Cadence's 6th Birthday!

Cadence was so excited to go to school this morning. She was filled with stories of what she would get to do because it was her birthday: bring cupcakes, wear the birthday crown, get a birthday pencil! I walked her in to school this morning, rather than just dropping her off at the curb with her 2 dozen Tinkerbell cupcakes. It was a little surreal to step into the school hallway and watch her easily step into the flow of students without me. She's so grown up!

After school, showing off her birthday crown and the decorations we put up just for her (the balloons were dangling first thing this morning, but Aunt Jen had to tape them up before Connor pulled it all down)

Birthday cake. Yum!

She blew out the candles so fast I couldn't snag a picture

Opening Grandma Bobbie's present

We had to give Connor a piece of cake to appease him during the present opening ceremony. What is he going to do when there's no cake tomorrow?

Cheesy grin time!

Safety first! Showing off her safety glasses for her big girl present from mom and dad...

Practicing with dad with her new BB rifle. Learning the basics of aiming and safety. She did pretty well, except it was still a little too big for her. But when she aimed and let Daddy pull the trigger, she hit the target. ;-)

So, she's 6! It still hasn't completely sunk in that I have a genuine kid. Not a toddler, not a preschoolers, but a kid! She's excelling in school, she's making friends, she's learning a dozen new things a day, and she's doing 100% fine without me. *sigh*

Last Friday she got to do the "birthday bash" for all the kids with a November birthday in school, which meant she got to eat on the decorated stage and bring a friend with her. She invited her best friend: Nishi, which is a great story. I had worried that Cadence would struggle with making friends, but she plays with everyone and when their teacher was worried about Nishi not making friends easily, she enlisted Cadence to play with her and I encouraged her to keep it up and before I knew it, Cadence had a best friend. I'm excited to go to their "Friendship Feast" this Friday and finally get to meet all the kids I hear so many stories about every day. :-)

Megan's 5th Birthday

It's always a busy couple days when mid-November comes around and we have our back to back birthdays, but the weekend is upon us and Megan Ruth turned 5 years old!

All the kids enjoyed the streams and balloons hanging over the hallway door entry.

After getting ready for church, Megan insisted on posing.

We did the whole birthday cake and presents ordeal a little earlier than usual today, only because Cadence's present requires being opened before dinner, so Megan got to open hers before dinner too!

There's a definite pink theme for girly Miss Megan

She needed more than a little help blowing out the candles.

Opening her present from Grandma Bobbie

And squealing in delight over her present from James and me. When you turn the crown on top of Aurora's head, her dress changes colors.

Cadence read the instructions and Connor came over to investigate Hulk's newest girlfriend while Megan waited patiently for Daddy to get the doll out of its packaging.

Connor enjoying his sister's very pink cake.

Megan got an absurdly large slice, but, hey, it's her birthday!

So, that was Megan's day. Now she's happily playing out stories with her color-changing princess doll and soon we'll be cooking up her birthday dinner selection: hot dogs, beans, corn, and fries. I'd say "I can't believe she's 5!", but I totally can. She's matured so much recently and she's just as ready for school to start as Cadence was when she turned 5, more so, actually, because she's crazy excited after hearing how much fun Cadence is having at school.

She's seriously the sweetest girl. She lives to love, 100%. She is perfectly content to just shower love and affection on everyone around her, and she's just as excited about everyone else's achievements as her own. When Cadence and I get home after school and work, she's the first one at the door to greet us and she's learned quickly how to be a great big sister to Connor without Cadence around to fill that role.

Halloween 2014

Took me long enough to post these pictures, right? But Halloween was a fun event this year. Sadly, I had to cancel our "Zoo Boo" plans with friends due to car trouble (that is a whole new rant, but after a long weekend and a grand total of 20 hours in a mechanic's waiting room, the car is no longer making the squealing sound), but we did make it to our wards chili cook-off/trunk or treat. We also spent an evening in the elementary school parking lot jostling our way through for another trunk or treat, where we got a lot of dum dums and business cards, since businesses signed up to be the "trunks". At least we did get some balloon flowers and a chance to climb into the cab of a fire truck.

As for the ward trunk or treat, we got there on time, which means we were "early" and spent some time letting the kids run around before dinner was finally served. Then it was time to gather our pumpkin pails and go trunk to trunk. Without the overcrowding issue, I was able to take Connor out of his stroller and run wild. He quickly figured out how things work and had the time of his life.

The girls posing in the church's parking lot. Cadence was "Fancy Nancy" and Megan is doing her best Spidergirl impersonation.

Showing off her cat face paint.

A close up of Connor's costume. Everyone "awwed" over his muscled Spiderman as he strutted around.

Connor enjoyed the fruit of his labors. If anyone tried to even touch his pumpkin, he threw a major fit.

Halloween night, I was so excited to finally be in a neighborhood that actually trick or treats. This made it the girls' first real Halloween experience, because up until this year, their only trick or treating had been in the church parking lot and the zoo. Connor, who refuses to talk at home and insists on communicating with grunts, whines, and pointing (third child syndrome, I suspect), forgot himself for the evening and went up to each door to shout "tree!".

He only got to go once around the block before James took him back inside, and the girls and I explored a little further through the neighborhood.

Posing right outside our dressed-up front door.