Thursday, September 26, 2013

Clara Lee's Visit!

Dear Abby,
Guess who came to visit you all by herself?  Guess?  Come on, you can guess.  That's right!! Clara Lee!!  And by 'all by herself', I mean with no Ash-ash.  Hooray for Clara Lee!
Mimi had to get her hair did, so CL rode up here with her on Friday morning.  They were here by 2ish and you were just DYING to take CL to Goofballs, so, off we went!  Y'all had so much fun and loved doing the bumper cars.  Shhhh, you are supposed to be 6, but no one was really paying too much attention :) And look how much fun you had!


  
  You and CL jumped on every one of the rides/video games/etc, and even let Katie Bug hop on a few, too! 
  
 Mimi met us there after her hair was did and soon after we took CL to another favorite, Friday Night Mexican!  She spoke a total of 5 words (she gets so shy around people she doesn't know - i.e. Uncle Jaybee and Aunt Steph), but after dinner, you convinced us to get dessert and that got her a little out of her shell! 

After Mexican, we took CL outside where we (read = you and Kate) play and run around in circles.  Everyone got exhausted and we headed home where you and CL AND Mimi all got to sleep in the same bed.  Now, I'm not 100% sure what went down, but I have a good feeling Mimi sneak you two something special when the lights go out, something that rhymes with "Mocholate"....
That next morning, bright and early, you two were up and at em, taking the jeep for a little spin.  If you can't tell, it was a bit chilly that morning!

  

 You two insisted on eating your breakfast in the jeep, which then got left in the neighbors yard... Always something with you, two! Nothing says a Saturday morning like playing the drums in footed pajamas.  And it's still not even 8 o'clock yet!

You had a soccer game at 9, and everyone was so proud of how you played - 5 goals!  Woo-hoo!!!

After the soccer game, we ran a few errands and then after much begging on your part, Mimi took you and CL to the park, while Katie Bug took a nap and Mommy packed for DisneyWorld  (YES, you heard me! We leave for Disney the very next day!)


  

  


 You taught CL how to do the monkey bars all by herself!! 
AFter the park, we had a few minutes before CL and Mimi had to leave to go back home and because Kate's birthday is next week, we went ahead and had a little celebration for her.  


 Mimi also had something special for you and your Disney trip.  Clara Lee was such a big girl watching you and Kate get presents.  She knew she'd get presents soon enough for her birthday! 
 We were all so proud of Clara Lee for coming up without her Mom and she promised she'd come up again.  We have all sorts of fun stuff to show Clara Lee, even where Dolly Parton lives, who she thinks lives right beside us :)
Love you and your BCF!!!

Happy 5th Birthday!!!

HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY ABBY!!!!
Dear Abby,
Holy Moly, you are 5!!  I can't believe it.  What a wonderful 5 years it has been with you in our lives.  Daddy and Mommy could not be any prouder of you.  You are such a sweet, smart, animal loving, fairly hyper, beautiful girl.  You love being the joker, but are not too fond of being joked on.  You still hate eggs, but boy do you love your chocolate.  Some of your other favorites right now are zebra print (your favorite color) and California King (your favorite song).  You love puppys and are constantly begging for one.  Every time we pass a dog you say "I want one like that, but I want it to be small first."  Dancing and singing are top activities, but climbing is still the highest ranked.  You love playing with friends, whether it's Clara Lee or Ellie, or Ryan or Chloe (either one!), you always ask if a friend can come over and play.  You still heart school, too.  You enjoy listening to Mom read chapter books, but I know soon you will be reading them yourself.  The Ipad is definitely a favorite toy, but you are learning to play on your own with your babies and/or just your imagination!  Emily has taught you how to play school and this has become a new fave!  You are determined to let your hair grow as long as Tangled, even if that means it gets tangled every single morning!  With that said, you are super tenderheaded!! You LOVE your little sister to death and love being the big sister, showing her everything (good and bad!!).
Like I said, we are so proud of the 5 year old you have become!  Love you always and always!  

Now, for the good stuff!  Your birthday!!  Things started out on the tasty side with a special request for 'smiley face' pancakes.  Mommy slaved over those and it seemed to bring a smile to your face... 
But Daddy surprised you with a donut and, well, that won the smile contest for sure!!

 You had school on your birthday, so Mommy surprised you by wrapping all your lunch items in birthday wrapping paper!!  Later that day you said everyone thought that was funny! 
After school Mom had another surprise for you - Ellie got to come home with us!!!!  You both were super excited and I could only manage one not so great pic!! 
Then, if that wasn't enough, we had another surprise for you.  Mimi walked right in the media room and said "Surprise!!!" You were VERY happy to see Mimi.  Later, we headed to dinner at the Japanese  Steakhouse, or as you call it, the chopstick place!


 The next door neighbors (Mr. Bill and Miss Kay) were so sweet and brought you (and Kate) Gigi Cupcakes so we munched on those after dinner - delicious!  You also got to open up a couple presents from Mommy and Daddy and Mimi.  Mimi went first and I think you liked it...




 Next you opened Mommy's and Daddy's and while the surprise wasn't there (we had to ask you months ago), the excitement still was!

 We are going to DisneyWorld for your birthday!!! We leave in 10 days and we are all so excited.  We got you a backpack full of Disney princess and Minnie Mouse stuff to take on the airplane ride and have at the park.  We CANNOT wait!! Like for reals.
On Friday, you had the girls from your class over to eat breakfast and watch a movie, and, of course, to help celebrate you birthday!


 Your movie of choice was Cinderella and all the girls were happy about that!




 
 Mimi stuck around to help out and thank goodness.  Five girls doesn't seem like too much, but 30 minutes after A LOT of donuts and chocolate milk (and popcorn, too!), you girls were H-Y-P-E-R!!!!



















 It was a sweet birthday party and everyone had a good time.  So happy you are making friends with your new classmates!

Because we like to keep on chugging, we all headed up to the lake for the weekend and to celebrate Pic-pics and your birthday!  Yay!  More cake!


 And, of course, more presents!


 ZEBRA PRINT!
 That was Friday night and what a fun Friday night it was.  Even the 'dults had fun heading out for a night on the town while Mimi hung out with you kiddos.  We also set a world record, or at least a "Waits record" with how early we got on the boat!  I think the lack of sunshine lately sped up the crew.  It turned out to be a beautiful day! 

 Trying for a family pic can be tough...


 The girls of the fam pulled it off though...
 Or, well, after a little work and adjusting.
 Our big 5 year old!




You had a fun day playing on the lake with Clara Lee and the rest of us, too.  While your birthday week is officially over, the actual celebrating is not!  DisneyWorld - here we come!!!