily are two of my friend's daughters.  They were a huge help as well!  And the girls loved them.  Here is a pic of KB and Payton before the party got started.

 This is Katie's friend Ava waiting for her nails to dry.

And here is a pic of Rylee, KB and Mary mugging for the camera.

 Addi and Gabriella being pampered:

 This is Emily who was a huge help!

 And this is the finished product!  Don't the girls look beautiful?!?  Cute as buttons!

 Oh!  I almost forgot!  These two sweet girls are Seniors in HS and were thoughtful enough to come to the party.  They had a very busy day with Senior events on the same day, so it was so nice of them to make time to make KB feel special.  On the left is Sammie, I have watched her grow since she was a little older than Katie is now.  I can't believe she is graduating HS!  She and KB have a special bond, when she arrived at the party, Katie jumped into her arms for a big hug.  So sweet!  And on the right is Taylor.  "Miss Tay Tay" has been a helper in Katie's 1st grade classroom this year.  She and Katie have hit it off.  Katie loves her some Miss Tay Tay!  So sweet of her to come to the party.  They both were big helps with all the girls too.

 Here's a pic of Katie, Gabriella and Isabelle ready to chow down on some ice cream sundaes!

And the birthday girl's birthday cupcake.  Which she refused to eat since the candles dripped wax on the icing...  I got all the wax off but she still refused.  High maintenance as ever! :)

We love you, KB!  Happy Birthday sweet girl!

Kindergarten Graduation is a thing?

So when Kason finished Kindergarten, he got a big hug from his teacher and a "See you next fall" from the Elementary school.  Fast forward 4 years to when Katie finishes Kindergarten and they have a big production in the High School auditorium.  Kindergarten graduation is a thing now, I guess.  Not sure I am a fan, but Katie sure did look cute in her orange cap and gown.

We got a program and everything.

The bulk of the ceremony consisted of a slideshow and sappy music about how kids should stay little for as long as possible, and reminder about how fast they are growing.  Thanks.  As if I needed more reminders that my babies are growing up.  Those damn slide shows with sentimental music get me every time.  As much as I didn't want to, the tears were flowing.  After the ceremony, we went back to the elementary school for a photo op.  This picture cracks me up for 2 reasons.  1.) Mrs Pease told the kids to just pretend to throw their caps.  Very smart.  2.) The string that held the hat on was stuck in KB's ponytail so she couldn't even hold it up all the way.  

Here is a picture of Katie with Mrs. Pease.  The woman is a saint.

Katie had such a great year in Kindergarten.  I am amazed by how much she learned.  Not only did she learn to read more words than you would even believe, she learned to tie her shoes, write her name, and maybe even to be quiet when others are talking.  That last one is debatable, however.  :)

Six is Super-Awesome

I know I start every blog with, "It seems like only yesterday....".  But seriously y'all, when did this:

Turn into this:

Because I seriously don't remember this happening.  My baby turned 6 years old last month.  It boggles my mind.  She may or may not be the deciding factor on why we chose not to have a third (can you say high maintenance?), but I love this girl like you wouldn't believe.  She follows me around non-stop, always needs SOMETHING and has a propensity for whining, but she fills my heart with so much love, joy and laughter.  I am so very thankful that God let me be her Momma.

Katie's birthday weekend (let's be honest, it was more like the whole MONTH, but let's not go there...) was jam-packed with a family party, a friend party and the infamous sleepover that I blogged about last time.  There is nothing more "Katie" than a weekend full of presents, cakes and all attention on the birthday girl.

The weekend started with a fun family party at our house.  Of course my mom, AKA Nana, supplied 2 cakes for the weekend.  The family party cake was a decorated with balloons per the request of the birthday girl.

My mom was there as were Granddad and Debbie, Cindy, Monica, with sweet Reagan, Nanny Sue, Lisa and Lauren Thornhill and Billi and her girls.  It was a fun party and we were so happy to see everyone!  Here are some pics from the party:

It was a lot of fun.  Katie racked in the money and gift certificates!  She can't wait to go shopping at Kohll's - her favorite store.

The next day was her friend party which we held at Eagles Wings Gymnastics in Prosper.  It was a great turnout and the girls had so much fun on the inflatable slide as well as the trampoline and all of the other gymnastics equipment.  For this party, Katie chose a Hello Kitty cake. Thanks again Nana!

Luckily, for Kason, Katie invited her friend Addi.  Kason's girl(space)friend (I seriously get hives just typing it) is Addi's sister.  Her name is Emma.  And that whole story deserves its own blog, but here is a pic of Kason and Emma.  They chased each other around the whole party.  Not sure they even said 2 words to each other but I guess the chase is what the boys like anyway.  :)

Emma is a sweet girl.  And fast as heck - Kason couldn't catch her.  Which is probably good cause I'm sure he would have no idea what to do if he did.  At least I hope not.

It was a fun birthday weekend filled with all things Katie.  And we wouldn't have it any other way.  Happy Birthday Katie Blair.

The Sleepover Plan

So, last weekend a miracle happened.  One that made me realize that GD and I have embarked upon a new stage of parenting.  Last Saturday, BOTH kids were invited to sleepovers.  On the same night.  My mind reeled.  A night without kids?!?!  And no babysitter needed!?!?  Oh, the possibilities!  I quickly told GD the exciting news and we began to make plans.  Lets go to a movie!  Lets go to a nice restaurant!  The ideas just kept coming...  But I am getting ahead of myself.  Let me digress...

The previous weekend, Katie had her friend (and, not coincidently) across-the-street neighbor, Michaela, over for a sleepover.  Michaela's mom, Bethany and I had devised a plan.  Since neither Katie nor Michaela had ever spent the night at a friend's house, we thought we would be good test cases for each other since we are right across the street.  That way, if one of the girls got homesick or scared or sick (the possibilities of what could happen are endless, really) then we wouldn't have far to go to get them.

So on the night of Katie's birthday, Michaela spent the night at our house.  The girls were so excited.  Bethany and I were excited.  We started the night with pizza, then moved on to a movie (Horton Hears a Who) with popcorn.  Here's a pic.  I should note that Katie and Michaela went to a birthday party right before the sleepover.  At the party, they had a face painter.  Hence, Michaela's jaguar face in these pics.  :)

The girls did great.  They watched the whole movie quietly and ate tons of popcorn.  (In addition to pizza and cake, but what are sleepovers for if not eating?!?)  After the movie they changed into their pj's and mugged for a quick picture.  

We made a pallet in Katie's room for the girls to sleep on.  I am pretty sure they used every single blanket we have and every single stuffed animal in Katie's room.  

I read them 2 books to get them settled down.  It was around 10:00 at this point, which is late for these girlies.  I turned the lights out and made sure that Michaela knew where I was and that she could wake me up if she needed anything during the night.  Then I told them good night and walked downstairs.  I had to go up a couple more times to settle them down.  But by about 10:30, this was the scene in Katie's room:

And not a peep from them until...ahem...6:45 the next morning when they were up and at 'em!  But the first sleepover was a definite success!  

Now, fast forward to the next weekend and part 2 of the Katie/Michaela Sleepover Plan.  This past weekend was Katie's turn to spend the night across the street at Michaela's house.  At 5pm, Katie and I walked across the street to Michaela's house.  We had 2 bags filled with some clothes but mostly stuffed animals.  Katie was so excited.  I went in for a bit to talk to Bethany.  Katie looked at me and said, "Mom, you need to go.  I don't need you."  In the midst of my joy at a kid-free night, this statement was a kick in the heart.  My baby doesn't need me anymore??  Conflicting emotions hit me hard.  I was excited to have a kid-free night out, but I wasn't at all sure about this not-needing-me business.  However, I swallowed my emotions and kissed Katie goodbye with instructions to Bethany to call me if she needed anything.

GD and I left soon thereafter for our kid-free dinner at Mi Cocina in Plano.  We had good conversation, great food and yummy Mambo Taxis.  After dinner, we walked to Marble Slab creamery for ice cream.  Here's a quick pic we snapped after our drinks and ice cream.  Drinks and ice cream make everyone happy, right!?!

Not long after this picture was snapped, my phone rang.  I saw it was Bethany and answered quickly wondering if anything was wrong.  It was Katie.  She just wanted to call me and say hello.  Hmm... I wondered if maybe she missed me just a little?  It was not a long conversation just a quick hello and I love you.  But it was enough to make GD and I decide we better head back home just in case.

Its a good thing we did because 3 phone calls later I was walking across the street to pick up my baby.  She just couldn't go to sleep at Michaela's house.  She was ready to come home.

Maybe she does still need me after all.....

:)

Double Digits

It is so hard for me to believe that I have a 10-year-old now.  It seems like just yesterday we brought a tiny little male human home from the hospital attached to a heart monitor.  He made my heart swell then , and it has never stopped.

What a cutie.  What a precious, smart, kind-hearted, sensitive and cool boy this baby has turned into.  I am one proud Momma.

To celebrate Kason's birthday, we took him and his friends to Jumpstreet in Allen.  Jumpstreet is a huge, indoor trampoline park complete with dodgeball, basketball and mechanical bull.  Look at this motley crew ready to have some jumping fun.
And these boys can eat!  Pizza and cake were devoured so that they had even more energy (if that is possible) for jumping dodgeball.
The birthday boy and his proud Dad.  In case you can't tell every time I raised the camera to take a pic of Kason, I heard "Awww, Mom! Not again!"
No surprise that Kason chose a basketball-themed cake complete with the "KD" symbol for OKC Thunder player, Kevin Durant.  KD is Kason's favorite basketball player.
After the food, it was back to jumping.  Here is Kason's good friend Carson dunking in the basketball goal.
Not to be left out, GD had to get in on the fun.  I'm not sure who had more fun, the boys or GD.  :)
Maybe we even have a future bull rider in our midst??
Trampoline dodgeball was the most popular event of the day.  The boys had so much fun.
Happy 10th Birthday, Kason!  We are all so very proud of the young man you are becoming.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Kindergarten Rodeo

Every year the elementary school holds a Kindergarten Rodeo, where the kindergarteners sing songs about Texas then play fun rodeo-themed games. It seems like just yesterday that I went to Kason's Kindergarten rodeo! Last week was Katie's turn. Here are some pics from the fun day.