Ember's 6th Tangled Birthday Party

Ember chose the Tangled theme this year for her birthday! I must say it was a very FUN party to plan and a great time for Ember and all her friends! 

The food table complete with Maximus's apples, The Snuggly Duckling cheese and crackers, Rapunzel's braids, Pascals Puffs, and Mother Gothel's vegetables. 

The "cake" was cupcake towers in ice cream cones decorated to look like Rapunzel's tower.

The first thing the girls did when they got to the party was decorate their long Rapunzel hair

Then each girl got their picture taken in the window tower. And then we got this adorable group photo! 

Next, we played "Pin the Frying Pan on Flynn Rider"

We then hit the pinata with a frying pan. I made this pinata a little too rough so Daddy had to use a knife to help it break open

The pinata goodies

We sang Happy Birthday to Ember and then everyone ate

Next we did two more crafts. We made necklaces and Pascal party blowers

Finally we got another group photo in front of this cute backdrop and then Ember opened her gifts.

We purposefully only invited Ember's close friends and it was a perfect day celebrating our big SIX year old! We love you Ember! 

Kade - 3 Months Old

This sweet bundle of baby boy is 3 MONTHS OLD! 

Kade now weighs 11 lbs and is about 22 inches long. This little guy is still consistently waking up around 1-2 times a night. And he usually goes to bed without a fuss. He can stay up for one and a half hours before needing a nap now and usually naps for 1-2 hours. In the afternoon, he will often take a 2-3 hour nap which is really nice. We still swaddle his legs when he sleeps and he still enjoys sucking his thumb to soothe himself. Kade is still in the bassinet in our room for sleeping. He can still fit in a few newborn clothes but is also wearing some 0-3 month and 3 month clothes. 

Kade really is such a content little man but he loves having someone around him. He is very generous with his smiles and coos. Kade loves his play gym - he enjoys hitting the toys, grasping onto the toys, and smiling at himself in the mirror. Kade also loves his o-ball toy. He holds it with both hands by his mouth and sticks his tongue inside the holes. He also likes Taggie toys and trying to get the tags into his mouth. We got out Reece's old giraffe Sit Me Up and Kade has really enjoyed being able to sit and see what is going on around him. He still really enjoys baths in his blue bathtub. He is more content with tummy time but likes to roll back onto his back during it often. He cracks me up because he enjoys watching the TV if his older siblings are watching something. He gives the cutest smiles when we come in to get him out of his bed in the morning. And Kade continues to enjoy the Ergo carrier for naps when out and about. 

There is not much that this little guy doesn't like. When he is tired, he just wants to go to bed. He doesn't really enjoy being held or set down but just wants his bed. He still cries when we get him out of his bath. He also gets frustrated when he gets boogers in his nose and can't breathe or drink with ease. But that is about it for things he doesn't like. 

This month Kade has learned how to grasp toys and blankets. He is actually able to play with his toys and blankets some now. He is also really good at grasping hair : / During the month, Kade also rolled over from his tummy to his back and than from his back to his tummy but doesn't do either super consistently yet. He is also getting better and better at drinking out of a bottle.

There were quite a few firsts for Kade this month as well. He had his first babysitters when Grandma and Grandpa watched him and put him to bed so Mommy and Daddy could go to a wedding. There was the first snow of the season and of Kade's life. He went to Sedona for the first time to celebrate Grandma's birthday and Grandpa's retirement. The biggest first was our first road trip and Kade shocked me with how well he did. He slept in a pack n play for the first time and left the country for the first time as we went to Mexico. Kade was at the ocean for the first time and also swung in a hammock for the first time. Kade also had his first holiday and Halloween  this month as well. He dressed up as a spider! He also had his first photo shoot this month during our Christmas family photo shoot. 

Kade is such a joy to do life with! We are so thankful for what he adds to our family! "Kade" was the first thing that the kids were thankful for on our November thankfulness board. We sure do love him! 

Ember - 6 Years Old

I can't believe I am writing another birthday blog post for this girl already! I feel like she just turned 5 a few weeks ago. Yet here I am writing about my big 6 year old! 

Ember weighs 37.5 lbs and is 43.5 inches tall. She goes to bed around 7:30-7:45 at night and gets up at 7:30 am on school days. She still does a quiet time in her room around 1:00 since she is doing half day Kindergarten this year. She still sleeps with Tickle and sucks her two fingers just when falling asleep. 

The biggest and most exciting change for Ember this year is that she decided to ask Jesus into her heart! She has been excitedly telling others and reading her Bible since. We continuously pray that God will choose to grow her in him daily and yearly from this point forward. Another big change for Ember this year is starting Kindergarten. She goes to school every day from 8:30 - 11:30 except for Fridays where she stays till 12:30. She is loving it so far! 

It is such a joy and a challenge to watch and help kids grow in character. There are times where Ember shows such service and selflessness to others by putting herself in their shoes and doing what would be best for them. Then there are times her pride and selfishness get in the way as well. Sometimes she gladly offers for Reece to get to do something first and then there are times when she doesn't want Reece to touch her things. She is still a very independent, creative and organized girl. She has a big imagination and uses it to create projects and games. She loves being with her friends and is a definite Daddy's girl. She can be super helpful with cleaning, entertaining her brothers, and helping cook. We have realized this year that one of Ember's strongest love languages is gifts. She loves receiving gifts but even more so seems to love giving gifts. She is always making and creating things for others. She is also very silly! She sings silly songs and makes silly faces. She loves to do a funny dance that her Daddy taught her. 

Here are some of Ember's favorite things at the age of SIX! She suddenly learned how to read really well within the last year so she has loved reading. She still enjoys being read to as well. Daddy has been reading through the Chronicles of Narnia with her each night after the Bible and it is such a special time for her. She also loves trying to spell words and write words in her sparkle journal. Speaking of sparkles, she likes anything that sparkles and she likes it even more if it is the flip sequins. Her backpack and lunch box are covered in flip sequins as well as a new journal, headband, and bracelet that she got for her birthday. Ember also really enjoys knock knock jokes now that she can read and learn them as well. Another great thing she likes about reading is being able to sing the songs at church. Since we often sit at the back she will face backwards in her chair and read the back projector that the worship team uses since she can't always see over everyone's heads to the front projector. 

Ember also really enjoys games and any sort of crafts. One of her favorite parts of school is art class. She loves drawing and painting. She likes to create things out of recycled materials and other craft supplies we have around the house. She just got perler beads, a latch hook, and some foil art for her birthday that she has been working on every other day or so. Her favorite games are still Uno, Go Fish, and Zingo but she will play others often as well. She of course enjoys playing with Reece at times too. They like to wrestle, play school, paint or do other crafts together, and chase each other around or play a "flashlight game." Ember loves swinging on swings and flying on the hammock ropes in the backyard. She loves riding her bike and going for hikes. The Summit and Chick Fil-A are also still both high on her list of favorite places to go. Ember loves going to Bearizona and playing on the computers at the library. And she is realizing more and more that she really enjoys trips - Disneyland, Legoland, Mexico, Sedona, Phoenix. Her favorite foods are: waffles, quiche, sausage gravy over potatoes, chia pudding, salad, raw vegetables like lettuce, carrots, and tomatoes, apple, watermelon, macaroni and cheese, pizza, hamburger, and yogurt. 

Ember has learned some new things this year as well. She reads very well and is getting better with addition and subtraction. She is enthusiastic about learning and seems to retain information very well. She recently told me about the first Thanksgiving and why we celebrate Veteran's Day. Ember has learned how to wash herself in the bathtub. She can now tie a shoelace or bow on her dress without help. She can brush her own teeth and set up Reece's toothbrush for him as well. She puts her laundry away by herself and makes her bed by herself most days as well. It is very nice to have such a good helper in the morning's when trying to get out the door for school. She can get Reece dressed if he chooses to let her and doesn't run away from her.

Ember played AYSO soccer again this year and is doing NAU ballet again as well. She will be performing in the Nutcracker this year for the first time and is very excited. 

Ember is a very special girl indeed whom we love watching learn and learning from her as well. It is amazing to watch God use our family in each other's lives to grow and mature each other. Ember is definitely growing into a beautiful young girl and we are very proud of her! 

Ember's Birthday Fun:

Chia pudding for breakfast

She had a Halloween party at school and then we went to Chick Fil-A with the whole family for lunch

We went back to her school so she could participate in the Halloween costume parade

Then we made pizza for dinner and went to a local church's carnival night and played lots of games! 

Ember's 6 Year Interview:

Favorite color? Rainbow

Favorite toy? Tickle

Favorite food? Pizza, donuts, smoked salmon and ice cream

A food you don't really like? Jalapenos

Favorite thing to watch? "Leap" and "Nutcracker and the Four Realms"

Favorite place to go? Disneyland, Legoland, and Disneyworld

Favorite book? "Chronicles of Narnia"

Favorite song? "Mac arena" 

Favorite restaurant? La Bellavilla

Favorite thing to do each day? Be with my family

Favorite thing to do with Mommy? Go to stores

Favorite thing to do with Daddy? Play games and cuddle

What makes you happy? Tickle

What is something scary? The Haunted Train

What are you really good at? Standing on one leg and running around the table 100 times or more

Who is your best friend? Addi, Evelyn, Evi, Emmerson, and Sadie

What do you want to be when you grow up? Doctor at the hospital

What do you think about before you fall asleep? Morning and playing with Daddy

Here are a few more pictures of Ember from the last year!

Mexico in October

We are SO EXCITED that we were able to go back to Rocky Point after over a year and a half of not being able to go. It was a shorter trip than normal but the weather was beautiful. It was our first trip with all 3 kids and it went smoother than I thought it would. We are very grateful for our time! 

Our trip was full of playing in the sand and water, eating great food, riding the ATV, and swinging in the hammock. Reece spent many hours pushing his dump truck around the wide open beaches. And Aunt Hope brought some sparklers we used on the last night which the kids loved! 

We cannot wait for the next time we can go :)