Happy Birthday my 7 year-old!

I am about a week behind on the posting of my sweet youngest daughter's birthday! She is technically a New Year's Eve baby, but really, was born at 12:39am on 12/31. So, it had just turned 12/31 when she was born, but a New Year's Eve Baby she is, and plays the part well. She likes to "party" it up! The day of her birthday, I had the great idea when daddy got home to take the kids to the Children's Museum. It was a crazy house. Sadly, I'm pretty sure my older two have out-grown that fun place and I have to come to grips with it. Alaina had fun, getting her face painted, playing in the "diner"- serving me and daddy her famous specials, and climbing up in the tree house.

Then we took a trip to Sam's Club- which, really our kids do like to do. We picked out a cake and went to Auntie Kara and Uncle Brian's to celebrate the New Year with family and friends. It was a fun night with lots of little ones, games and lots of laughter. Didn't make it til the ball dropped, but still had fun!

Yesterday, we had a "friend" birthday party for Alaina (her first). We did a bubble gum theme, playing unwrap the gum with mittens, funny to watch; drop the gumball in the cup; find the hidden gumballs; pin the gumball on the gumball machine; guess how many gumballs were in the jar and then had them each color a picture of a gumball machine. It was fun, but I don't think I've ever had 10 first graders in my house before (9 of them girls), so there was lots of screaming and a little drama going on, but all and all, it was good.

When we were typing up the invitation on a sick day earlier in the week, she decided she wanted me to put on the invitation that instead of gifts for her, if her friends wanted to contribute to the orphanage where her little brother is, that mom and dad would take it with us when we go in February. She has some very loving and generous friends in her classroom and what a neat opportunity for her friends to join in her excitement about her little brother and in giving to others. So thank you, first grade friends, your giving is what Christ's love it all about!