It was a day of squeals and giggles

On Saturday morning by the time the clock read this...

Someone was dressed, ready, and anxiously awaiting for the day ahead.

She only had a mere 5 hours to kill. Oy.

But the wait was worth it.

I had told Hope weeks ago that as part of her birthday I would let her pick a friend to come over for some girl time. I kept it a secret as to what we would do until the day of, so trust me the excitement was palpable.

I took the girls for a pedicure.

Off they darted for the specific chair they decided each should have.

They were surprisingly quiet during the actual pedicure.

Just sort of took in the moment.

Oh these girls...

They are sweet.

And oh so girly.

And when I looked at this picture I noticed how much Hope's face is changing.

Still young of course

But definitley growing up.

It was a day of squeals and giggles.

And we loved every second of it.

Life according to kids

Recent conversation with Pierce:

"Will her dad be there?"

"No, her dad has Jerry duty."

Right as we were about to pray for our meal, Hope decides she needs to go to the potty. She jumps down from her seat:

"Don't worry I will pray while I pee!"

Pierce: "Hey mom, I think I get all of my talent from dad."

Hope: "Mommy the first thing I notice when I meet a new person is their shoes."

Me: "It is? Why?"

Hope: "I don't know, it's just my thing."

Pierce: "Mom I love the sounds the woods make. Twitches breaking and birds twitin, it's just awesome sounds." 

Me: "Pierce are you done acting like a crazy person?"

Pierce: "No mom, I'm just getting started."

Time to celebrate

This time of year runs a close second to Christmas, which means it's crazy town. I won't go into all the details because I save that boring stuff for my people, but it's just busy.  

Which may explain the busyness of this post. 

Hope, as I believe most every other girl in the world, is obsessed with Frozen. Due to the mass appeal of all that is Frozen there is very little stuff on the shelves these days. And that's a super bummer when you are turning 7. 

Thankfully I have smart Internet friends that remind me we know people. 

PEOPLE WHO MAKE STUFF. 

Katherine reminded me that Robin has a business that makes all sorts of things, so I ordered Hope a shirt from Blueberry Hill Handmade. And I can say it's love. Like she'll probably will wear this in her wedding one day. 

Birthday weeks seem to turn into birthday months around here, with all sorts of attention. Like Meemaw, Grandpa and cat.

Trust me, she doesn't mind the attention.

Or the gifts.

Meet Rosetta the giant doll. Rosetta has been known to send grown adults into a heart failure when shadows of giant doll are seen in bedrooms at night. Or so I've heard. Thanks Meemaw and Granpa!

But in the midst of birthday time, we also have Easter time.

We headed to the land of milk and honey

And we crammed in a ton of fun in just 2.5 days. 

Tracey invited us to an egg hunt at her mom's church and the kids had a great time!

And no sooner than we finished that egg hunt, we turned around and had one at my mom's house. And now we have more candy that should be legal.

Insert church with the parents.

And Easter morning with sleepy faces that want candy.

Fair trade and negotiation time.

Of course it's not about the candy

Or the egg hunts. (My Grandad made this cross many years ago)

It's about love.

And this was the day that Hope had been waiting on for weeks...

Time to celebrate.

And waiting for a party to start like mid-afternoon when you are seven?  BRU-TAL.

We killed time the best we could

And some photo sessions may have broken out

 How cute are they?

And we didn't plan the matchy-match outfits, but here we were a virtual prom couple with our lavender.

But you guys, cute has met it's match...

I die.

And I may have gone crazy taking pictures.

But this face.

SO CUTE.

And while Hope was all about Camden...

His appeal only lasted so long, BECAUSE SISTER WANTED TO CELEBRATE HER BIRTHDAY.

And we don't just celebrate Hope, we have some other special birthdays this month.

Can I say how fortunate we are to have such giving family?

 SO fortunate, and I am so thankful.

So thankful for her candle that reads 7.

And his.

And hers.

Sometimes I worry that I don't give the kids big enough parties, but hopefully they treasure the memories of these times.

I know I will always treasure it.

Forever.

And now I have a seven and nine year old.

Good gracious.

So until the next time they blow out their candles

 We will, let it go...