February- The First Half

I know I said I was only going to blog once a month....but Lauren had a birthday and that is a big deal!

Her cake turned out perfect.  She loved it! 

I have an 11 year old!  What?  She is growing up sooo fast.  

Addison was having fun at Lauren's party as well!  

Speaking of Lauren's party...it was at Main Event.  She had a blast! 

All of her friends were able to make it to the party and that made Lauren very happy! 

Cassidy and Paityn are 2 of her best friends.  Cassidy has been Lauren's friend for over 5 years now and Paityn is Lauren's new soccer buddy and our neighbor.  

The little sisters got to sneak in and play Laser tag.  They had fun. 

Here is the whole group.  They came out laughing, smiling, and so tired since they ran around so much! 

I love this smile and her look!  We were singing very loudly to embarrass her! 

We had a Superbowl party that same weekend!  We were busy that weekend but it was well worth it! We love this family and love spending time with them. 

Ginger ended up on a leash because she enjoyed some Superbowl party food as well.  Mozzarella sticks to be exact...and some dipping sauce.  That Ginger. 

Lauren loved her gifts from Grandma Harding. 

She was so surprised when she received a Polaroid camera from us.  We surprised her for sure. 

Dinner was Lauren's choice and she chose Red Lobster.  

I was able to take the day off and attend both girls Valentine's Parties!  

I love Lauren's group of friends. 

We went and saw A Dog Purpose and we cried out eyes out.  It was a wonderful movie. 

And these girls...they are loving Girl Scouts this year and we are having so much fun at our meetings.  We have been very busy with Girl Scout cookies and several fun events this Spring.  

More to come in February!  Stay tuned! 

Happy Birthday Addison!

Addison will turn 8 on Friday!  Eight years old already!  She is in 2nd grade and loves school.  Science and Math are her favorite subjects (go Addison) and reading and writing are not fun to her.  

This past weekend we celebrated her birthday with 20 of her closest friends....it was awesome!

Her cake was amazing.  It turned out just perfect.  Addison wanted to have a magician at her party, so we planned a magician party.  We had pizza for everyone when they arrived, and a photo booth as well.  

Here are her girlfriends.  They are school friends, Girl Scout friends, and daycare friends.  Lauren had a few friends at the party as well (the big sisters of Addison's friends...) but they were too cool for this picture! 

The photo booth and props were a hit.  There are so many fun pictures that all the girls took.  Thanks Mark for taking pictures for me! 

Jenna and Adriana have been Addison's friend for years.  Jenna, of course, we have known since they were babies.  Adriana, Jenna and Addison took a dance class together when they were 3.  Then when they started Kindergarten they were all together again!  Yea.  I love these girls...and their Mom's! 

Our house was packed, but it was so worth it.  Just look at the girls faces!  The magician put on a great show.  He kept these girls entertained for an entire hour! 

Addison even got a special certificate declaring her a magician as well.  It is sitting up in her room! 

Then it was time for presents.  All the girls gathered around Addison to watch her open presents.  She received several wonderful gifts.  

Then it was time for cake and all the kids gathered around the kitchen island to sing Happy Birthday and watch Addison blow out her candles.  

I absolutely love this picture!  

These 2 friends spent the night..well, sort of.  Jenna ended up going home at 3:30 A.M.  and then she was back for breakfast at 8!  Addison, Kailyn and Jenna had big plans for the sleepover and the next morning.  One thing included this lemonade stand and Jenna had to come back for that.  They also had a huge surprise planned for Kailyn's little sister's birthday!  

All these crazy girls had a great time!  

We had so much fun celebrating Addison's 8th birthday...a week early and all!  Happy Birthday Addison! 

Happy 7th Birthday Addison

Our sweet Addison has gone from this...just a few days old...

To this:  

Here are 7 things I love about Addison:

1. She is confident.  She does not let anyone push her around and that will take her very far in life.  
2. She has an incredible imagination and that leads to a variety of creations and projects she comes up with on her own.  
3. She is smart.  Her math skills are amazing.
4. She loves to cuddle and recently has climbed in our bed in the middle of the night and is usually asleep on top of me or snuggled very close to me.
5. Addison truly adores her big sister, even though she would never admit to that. 
6. Her sense of style.  I don't know where she gets it from, but she likes to match head to toe and completely accessorize....everyday.
7. Her love of animals.  Which reinforces my plan to keep searching for a new puppy!  

Happy 7th Birthday Addison.  I hope it is a great day full of amazing memories!

Party Weekend!

On Wednesday Addison will be 7.  7 years old.  I I still can't believe it.  She is growing so fast!  

We celebrated this weekend with friends and family.  

Saturday Addison had her friends party at Potter's Haven.  A local pottery place in Lee's Summit.  

She insisted on a picture with Mark.  I don't know why, but it was very important to her...

Then I insisted on a picture with me :)  

Most of her friends that she invited were able to attend the party.  We started out with some pizza for lunch!  

This is Addison's friend, Brooklyn.  They attend the daycare together and have been friends for several years!

After pizza, it was painting time!  The girls were able top pick out what they wanted to paint, then they all had time to work on it.  I was very impressed with how hard each girl worked!  

Then is was presents time!  Addison loved every gift she got as was just as excited with each gift she opened.  

If you let them do something silly first....

You will get a great picture with some great smiles second!  Love this group of little girls.  It is almost exactly the same crowd at Addison's 6th birthday party.   

This is Adriana.  Addison's little friend from dance a few years ago..and Jenna with a perfect photo bomb!  When we started school at Highland Park last year, Adriana was in her class and they become best friends again.  This year, Adriana joined our Daisy troop and her mom became my assistant leader. It has been a fun year with the two of them.  

Sunday afternoon we had my parents and Grandma over to celebrate birthdays again!  My Grandma is in her mid 80's and still going strong!  

Both girls were excited about Addison's present from Gramps and Nana.  A bed for Saige, her American Girl doll!  Gramps got the bed put together right away and Addison got Saige ready for bed! 

The celebrations will continue on Wednesday on Addison's actual birthday!  She has way too many presents from us waiting to be opened (and a birthday card filled with $$ from the other Grandma. She will love that for sure!)