Kira's 5th Birthday

Kira received a package from Mimi and Papa Franson to kick off her birthday season this year.  She loves her new Frog and Toad and Little Bear books!  

She was quite excited to go to school the morning of her birthday!  Here she is about ready to leave:

She got to go on a special "date" with my mom after school was over.  They ate and went to the mall together.  This girl loves to buy clothes.  Well, she loves when other people buy her clothes.  And she's good at getting my mom to buy them for her too.  

Adam and I bought her a new bike this year for her birthday!  (She really needed one.)  She was very surprised and extremely excited to ride it.

This year she wanted a pirate-themed birthday party with her little friends.  It was SO fun!  Each kid got bandannas (quickly cut out of fabric from my fabric bins) and eye patches (very easily made) to wear for the party.  They decorated wooden treasure boxes and watched some of Kira's favorite show on TV: Jake and the Neverland Pirates.  

I made her this pirate cake:

Ava's haircut

She was growing the infamous baby mullet.  It had to be remedied...

 

She was pretty excited. 

 

 

Tire Swinging!

The Teddy Bear Bandage

Kira had bandages like this one on for a week after her bilateral otoplasty.  She was so cute!

 

Here she is getting her bandage replaced at the doctor's office for the first time after the surgery. She was so brave and did very well.  She got the purple and pink unicorn mini pillow pet that you see the day before her surgery to take with her into the OR.  She has been pretty attached to it ever since.

 

This is the first time we got to see her "new ears."  It was pretty exciting.  This was just 2 days after her surgery , so her ears were still a bit swollen and just a tad bruised in these pictures, but healing very well and looking good!

 

 

The Day Before Surgery

When our beautiful baby came out of the womb hear ears were folded forward, stuck to her head.  Adam remembers gently peeling them away from her head and ever since they have been lacking in the normal ear shape most people unknowingly enjoy.  

We knew one day we would probably opt to get them surgically fixed, creating the fold in the cartilage that wasn't able to form because they were folded forward like they were.

The day came when we finally went to see an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor to consult about a bilateral otoplasty.  He said about the age of 4 or 5 is the best time to do it, before they start school and while the cartilage is still pliable and soft.  And it just so happens that our insurance covered the procedure 100%.  So, after much prayer, fasting and appreciated advice from family and friends, we decided to finally do it.

Here she is the day before her ear surgery!  If you think she was cute before, wait until you see the after pics (coming soon)!

Adalin's 7th Birthday

Adam says we "over-do" birthdays.  I kinda have to agree.  Especially when the birthday is on a weeknight.  See, you can't not do anything on the kid's actual birthday.  So I made Adalin's choice of spaghetti for dinner and we sang to her.  Then, we have family nearby, so we do a birthday dinner and cake/ice cream/gift opening thing with my parents and siblings.  And, the kids have friends too.  What about them?  So, we typically also allow them to have a birthday party with their friends.  Is that such a bad thing?  3 birthday celebrations for one kid in one year?  Hmm.  I know, it's a dilemma.  

Here's the terribly, ridiculously spoiled 7 year-old on... uh, sorry, trying to remember which of the 167 birthday parties it was... oh, yea, the friend-one, where 8 little girls partied and spent the night together.

She chose a Wizard of Oz theme, which was fun.  I made the cake (it was my first and somewhat successful attempt at fondant.)  The girls watched the movie after they made up all their beds on the floor of our (newly finished and carpeted!!) basement.  

At 7 years old, Adalin:

is doing very well at school and is in the top tier for spelling, reading and math

loves to read and do crafty things

loves to shop for clothes and shoes

is very close with her sisters and loves to play with them

has many good friends at both school and church

is going to need some major orthodontic work

like mom, loves buffalo chicken dip and guacamole

like dad, hates seafood and ranch

is excelling wonderfully at piano and loves to play

The Wonder of Shrinkydinks

Ever heard of them?  I hadn't until Adalin got some from a friend for her birthday party.  They are plastic shapes that you color in with colored pencils and then bake, shrinking them dramatically.  Pretty neat.  I LOVE this picture of my 3 little girls completely enthralled with the baking and shrinking process.  Hey, my range even looks clean and free of dust... definitely a plus for this cute pic.

The  

A Marvelous Work

My Aunt Tammy, my mom, me and my cousin, Marcy about to go do some temple work for a few of my grandmothers!

Something different?

Do you see it?  

Maybe not...

We were out and about on a Friday and Adalin requested we go by Claire's to get her ears pierced.  Adam and I were a bit surprised, actually.  It was kinda sudden, but she was confident and calm about it.  We decided long ago that we would let our girls get their ears pierced when they feel they are old enough to take care of them and when they feel like they are ready for the pain! :)

So we went, and she was very brave.  As I was filling out the don't-sue-us-if-her-ears-get-infected form, she was shaking in the high stool she was sitting on.  She was just nervous.  She gets that from her momma.  (When I'm really nervous about something, I can't help but shake!)

She chose some pretty, simple cubic zerconia earrings and BAM!  It was done!

And she's quite proud of it.

Valentines Hearts!