A Six Year Old

This little girl is getting big. Charlee is still our quiet/shy one. She does have a stubborn streak and can get a little attitude, but overall she is pretty easy-going. She is doing great in kindergarten and she is pretty darn good at reading. She has lots of friends and even comes home with a few pictures and cards from boys. Chuck is our cuddler and our jokester. She has some pretty good one-liners for a kindergartener (wonder where she gets that.)

Chuck wanted her party to be at Bounce...which I love because it is easy entertainment for all the guests, and I don't have to worry about a messy house after it's over.

This is Char's first party where she got to invite "real" friends...and by that I mean friends from school and not just family or our friends who have kids her age. She picked her guest list all by herself. She got lots of great gifts and had tons of fun at her party. Afterwards she picked Texas Roadhouse for dinner.

I tried talking Justee into having a parrot cake because I thought it would be cool to make, but she was a no go. So when we went to the zoo last week, and Char was pointing out the pretty Macaws to me...I slipped in the thought that they would sure make a pretty cake. :) She bit and said that that was the cake she wanted. Yeah for me! and Chuck of course

She wanted a red one even though I again put in my 2 cents saying that red is really hard and it usually just looks pink, so a blue one would be easier....She was ok with pink and even thought it would be cool.

I made this cake bigger than usual because of her large party.

It started with 2 nine in. rounds and a 9x13.

After I finished the hard part of frosting all the colors, I used softened tootsie rolls for the branch and I planned to cover the pink with fruit roll ups to make it look red...but I was a little tired of it, and not sure how it would look to cover all the pink, so I decided to just highlight it.

This pic was taken immediately after I finished the cake (very important to do that because you never know when someone is going to drop tupperware on in.)

A little confused...

Sydnee came out of the office all excited about something on Friday evening. When she explained that she saw a baby fish, I was a little hesitant to believe her. I came to look, but told her she probably just saw something floating in the tank. After searching the tank, I started to tell Sydnee that it just wasn't possible to have a baby when we don't have two of the same kind of fish. Sydnee got upset and made me feel bad for "never believing her" when all of sudden there it was! A tiny little fish swimming in a plant at the surface of the water. WHAT THE??? We have had these same fish for over a year now...some much longer. Why all of a sudden do we have a single baby in the tank? This fish looks exactly like its must-be momma, but who is the baby daddy?After seeing how tiny it was I decided it would be best to put it in a little net home in the tank to keep it from being eaten. The girls sure are excited about this new little baby, so I hope it lasts and grows to be a big fish.

I wanted to do Syd and Chuck's hair into a shamrock on St. Patty's Day for school. I was really rushed and didn't have time to change the parts to make it better, but at least I learned for next time.

Firsts for Sydnee

Sydnee had her first piano lesson today. I think it went very well, and she is super excited to learn more. Hopefully she can stick it out longer than I did.
The weather was so perfect for taking a run today, so I asked Sydnee to join me and we took off. We went on our 5k course we clocked a couple of years ago, and Syd was a champ. It was her first real run of the season and she made it the whole way, easily, and without a single complaint. I was pretty proud of her. I think she will be able to master the Bolder Boulder nicely come May.

Heart Day

I had a lot of fun helping out in Sydnee's class party. The chocolate covered strawberries I brought were a huge hit, and Sydnee was super excited to have Justee in her class for a while. She really wanted her to stay and play at recess, but I had to get the cheese I brought for Charlee's party over to her class party.

Charlee and Justee even got fancy hair. Poor Sydnee missed out because the time before school was dedicated more towards heart pancakes than hair.

Hard to believe

that our baby is four!
It has been fun watching Justee grow from this:

to this 1 year old: to this 2 year old:

to this 3 year old:

to a now 4 year old!

We started on her last week about how 4 year olds don't cry and can't be carried everywhere. I don't think it had much effect on her.

Justee's favorite meal is mac and cheese, so it wasn't a surprise that she wanted to go to Noodles and Co. for mac and cheese as her birthday dinner. After Sydnee's bball practice we headed there to eat and then came home for the presents and cake. Justee had not been very patient about waiting for those two things all day.

She was a gracious bday girl and hugged her sisters after opening the presents they picked for her.

When it was time to cut the cake, the little girl who tried to convince me all day long that she needed a piece right now, was too busy with her new toys to stop for cake.

She got a little purse with hair things and a ring in it from Gma and Gpa H, and some slippers from Gma and Gpa D.

I asked Justee what kind of cake she wanted for her birthday (while trying to convince her that a parrot cake would be cute...cause that seemed fun to make.) She told me she wanted a fish tank cake...probably due to the fact that the fish tank is right by our computer. So I looked up some ideas...then she told me she wanted a snake cake instead. Really? A girl snake cake of course. hmmm okay, I finally got used to the idea of a girl snake cake and was thinking of cute ways to girly it up when she went back to the fish tank. I let her mull it over for a while and then got her final decision.

I started with two 8 in rounds (if I ever do this cake again, I would use 3 just to give it more stability. Mine started to lean throughout the day.)

Then I thought about the decor. I saw this cake done with goldfish crackers, but thought about how gross those would taste, so I decided to use Swedish fish. After thinking about it more, I wanted to be creative with the fish, so I decided I would mold them out of gum drops. The plants and coral were done with fruit roll ups and such, but I couldn't find the right colors. So, I decided to mold them out of jolly ranchers that I melted in the microwave. I only slightly burned myself once or twice. ;)

Then I set up a scene that I thought worked (using nerds for the gravel.) Then I frosted the cake in my favorite white mountain frosting. Getting the frosting on is always the worst part.

Then the fun began...placing the candy on.

Justee loved her cake and had a great birthday. Thanks to everyone who called or did something to help make this day special for our little Rosie.

2 of 2

Just before 8 am, the girls were ready to attack Christmas morning.

Even Dozer had a great day!

Charlee got a pogo stick. After a small accident Justin had while trying to loosen the spring, it was a hit. Char gave it her best shot, but it was Sydnee who mastered it. Syd was a real pro by that afternoon.

We didn't have a white Christmas this year, but it was a beautiful day and the girls were constantly taking their new toys outside to play.

It was a lovely Christmas, but it seemed to come and go too quickly.

Because Christmas wasn't too long ago...

Christmas Eve PJs. Dozer even wanted in on the action.

I don't think I have ever seen a little girl as excited about pajamas as Justee was. She ran and hugged me and told me this was the best Christmas ever! Wow, and it was just getting started.
She didn't even hesitate to get them on. She is already making her move to rid herself of clothes.

We always get our pjs on and then head out to look at Christmas lights. Once we get home, it is cocoa and story time and then off to bed.

The day before the girls decorated a gingerbread house.

It was up and down in less than an hour...

Another tradition is a puzzle...Since the girls can't really help with mine, they got their own:

Justee Rose

I have a lot of blogging to catch up on, but for now I'll focus on this spunky little girl we like to call "Our Rosie."

Justee has quite the personality. She is much more outgoing and outspoken than her sisters, but she definitely has a sweet streak in her. She always makes me smile with the things she says. Here is an example that happened just last night....

I was letting her lay in bed with me until Justin came up to bed. I knelt down to say my prayers and she started up with questions.
"Are you talking to Heavenly Father?"
"Yes, that is who we talk to when we pray."
"Does Jada live with Heavenly Father?"
"Yes."
"But we aren't old so we won't die will we?" As I am about ready to speak she adds, with a lot of concern in her voice, "Grandma is getting a little bit old though." (Sorry mom)
"Well, everyone has to die sometime, and it isn't always when you get old, and Grandma isn't that old; but it is ok because when we die, we get to all be together with Heavenly Father. "
..."AND JESUS!" Justee quickly added.
"Yes, and Jesus."
"And Sydnee and Charlee too?"
"Yes."
Then the excitement built in her eyes and she exclaimed, "And then Jada will see us and be like, YAY! And give us all a big hug! And then we can be like, Group Hug! Cause that's what families do, right Mommy?"
"Right."

It always amazes me how precious and innocent these little souls are.

This second picture just IS Justee. She has this little mischievous look on her face a lot. She definitely likes to see how much she can get away with.


Justee likes to say, "That freaked me out!" when she gets startled or scared. She is always playing with my hair, she has been since she was tiny. She twirls it and smells it and tells me, "Your hair smells lovely, Mommy." When she is happy with me, she tells me I am her best mommy ever! She is quick to take that title from me when she is upset with me though; I get told I am not her best mommy anymore if I don't allow her to do something she wants to do. She never wants to go to bed. She can be out cold and will suddenly sit up and say, "But I'm not tired!" or "Just a little bit TV!" and then fall back asleep. She is obsessed with "Bad words" right now. She is constantly asking if words are bad...but she makes sure to say them first like, "Oh man!......Is that a bad word, Mommy?" or "Oh my goodness!....that isn't a bad word is it, Mommy?" (I think this comes from all the little kids (and adults) she hears saying the Lord's name in vain, and us telling her it wasn't good to say when she tried to repeat it.) As much as she keeps us laughing with her antics, she sure keeps us on our toes with all her crying and whining. She is the youngest and definitely acts like it. It does seem like her tantrums are becoming fewer and farther between, but she wins "biggest cry baby in the family" by a mile. :)

It is crazy to think that our little baby is almost 4 years old.