Happy 1st Birthday Abbie Grace!!!

Abbie Grace you have made the last year so memorable! You are such a joy, a silly baby girl, a busy busy little one, and always full of giggles and smiles. You love to play with your siblings. You love to climb the stairs. You love yogurt! You love music and to dance. You are standing but will only let go for a few seconds. You say several words... mama, dada, tonight (she loves the song from Fun... We are Young and when hearing it she'll start singing), eat, horse, sissy, and Dakota. Of course they are in your version but we know what you are referring too. I think having 3 older siblings and a mommy who's a chatterbox has influenced now a baby who's a chatterbox. :) You also love to yell!! I love you so much my birthday girl!!! :) I planned a very fun and festive Milk & Cookies theme birthday bash for her yesterday. (More on the details of the big party in another post.)I love how everything turned out. I love the below photo that my husband took before the party. I love how she's looking at the candle. :) She has such a sweet smile. We can never give our girl to many kisses. :) This is one of my favorites from the cake. :) She wasn't as crazy about the cake as I thought she would be but she did enjoy eating some of the yummy cake well mostly frosting. ;) The birthday girl at breakfast. She is so cute! Yes I did give her a chocolate chip cookie but she also had some baby food, a pancake, and a little bit of our yummy sausage. :) She opened her gifts today all by herself with just a little bit of help from daddy. She was so cute and had a ball ripping the paper off each one. We saved our gifts for her to open today on her birthday. :) Since she had her big cake yesterday we put the candle in her favorite... yogurt!! The girl could eat yogurt anytime of day.:) The day was one full of playing and fun. The weather was rainy but we did manage to get outside for a few minutes to let her swing (her favorite). She also enjoyed lots of time with her wonderful daddy. Her 1st birthday is extra special because she was able to share it with him in celebrating Father's Day. He was thrilled too. :) I made him a yummy breakfast of pancakes and sausage. The kids filled out adorable "All about my dad" questioners. They were hilarious with some of the answers. :) They painted him some great pictures. Happy Father's Day David!You are an incredible daddy and we love you to pieces!!! :)

Mother's Day

My Mother's Day got off to a rocky start and most of that was because David had to work, Abbie was up bright and early (6:30), and my new nighttime mouth guard caused my TMJ to have a MAJOR flare up (no fun and I won't be using that anymore). My cuties still tried though to make my day special even though mommy was a cranky pants all morning. Emma and Wyatt made me breakfast (english muffin and strawberries) and Dakota made me lunch (a ham sandwich and blueberry yogurt). Very yummy! :) David and the kids made me a t-shirt yesterday. My husband is so sweet and thoughtful but he cracked me up when I opened the gift and pulled out the shirt. The shirt was on the rather large side and he said well it was either a large or an xtra large but the only one I could find at the store. I asked him did he look in the women's department well he didn't even think about it. lol I still love the shirt and it's super comfy to sleep in. :) He put the kids hand prints on the shirt with "the girls" on the front and "the boys" on the back. Happy Mother's Day 2012 on the front too. I was so surprised by such a creative and thoughtful gift from my wonderful husband. :) He also surprised me with a beautiful Hibiscus tree. So tropical and lush. I'll feel like a little piece of paradise is right on my deck. :) Dakota made me the cutest votive candle at school and Emma made me a special book (I about cried when I read it... will have to post the letter she wrote me). Emma and Wyatt each surprised me with a bouquet of gorgeous flowers yesterday. I feel pretty special with 2 bouquets. :)

Dakota gave me not 1 but 3 of my favorite instant cappuccino mix. I had to cappuccino's today (a bit much with addition to my normal coffee but hey it's Mother's Day). Wyatt cracked me up though because he wanted some of my cappuccino so badly but it was all mine today. :)

This picture is perfect for how the day was today. A variety of joy, silliness, a bit serious, a few tears (those are in another picture), some arguing and yelling, but the day ended with fun and smiles. We raced from couch to couch. My sweeties gave me a foot, leg, hand, neck, and a face massage (Abbie even joined in which was so cute). We played a game of kids Sequence (my fav). They are very thoughtful but boy they do drive me to my almost breaking point at times but at the end of the day I wouldn't have it any other way! I get to celebrate today because of them and they love me even when I do have a rough morning. I love that about my kids so much that even when I may not be at my nicest they forget about it and still love to be around me. :)

This Mother's Day was even more special because today was my 1st Mother's Day with my sweet and silly Abbie Grace. :) She's almost 11 months old and adds so much to our family. :)

Cindy Lou and Sam I Am

Happy birthday Dr. Seuss from my Sam I Am and Cindy Lou. :)

Today was dress up like your favorite Dr. Seuss character at school. I created these fun costumes for the kids. :) I'm happy with how they turned out especially Dakota's because I literally created the green eggs and ham look this morning. He wanted to be the Grinch but with no green face paint and a fail at the homemade face paint recipe we had to go to plan b. He wasn't to excited about not being able to be his original choice (Cat in the Hat was his 1st choice but not enough time to pull that one together with at home items) but he left with a smile on his face when he had on the completed costume. :)


Emma's hair was a lot of fun! I just teased it and teased it followed by spraying it with a TON of hairspray. I also put pipe cleaners in her braids to get them to curl a bit more. She was a hit at school. I think she looked as cute as a button. :)

I couldn't get all of her hair into the top ponytail so I just braided the lower section and it worked out great for this crazy hairstyle. :)

She happened to get her cute red jacket for Christmas which was perfect for this Cindy Lou costume. I got pretty lucky by her having the cute gingham dress and new red tights in her wardrobe. :) Of course she already had the cute big red bow.

I also lucked out that David had this yellow t-shirt and he had no problem with me cutting up the shirt to make this costume for Dakota. I used my pinking shears to cut across the bottom and the sleeves of the shirt. I turned the shirt inside out and attached the tray of "green eggs and ham" using tape. Dakota didn't have to carry a tray around all day and the lettering on the shirt was covered up. Dakota had the orange hat from hunting and I used old scrapbooking stickers to attach "Sam I Am." Dakota had the great idea to add a fork in the ham at the last minute. Great touch. :) Creative costume and I had everything here at home. :)

The kids said they were a hit at school and not many kids dressed up. The morning was hectic trying to get these costumes plus hair complete but them enjoying themselves made it all worth it. They already can't wait for next year's costumes. :) I wanted to also mention that Google images was a big inspiration in my creativity for the costumes. :) LOVE Google images. :)

Teething and Tears Oh my!

6 teeth in 7 1/2 months! Oh my oh my! These last couple have changed my sweet happy baby into a crying and clinging little one (most of the time). The sad thing is I know that there are more of those painful white sharp things just waiting to push through my little baby's gums. :(

I'm a big fan of all natural remedies and I always try those first but sometimes the all natural just doesn't take all of the pain away.
My 4 favorite things that have at least brought some relief to her teething days...
1. Hazelwood and Amber teething necklace... She loves the necklace and yes it does help a lot.
2. Camillia ... all natural remedy liquid that does wonders for relieving teething pain.
3. Tylenol... yes I do give her this because some days I just can't take seeing her in pain anymore and a mama can only handle so many tears.
4. Boba... well this just helps her calm down but I do love my Boba! Since she's clingy I can just stick her in the Boba either on my chest or on my back and away I go to get the things done I need to in my day. Plus the Boba really brings her to a peaceful happy baby once again.

Today was one of those super fussy can't put her down for a second type of day which makes me a cranky and stressed mommy! So to take that stress away I grabbed my camera and took my not so happy baby outdoors (she LOVES the outdoors and no fussing for her out there). Hard to believe that with all of the tears of today I was able Wyatt was able to get this big smile out of our teething girl. I can't help but become a little less stressed and smile myself by seeing this big smile on my Abbie girl's face. (By the way for the last day of January we were blessed with a gorgeous 60 degree day.) :)

Look at those pearly whites! :)

Happy belated 8th Birthday Dakota :)

Dakota turned 8 years old on December 30th. I can hardly believe I've been a mom for 8 years. :)

David had to work on his birthday which was hard for Dakota but I still tried to make the day a special one. :) I woke up extra early on his birthday to make him homemade yeast doughnuts. He was so excited when he came downstairs to see them waiting for him to decorate however he would like to. :) I made one into an "8" and I also made a little boy doughnut that he decorated to look like himself. :)

I usually try to control and limit the amount of sprinkles my kids put on there baked goods (of course they will put as many as they can) but on his birthday I let him use the whole jar of sprinkles. He had a blast using them all too. I learned that it really wasn't a big deal for him to use them all and the joy of seeing him decorate that "8" doughnut was very memorable for me. He had a ball eating that inch thick sprinkled high doughnut too. :)

All of the doughnuts we had fun making together (Wyatt even decorated a little one). We used a plain glaze and chocolate plus of course sprinkles. :) I made the sign behind Dakota's head. Very last minute and homemade but he LOVED it! He wants me to hang it in his room. Another lesson learned by me is the thought really does count when making a birthday special for a child. They don't care if something is purchased or just homemade by mom. :)

His dinner was yummy friend chicken and loaded mashed potatoes with gravy. Yum yum!! :)

My junior beekeeper. :) Dakota was very excited to get his own bee suit. Now David has a helper with his bees this spring. I'm glad I don't have to be the helper now. :)

We waited to do Dakota's birthday cake until David could be there to join us. After many different cake choices he decided on one of his favorite kinds of cake... cheesecake. I tried out a new recipe for a Rocky Road Cheesecake. Dakota loved the new recipe and I have a great new recipe for a chocolate cheesecake. Good choice Dakota! :)

8 things I love about Dakota:
1. His big smile (he brightens my day by that smile)
2. His love for reading (last quarter in school he read 99 books for his AR program which totaled to over 100,000 words... I am very proud of him plus he's reading at a 4th grade level.)
3. His amazing ability to hunt (he provided our family with 2 does this last hunting season)
4. Your new love for drama (acting that is... we've been practicing our fainting, choking, the death scene after being shot, and having a ball together. We want to put on a short play this coming year.)
5. Your joy in cooking and baking with me. I love sharing our time together in the kitchen.
6. Watching you be a great big brother. You are so patient with your little brother Wyatt. You have such a good time playing outdoors with your brother and your sister. You are so cute making your baby sister laugh.
7. I love your silly personality. You have become quite the little joking man and you know when you are being funny now too. ;)
8. I love the close father and son relationship that is growing between David and Dakota. The two of them have a lot of fun together and seeing the special bond between them both just makes my heart smile! :) The little jokes and looks the two of them share are just priceless. :) They are best buddies and I love it. :)

Happy belated 6th birthday Emma! :)

Happy belated 6th birthday wishes to my dear sweet Emma girl! Her official birthday was on December 5th but the business of the holiday season and life with 4 children has delayed my post but better late than never. ;)

She had a fun filled birthday! My dad happened to be in Ohio (he lives in Arkansas) for the weekend and was here to help us celebrate (Emma was thrilled he was here).Papa Dodd played many games with her and her brothers during his weekend visit. (I would say he is where I get my love for playing board games. A regular fun activity in our home.) We all enjoyed a yummy birthday lunch on the 4th of Emma's favorite meal spaghetti. :)

Papa and Grandma Dodd gave Emma a very fun girly Fancy Nancy book and Emma greatly enjoyed her papa reading the book to her. :) I enjoyed watching them together (very sweet). :)

Emma LOVES horses and my best friend Summer has started baking cakes. She made Emma this incredible hand painted horse cake. Emma LOVED it!! The cake was even purple on the inside. Perfect for a little girl who's favorite colors are pink and purple. :)

Emma shares my love of owls and her brothers got her this cute owl purse. :)

For Emma's birthday breakfast she requested cinnamon raisin bread french toast and bacon. Yummy! :)

I made butterfly cupcakes for Emma's class on her birthday. To Wyatt's delight he took the cupcakes to her school with me. I really enjoyed spending time with her in her classroom and seeing her share with her class on her special student day. :)

A special surprise we planned for Emma's birthday was we added some fun decorations to her room. I found these very girls tulle puff balls online. She LOVES them!! She was very surprised to walk in and see her room newly decorated. :) David surprised her with the beautiful flowers! He is such a thoughtful daddy. :)

A cute picture of Emma and Abbie. She just loves being a big sister to Abbie. :) She is such a big help and loves playing or holding Abbie.

Emma did a quick outfit change before we went out for a birthday dinner at her choice of The Golden Corral (let me tell you how thrilled David and Dakota were for her choice).

6 things I love about Emma:
1. Your love to write and journal. You love to spell anything you can think of and sketching in your notebook. I love your drawings and stories.
2. Your desire to always help others anytime you can!
3. Your gorgeous big smile that brightens my day.
4. The adorable way you give me 2 hugs and 2 kisses each night to say goodnight to me.
5. Your love of dance and how you dance anytime anywhere (even in the grocery store). You love music and your favorite special at school is music.
6. I love that you are my girly girl that loves dresses and pink but you also love the outdoors and the farm. You aren't afraid to get your hands dirty by helping feed the horses or shoot a deer with Daddy's help (next year that shot will be a dead deer Emma... yes Emma shot a deer this year during youth gun season but the shot went right through the fat which wasn't a fatal shot).

I love you my princess Emma Julieann!!! Your 6th birthday was so much fun just like you!! :)

Shadow can you hear me?

Wyatt loves waiting on the front porch in the afternoon for the school bus. Today I peeked at him through the door to see what he was doing while he was waiting for the bus. Our old black lab Shadow (she's about 11) hangs out on the porch too (about all of the time these days). She is deaf now as a result of her old age. As I looked out on the porch I see Wyatt lifting up her ear to talk to her (wish I'd had my camera handy). The cutest thing. :) Later I asked him if this helped her hear him and he simply said "yup." He is such a thoughtful and sweet boy.