Nelson & Jenn's Blog: May 2013

Happy 7th Birthday, Emily!

Emily turned seven last week and here are "a few" of the pictures from our celebration. Thank you all that sent gifts/cards or called/texted -- they each meant so much to her and made her feel so special. Emily has grown into such a beautiful young lady and we are so blessed to be her parents! She has learned and matured a lot during this past school year and we could not be more proud of her!

She was so excited to choose her breakfast and eat it in bed. I told her I would make her anything and she was emphatic that her birthday breakfast be fresh fruit and PopTarts. And not the homemade ones we had last year -- the ones in the box from a store. At least she asked for fruit too?!

Alex could barely hold his excitement for her to open the present he bought (with his own money). He knows her well and bought her a window-cling decorating set. She was obviously very pleased! :)

We didn't do a big party this year, but told Emily she could invite one friend over. She invited her "BFF" Rylee and they had a great time playing and doing crafts!

Emily again got to choose what we ate for lunch. She decided on pizza from one of our favorite local spots (Guy's Pizza, for those of you locals), carrots and dip, and kettle corn.

Rylee got Emily a dress with a matching dress for her doll, Eva. So cute!!

Nana and Papa got Emily a set of "girl Legos" -- she's been asking for those for weeks and was so happy to see it!

A birthday outfit for Eva, because whatever Emily does - Eva must do as well! :)

Emily got a beautiful new watch and necklace, along with a Target gift card. She loved the watch and necklace and had to put them on immediately, but I think the cash really got her smiling.

Uncle Dave and Aunt Judy struck gold again with a great fashion-doll sketch book. Emily's starting to associate Aunt Judy with "super-cool books". I love it!!! :)

YEAH!!! The love of Anne of Green Gables can now begin!! :)

The girls were talking about which book Emily should start with, finally settling on The Secret Garden. Rylee has read it and recommended it to Emily. (It was so cute to watch and listen to them!)

Thank you Aunt Tracie and Uncle Curt for the great books -- they will keep her entertained all summer! :)

She had to quickly build something with her Legos this morning before church. She followed every instruction in the booklet and built a little house and car. She was so proud of herself!! :)

And of course she had to wear her pretty new necklace to church. The yellow and pink flowers have

a pearl in the center. "Fancy" is all she said. :)

Alexander Jack

Alexander's class learned about modes of transportation one week and used boxes to make cars, planes and trains. Alex made an airplane with his box. It was sooo cute!! :)

Nelson was giving the kids horsey rides. They had so much fun riding together -- Nelson's such a great dad!

Alex made "listening ears" in Sunday School one morning. This has to be my favorite craft ever! :)

Family picture -- I love us all squished together! :)

Alex's preschool class learned about seed germination and planted grass. Then they stuck face stickers to the front and used the grass for hair -- isn't that adorable?! :)

Emily Grace

This was Emily's first dandelion stem necklace. She was so proud of it!! :)

Emily lost her third tooth. It was wiggly and dangling for several days before she finally worked up enough nerve to pull it. She was so excited to have that huge gap and then for the tooth fairy to visit! It was an exciting weekend! :)

Nelson and Emily went out on a date one night. They both got all dressed up and Nelson took her to a very fancy restaurant. She was ecstatic, as it's a place the two of us go to often but the kids have never been.

A fun night with Dad! :)

Feliz Cinco de Mayo

We celebrated Cinco de Mayo this year with the kids and introduced them to pinatas. They had so much fun hitting it with the bat but even more fun collecting the candy that fell out. They're already asking if we can do it again next year!! :)

Fun with Family

We had a little reunion weekend a while back with Nathan and Krissy. It's always fun for us to get together and let the kids play and re-familiarize themselves with each other. The older they get, the less time it takes to do this and the sooner the fun can begin! We all got GIANT hugs from Brennan as he came running into the house -- it was so sweet!! :)