Kind of like Oprah, but not quite.  As in I don’t have a giveaway.  Hopefully someday, though!  Lisa Leonard is author of a wonderful blog that you can check out here.  And she is having a very special birthday today!  What’s so special about her birthday?  She’s doing a giveaway on her blog!  You can check it out here.  Wanna know what you could win?  $100 towards an original Lisa Leonard Design, and a Target giftcard….woohoo!!  Wanna know what I just bought? This necklace.  So excited for it to come in the mail!

Go enter to win!!

(Ok, 3 words)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MASON!!!

We had such a busy weekend! Not only did Emma debut in her first ballet performance on Saturday morning, but we celebrated the birthdays of Mason, GG (Great Grandma), and Oma (my mom) on Saturday afternoon.  It was a crazy day, but so much fun to hang out with all of the family!  Mason had a great time at his party.  It was a pool party and bbq, and plenty of presents and sugar to top it all off!  I mentioned briefly in another post about his obsession with all things Mercedes.  Well, we fueled it this weekend, that’s for sure!  I will spare you the 9 minute video my husband took of him opening his Mercedes gifts (you’re welcome), but instead share with you some pictures from this very fun afternoon!

Enjoy!!

The first gift…the Mercedes hat!

And then the Mercedes shirt!

Last but not least, the coveted Mercedes key fob!

One happy boy!

Cake time!

I won’t say his age, but he’s getting up there.  In fact, the last digit of his age ends in nine.  And the first is the number between 2 and 4.  You do the math.

Anyway, this is not a post to joke about his age, although it is easy to do since I’m 7 years his junior.  No matter.  I have a wonderful husband.  The things I love about him are many.  He’s a wonderful dad.  He’s a caring and giving husband.  He puts up with my crap far more than most people would.  I’m still not sure why he does it.  He’s a devoted family man…he doesn’t like to go out during the week so he can spend time with the family (on the other hand, I’m the one who won’t miss a GNO!!).  He’s committed to his job, which is also a family business.  And that leads me to my next point, he loves ALL of his family.  We’re a very tight knit family.  At which point I’ll take the opportunity to thank his mom for raising such a wonderful man!  And all I want to do is wish him a wonderful birthday!!  I love you, Brett!

On Sunday we had Emma’s birthday party.  We decided to keep it pretty low-key since she gets overwhelmed pretty easily.  This year, we invited two friends from school, one friend outside of school, and her 8 year old cousin for a party.  Unfortunately, one friend ended up in the ER with a seizure (I’m happy to report she’s doing very well came home the same day) and another friend had a stomach bug.  So it  was a very small tea party, but just as nice.

First we all met at Build-A-Bear.  I gave the girls giftcards so they could build their own Teddy Bear.  Of course I let them pick out whatever outfits they wanted, but I told them that the Teddy Bears would be attending our Tea Party.

Yessalyn, Emma, and Cheryl waiting for Build A Bear to open!

We've picked our animals...now to stuff!

After Build-A-Bear, we went to my mother-in-law’s house for Tea.  She is one lucky lady who has an actual Tea Room separate from the house.  And it is so cutely decorated.  This is where we had tea with our Teddy Bears, complete with finger sandwiches, fruit, tea and juice, and cupcakes for dessert.  It was so adorable….check it out!

Emma sipping her "tea" (warmed apple juice)

Yessalyn loved the heart-shaped PB&J's

Cheryl borrowed her mom's hat that she wore at the Kentucky Derby...and I didn't get a picture!!

As you can see, the tea was quite lovely.  We had such a delightful time.  And right now I’m kicking myself because I didn’t get a picture of Emma and Grandma Janice, nor one with me and Emma.  I really need to get better about pictures.  This was probably the nicest party we had…quiet, small, perfect for little ladies!

What’s the best birthday party you’ve thrown (for adult or kid alike!)??

I almost forgot to show you the adorable cake we got for the Family party later that day.  The same gal who made the cupcakes made this adorable cake.

You can find Sugarlips Cakery here and visit their blog here. Yum!

Today my sweet little girl, Emma, turns 6.  It’s funny, ever year I go throughout the day thinking back…”what was I doing x years ago at this time” (in this case, 6 years).  I replay the day of her birth the whole day long.  Actually, the day starts the night before.  See, I was at 41 weeks gestation.  It was obvious Emma was comfy and cozy and NOT ready to come out!  Poor thing didn’t know that she didn’t have a choice!  So, at exactly 12:01 am on February 17th (I’m not kidding), the hospital called me to let me know there was a bed available and they were ready to induce!  Was I ready?  Poor thing…I didn’t have a choice!  So, we got there around 1:30 (I wanted to shower first) and they hooked me up by around 2:30.  I was good to go.  And go.  And go. And go.  It. Took. Forever.  Long story short (because the labor was long), after not dilating hardly at all, and finally her heart beating in distress, they did an emergency C-Section at 7:29p.m on that Tuesday evening.  And there she was!  She was perfect…so tiny and cute.  She was 6 pounds, 11 ounces, blue eyes, and no hair whatsoever.

Happy Birthday Emma!

To say that raising her has been easy would be stretching the truth.  Many days have been anything but easy, truth be told.  But would I take any of it back?  Absolutely not.  She has taught me so much about life and its lessons, and it would be a shame if I hadn’t learned anything from her.  God has a funny way of improving on our habits.  I’m not a patient person, by nature.  But raising a child with special needs has forced down my throat a huge dose of patience!  I’ve learned that I’m much stronger than I ever could have imagined.  And that my marriage to Brett is pretty strong.  It has to be.  I often say that being put in situations like these will make you or break you.

My little girl…not so little anymore!!  Thanks to growth hormone, she is in the 50th percentile for height and about the 30th for weight.  She is long and lean! (and man, do I wish I had her body!)

She LOVES to read.  It’s her passion.  I wish I could say she really knew how to read, but she doesn’t.  However, it only takes one or two readings of a book before she can “read” it back to you.  Such a smart little girl.  She adores ballet right now.  She thinks she’s the coolest little girl to be able to go to ballet class.  She can’t get enough of school.  In fact, during the Christmas break, a few tears were shed because she missed it so much.  What will I do when summer comes??  She and Mason get along really well, for the most part.  Sure, they have their sibling squabbles, but who doesn’t?  They’re a good team.  She gets sad when other people get sad.  She wants to please others, too.  But she always stays true to herself…even when that means she doesn’t want to finish her dinner.  And there are nights she doesn’t.  The girl knows what she wants!  She loves music.  She gets that from me!  She loves to sing and dance, and watching musicals is her favorite.  In fact, her Daddy took her to see Mary Poppins (the Broadway musical) last week and she sat through every minute…and it was 2 hours and 45 minutes long!  She will watch, sing, and dance through the entire Sound Of Music movie.  The girl can’t get enough of music!

My piano player!

On this day, I will remember the gift that God gave us.  And be very thankful that He chose us to raise this little girl.  She’s truly a delight and I am so blessed!