kindergarten graduate

i could just title this post, "you are growing up way too fast" now stop it.

my little guy, is about to start 1st grade in 28 days (!!!!) so therefore this kindergarten post cannot be even one more day late (especially because i have so many more posts to fit in about what we did this summer).

Nolan had an incredible year of growth, with an amazing teacher (who retired at the end of this year - so bummed that Mia won't have her!) who has taught kindergarten for approximately 30 years. 

She was amazing.

I am beyond blessed to have the freedom to be involved in my kid's schools and have the opportunity to be in their classrooms once or twice a month during the school year. 

It is so fun being in the class, getting to know his classmates, leading an activity with them, and just seeing what his little day is like!

(Most of these are cell phone pics)

His class play at Christmastime. 

It was about bears and bees. 

(i don't think they were up to offending anyone's religion or beliefs) ;)

nolan was a darn good bear. 

he spoke one line in the microphone.

and was adorable.

Nolan's reading started to take off! 

Absolutely amazing when your kid starts to read.

To hear him carefully read each word (and not even know he even knew half of them!)...

so so cute.

His little voice reading to me this night... "go dogs go" 

oh the love.

(so glad we still have a lot of books from the younger years - they come in handy for when the reading begins!)

one of the many pieces of his artwork we saw walking through his art show. 

his love for art grew as well this year.

yay.

one of the best parts of this school year was that we had special mornings together before he went to afternoon kindergarten!

he and mia played together on the mornings that she didn't have preschool, and when she was at school, we had time just the 2 of us.

dunkin donuts breakfast dates, playgrounds, creek playing, library, train playing, science experiements, bike rides, grocery shopping dates... 

treasured them...

The letter people were something that his teacher has done for her entire teaching career.  these blown up balloon "people" - one for each letter of the alphabet. Each week she would introduce a new letter person and there would be activities and assignments based on that letter. Each letter person had a "thing" about them and sometimes the kids would participate in fun days on Fridays with something to do with that letter person (mr. S had silly socks, so they had silly sock day).  At the end of the year, the class had a letter people parade where they each dressed like a letter person. 

Mr. Nolan was Mr. Q.

and Mr. Q was very quiet.

"shhhhhhh...."

(props to my creative husband who made his costume when I was away helping my sister after her back surgery!!)

Grandparents day at school! 

A special program just for the grandparents where they sang cute songs, had a snack with them, showed them his classroom, and read a book to them.

Nolan played 2 seasons of soccer again this year and is enjoying it more than he did last year. 

He's starting to "get it" more and understand the game.

scored a few goals even!

Jon did a great job as one of the coaches (which helps Nolan's love for it).

love watching my 2 boys out there together!

Fun Fair and Field Day!

Ice pops, inflatables, relays, carnival games, face painting, popcorn, water ice = most fun day ever.

I was running the musical chairs at the fun fair (read: total anxiety attack for kids).

i am horrible at telling kids they are "out" because they didn't get to their chair in time.

one kid cried.

i don't even know how many do-overs i gave them.

it was a lot.

the kindergarten mall was adorable. the classrooms and hallways were transformed into little stores for the kids to shop and work at. there was a post office, a bank, a grocery store, a pet store, a vet, a dr's office, a nail salon (this is how we learned that nolan enjoys nail polish on his nails), a pharmacy, a restaurant, and much more.

even a little security guard who walked around saying "is everything alright in here?"  :)

nolan and i ran the photography studio the first time i came in.

what are the chances?! ;)

kids picked out their backdrop while nolan collected their play money and wrote their name down and i took their picture. 

the first day of school started with breakfast at dunkin donuts, and the last day finished with that as well.

job well done this past year kiddo!

i'm not ready to send you to 1st grade just yet, but i think you're starting to get bored, so maybe I'll be ready in 28 days. 

but not a minute sooner!!!!! 

tiny dancer

Hello July, where on earth did you come from?

Summer is in full swing!! 

We are filling our days with lots of swimming, play dates, trips to the library, doing lots of art work (there is zero space left on our refrigerator and I'm seeing a huge need to hang more twine in our house to clothespin up their drawings and art), beach trips, and cookouts. Mornings have been laaaazy and while some days go by where I feel completely unproductive, I'm trying to savor these mornings since come Sept, the school year will kick my butt with having to get Nolan on the bus at 8-something a.m 

(and worse, he'll be leaving me ALL day!!! not ready not ready!!) 

I am HORRIBLE at getting anywhere on time in the mornings...oh at any time of day really :)

So mornings in jammies over here last a long time. 

'specially in the summa-time.

Both kids finished out their year at school so well, and with much much growth. 

One of the top blog posts on my mind that I've been meaning to write since May was that my little preschooler, who battled with some serious stage fright and shyness this year is overcoming it - slowly but surely....

and gave me the gift of her dancing in church on mother's day.

last year when i taught (both in fall and spring), mia did all 6-8 weeks of rehearsals, but got too nervous to perform on stage, which we understand - it can be very scary. but this time she decided - all on her own - to dance.

and i was really excited for her.

Mia and the girls danced to "come thou fount" 

....

and they made me cry. 

they always do.

there's something about children dancing so freely ... so proud of them for dancing for Jesus so beautifully and allowing others to go to "another place" in worship.

to not only watch, but be a part of it.

your heart can be dancing right along with whoever's up there.

it's really awesome.

So this little child has finished her first year of preschool 

(with one more year to go).

i tell her all the time, 

"you're not allowed to get any bigger!"

She had a hard time whenever the class would do any singing up on stage for any program during the year, but when she decided to do the dancing in church, she also decided to do her closing program for preschool.

Yay Mia! 

Once again, we were just so excited for her.

She had wonderful teachers, who we loved, who she loved, and who were very good for her and her growth this year.  

Nolan's end of kindergarten year post is up next!

you know me

you have searched me, Lord, and

you know me

you know when i sit and when i rise;

you perceive my thoughts from afar.

you discern my going out and my lying down;

you are familiar with all my ways.

before a word is on my tongue you, Lord,

know it completely.

you hem me in behind & before,

and you lay your hand upon me.

such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

too lofty for me to attain

where can i go from your spirit?

where can i flee from your presence?

if i go up to the heavens, you are there;

if i make my bed in the depths, you are there.

if i rise on the wings of the dawn,

if i settle on the far side of the sea,

even there your hand will guide me,

your right hand will hold me fast. 

if i say, "surely the darkness will hide me & the light 

become night around me,"

even the darkness will not be dark to you;

the night will shine like the day,

for darkness is as light to you.

For you created my inmost being; 

    you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 

^I

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful, 

i know that full well.

my frame was not hidden from you

when i was made in the secret place,

when i was woven together in the depths of the earth.

your eyes saw my unformed body;

all the days ordained for me were written in your book

before one of them came to be.

how precious are your thoughts, God

how vast is the sum of them!

were i to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand - 

when i awake, i am still with you

...search me, God, and know my heart;

test me and know my anxious thoughts.

see if there is any offensive way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting.

He knows me.

He knows you.

i can't think of anything more comforting.

i can't think of anything more sustaining.

i can't think of anything more hopeful.

i can't think of anything more restful.

thanking God for making me a mommy.

thanking God for my mom and my mother in law who are tremendous examples in my life.

thanking God for my husband.

thanking God that He knows me.

that He knows every detail of my life.

and loving me and saving me despite all the selfish, judgmental, unloving, bitterness, jealousy & ugliness i can hold in my heart that is so undeserving of any of it.  

He sees all of it.

I can't hide anything from Him.

how much more AMAZING is His love for us when we really meditate on that?

but we can also rest in it.

rest in His love,

in His presence,

in His grace that covers all of it.

this song is speaking to me so much right now. 

it's on repeat :) 

little moments in our days, instagram style

i really wasn't going to succumb to the instagram thing. i really really wasn't.
let's face it, i don't need another thing to "check" on my phone and have been working really hard at not overusing it (around the kids anyway - when they're not around that is not the case!).  

droid phones not even having the app for instagram made it even easier to not have it.

but then...

droid users had the ability to get the instagram app, and..dum-dum-dummmmm.... 

i downloaded it.

and it's fun.

i really like it.

it's fun to share photos with friends and other instagram users with a quick click of the camera on the phone, filter in an effect, and voila.

but being that a lot of family aren't on instagram (and others i might want to share pics with), i thought i'd try and blog my instagram pics every now and then.  just fun little snippets of our days, no big events - just us hanging out and doing our day to day thang.

family wrestling match

just me and the hubs, driving. i love him.

sillly kids being silly on the slide

DOGGIES!!!!

poor nolan has had his share of cavities. he's already had 4 filled a year ago. 2 more were added to that recently. here he is getting his "silly air" - so funny, he kept saying he felt puffy and tingly. he did awesome. didn't even need any numbing.

dunkin donuts is an almost once a week occurance (haha, i love how this follows the cavity pic!).  especially on special mornings that i have with nolan when mia is at school. it's our little date.

nolan's reading is really taking off! i had zero voice (and many days of hoarseness) due to a respiratory infection, so nolan was reading to me before bed and i loved it)

times with mia during the day when nolan is at school involve games....(headbandz is such a cute game where you ask yes or no questions to guess each other's pictures. i love how she realized that we could see each other's items when we took the picture. smart girl :))

and lots and lots of coloring! we color almost every day and our pictures are multiplying! she and i sat for an hour straight this day and colored. and yes my picture is in the photo... i might be proud of that one ;) i love her little determined face here.

needless to say, mia's favorite part of school is the coloring/arts and crafts projects :)

mia had her last special day at school for the year! i love having the opportunity to go in the kid's classes, and very thankful. some of her best friends in her class here.

we got some bright orange plastic adirondack chairs  for around our firepit, and the kids had a moment of relaxation in the warm sun.

happy cinco de mayo!
we had a party.
we like parties.
any chance for mexican food - we really don't need an excuse, but  we certainly used it and conquered cinco de mayo victoriously with A TON of good food (& friends. and lots and lots of kids).
on the menu:
fajitas, homemade taquitos, empanadas, cilantro-lime rice, taco dip, a variety of homemade salsas: homemade pico de gallo, homemade guac, homemade spicy/mild salsa, homemade avacado-pineapple salsa, loads of chips, quesadillas, stuffed jalopenos, mexican cornbread, cupcakes, frozen key lime dessert, and churros, marharitas, sangria, and coronas.
ummm... yeah. hungry?
i love that our friends love food as much as we do.

and now this post must end b/c blogger hates me right now. it's giving me issues with these pictures.

but hope you enjoyed a few casual snippets and happenings from our life these past couple weeks!

no more crumbs

on saturday, jon and i went to a workshop held at our church - a 4 hour workshop that flew by in what seemed like minutes - led by a couple with the "no more crumbs ministry."


"No More Crumbs Ministry has a passion for seeing both children and adults walk in the confidence of recognizing God’s voice. We desire to help others understand that they are valued by God and can be used to expand God's Kingdom now, no matter what their age!"
http://www.nomorecrumbsministry.com/

this couple is amazing. in the very short time i sat and listened to the woman, Jenni, and the few moments i was able to hug and chat with her, i felt like i knew her forever.
this couple is from atlanta, and they have a heart for sharing with others just how MUCH we can guide our kids and teach them about the love of God.  and boy, did i gain so much from it.
waaaaay more than i expected.

Intended to help cast a new overall vision for our church's children's ministry department with creative new tools and concepts: such as visual examples of how kids can use art to express how/what the Father's love looks like to them... things such as play-dough, paint, movement, dimming the lights and putting on music and letting God pour His love on each kid - allowing them that space to really listen to maybe what God is telling them; something they don't get to do a whole lot of.  Cause God speaks to them. and CAN. I love how she said, "God doesn't give kids a baby Holy Spirit and us an adult Holy Spirit - they are the same spirit, and kids can experience His voice JUST as much as we can - if anything, even MORE.
I just think that is so cool.
It's so simple, yet not something I really thought about a whole lot - as a teacher, as a parent, even for myself and my own personal receiving of the holy spirit.  Kids are not cynical like we as adults can be. they aren't covered (as much) in the shame, the guilt, the regrets like we are. they are so open and willing to to receive if we give them the opportunity and create that atmosphere.  we don't need to water things down so much for them. we can give them actual TRUTH in very similar words that we read/hear it as.  and we can allow them to really experience that truth (in hands on activities that i had mentioned above), not just by reading a story.

an example in talking about the trinity - a hard concept to understand (in case you want to try this with your own kids... and honestly, this was so good for me to see and hear myself!):
have a pitcher of water.  have a child hold a vase of some sort (or any container that's smaller than the pitcher).  tell the child, "God made you and He loves you so much, so as you tell me things about yourself, i'm going to pour this water into your vase to represent those things that He loves so much about you." start with good things/hobbies/likes and move on to some not good things about them (anger, jealousy, patience, etc.) - cause He loves us in those as well. with each item mentioned, more and more water goes in.  when there's just a little bit of space left in the vase, say, "Jesus wants to have a relationship with you and come in there too... but is there any room for him in there? not much.... so we need to pour some of ourselves out and give those to him to make room for him."  Pour half of the water out into a bowl. Now there's more room, so pour some of the water into the vase to represent Jesus.  Now tell the children that the pitcher represents the Holy Spirit.  Talk about how the Holy Spirit wants to fill us.  Fill us when we're empty, fill us when we're tired, fill us through the storms in our lives.  If we ask the Holy Spirit to fill us, the answer will never be no. never. Ask the children, "you tell me when to stop pouring - tell me how much is enough to represent the Holy Spirit."  hold the vase over the bowl.  go the very very top.  some of the kids will shout, "stop!" ask them again, "do you think that's enough of the Holy Spirit, or do you think He'll give us more if we ask?" they might say "MORE!!!" So just keep pouring.  pour till that vase is overflowing and water is spilling out into the bowl.  If you kept pouring, water would come out of the bowl and make a huge mess, spilling out everywhere.
THAT is how the Holy Spirit is.  When we are so filled, we will be spilling out onto others.
That is my prayer.  That is what I pray my kids will come to an understanding of.  That is how I want to be filled.

A couple sweet things happened today and if I don't write them down, I might forget and I just don't want to.
My sweet husband stayed home this morning, sick with a fever (spring has NOT been good to our family with sicknesses.  2 sinus infections for me in one month, a respiratory infection/hacking cough and hoarse voice, now jon having a fever for a couple days.... really, enough is enough spring. i'll take summer now.)
on the way to church, the kids and i had a cute conversation about how much God loves us and how He created us just the way He wanted.  He knew Nolan would LOVE trains and He knew that Mia would love to dance and have blonde hair and blue eyes.  We talked about how God knows the number of hairs we have on our heads and how He knows us better than we know ourselves.  that He loves them even MORE than mommy and daddy do (which is more than i can ever express :))  you know, just one of those sweet conversations. Maybe it was from the things I had heard the day before, but I was explaining how God can talk to us in different ways - with different pictures and different images, dreams, etc.
Mia said, "sometimes when i hear the rain, i feel like it's talking to me...."  I know that doesn't sound too deep, but to me it was.  maybe God talks to her through the rain.  I believe it.

So it was just me and the kids during worship before they went to their classes.  my kids were extra lovey-lovey this morning, hanging on me - in a good way - and enjoying the songs; clapping, and dancing on the chairs.
on the way home, Mia said, "mommy....those songs we were singing in church made my heart feel like a tv screen." i asked her if she had like, different pictures going on in her heart and she said yes.  I seriously believe God touched her little heart - in a way we can't really comprehend or try to understand.

tonight before bed, the kids and i sang together a few of the songs from this morning. they sang with me. not a train song or a princess song, but songs they heard today. they are learning the words to songs that i love and that speak to me. they are getting that in them.  they are enjoying them.

i have a new vision in talking with my kids in how much God loves them.  allowing them that space to listen and hear. in ways we can't imagine; childlike ways.

And it won't be because of me, but it'll because of Him.  

my baby is four (5 months ago)

(finally... 3 months after)
nope... that would make the month january if so.
this is how long i have had this drafted.

so i'll start like this
(finally...5 months after)

or maybe i'll start it like this:

let's pretend the air is getting crisp and cool.
colorful leaves are starting to fall from the trees...
it's one week from thanksgiving (do you know what side dishes you're making yet?)

regardless, 5 months later or not, i owe my baby girl a birthday post.

this little one, my baby... is FOUR. 

and i just can't get enough of this child. 

we celebrated with a themed party that mia chose herself:

a tea party

and how fitting it was, for she is my dainty little one with a love of tea parties.

some decor pics:

banner made of doilies

pink and white frosted cupcakes

thanks to the goodwill, i picked up a box of old fashioned floral china, a teapot and teacups for dirt cheap.

we had hot tea (both my kids love it) with sugar cubes and honey,

raspberry ice tea,

and hot chocolate

thanks to pinterest, i made a 3 tier server using clay pots and dishes for our little finger sandwiches. 

spray painted the pieces white, hot glued them together, and lined with scrapbook paper.

really cheap and fun to do!

Before the party, Mia and I had a super quick little mother-daughter tea party photo shoot together :)

pinkies up!

LOVE this little girl. 

can't even express it in words...

the little craft for the party was making little tea party "hats" - but they were headbands. so... a modern twist i guess.  the table was set up with black velvet headbands, big flowers, tulle, lace ribbon, feathers and hot glue guns.  

the inspiration came from the royal wedding of course :) 

(there were some lovely little kate middletons sitting around the table)

i think the moms might have had more fun doing this part...
but really, they kind of had to do this part, b/c of course i picked a craft that the kids were unable to fully do themselves. 

we also made little paper fans out of floral cardstock and put little sparkly jewels on them. 

tied with tulle.

sometimes a girl can get rather warm sipping all that hot tea.

i mean... look how dainty and cute they are.

i wanted to keep my kitchen looking like this for the rest of the year.
i'd have kept the little girls too, but that would cause me to have 7 daughters and jon and nolan would have been way outnumbered.

some special guests and friends :)

(catherine and ella got mia her first makeup set which mia just loves. it's just so hard not to laugh out loud when she comes out of her room saying she just "did her makeup." she knows it's just for fun, but i love how i'm already telling her that the secret to wearing makeup is to make it look like you're not wearing any.

avery, jillian, kenzie and chloe - all special friends/guests, and sweet sweet girls!

i think this is why it takes me so long to do these posts...
(not just due to the many-much pictures i post)
... because i just can't sum up just how crazy special my kids are, how crazy much i love them, nor how crazy awesome their growth was this past year.

mia, my love.
God knew what He was doing when He made you.  Oh yes He did.
He knew your little personality was going to win many hearts; mommy's & daddy's for sure, of course.
Oh how He loves you. Oh how we love you.

This has been your most "shy" year yet, from age 3-4.
It has been a little trying to say the least.  There are many times I didn't enjoy your shyness this past year. Not just because it was annoying or difficult to handle (but yes it was sometimes), but because I felt bad for you.  To see you cry from the moment you got up in front with your preschool class when you were to sing songs for a program (halloween, thanksgiving... and you didn't even make it to the stage for the Christmas program - you came out with your class and went directly to my lap).  I have that little teary face of yours, coming through the double doors, engraved in my brain...just in tears of the very thought of getting up on that stage, as i motioned for you to come directly to me. We learned very rapidly that it just wasn't worth those tears in the slightest. broke my heart.
I know you are not supposed to be just like me in being outgoing or performing.
that's really really okay.
what's fun for me won't necessarily be fun for you.
I just feel SO bad at seeing you so upset.
 So stage fright is one thing. but the shyness goes beyond that.  It extends to any kind of talking in front of a small group of people or one on one with a person or friend.  At times you can't even look people in the eye when they're talking to you.  Even with extended family members.
sometimes you're just in a "mood." a mood that doesn't want anyone but mommy or daddy.
So, we're learning.
we're learning how to help you feel confidant and comfortable.
you may always be shy. and that's OKAY.
but, we're telling you a lot that you can't be rude.
you can be shy, just not rude.
you have done increasingly better at this towards the middle of your 4th year!
you are saying your please and thank you's and trying with all your might to reply back to people, even if it's the quietest little voice.
good job love. you're doing it.
it used to really bother me (okay, still does at times) when people would kind of joke and laugh a little at how shy you were/are. it's not something to joke about.
and sometimes it's not that people are laughing at you, but laughing about something cute you did.... but if you have the slightest inkling that people are laughing at you, you shut down (or just start crying). any confidence goes out the window (and of course it does, i get it).
i'm realizing how difficult it can be for you - and maybe how extremely sensitive you are - and we're learning how to adjust.
it's OKAY.
big brother nolan loves to try and help you through these times as well. sometimes it doesn't help though, cause he'll just do all the talking for you and not even let you try if you wanted to! ;)
recently he introduced you to someone saying, "this is my sister mia. she's really shy."
so sweet of him to stand up for you, at the same time, your shyness does not define you!
so, again, we're learning. telling you, "i feel shy sometimes too mia. but i also can feel happy, and sad, and scared..."
nolan is a sweetie though - today in the car, we were talking about the upcoming spring program you'll have at school (where they sing songs as a class in the church sanctuary on the stage) - and unsure if you'll do it just yet - he said, "mia, just do what i do. picture everyone in their underwear."
 
i pray we can raise you to have confidence in who you are, who loves herself and who God made you to be.
cause you are AMAZING. and a beautiful creation with a sweet spirit, a kind soul, and the most adorable precious little voice in the whole wide world.
and you are smart!  you can write words if i tell you the letters.
Your vibrant personality is so much fun and you are really becoming a big girl with using your manners, having a great time at school 2 days a week, having playdates with friends, and sharing sweet conversations with people.
So, I am really pulling back from using that word "shy" with you now.  

moving on...

you are our artist! 

your coloring astounds me at your age. 

you love it, and you're good at it. really good.

i think we sit down and color together almost every day.

same with puzzles. you're kind of a puzzle pro and.

you will sit and do 8 puzzles (and then line them up) :)

you make the BEST silly faces. 

you can be super duper silly and i love when you get in those goofy moods where you crack yourself up and can't stop laughing. 

it is SO cute!!!

this ranks up there as one of your all time best funny faces. 

SQUISH!!!!!!!!!

you love your cousins.
you have a great time when you're with all of them, even the boys (or kellan for now since baby tyce has some more growing to do).
but i just love this picture i came across of the 3 girl cousins. so sweet. you love them so much and whenever you 3 are together there is most definitely dressing up involved.
you are blessed with the sweetest most wonderful, loving cousins and time with them is precious.
(i can only imagine you 3 at a mall together when you're older - yikes).

you are meticulous. you like to line things up. you like to color coordinate things. you like to make patterns, arrange things in a certain order....
is there a word for this? ;)
just a random pic of you sitting at the table, lining up your princess shoes. such a "you" thing.

tiny dancer.
you love to dance. we are rehearsing right now with 8 other little girls for a dance you'll (hopefully?) do in church on mother's day to "come thou fount."
i love watching you dance. as precise as you try and be with doing the steps correctly, you have those moments in the house when music is on, and you just dance. joyfully, in your own little world, where your little soul just shines.
i need to put a video on here of a dance i caught on video that you were doing which literally made me have tears rolling down my cheeks. it was a worship song to shane and shane's "yearn" and words just can't express how sweet it was.

your voice.
little munchkin voice that daddy and i just LOVE. oh my word.
when you are trying to explain something or tell us of something of importance, and you are talking, we just cannot help but smile. immediately.
(ok, maybe not if you're telling on nolan or whining about something, that's not too fun)
one of my favorite things about your voice is when you say a "b" instead of a "v" in words.
so, if you need to take a "bitamin" and then wanted to watch a "bideo" and you love to color"bery" much, and when we're playing and you say, "let's betend...(pretend)" ...ohhhh i can't not smile. to make it even more awesome, you start talking with your hands trying to "show" us what you mean, and you throw some "like's" in there to really try and depict what you mean and it's just too adorable. i just need to post some videos so my bloggy friends can hear you.


you are a good little eater (good for a four year old at least) and have started eating turkey and cheese sandwiches which is cool. you have also recently started loving pepperoni (turkey pepperoni).  you enjoy some pork tenderloin recipes that i've made, you always love pasta and rice, sloppy joes are one of you and nolan's favorites, and you have even started loving quinoa!!

your favorite colors are pink, purple and blue.

you and nolan are such good friends. you play together so well and you somehow find a way to incorporate princesses & ponies with trains, monster trucks and cars.
i love it.
(photo from Easter morning)

ok little one, this post could go on and on about how special of a little girl you are and how dear you are to us, so i gotta stop somewhere.
i'm hoping to get better at posting short quick blogs about the cute things you and nolan do or say, even if it's one or two lines (i say that, yet it never happens - i'll try better, k?)
like, last night after you were watching star wars with nolan and daddy and you called darth vadar "black vadar" - i just thought that was cute.


thank you for the girlyness you bring to our household mia (as if mommy's girlyness wasn't enough)!
you are our sunshine, our petite little flower.
we look forward to the rest of this year before you turn 5 and how much MORE growing you'll do!
we can't thank God enough for you, our baby girl.
we praise Him because you are fearfully and wonderfully and beautifully made....

we love you.