Happy 5th Birthday, Taylor!

Our Taylor turned 5 on April 23rd! It is so hard to believe that she is 5! Taylor has been an absolute joy to have in our family and brings so much fun and love into our home. She is constantly seeking ways to make others happy. She is very artistic, loves the color pink, loves to dance and play dress up (occassionally I will find her in my make up drawer putting on lipstick and eyeshadow she even did my make up the other day. She said she wanted me to "look pretty for daddy." I ended up with 3 layers of different colors of lipstick on that went up to my nose and tons of blue eyeshadow on--ooh la la!), she loves to play with her brothers and friends, she is very loyal, sometimes,very, dramatic (but aren't all girls?!), very sweet and kind, loves to watch the Berenstein Bears, loves to play computer games (especially Dora the Explorer), she is a great helper, and the list could go on...

Her birthday this year was very dramatic! Blake suffered from another ear infection (his ear drum burst, again!), exactly 1 week after the previous one had started, and Luke came down with a high fever, the day before, that continued throughout the week. She woke up in the morning telling everyone what day it was (her birthday!) and just couldn't wait for the birthday celebrations to begin. Her Grandma made tutu's for her friend party and Devon made her a special t-shirt for her birthday, so she wore both around the house all day. That morning, I took Blake to the doctor to have his ear checked and to have Luke looked at as well. Blake is on more antibiotics (I think we're going on 30 days straight, now) and has an appointment to see the ENT, about having tubes in his ears, in May. Luke, just had a flu virus. I think we are going on 6weeks straight of illness in our home--aaahhhhh! We still made sure Taylor's day was great! We made cupcakes for her to take to preschool for her birthday. She had a blast putting the sprinkles on them. I think I am still finding sprinkles on the floor, oh-well. Devon brought home a special ice cream cake from Baskin Robins, which we all loved!

Since Luke wasn't feeling good, Taylor thought it would make him feel better if he helped her open her presents. She put a pile of presents on her lap and some on Luke's. That was very sweet of her to think of Luke and try to make him feel better. She got, as she said, "just what I wanted..." clothes! She's such a girl! Both her grandparents sent her clothes for her birthday and then she got a Belle princess polly pocket from Luke.

Saturday was her friend party. It was a Dancing Princess party! I made her a special Barbie cake, which she loved! It is so fun having a girl because I love to do all of the girly stuff for her! She woke up that morning so excited and then an hour later started crying that her stomach was hurting. I thought for sure I was going to have to cancel the party, but then gave her some motrin and a half hour later she was jumping around again, ready for the party to start.

Luke's fever was finally over on Friday, and he was ready to have some fun! You can tell he still looks a little pale in the picture, but we were glad he was feeling better. He didn't seem to mind the "princess" theme, he was just excited to play with and tease all of Taylor's friends.

We invited Taylor's best friends Abby and Abbie. These girls are always so cute together

And, we couldn't forget Avery, Taylor's favorite friend from preschool last year as well as a couple of other good friends from church.

We had each girl decorate a treasure box with a princess crown, rhinestones, glitter glue, and flowers. They loved them and turned out so cute! Blake woke up from his nap halfway through the party and was so excited to see all of the kids. We also had the girls go on a treasure hunt where they collected tutu's, headbands, batons, stickers, candy, rhinestones, and rings. They all had a blast. They thought it was so funny when I cut into the cake. They kept joking around saying that the princess had a hole in her dress. It was a very fun party!

Once everyone left, Taylor had a meltdown. I think the motrin wore off and she was worn out. She collapsed on the couch and fell asleep. When she woke up she had a fever. Oh, yes, she now has what Luke had. Today is Monday and she still has a fever. Blake has a small fever too! This last week I had my carpets cleaned and washed all my windows inside and out. I am determined to get whatever bug is lingering in our house out and get everyone well. I register Taylor for Kindergarten on Wednesday--unbelievable! I can't believe my baby is going to Kindergarten! It's hard to imagine that there was ever a time in my life that she wasn't around. It feels as if she's been a part of my life forever! Happy Birthday,Taylor, we love you!