Mayah is SIX

Mayah is officially SIX! She has been very patient with the hand-me-down bikes and was so excited her birthday morning to have her very own brand new shiny bike!

Another birthday party with another fabulous cupcake cake.

Parachute fun!

The party gang!

Thanks to the Alaskan Smith Family for the Birthday Girl shirt!

Hannah's WA Friend Birthday Party

Hannah had fun with friends ice skating. It was her first birthday ever without her Alaskan Grown buddies so she did have to call Alaska and let them know they were missed!

Mayah is quite the little ice skater. I do believe she actually loves to fall.

Cupcake cakes are the greatest invention. Less mess, but oh so cute.

IKEA

Pam and I both had our FIRST adventure at IKEA! It is aMAZEing. There is only one way in and one way out with a few little passage ways in between. We attempted to take our own photo and after many failed attempts we found a kind employee who took our picture. Who knew that IKEA was a tourist attraction!

Birthday Blessing

I felt very blessed this birthday to have my dear friend, Pam, meet me in Seattle for 24 hours of fun, food, and laughter. We had a fabulous time catching up and simply being together. Our friendship is one that will last even though there are thousand of miles that separate us. She is one of a kind. Thank you Pam for making this happen.

Hannah is NINE!

It is official on February 12th, 2009 at 8:47 p.m. Hannah has turned NINE! Once again, she asked us to tell her about the day of her birth. It seems like just yesterday when her little heartbeat was lost on the monitor and she was being taken out via emergency C-Section. When they placed her tiny four pound, six ounce body in my arms I knew she was a gift from God.

Alese's Discovery

Alese made a huge discovery tonight.

She figured out that there are actually holes in her nose!

I am just hoping that this new found amazement is quickly forgotten.

Birthday Month

The month of February is packed full of many birthdays, too much sugar, and too many toys! Emmy, Aunt Marnie, and cousins (Marynn and Mason) drove over from Seattle to start the birthday celebration at Chuck E Cheese. Marynn loving Bob the Builder!

David Shannon books always have a great message for our kiddos!

Oh, so sweet!

Jason likes to join in on the kid fun and tries to win lots of tickets for all of the fun prizes.

Kyra enjoying the carousel.

Washington cousins.

A Place we call Home

We miss our first home in Alaska with the two floors, playroom, plenty of room for our very active kiddos to roam, but we know that a house is really just a house. My kids have been enjoying watching Jon & Kate Plus 8 and Kate said this past week, "It's not about where you live, it's about the memories you make where you live."

Expect the Unexpected

Amanda challenged her blog friends to post the 8th picture from their 8th file. My 8th file only had four pictures, so I chose the last one in the file. This is the picture of Pam minutes away from having Owen her very unexpected. I still remember the night before Pam found out she was pregnant. She was multiple weeks into her pregnancy (AROUND 17 WEEKS). Correct me Pam if I am way off. She had spoken with Judy, her midwife, and was concerned that something wasn't quite right. Judy told her if she wasn't pregnant then she would be very concerned. That night Pam and I laughed about all the logistics about four kiddos. Like plane tickets and traveling, car seats, how old Thomas would be, vasectomies, lack of maternity clothes, etc. The next morning when she verified that she was indeed pregnant, I know I was thinking the night before we should have been talking about tiny toes, lots of cuddles, and the joys of motherhood. Owen is almost ONE now and how complete he makes their family. Thanks Pam for being a wonderful example of a great MOM and always expect the unexpected!

Our Little Artist

Alese is starting to develop her artistic abilities. She is loving coloring and doodling. We are all trying to channel her talents on paper and nowhere else like the walls, homework or books. So far we have been successful. We found the gigantic pencils at Walt Disney World and Alese seems to think it is just the right size.

Future Ball Player

Hannah is playing her second year of basketball. She has a little more experience this year and a few extra inches to help her make it to the basket. Her team this year is - and over all they are doing a great job, especially with dad as coach. It is very entertaining and exciting to see the competitive edge increase each year.