Showing posts with label Birthdays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Birthdays. Show all posts

Saturday, April 23, 2011

10 Things...

We started this post trying to come up with 10 things Elaine's looking forward to now that she's ten. She only came up with one.

So, we changed directions and asked her siblings, "What do you love about Elaine?" This is what they came up with...

1. I love to kiss Elaine on the cheek. ~ Aaron








2. Annie loves when Elaine reads to her at night when they are together in their bedroom. ~ Annie

3. Elaine loves shoes ! ~ Jonny

4. I love that mom tells Elaine to hug me. ~ Aaron

5. Eliane plays school with me. ~ Jonny








6. Elaine tries to climb up the tree. ~ Aaron

7. Annie loves that Elaine sleeps with her...Annie does not like it when Elaine is gone. ~ Annie







8. Elaine plays games with us. ~ Aaron

9. Elaine is kind to us...if she likes us. ~ Aaron
(That one made me laugh...so true, so true.)

10. Elaine loves to go sledding with Jonny and me. ~ Aaron







I love Elaine's creativity...playing, drawing, ideas, activities, gifts...
I love that she is becoming a beautiful young lady.








I love that she loves to spend time with and just be with me.
I love to watch her sing and dance.










I love that she loves her friends and family.
I love that she will try new foods.







I love that that she doesn't worry about what she is wearing...yet. She just says, whatever you pick is fine.
I love that she loves to give gifts and would give everything she has.
I love when she finally "gets" things and understands them.




I love the fact that we are entering a new part of life. It scares me to have a pre-teen, but I am excited for this stage. ~ Mom







Elaine, you are loved so much. Happy 10th Birthday, Sweetie!


Love, Mom, Aaron, Jonny and Annie

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Remembering 5...Looking forward to 6!

My Sweet Aaron is 6. I can't believe how quickly the time goes by. It seems like just yesterday when he... Oh wait! That was just yesterday. Never mind.

Here are a few thoughts and pictures of my once 5 year old..





Summer: Aaron loved swimming and
being outside without a shirt!



Aaron played pee-wee basketball in K-5.




K-5 Field Trip: First you pick it...





...then you paint it.

Aaron really enjoys art. His art teacher tells me often how much she enjoys watching him and how hard he works in her class.






One of the big milestones of being 5 is that you start losing your teeth. It was a very exciting moment!



See!?



Aaron loves to build. His Grandpa and Grandma Sutton sent him some wood to build with. His imagination came up with several genius constructions. The only problem he had (has) was understanding...



...why scotch tape wouldn't hold his building together.

It is a mystery.






Cookies!!




What could be better then being buried in a giant pile of leaves?



...Nothing






Aaron loves the tent that Grandma Hawk made for him.




Another tooth...

It happened again!





For his "birthday" at school, we went and had lunch with Aaron.



Aaron loves his sister, Annie, like no other.




Yes, these two are trouble.




And now 5 is done and we look forward to 6. I anticipate lots of changes. Aaron, you are growing so fast...something I tell you not to do...quite regularly.

You are a hard worker, you love school and learning, you love to play and you love to snuggle with mom...my favorite thing.



Happy Birthday Aaron!





And now a little birthday wish...







We LOVE you!!!




Monday, March 21, 2011

Happy Birthday, Bubba Rice

Quite amazingly, 12 years ago Brice came into our lives at 12:05 a.m.

He only gave us a 55 minute warning that he was coming, then grabbed the open scissors as they went to cut the cord.

Every birth has a story . . . 

I should have known back then that just being a Powers was going to be dramatic. Surviving being a Powers is going to be a miracle.



He's a little bummed today though. He can't spend his day with his most favorite person in the world.

This post is his mother's lame attempt to cheer him up. Apparently, spending the day with me isn't going to be enough.

12 Reasons we love, love, love Bricey:

1. He's a boy.

Age 11
 When I was pregnant with Mikayla (the first born), Buff wanted a boy desperately. We didn't know she was a girl until birth - and Buff cried when he held her. His little girl needed him and he was thrilled.

Two and half years later, Brice was born. Once again, we first found out he was a boy at birth - and Buff stood by the side of the bed and said, "I can die now. My life is complete."

To which his wife said, "Don't even think about it, Buddy."




2. He is careful and cautious.

He gets this from his mom. He suffers severe guilt just from jaywalking - because it's against the rules. A few more years hanging around his dad and he should be cured.
Age 9

He lives life at his own pace and very little ruffles him.  He sleeps anywhere. He listens quietly. He's always thinking about what's coming next. He doesn't get any of that from his mom. He's teaching me a thing or two.

3. He jumps.


He jumps for the Packers. He jumps for the good guys chasing the bad guys in the movies. He jumps when he's close to winning a board game. He jumps playing video games. He jumps if he knows he is going to surprise you on your birthday.

He's very skinny and he sleeps like a log.

4. He draws.

And is very good . . . if a mother can say so . . .


5. He's creative.

I mentioned he can draw, but there is more going on in his head. He can build. He can paint. He can glue. And it all looks amazing!

He'd love to learn how to cook and putting together science experiments excite him - especially if all his creativity gets to go BOOM!


Age 8
6. He will try any food.

Eating is an adventure for this kid. It's not unusual to get a call while at the grocery store to bring home an artichoke, a pomegranate, a whole coconut or a kumquat just so he can try it once.

7. And he likes his food spicy.

He quivers in the condiment aisle at the grocery store when he learns of all the hot sauce flavors he can try.

No, wait, he jumps.


8. He dreams.

And he dreams big. Just this week he mapped out his whole trip of how he wants to see the world. He even planned in time to come home and work to pay for the trip (a.k.a. visit his aging mother). It was fun to watch. Just think of all the foods he gets to try . . .

Age 8
He dreams of flying jet airplanes and army helicopters with names that contain only letters and numbers. Then when he crashes, he is going to survive off the land like Bear Grylls. He even has a shirt like Bear's to get him started.

He wants to jump out of an airplane and do other insanely crazy stuff. I said he's more than welcome to do it all - as long as I don't know about any of it until after it's all over.

9. He loves babies.

Age 11

He was super with his cousin and now loves his Carson to pieces. It's a good thing, because they adore him back. He's known to have 2 & 3 year old girls look for him at church.

He's a lady killer.






10. He looks out for his friends.

If he knows something that will make their life easier, he's the first to inform them and help them out. He desperately wants to go to camp this summer because it's his friend's first time. He is concerned about him passing the swim test - and just wants to be there for him. It's very sweet.

Now if only I could convince him to think the same about his sister . . .

11. He loves the outdoors.

And unfortunately brings it all indoors with him. He is happiest lost in the woods seeking out wildlife, getting dirty and climbing trees.

12. He's ours.

We love you to bits, Bricey. You teach us how to love, to slow down and to enjoy life.

Happy, Happy Birthday, Bubba* Brice!

** Nickname origin: When he was born, Mikayla was 2 years old and she kept calling him "Rice." I set out to correct her and told her he was "Brice. B - B- Brice."

So from then on she called him "Bubba Rice."

And then one day I decided to teach my kids at home . . . you can guess how well that's going . . .

Friday, November 27, 2009

13 . . . REALLY?????

Let's go back in time . . .

13 years ago . . .

It snowed the day before Thanksgiving.

Remember?

13 years ago . . .

My youngest brother played his last high school basketball game.

13 years ago . . .

We watched the movie Independence Day.

13 years ago today . . .

I became a mother.

Seriously. . . She looks ticked. They woke her up from a wonderful deep sleep. Redressed her. Denied her food. Then they took her picture.

I'd be ticked too.

And now 13 years later we have this . . .

Apparently she forgave us for the injustices she endured . . . because she is smiling.

Whew.

So far so good . . . We have officially survived one day with a teenager in the house.

So far, she has no extra body piercings and no pink hair.

Whew.

Happy Birthday, Mikayla.

You love life and feel deeply.

Thank you for being you.

Thank you for being ours.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Carra . . .

turned 7 years old . . .

. . . shall we pause for a moment to reflect on that day 7 years ago . . .

I have vivid birthing memories of a Chinese medical intern hopping on one foot at the end of my hospital bed (trying to get the sterile footies over her shoes . . . I think . . . sorry about the lack of details . . . I was a bit preoccupied . . .) and giving me futile, yet desperate, commands in her thick Chinese accent.

It was a wonderful day.

Seems like it was just yesterday . . . sniff, sniff, . . . where does the time go???

Okay. I'm done.

So, Carra is 7. She and her cousin Elaine single handedly planned a party for her. I took all of their suggestions, considered them, and then changed every last one of them. We painted rocks instead of faces. We stayed home instead of going to Chuck E. Cheese. We never did get cake . . . And yet . . . they had fun. Especially Kailyn . . .



Since Carra loves, Loves, LOVES caramel apples, we decorated them instead of having cupcakes or a big fancy cake. There was a bit of strategy there . . . less work. Less work = happier mom.

Looking at her purple eyes . . . guess what she got for her birthday?


And the cousins came . . .

and decorated too. (Kailyn is missing . . . sorry about that . . . I think she made up for it in the group picture.)



They also made their own pet rocks. Six out of seven of them went home with a mouse . . . because you know how it goes with 6 & 7 year old girls . . . when someone throws out a great idea . . . it's great for EVERYBODY. I was very impressed with the one party attender that stuck with her tiger idea to the end. Besides, an orange mouse would have just been odd. About as odd as the 2 purple, 1 blue and 2 multicolored mice that left the house that day . . .

Here is Carra's mouse, Bob E. - He's the one on the left.



He looks just like our current mouse resident, Jack, he's the one on the right . . . that we pay actual money to feed and keep alive . . .

except for the green ears . . .



and the really big eyes . . .


and the red nose . . .


And the orange tail . . .


and the size . . .


But otherwise . . . they are nearly identical.

Nearly.

Happy Birthday, Carra . . . thanks for being you . . . except when you are mad at Brice . . . then thanks for just letting him live.

We love you!!

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Birthdays . . .

Mikayla had her birthday - ON Thanksgiving. After Thanksgiving came Christmas. I know that isn't news to you, but it is my explanation as to why it is now January and I am just acknowledging my child's birthday.

Wow. Did she grow up this year, or what?

This is from last year (or 2007). . .



and this is from 2008 . . .


And all I did was blink.

One plus is that she helped make the cake - perty fancy, heh? We almost gave up in the middle of the project because of a few glitches, but we persevered. What other kind of cake would you suggest - for a birthday on Thanksgiving?


A hamburger, of course!




Owen also conquered another year, and we "celebrated" in the midst of all the other holiday celebrating.

Since he is only turning four, his cake was a little less complicated - although a bit more slimey.


I woke up the next morning and he had made his contribution to the cake.

Clever.

These other pictures are for Grandma Powers - so she can see what she got him for his birthday. He is trying to position his hands like Spider-man does when he shoots out his web. Still needs a little practice. He really had to think about it . . .

Hurry up, Spidey, the bad guy is getting away . . . .

Close, but don't hold it that way . . .

Got it!

Thank You, Grandma! Call if you need a superhero!