It's great to be 8!

Jer and I keep looking at each other in disbelief, our baby is 8! Neeley is the best first child anyone could ask for. She is ultra responsible and can follow rules like you wouldn't believe! Its so fun to see her reach mile stones we haven't been to before. I love having her around as my confidant and pal.

Eight is such an important birthday, we couldn't let it go past without a celebration. Neeley wanted a Pajama Parlor Party! At the party we wore p.j.'s of course and decorated pillows, made sugar scrub, played games and giggled. A LOT! Jeremy had to leave the room a few times when he was on giggle overload. Luckily, Neeley wanted to do an ice cream sundae bar with all the toppings instead of a fancy cake. That sure made things a bit less hectic.

If you could gauge the party on a giggle metor, the party was a success!

A Thousand Words

If a picture says a thousand words:

I am wearing pajamas because I take everything else off.

My jammies are inside out because I strip down if they aren't.

I am still wearing a diaper and not spreading my poop around because I have my straight jacket jammies on.

My hair is a mess because after I pull out my piggies five times my Mom refuses to do them again.

I love to get creative.

Jumping around with pants FULL of powder is fun to watch because plumes of smoke come off me like pig pen.

Making messes and causing trouble is what I do!

Yes, I think this picture paints a thousand words!

Hoo's Two

Kater Tot is two. And boy is she TWO! Celebrating her birthday was a blast but the "terribles" that come with it we could do without! Grandma and Grandpa gave her a duster, broom and dust pan. She loves to clean so this was the perfect thing for her to have to help me out. Grandma and Grandpa Dopp gave her a fun piano toy which is also perfect because of her love of singing! Kate we love you mess making and all!

How to spell M-e-s-s

For second grade Neeley gets to practice her spelling words three times a week. Already a better speller than I am, it seems a waste of time, especially when she gets 100% on her pretest every week. But, being the obedient child she is, Neeley insists we must do what is required. Each time she gets to choose from a list of activities her teacher has suggested. This week we chose spelling our words in shaving cream.

The whole family wanted in on the action, and who could blame them!

iKayla

If you know Kayla, you know she loves the show iCarly. It's about a girl who does an online show called iCarly. Kayla knows every word of the intro and can tell you about every episode there ever was. So when it was time to plan her birthday, we decided it was time to make Kayla the star of her own show, iKayla. The invites consisted of a picture of a keyboard which had the party website written on the keys instead of alphabet. The kids all got to go to Kayla's very own blog to get all of the details of the party and see pictures of past birthdays as well as check back after the party for the party pictures. It was a fun hi-tech way to invite the kids!

At the party we did activities that they like to do on the show. We had a dance contest, sculpture contest and of course our traditional birthday pinata. It is amazing what effort kids put in when there is a real live trophy at stake!

29 kids and pure chaos but tons of fun! Just like Kayla!

The one that got left behind

Being the youngest I know what it's like to get left behind. I remember always wanting to do what my older sisters did. I was always told things like, "When you're the oldest you'll get to wash the dishes instead of just dry them." "When you're the oldest you'll get to sit in the front seat." Funny thing, when it was finally time for me to be the oldest I was scared to death to be at home alone with Mom and Dad. I was so used to always having a sister around. I quickly learned that being the oldest wasn't all it was cracked up to be, but luckily, being home alone with Mom and Dad was awesome. I was even more spoiled then ever.

So it is with mixed feelings that I see my little caboose being "left behind" as all of her sisters go to school. These pictures are from the days that we dropped off her sisters for the first time this year. Kate enjoyed playing on the play ground after dropping off Neeley and Kayla and then enjoyed playing in the driveway after walking Lilah to school. I am sure she is finding that being home alone with Mom has it's ups and downs. Not any sisters to play with, but fun being spoiled. Little Kate, one day you'll get to follow sisters and go to school too. Then it will be Mamma's turn at being all alone. And I am sure then, I will have mixed feelings too!

Little L!

Little Lilah is not so little any more. Starting Miss Bicki (that's how Lilah says Miss Vicki) is a tradition at our house. The first thing on the agenda is back to school night. She knew all about the apple magnet and placemat that you get to make there and boy was she excited! After BTS we went on a special date to get some frozen yogurt. I am so thankful that Lilah has matured over the past year and is really quite like-able now! She is kind and loves to take care of little sis Kate!

On her first day she followed the footprints down to her classroom and didn't skip a beat as she kissed my goodbye and went off to begin her big adventures!

Two big K's!

Kayla and Kindergarten! What a pair. Kayla has waited for this moment! It is the big right of passage, starting at the big school, going every day and best of all NO MORE NAPS! I know, I know I'm the meanest mom on the block but I make my kids take a nap until the big K. Kayla was ready! After watching Neeley for two years, she knows just what to do. And since she got Neeley's K teacher she was really ready. However, when it came to the first day and the bell rang. She stood in line nervously with the rest of the class. When it really came time to step in she started to cry and ran back to me. She kept saying, "I don't know what to do! I don't know what I am supposed to do!" She was terrified because she thought she had to know everything when she walked in. Where to put her backpack, where to sit, how to make the attendance chart, etc... She knew all about it, but not ALL about doing it. She thought she was supposed to know it all. I asked her if she knew how to walk into the class room. She looked at me like I was crazy and said yes. I told her that's it. That's all you need to know. Luckily by then her student teacher came over and took her by the hand and lead her in.

Kayla is my spunky, fashion savvy diva that is full of personality. When you see her you would never guess she was shy. But yes, oh yes, very shy in big social situations. She takes after her daddy on this one. She has a way of shutting right down if things get noisy, busy or big groups of people. I half expected her to react this way but didn't think she would be so panicked. I guess I hoped the excitement of the day would outweigh her fear. A few minutes later her student teacher came back out and said she was fine! This is where I become Mom of the Year! We go home and start the rest of our day. Then my sis in law came and said when does Kayla get home from school. I glanced at the clock and noticed that school had ended five minutes earlier! Yep, I left her there crying and then forgot about picking her up! Luckily I got there before the lineup of cars had left, just in time to hear all about her fabulous day!