Happy Birthday, Millie Moo!

Happy 9th birthday to our Ameliya!

We started the birthday morning with a pre-breakfast gift.

Mia requested coffee cake and bacon for breakfast and we sang before Daddy headed to work.

A Calico Critter accessory...

And that sweet excited face over receiving the Bible she had been wanting.

Mike went to work for the morning and the older children did school.  I gave Mia the day off mostly which meant her school buddy, Zayden, also had a very light day.

A card from Grandma and Papa...

She counted her dollars twice and thought Grandma had made an error as she only found 8, but found the missing one had slipped onto the floor.  Grandma never misses!

A bean bag shell to fill with stuffies....mom and Mia's compromise to the stuffed animal situation.

Zayden built Mia and Lego birthday cake.  I love their friendship.

We had Mia's large meal at noon - she asked for pork burgers and macaroni and cheese - and ate when Dad came home from work.

American Girl books to fill in some sets.

After lunch Daddy, Mia, and Mommy slipped out to go get Mia's ears pierced!  Mia has wanted to do this for a long time, and she was so excited. She picked her earrings out, but once she got in the chair her nerves set in.  She didn't flinch through the process but did get pretty pale.

Afterwards she got up to look at them in the mirror, turned to go, and Mike saw her waver - poor thing pretty well passed out after it was all said and done.

The clinician was so good and kind - she had Mike sit her down and gave her water and fruit snacks to recover and then Mia was excited again about her pretty new earrings.

Back home the kids played outside for a couple of hours.  Aunt Kea, Isa, and AJ Facetimed to say happy birthday.

Since Mia's birthday was on a Wednesday it was a church night.  We had an early supper of chicken tenders and fries and then the ice cream cake that Mia and I developed together.

peanut butter cookie crust, reese's cups, vanilla ice cream, hot fudge and oreo crumbs, ice cream, mini reese's tower...

Mia drew the cake out and we worked on it Tuesday together.

Mia took snacks along to Awana to share with her small group and had a good time with her friends at church.  Happy birthdays and many more, our Ameliya.  We love you so much.

Weekly Wind Down {Celebrations, Beautiful Weather, CP Awareness Day, Soft Pretzels} Mar 19-25

Sunday started early for Zayden and I after our quick overnight in Missouri.  Mike ran solo getting everyone ready for church and at the building by 8 since he was on worship team.  Bless him for not making me feel guilty about overlapping my schedule with his obligation.

Matching girls in their black dresses....

Sunday afternoon we had a first birthday party for our little friend, Lindly.  Evalynn fell asleep about three minutes from arrival...

The kids played outside a bit Sunday afternoon, called Aunt Kea and wished her a happy happy birthday, and then we had an easy supper.  I adore Evalynn's hair in this claw clip...

Monday....a nice gentle start to our week.  Being the third Monday of the month there was no co-op and no extra activity this month so we got the day at home.  

Evalynn had big brother help her replace the batteries in her critter house.  This used to be always Xavier's job, but a new generation is rising up.

A new read aloud for our morning basket.

Preschool with my gal...

And she got a new magazine!  A bright spot in her week!

Ameliya and Zayden are trying to do their writing in cursive.  I try to write my notes to them in proper cursive....I see I forgot to cross my 'x'!  

The weather was gorgeous and we were out for over 5 hours.  These gals started in the igloo while the earth warmed up but eventually shed their winter clothes and went out in the sunshine.

We did the necessary bookwork and then traded pencils for sunshine.  I love that they have each other.

Warm enough for bare feet and Evalynn didn't miss the opportunity.

I washed all the "throw" blankets and hung them out to dry.

Tuesday - Natalee had early morning OT/PT and Ameliya had OT over Mike's lunch. 

Happy Down Syndrome day to our little friend, Haddyn.  We wore our mismatched socks for her!

Evalynn worked very hard Tuesday at being a mama.  I delighted in watching her.

The weather was a little drearier than Monday's but we still managed over 4 1/2 hours outdoors.  Warm enough for popsicles, cool/windy enough for stocking hats.

Tuesday night and spring sports haven't yet begun so we had pizza and game night!

We played a new game - Scorzo.  It was a lot of fun!

Wednesday's photos are slim but it was a regular ole school day for the most part.  Evalynn is enjoying this Kumon sticker book but I notice there are only a few pages that have stickers like this wear she dresses the person or decorates the apron...we'd love suggestions of other books similar to this.

The weather cooled down quite a bit so it wasn't as much outside time.  We had Awana and youth group Wednesday to close out our evening.

Natalee had hippotherapy Thursday and then we went to the thrift store.  Beyond that it was school per normal.  It was very windy and dreary so we didn't get outside.

Friday shaped up better!  A lovely day to be outside.  We had a very light school day.  Cerebral palsy awareness day is March 25th, but since we were scheduled to be in Missouri for Easter, we celebrated on Friday.

Green spinach power pancakes to start the day.

We ate quick and then Natalee had a zoom appointment.

Evie played in Xavier's bed "fort" during Natalee's appointment.

Wearing green to support our girl who fights her battle with cerebral palsy everyday!

Natalee had a second week of bread lessons for home ec and chose to make homemade soft pretzels.  

There were a lot of steps so I helped, just as I'd have one of the kids help me if I were doing them!  She did a great job!

Ameliya had a haircut Friday afternoon and got it washed, cut, and styled!

with glitter!

soft pretzels al fresco...

I love watching this boy with his Legos.

The weather cooled down a lot Friday evening.  Mike and the boys went to a basketball event at church.

Natalee won a Osky bucks at her physical therapy center to use at a local business.  She chose to take Mia to Smokey Row to celebrate her birthday and took Evalynn, too, so that we could go while the boys were out.

Evie and Natalee had big dessert muffins and Ameliya had ice cream.

We made the most of our evening by walking next door to browse the book store.

Saturday was Easter at Grandma and Papa Tallman's.  The perfect way to end the week!