Tessa is 7!

Tessa turned seven back on March 24th and she finally had a birthday party. She hadn't had one since she turned four. We were going to have one last year (we do them on every even birthday), but since we were in the middle of homes during her 6th birthday, we kind of skipped the party thing. So we planned a party this year and she got to invite seven friends. We did an outdoor, water party hoping it would be sunny and warm enough to swim in the pool. The kids were super excited about trying, but they pretty much just dipped themselves in the water, then would jump out and screech about how cold it was. They had fun doing that, so it turned out fine.

 

 We also did water balloons, sprinklers, and of course driving the little motorized bug car, so the kids had a blast. We cooked hotdogs, had chips and other snacks, and even did the fire pit to have s'mores. 

 

I kept trying to get pictures of everyone who was at the party. I thought this picture turned out cute, even after Tyler came out laughing saying he had photo-bombed through the window.

 Tessa wanted a pink cake and originally asked for a triple layer cake, but at the last minute, she decided on a bundt cake, which was way easier for me. She helped me put in the candles making a seven with seven candles. (That's how we always did it in my family growing up.)

 Tessa got some really fun presents that included a dog and book that when you say certain phrases, the dog barks back. It was really fun. She got Frozen dolls, a Frozen book, some dress up shoes, a bracelet and other jewelry and makeup items. She was super excited about everything.

 

It turned out to be a really fun day and party. We love our Tessa!

We had her party the Saturday before her birthday, which was the next Monday. On her actual birthday I took pictures before school.

 After school, she got to pick our place for dinner. She originally wanted BBQ, but she didn't care for the places we were suggesting, so she opted for Applebee's. We even told the waitress it was her birthday so they came and sang to her and gave her a hot fudge treat. She was hiding under my arm the whole time because she was a little embarrassed, and this was the best picture I could get as she huddled by my leg. It was still fun and they did have a ton of workers singing, but she was smiling by the end and she enjoyed the dessert.

 Tessa opened her presents from the family after dinner. She got Disney Infinity for the Wii including the two Frozen dolls which they play with all the time. She also got this game called Fibber, that we had to try right away. I thought they looked pretty funny so I had to take a picture. It's kind of like the card game BS, and it was funny to play with the little girls because I was helping Aubrey and she'd whisper a little too loudly after I'd suggest a card something like, "but that's not a ghost" giving away that we were trying to fib. Oh well, she'll figure it out eventually.

 

The most exciting gift came in the mail a couple days after Tessa's birthday. Grandma and Grandpa Gibbons sent a bounce house. And if we move enough furniture around, there's room in our living/dining room for it to fit inside. The girls have a ton of fun bouncing on it and they would have it up every day if they could. It was the perfect gift for Tessa who loves being outdoors and basically doing anything active.

 

Which reminds me of a few things I want to mention about our Tessa. She now rides a two-wheel bike without training wheels. She's been doing it for a couple months already, and Abby gets all the credit for teaching her and working with her. She loves riding around the street with all the neighbor kids and she's really good at it. She learned super fast. She's an awesome reader and speller. Sometimes I even have her sound something out for Abby when Abby wants me to spell a word because Tessa is so good at it. Tessa loves school and is doing great. At our most recent conference, Tessa's teacher said how much of a helper Tessa is with the other kids and how nice and friendly she is. It makes us really happy to hear, but we already knew that. Tessa's bubbly, happy, friendly, and outgoing. We love her and can't imagine life without her. She brings all the fun!

Happy Birthday Tessa!!

Spring Break and Other March Activities

In between Aubrey's and Tessa's birthdays we had a Spring Break which included fun activities almost every day while the girls were out of school. The only thing was I didn't take many pictures, so I'll describe our festivities, but include some other things we did (and I took pictures of) during the other weekends of March. However, I have to go back into the final days of February to start. We visited the Exploreum on its free night with our friends, the Billings. It's pretty much like a children's museum with lots of hands-on displays like a general store, a school, a bank; and also other features like a huge bubble maker, a news set, a music recording studio, etc. The kids had a blast and we could have stayed there for longer than it was open. The final room included an entire set-up of airport things, like a luggage tram, real airplane seats, and some airplane-like rocking toys. This is where I took out my camera. The kids had so much fun!

 

 On the 1st of March, which was a Saturday, we took a trip to White Sands National Monument. We went with the Billings again and had a fun time even though it was quite windy. Abby invited our neighbor, Remy, so she had a friend her age too. One of their favorite activities on the sand was somersaulting down the hills. It made me dizzy just watching them.

 The sand was pelting us all over from the wind especially when you were at the top, but it didn't stop the kids from trudging back up the hill and sledding down again. You can tell how windy it is just from the pictures.

 

 Everyone had a good time. We brought sand toys for the little ones, but even the 2-year-olds enjoyed riding together down the hill.

 

For Spring Break week, we went to the zoo where they had just opened their new treehouse play area. The kids had to wait in line to climb up huge tree trunks and slide down the slides, but they said it was worth the wait. With our season pass to the zoo, we'll look forward to going again when the newness wears off and the crowds taper back down. On another day, we went to a park, but we didn't stay long because it was windy, but I did think to take a picture while all four girls were swinging at the same time.

Our one activity with Dad who worked all week was to go bowling one evening. The girls had so much fun and did really well for their first time bowling. Tyler and I used to bowl more often when we were first dating and first married, but we realized we hadn't been in a really long time since it was the first time for all the girls. It was fun. We also spent a morning at an indoor water park. We went during spring break last year and that was the last time we had been. Abby was tall enough to ride down the slide this year, so she spent most of her time doing that. Taryn enjoyed it much more this year and even crawled around in the water all on her own in the very shallow part.

 

Grandma and Grandpa Black came out to visit us at the end of our spring break since their spring break was the week after ours. They got here Friday morning and they went to our preschool music class with us, which the school aged kids don't normally get to do, but really wanted to see what it was like. They all sang the songs and the preschool aged kids got to show off their stuff. We spent the rest of the weekend hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa, shopping, going to the Lego movie, and getting the backyard ready for Tessa's party which would take place the following weekend. Tyler finally got a chainsaw and he and my dad worked on our tree that had fallen over in a windstorm a couple months ago. They chopped it down and made a very large-sized woodpile.

Abby and Tessa talked Grandpa into playing RockBand on the Wii with them a couple times. Letting Grandpa play the drums made it easier for them to get him to play along. Once school started back up, Grandma and Grandpa spent their time with the two little girls and had fun shopping with them and taking them out to lunch at places like Burger King where they could play. The older girls also got a lunch visit at school one day from Grandma and Grandpa, so they were happy too. We loved having them here even though it went by too fast.

 

The final activity I wanted to post about was from the very end of March even after Tessa's birthday, but since it was still March, I decided I'd include it here. We went to El Paso's KidPalooza again this year which happens downtown and there are places for the kids to go to do crafts and activities for free. And what do you know, we went with the Billings. :) The kids had fun last year at the Palooza, so we went again this year. We took some pictures at some art stops along our walk between activities.

 

 The kids were able to do a painting craft, make some binoculars and jungle masks, and even some jungle mud (cornstarch, water, and food coloring). We also saw a fire truck and some monster trucks up close again like last year. And we had to take some pictures on those monster truck tires!

 

As you can probably tell from this post, we are very close with the Billings family. We've been getting all the time in with them that we can because they just found out they're moving to Japan in the next month or so, which we're very sad about. So we've had fun finding things to do with them while they're still here. Lots of fun memories were made this past March while we enjoyed activities in El Paso and the surrounding areas. We'll definitely miss them when they're gone. I finally got some pictures of their family with our family all together and of just us adults.

 

Aubrey's 5th Birthday

On February 10th, we celebrated Aubrey's 5th birthday. We even did a chain count-down to her birthday, and she was super excited to tear one off each morning (we usually forgot to do it at bedtime, but it was the first thing she thought of in the morning.) She helped me cut and tape them together. Here's a picture of her last one (the night before her birthday.)

 

We finally decided awhile ago that we would only have big birthday parties every other year, so this was supposed to be Aubrey's "no party" year; however, since we stay home all day while the older girls and Dad are at school and work, I decided we could at least do a play date on her birthday. (It was a Monday). So Aubrey was excited to invite a few friends over to play and have cupcakes. (No games, favors, etc, so it was quite easy for me!)

 

She wanted blue icing to go on the cupcakes because she's very into the Frozen movie and anything having to do with Elsa and Anna. She even wears her hair in the sideways French braid ("Elsa Hair") almost every day.

 

 Here are some more pictures of the Elsa and Anna hair from the front and back. Aubrey loved having the Elsa Hair and luckily Taryn preferred the Anna Hair because her short, fine hair probably couldn't have done much else in regards to french braids.

 

 Once the family was back together after school and work, we went out to dinner - Aubrey's pick. We went to her favorite place to eat - IHOP. She LOVES that place. They even gave her a little ice cream sundae for her birthday. And then we headed home to open her presents. Here's her wrapped stash.

 

Some of her presents included the Frozen soundtrack, an Elsa dress, Frozen cups, some Frozen t-shirts (remember she loves all things Frozen), and a Lego Friends set. 

 

Grandma and Grandpa sent Aubrey her first and very own American Girl Doll. Tessa got her AG doll at age 5, so for the last couple months, it's all Aubrey's been talking about whenever they play dolls. She got online with me, looked at all the dolls, and decided she wanted Ruthie because of her pretty purple dress with flowers, and a purple headband. She was super excited when she opened it. 

 

We love this girl!! She's grown up to be quite the little lady. She loves to do and try everything the older girls are doing whether it's riding bikes and scooters outside, or playing the computer or Wii inside. She's still our thumb-sucker and even though she said she'd stop when she turned 5 ("when she was a big girl"), we're still working on that one. She loves picking out her own clothes (still skirts and leggings only - no pants) and when I have to pick something for her, she always says, "make sure it's beautiful, mom!" She wears headbands (whenever it's not in a braid for Elsa Hair) and she makes sure she's fully accessorized with headband, bracelets and sometimes necklaces every morning when she gets dressed, which she usually does before she even comes downstairs. Her favorite pair of shoes right now are pink cowboy boots that are like 2 sizes too big, but it doesn't stop her from wearing them ALL the time.

 

Happy Birthday to our Aubrey!!

Beginning of 2014

It's already March and I haven't posted a single thing this year. I was so proud of myself for finishing the blog through the end of the year; I guess I took too long of a break to celebrate. Besides Aubrey's birthday (which is my usual beginning of the year post) I found a few "firsts" pictures that I have taken that were worthy enough for a blog entry. They span January and February, but I figured I'd squeeze them all into one post to catch up and then do a separate post for Aubrey's birthday afterwards. Now that I have Spring Break activities and Tessa's birthday on the horizon, I know I've got to get back to my usual one blog per month schedule so I don't get too far behind again. So here are some "firsts" for our family as we started the year 2014:

 

Taryn got her first haircut. I finally decided her long hair just needed to be trimmed and evened out. It wasn't totally noticeable, but I did grab a front and back picture after I cut it. I had even cut Tessa's and Aubrey's hair while I was at it, but just trims for them as well.

 Tessa finally lost her first tooth on January 6th - middle of her first grade year, just like Abby. She was one of the last kids in her class to lose that first tooth. She was happy when it was all said and done, but the wiggling and bleeding did upset her for awhile as you might be able to see from her reddish eyes.

 

This was taken on the first park days of the new year which was on January 8th. What was awesome about it was that it was like 70 degrees in January and while a lot of my friends up north were complaining of snow and cold and talking about their kids playing in the snow and making snow angels, we were enjoying the warm Texas weather while the girls made sand angels at the park.

 

Our first motorized vehicle for the girls. Funny story: Our family plays the "slug bug" game where we point out Bug cars as we see them drive them around town. We were discussing one morning how much we like Bug cars to the point where the girls were talking about how they want a Bug car as their first car once they were old enough to drive. We separated from Tyler and Taryn for awhile and when they came back from the store, Tyler told the girls that he bought them a Bug car just like we had been talking about. They were super excited thinking it was a real Bug car. I was smiling thinking it was a little candy-filled toy or something, and actually it was somewhere in between. He said he found it on sale and couldn't pass it up. The girls drive it around every day - they love it so much!

 

I love taking pictures with Tyler and all the girls. This is definitely not a first, but still some of my favorite pictures.

 

Also not a first, but funny that over the course of two months, I found multiple pictures of Taryn snuggling with her sisters. I love seeing them snuggle so much, especially when I just walk into the room and see it. And Taryn has no preferences. She'll snuggle with anyone!

 I love these girls. They are getting so big! I'm happy to share our fun times with everyone and be able to keep our good memories preserved forever!