Lifesong

The Eggs

I came downstairs this morning, and Ansley had gotten the Baby up. That's not so unusual, as it happens sometimes if I'm still showering or getting ready and she wakes up earlier than usual. However, Ansley had also made Avery scrambled eggs, and was feeding her while making her own grits and helping Christian pour his cereal.

And my first thought was "THIS is nine??"

Awesome.

I have no idea if this is typical of nine year olds, because, well, Ansley is the only nine year old I have so I have nothing to compare it to. But I just want to document how extremely, massively helpful nine year old Ansley is. I am really blessed by her willingness to serve, and I hope to cultivate that passion in her. We met some new neighbors who have a two and a half year old and a one year old. Ansley was with me, of course, when we met them. The conversation turned to schooling, and the mom asked me where Ansley went to school. I said we homeschool, knowing this is usually the part in the conversation where things get weird and people have to go. ("Look at the time!" they'll say, and I know that's code for whoa, freak alert!) She was genuinely interested in it, and was not familiar with it at all. I talked about it briefly, and then she said something that just encouraged the mess out of me. Most days, I feel so overwhelmed and scattered, like I can't keep up or catch up or do all the things I want to do as a Mama. But then this complete stranger that I had known for all of five minutes said "Well, if THIS (pointing to Ansley) is the result of homeschooling, I can see exactly why you do it."

I can't even tell you how much that blessed me. Oftentimes, we homeschoolers get a bad rap as having freaky, overly sheltered non socialized kids, but this woman saw something in Ansley that wasn't freakish. She saw a nine year old girl who was quick with conversation, eager to help her out with her two children, and won over this stranger in a matter of minutes. I am not bragging about Ansley at all (ok, maybe just a little) as much as I am just so thankful that the fruits of our labor are starting to show. Homeschooling is HARD WORK, and as much as I am blessed by it, I am also challenged and stretched in new ways every day. I know God is teaching me so much through it that I never would have learned if my kids were in school. But oftentimes it is very thankless work. My kids don't give me hugs at the end of every day and say "Thanks for teaching us, Mom! We are so thankful for your sacrifice!"

So a new neighbor's comments at the end of the day just really cemented for me why I am called to this season, and why I'm okay with not getting thank you's at the end of every day, and even why I'm okay with the comments and looks we get from other peple, because the bigger picture is far greater than I could imagine.

So I delight in my daughter making eggs for my youngest, and my oldest getting a compliment that made me smile for days.

These days can be hard, but the rewards are SO SWEET.

I encourage you, homeschooling Mama, to keep at it. Keep pressing into the God who loves you and delights to encourage you. The rewards will come.

"In all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28

The Nine Year Old Interview

As is tradition, I interview my kids every year on their birthday, asking the same questions and recording their responses. I started this when Ansley was four (I think) and it's been a fun tradition ever since. I love going back and seeing the previous year's responses, and Ansley even asks "What did I say last year?" after answering something.

Our First Born is nine. NINE! Every year it just seems incredulous that another year has passed and my children are actually GROWING UP.

As we have been heading toward nine, there have been some changes. There is a definite "you are getting older" feeling when I talk with her now. She has her own thoughts and her own opinions and her own friends. (In fact, she received one "Friends" necklace from a good friend for her birthday, and yet another "Best Friends" charm necklace from another friend.) Ansley really enjoys hanging out with friends and playing. But, she tells me every little detail of her co-op days and when she is with friends. She is very talkative and we have navigated some tricky friendship roads this year.

(You have lots and lots of energy. You always have. You love to play outside!)

On with the interview!

M(ama): What do you want to be when you grow up?

(This interview had so much commentary from Christian but I couldn't document it all. So just imagine A LOT of Christian chatter throughout.)

A(nsley): A vet. I LOVE ANIMALS.

M: What is your favorite thing God made?

A: My family. (Oh, love.)

M: What is your favorite activity?

A: There's two. Working with Dad on projects and helping Mom make cookies or muffins or anything delicious.

M: What is your favorite animal?

A: Cats. Horses. Dogs.

M: What is your favorite bug?

A: Butterflies. Cicadas. Spiders. (I know. Who is this child? These were my favorite bugs when I was like...oh, right, NEVER.)

M: What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy?

A: Get up on a foggy, cold morning and go get donuts.

M: What is your favorite thing to do with Mama?

A: Cook! (Yay! I love help in the kitchen, and you are VERY into baking!)

M: Do you want to be a Mom when you are older?

A: Yes. (Good. It is such a blessing!)

M: How many kids do you think you will have?

A: Four. Two boys and two girls. (Interesting.)

M: Will you get married?

A: Yes.

(You love to read. This makes me happy!)

M: Who is your favorite friend?

A: Paige. Avery. Kennedy. And Parker. (Three of these are neighbors. And she means nine year old Avery, not her sister Avery. But she did say that her best friends are her family, so these were in addition to family. Love that, too.)

M: What do you dislike?

A: Mushrooms. Like in a salad - UGH! (Makes a face.) And especially cooked! Kinda spaghetti.

C: Remember when you stole it [spaghetti] off my plate? Everyone likes spaghetti.

M: What is your favorite song?

A: Firework. The Conga. And I LOVE this one .....[starts to sing] bless the Lord oh my soul, oooohhhh my soul.....

M: How old is Dad?

A: A million! Just kidding. He's 46. 

M: How old is Mom?

A: 30-something. 34. (Yes, always.)

M: What is your favorite day?

A: Christmas. My birthday. I can never say just one thing!

M: What is your favorite snack?

A: Blackberry bars.

M: What is your favorite place to go?

A: Dollywood. The Melting Pot.

M: What is your favorite thing about Christian?

A: He always plays with me.

M: What is your favorite thing about Avery?

A: She's a cute toddler. She is really cute, ya know? People are always telling her that.

M: What is your favorite thing about Daddy?

A: That he's nice. Really, really, really nice. And he lets me work with him and it's fun.

M: What is your favorite thing about Mommy?

A: She lets me cook and chop stuff and it's really fun!

(Ansley and Paige. We have lived across the street from them for six years, but this year you became inseparable. You two played together almost every day over the summer. Your favorite thing to do was ride your scooters.)

M: What is your favorite memory from this past year?

A: Man! There's so much. I guess Goofy - the bird.

M: What is the best thing about being nine?

A: I don't know because I'm not nine yet!

M: Which would you rather be, a carrot or a fish?

A: Fish.

M: Why?

A: Because I LOVE the water!

M: What does Dad do all day?

A: Work.

M: What does Mom do all day?

A: Cook. And clean. And take care of us.

(You love this scooter!)

M: What is your favorite thing in the whole wide world?

A: Jesus. And animals.

M: What is your favorite subject?

A: Reading.

M: What is your least favorite subject?

A: MATH! (said grumpy) Put 20 exclamation points after that!

M: What are you most looking forward to in your 8th year?

A: Presents!

M: What is your favorite restaurant?

A: The Melting Pot.

(You and Paige jumping on your scooters. You two have all kinds of tricks that you are trying.)

How we love our sweet Ansley Girl!

(photo by Suzanne McNeil Photography)

And here's to Nine and our sweet first born, who has taught me so much on our journey together!

Ansley's Big Day - Part Two

Like I mentioned in the previous post, Ansley turned nine on Saturday and she wanted a Hawaiian Luau. There's nothing I love more than planning a party, so I took off with that theme! Although I do really love sweet tea, Chick-Fil-A, and donuts perhaps just as much as party planning.

Ansley was very excited about her party and having her friends over for some fun.

After a little persuading, I got John (and JonJon) to carry our dining room table out to the backyard for the party. A plastic foldy table with fold out chairs just didn't fit with my vision of the luau. He is very sweet to oblige with my party madness details.

Doesn't it look cute though? I mean seriously the table really makes it, don't you think? Each girl had her name on her fork, as well as a flower clip for her hair, and a fancy glass with a cute straw and paper umbrella. The flower cups on each plate are for the fruit that came with dinner.

Here's a little closer look.

As the girls arrived, Ansley greeted them with "Aloha!" and placed a lei around their neck. We kicked off the party with some nail painting and fun nail stickers, as well as some Polynesian sandals.

John set up this table with a piece of plywood and some cinder blocks. I thought it was the perfect nail painting spot! You can't see any of the Polynesian sandals in this photo, so I'll point them out later. They were really cute, and all the girls really liked that part! Several of them told me it was "very cool." I'm happy to be cool with a bunch of nine(ish) year olds. I hope I still am when they are 13!

After all nails were sufficiently painted, we moved on to a hula hoop contest. Each girl got their own hula hoop and got to practice first, and then we had several contests to see who could hula the longest! They liked this so much we did this contest over and over. And over.

Jillian made it look really easy. Oh, and there are those Polynesian sandals! Aren't they cute? I thought they were adorable.

Paige didn't even look like she was exerting any effort but that hula hoop was spinning around and around. She won several of the contests. I think many of the girls were determined to beat her!

Rylee had quite the stance going on, and this stance won her first place in one of the (many) contests! There's those cute sandals again as well.

Ans is a good hula hooper, but you've got to be REALLY good to hang with this crowd!

Avery is also a really good hula hooper. She won one of the contests as well.

Then the girls made some Hawaiian bracelets and/or anklets. There was nothing that was particularly Hawaiian about them, but sometimes it's fun just to add Hawaiian before a word and make it so.

I did think the beads were really pretty - like a dark wood color - so that made them rather islandy.

Then it was time to limbo!

The girls are formulating their plan for how to get as low as they can.

Ironically (or maybe not) the girls who were really good at hula hooping were also really good at the limbo!

Jillian was so crazy flexible, she lost her head. She was really good at the limbo!

Paige was the winner, though. She was freakishly good at the limbo. I love how all the other girls are watching!

After all that hard work, it was time to eat!

The girls were served rice, chicken and pineapple kebabs, fruit and frozen strawberry drinks. They downed those strawberry drinks like nobody's business, and asked for more. But all I had was pina colada, so they all got to sample that as well. Each girl had an edible flower on her plate because Ansley thought it was the coolest thing ever when I told her that's how they serve food in Hawaii. Some of the girls tried the flower, some of them didn't want to.

While they were eating, we had an exotic fruit taste testing. Each girl got 3 little cups with a different fruit in each one, and each cup was labeled one, two and three.

Then they got a little form to fill out where they had to guess what the fruit was, rate it and make any comments about it they wanted to. These were quite funny!

They are all busy taste testing and filling out their forms. You can see Isabella (on the end) filling out her form. The fruits, in case you were curious, were starfruit, papaya and kiwi. Every girl wrote "This is gross!" for the papaya, but most of the girls loved the kiwi.

Cupcake time! I would have gone with a more tropical cupcake, but Ansley is not a fan of coconut flavored things. So we stuck with her favorite - chocolate and pink buttercream icing.

I have to point out that even though it was a group of ten girls, Christian really wanted to participate in everything that was going on! It was so cute. Ansley always says her least favorite part of parties is the singing of happy birthday, but she looks like she's enjoying it. At least a little. Nine candles! Wow.

Blowing out the candles.

I asked all the girls to line up for a quick group shot.

And of course we had to do a silly shot.

Each girl went home with their hula hoop, lei, and flower for their hair.

The tags say "MAHALO means "thank you" in Hawaiian. Mahalo for coming to my party! love, Ansley"

I had some coconuts that were on the table as decoration, but I thought that it would be fun to bust into one and let the girls try the coconut milk. When I brought this idea up to the girls, they were practically bouncing out of their seats they were so excited. Then I thought an even better idea would be to divide into teams and see who could crack their coconut first. When I said "go!" both teams ran to the driveway, flung their coconuts down and they completely busted. It was much easier than I thought it would be. But they had a blast, and then we let them each sample the milk inside. Which looked nothing like milk, I might add.

About a month before her party, I thought it would be a fun idea for the girls to bring a book to donate instead of a gift. Ansley has so many toys that she really doesn't need any more. So we put that on the invitation, and each girl brought a favorite book. (A few girls also brought gifts, but that's ok!) Since Ansley loves to read, I thought it would be a great thing to collect books to donate to a local ministry in need of them. I was very happy that Ansley quickly agreed to that, and thought it was a great idea. (She did say shortly afterwards "I'll still get presents from you and Mimi and JonJon and Missy, right?") But I was pleased that she was willing to forgo getting gifts of her own in order to give to others that needed them much more.

The only bummer in the whole party is that I had this whole pack of stuff to let the girls know why they brought a book and what we were going to do with them. They were going to decorate bookplates to put on the inside of the book they brought. But then we ran out of time and I didn't get to do it. I'm bummed that I didn't get to let the girls know why we were doing that and to allow them to feel the joy of giving to others.

Nevertheless, this is the stack that we will take to a local ministry, maybe a women's shelter or perhaps an elementary school (I'm still looking into it.)

It was a very fun day, and Ansley felt very celebrated! We sure do love our sweet nine year old!

Tomorrow I will post the Nine Year Birthday Interview - another tradition! You'd think birthdays were a big deal around here or something.

We sure do love our sweet nine year old!

Ansley's Big Day - Part One

On Saturday, Ansley turned NINE. I'm about to hyperventilate over the fact that I've been a Mama almost a decade. I feel like that should make me an expert, yet so often I think "What am I doing?!" There are days when I just don't feel cut out for this parenting business, because it's hard and wearisome and challenging and I pray and pray and then wonder if my kids will only remember the "Mama Lost It" moments.

So I make up for it all with my party planning.

Oh, I kid.

Sorta.

But I do love party planning.

Enough about me and my insecurities.

Ever since John and I went to Hawaii back in 2008, Ansley has had quite a fascination for all things Hawaiian. So for her 9th birthday, she wanted a Hawaiian Luau. And me, I take a theme and run with it.

But let's back up because you know I am all about birthdays, and most especially the birthdays of my own offspring. Birthdays are very important to me, and I really want to make sure my children know that they are loved and cherished all year, but especially on the day of their birth.

There are some must-haves, of course.

You must have birthday streamers. It's a tradition.

You must have family to help you celebrate. Mimi, JonJon and Missy were very happy to help celebrate Ansley!

You must have presents, of course.

First thing, Ansley got clues that told her where her gifts were located, but first she had to unscramble the clues. She really enjoyed this, and got pretty good at it!

Her first clue led her to this large kitty cat. She spotted this a while back when we were in Atlanta and loved it. However, when Avery saw this, she started screaming "MINE!" and grabbing at it. It's taller than she is, but she would carry it around the house. Quite funny.

Her second clue led her to a new camera (she sadly left hers in store a few months ago, and when we went back just an hour later, it was gone. She was very upset), but I didn't get a picture of that because I was too busy laughing at Avery yelling "MINE!" and dragging this huge cat down the hallway.

And this was her third and final clue. For many years, one of Ansley's favorite things has been Calico Critters. She has been wanting the Cloverleaf Manor for awhile, so that is what she is reacting to.

She was very excited about this! She also received an Amazon gift card from Uncle Mark, Aunt Ashley and boys, so she was thrilled to be able to immediately order a furniture set for one of the rooms! (It will arrive on Tuesday, she told me.)

There is always a special breakfast ritual on birthdays. Usually I do birthday donuts, but Ansley's birthday happened to fall on a Saturday this year, which is kinda cool. So she got to pick where she wanted to go for breakfast, and we had a family birthday breakfast. She picked Shoney's.

Yes, that would be my least favorite place probably ever, but it wasn't my birthday. (I have buffet issues. They force you to overeat and I can never eat enough to justify the price. Well maybe at Shoney's that's not the case, but usually it is. And I absolutely hate touching the serving utensils that 50 million people have touched previously and then eating my food. Ugh. I know, I have issues.) So off to Shoney's we all went.

Mimi brought Ansley's gift to Shoney's with her so she could open it. She received her first pair of James Avery earrings. I love James Avery jewelry! Ansley has very sensitive ears, and most earrings turn her ears green or get them infected. Now she won't have to worry about that! And they are beautiful earrings - so girlie!

(I forgot to change out my lens so I couldn't get a group shot. Bummer.)

Here's a close up. She loves them!

After we got home from breakfast, she got to open her gift from JonJon and Missy.

If Calico Critters are her first love, Legos are a close second. She and Christian play Legos most often when they are playing together. They make these Lego girl sets that are SO cute. JonJon and Missy gave her the stable Lego set. Ansley worked all afternoon putting it together, and then played with it just as long! She got some help from JonJon (they are working on it in the picture of the two of them) and me. It is really cute!

This is from the previous night. Ansley really wanted to sleep out on the screened in porch, so we said she could. This is the cozy bed she set up for the two of them. I think she would have slept out there, but Christian was too scared so they ended up coming back inside around 11 pm.

And I just love this shot.

This is the first half of the day. The other half was lots of birthday party prep and then the actual birthday party. We are very thankful for all the help Mimi, JonJon and Missy provided! Part Two will have to wait until tomorrow - it was an exhausting, but fun, weekend!

We are so thankful for our Birthday Girl and the love, life and spunk that she has always brought to our family. We are so blessed that God gave her to us to love!

 

 

 

The First: Ansley

Ansley is less than three months shy of turning nine. Her last single-digit year. She will be entering fourth grade in the fall.

And I can tell in many ways, some subtle and some not-so-subtle, that she is growing up.

For example, I took her on Saturday to get her hair cut. It was VERY long, and she insisted that she wanted it cut much shorter. "It gets so hot in the summer, Mom, and besides, it's MY hair!" she says. So that's how she ended up getting seven inches cut off. (I have to pick my battles carefully these days; this was not one of them.)

As we head towards nine, I've noticed a definite push towards independence, a tendency to argue about everything (I tell her she'd argue with me if I said the sky was blue), and a higher priority placed on friendships.

In other words, there is no more little girl.

{Ansley after getting seven inches cut off her hair. She loves it!}

It's interesting though, because there are definitely things about Ansley that have always been that way: she is deeply affectionate, she LOVES animals, and she is very spunky. These are things that we have noticed about her since she was a year old.

She is our snuggler, and still loves to curl up on a lap, lay down next to you, or on top of you! And she is pretty affectionate to most people, whether she knows them really well or not. (Christian is NOT this way - he has to know you very well before he is affectionate.) I don't mean like strangers, I just mean if we haven't seen you in awhile, Ansley doesn't care, she'll run right up and give you a hug.

She has a deep, passionate love of animals, and really, all living things. She is my bug catcher - if she hears me scream (because that's what I do when I see a bug) she comes running. But she never kills whatever it is, oh no! She just picks it up and puts it outside. Even spiders. Even creepy bugs. Lizards. You name it. She loves it, and saves it. I can't even count how many bugs she has kept in a box, birds, lizards, and spiders she has rescued and called her pets. She loves to go to the pet store just to look at all the animals.

And, she's just spunky. When she was younger, this meant that she had to be disciplined a lot because she was defiant and strong willed. She made us work very hard in her younger years. In the elementary years, this has meant asserting her opinion more, which is not a bad thing, but we have had to work a lot on her tone and attitude when asserting her opinion.

{Enjoying one of her favorite things: swinging.}

Ansley is EXTREMELY helpful. She has a servant's heart (like her Daddy). She is eager to help, and wants to be involved in things. She enjoys (most of the time) taking care of her sister and playing with her (including changing her diaper and rocking her to sleep), helping in the kitchen, building things with her Dad, or running errands or doing things around the house. Avery has been what I would call a difficult baby, and honestly there are days I'm not sure I would have made it through sane without Ans. She is THAT helpful.

Her nickname is Ans. We call her that a lot.

She has strong opinions, and this means about her hair, how she wants to wear it, and especially about her clothes. If she doesn't like it, forget it. She won't wear it. I always have to take her with me shopping nowadays so she can try on clothes first. She had phases where she would only wear certain things, but these days she wears it all, just when she wants to. Just bathing suit shopping, for example, was quite a challenge. It couldn't tie around the neck, that's uncomfortable. It couldn't be too ruffly on top, that's too heavy. It could be a one-piece or tankini, but not a bikini (thankfully). But if it was a tankini it couldn't ride up too much. It can't rub her shoulder wrong, or criss cross in the back.....we did finally find a few bathing suits she liked. I know, that's hard to believe with all that criteria!

{Remember what it was like to swing in your bathing suit and not care? Yeah, me either, but here's Ans swinging in one of the approved bathing suits, obviously before the haircut.}

Ansley is a GREAT eater. Fantastic. She eats well, she loves fruits and veggies, and she loves trying anything new. She loves most ethnic foods, and has favorites that are not the "typical" kid favorites. Like pot roast, for instance, that's her favorite meal.

She has a bit of silly and crazy in her. Or maybe a lot. She has energy to spare. She loves to jump on the trampoline, swing, ride her bike, run through the sprinklers, swim.....and she can go on and on. She can hang with wild and crazy boys, and she can play sweetly with girls. She loves to laugh and be goofy. Probably her absolute favorite thing to do is dance. She has always been a dancer - when there is music, she can't resist. She is SO excited to finally start dance in the fall!

{See what I mean? Just silly, totally unprompted.}

She loves playing with friends. She is always asking to have a friend over or go play with someone. We are discussing more and more the qualities of a good friend, and why we do (or don't do) certain things. She doesn't have her own phone, wear mascara, or go to bed at ten, like some neighbors that she has been playing with lately. She's not at all bothered by these things, she just likes to understand the "why". She's not happy with what I heard when I was growing up: because I said so! Our discussions these days are much deeper, rich with honest questions, good discussion, and of course snuggling!

{Trampoline time with neighbors.}

Ansley loves books. She reads well, and enjoys reading, but she always prefers for us to read a book together. She is a self-proclaimed math hater. She is fascinated by science, and Language Arts and writing seem to come easy for her. She is an eager learner, but she does have her moments and can get frustrated with things. I'd say most of her frustrations stem from math, though.

She loves playing with Christian, and they are close. She definitely loves being a mini-Mama to Avery, and I know they will remain close as she gets older. I do look forward to seeing her relationship with both of them deepen over the years. They spend a lot of time together, so they know each other well.

Ansley is fearless - she loves to try anything. She will tackle John when he gets home from work; she jumps off a dock or into a pool; she wants to ride roller coasters; she is daring.

She is our first born. She is spirited and spunky; loveable and sensitive; emotional and talkative; giggly and fun. We sure do love her!

2:26 pm {Monday}

{Ansley's valentines for her teachers and classmates, since her co-op was on Valentine's Day.}

1:32 pm {Monday}

Freshly Eight

My girl, all freshly eight, up before anyone else this morning (well, except me).Which is unusual for my sleeper, but it wasn't super early, just 7:45.

And normally this is a pj shot, but she was up AND dressed this morning. Which is also unusual. This girl could lounge in her pj's all day. And I honestly don't know where this comes from, because neither me or John are pj-loungers. But this super cute shirt was a birthday present from sweet friends, so she was excited to put it on this morning.

One year, mark my word, ONE YEAR I will get a non-blurry photo of one of my children running through streamers. Last year I had a Canon, this year a Nikon, so you may be tempted to think it's a user error, but you'd be wrong. I focus that red dot right on her, and still, STILL Nikon! The blurry shot. Very few things make me more irritable than a blurry photo. Well I might can possibly think of more than a few things that might make me more irritable - extreme heat, for example. A day of non-stop tapping on me, that'd send me straight to the irritable bin. Irritable bin? I don't know, it just came out, but if there's a looney bin, there should be an irritable bin, right?

But this is about Ansley's birthday. And blurry photos.

Birthday donuts! It just isn't a birthday around here without the Traditional Birthday Donuts. One year, perhaps many, many years from now, but one year, my goal is to have homemade birthday donuts. But this wasn't that year. Christian was still sleeping, but Ansley wanted him up, so I told her she could go wake him for Birthday Donuts. So we sang, and she blew out the candle, and hey the photo isn't blurry! And yummy donuts were eaten by all.

I would like to point out that Ansley brushed her hair, er, "brushed" her hair in her getting ready process, but I imagine it's a process, this learning hygiene stuff. I don't know, since an 8 year old is all I've experienced, but I'm guessing it takes a little while to learn how to fix your hair. She still has a little ways to go. But she tries, and that's what counts.

Have I told you Christian is one of the, if not THE, most thoughtful little boys I know? Everywhere we go he is pointing out stuff that other people would like. "Mom, that shirt is green, Mimi would love that." "Oooh, there's a train, we should get that for Hamilton." And on and on. So we were walking by these Pillow Pets (that I hadn't noticed) and Christian said "MOM! We have to get one for Ansley!" And it's true, she had been talking about one for several months. So Christian gave Ansley the Pillow Pet he had picked out for her, and she loved it. So sweet!

After John got home this evening, she opened the gift from us. (To re-cap, she has received a slumber party, a new sleeping bag that she requested, a Pillow Pet that she had been wanting). And, she had been talking about a new camera. So that was her final birthday gift, a brand new spiffy camera.

Christian came down the steps a little while ago and announced "I can't get to sleep because Ansley keeps taking pictures and the flash is hurting my eyes."

It's so hard to be a little brother.

And I love how Avery's little striped legs are helping in this photo.

At Ansley's request, we headed to Bonefish Grill this evening for her birthday dinner. It was yummy, and everyone had a fun time. Avery made us all laugh.

We gave her a green bean for the first time, and she was hilarious looking at it and trying to figure out what it was. It was very cute!

Then we returned home and sang happy birthday while Ansley blew out eight candles.

A fun day for our super sweet eight year old!

The Eight Year Old Interview

As is tradition, I interview my kids every year on their birthday, asking the same questions (and adding a few each year to keep it lively) and recording their responses. I started this when Ansley was four (I think) and it's been a fun tradition ever since. I love going back and seeing the previous year's responses, and Ansley even asks "What did I say last year?" after answering something.

My Baby Girl will be EIGHT years old tomorrow. CRAZY. I know, each year will be crazy. What, a ten year old? NO WAY. Now she's thirteen. Holy cow! How did she become seventeen? She was just born yesterday.

So now I'm happy that she's just eight.

Eight is soooo on the verge. She's not this little girl anymore, but she's not a grown girl either. She has opinions of her own, and fears and thoughts and loves to express them. But when she's hurt or upset, she still wants Mom or Dad.

(photo by Lillian Prince Photography)

This is the perfect photo for eight: all wanting to be older, have independence, but loves her Swoopee Lu's and sleeps with stuffed animals every night.

On with the interview!

M(ama): What do you want to be when you grow up?

C(hristian): I know the answer to that!

A(nsley): You do? What? A painter. An artist. Is that what you were going to say?

C: Yes.

M: What is your favorite thing God made?

A: Cats. Horses. Cheetahs. (She has a recent fascination with cheetahs, but she has ALWAYS been our animal lover!)

M: What is your favorite activity?

A: Painting. And riding horses. (Which she wants to do, really bad. But has only done twice in her life. The horse part. She has painted more than twice in her life.)

M: What is your favorite animal?

C: I know THAT one too!

A: Cats.

C: Yep, that's what I would have tolded you.

A: I'm not done. Cats. Horses. Cheetahs. (I guess we'll go with her favorite as the one she said first?)

M: What is your favorite bug?

C: Mom, these are easy questions.

A: Butterfly. Ladybug. And katydid.

M: What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy?

A: Go build something!

M: What is your favorite thing to do with Mama?

A: Go shopping! (Yes!)

M: Do you want to be a Mom when you are older?

A: Yes. (Yay! A change from previous years. She has been very anti-Mom.)

M: How many kids do you think you will have?

A: Two. No, wait, probably three.

M: Will you get married?

A: Yes. (Don't worry, we've discussed the God-ordained order of these things.)

(photo by Lillian Prince Photography)

M: Who is your favorite friend?

A: Kennedy. Rylee. Karis. That's why I invited them to, you know, my party. (Makes sense.)

M: What do you dislike?

A: (with a sideways glance to Christian and a slightly lowered voice) Christian talks A LOT. I mean, A LOT. And sometimes I don't like that. Like, all day, Mom! He talks all day. And when he screams, I don't like when he screams.

C: Mom, did Ansley just say she didn't like when I talk?

M: No, buddy, that's not what she said at all. She just said sometimes you talk a lot, which is true. But I (mostly) always love to hear what you have to say.

C: Ok.

M: What is your favorite song?

A: The Conga.

(I know. An explanation is needed, right? It's because she can't control herself any longer. She just feels the rhythm of the music getting stronger. Oh, wrong explanation. We were waiting for John to come out of Home Depot in the pouring rain. The fact that it was pouring rain is not really important to the story, I can just picture it so clearly. The kids were getting restless, so I switched my XM radio to the 80's and turn it up. And, you guessed it, this song was on. Ansley immediately loved it and was dancing all over the car. Then proceeded to ask 5,467 times after we got home to please find that song. So we've played it once or twice or several dozen times since then. And now? Now she's gotta do that conga, beat!)

M: How old is Dad?

A: 44 (Yikes!)

M: How old is Mom?

A: 33 (Yes, always.)

M: What is your favorite day?

A: (thinking) I'd have to say Christmas. Christmas is the best day.

M: What is your favorite snack?

A: Cookies. And chocolate covered strawberries. (That last one is not a snack we have often, or ever, but she requested them for her slumber party and helped make them, so they were on her mind.)

M: What is your favorite place to go?

A: The cupcake place.

M: What is your favorite thing about Christian?

A: He always plays with me and he shares his cupcake or cookie or whatever he has, he will always share with me. (This is very true.)

M: What is your favorite thing about Avery?

A: She's SO CUTE!! And when she goes bababababababa. That's hilarious.

M: What is your favorite thing about Daddy?

A: That he goes places with me.

M: What is your favorite thing about Mommy?

A: That you almost let me do whatever I want. (Really? Seriously? Wow. Cuz, to me, it feels like I'm always on her about getting her schoolwork done and picking up her clothes and doing this and that and.....seriously? Hmmmmmmmm.)

(photo by Lillian Prince Photography)

M: What is your favorite memory from this past year?

A: Christmas! Wait - what happened at Christmas? I can't remember. I guess that's not a good one then. Oh, I know, getting the trampoline.

M: What is the best thing about being eight?

A: I'm older. What'd I say last year?

M: Which would you rather be, a carrot or a fish?

A: Fish.

M: Why?

A: Because I would be in the water all day. I love the water! (Yes, she does. She's already part fish.)

M: What does Dad do all day?

A: Work, work, and work!

M: What does Mom do all day?

A: Clean, clean and cook! And go grocery shopping. And teach us and spend lots of time with us. (Like.)

(photo by Lillian Prince Photography)

M: What is your favorite thing in the whole wide world?

A: My family.

M: What is your favorite subject?

A: Reading.

M: What is your least favorite subject?

A: MATH! (grumpy face) (Boo! I was so hoping she wouldn't inherit my math-hating genes.)

M: What are you most looking forward to in your 8th year?

A: Presents!

M: What is your favorite restaurant?

A: Red Lobster and Bonefish Grill.

(photo by Lillian Prince Photography)

How we love our sweet Ansley Girl!

Seven has been a wonderful journey, and we look forward to all that Eight has in store for us!

The (Anti)Slumber Party

Not meaning that I'm against slumber parties, just meaning that no slumbering is actually taking place, so a Slumber Party would be inaccurate. And I strive to create a real blog, with actual documented memories.

Since Ansley was five, she has been asking for a slumber party. We told her when she was eight she could have one, thinking that sounded very grown up and, most importantly, far off. But now (sniff), here we are at EIGHT. Well, technically she will be eight on Thursday, so almost-eight. But still, wow. Crazy fast. And don't even get me started on in eight more years she will be driving, and then eight more years and she could be married with kids of her own......

Okay, gotta stop with this nonsense. Being a mom for eight years will obviously do strange things to you.

Ansley has been SO excited about her (Anti)Slumber Party, and has been very into helping plan and of course talking about it nonstop. She came up with her invite list and we sent out invitations a month or so ago. Christian is staying with Mimi, so the giggly, silly girls can practically have the whole place to themselves. Thankfully, Avery sleeps well, despite loud girl-like screams and giggles.

I thought that a Photo Booth with fun props might be a fun idea, and it turned out to be a big hit. Ansley and I went shopping and stocked up on glitter glasses, bracelets, silly gloves, microphones and feather boas. For the record, I believe that we will be finding pink feathers in this house for the next year. But it doesn't really matter, because they were HUGE, and I thought the photos turned out super cute.

The party girls: Kennedy, Ansley, Karis and Rylee.

And in groups of two.

Karis and Rylee.

Ansley and Kennedy.

Oops. Actually that wasn't first, I just thought the pictures were so cute I had to start out with them. On the invitations, we asked the girls to wear their pj's, so everyone was all ready to be cozy and have some pajama glam fun!

We started out with dinner, which Ansley chose. Okay, if I'm being honest, she chose pot roast. But then she said my chicken tenders were a close second. Sooo, figuring that chicken tenders are a more kid-friendly food, I talked her into going with chicken tenders at ther party, promising the pot roast for her actual birthday. She agreed, so on the menu: chicken tenders, homemade mashed potatoes, and fruit.

The conversation was hilarious, but these girls are so sweet, polite, and funny. Ansley is blessed with very sweet friends!

Each girl had her name in rhinestones at her place setting. They found this delightful.

Again, Ansley's request: chocolate cupcakes with pink frosting. The toppers say Sweet Dreams because, remember? It was SUPPOSED to be a Slumber Party. Full of sweet dreaming. Turns out, that was just a dream of mine.

Then we all sang happy birthday while Ansley cowered in fright of her candle. That'll teach me not to run things past her. I thought this sparkler "8" candle was super cute, but Ansley was afraid of it. Oops.

And pink milk to drink. When you are eight, pink milk is FABULOUS. Even Rylee, who doesn't like milk, had to try it because it was pink.

Then it was Photo Booth time, but you already saw those pictures.

After dinner, the other girls begged me to let Ansley open her gifts. It's so funny when you get to the age where you can pick out a gift and are excited for the recipient to open it. Each one of these girls was very excited for Ansley to open her gift!

I love her face in this one!

All watching to see what it is.

She received fun gifts that she loved! Books, lip glosses, a fun watch, and a ring.

Everyone had to look at all the gifts, flip through the books and pass everything around.

Then there was lots of silliness.

Good thing my camera never strays too far from me.

Then they all decided that they wanted an almost-dark trampoline jump. Why not?

While they were jumping, I hid jewels all around the playroom. When they came back in, we had a Flashlight Jewel Find. I gave them each a small flashlight and a bag, and they had to find all the jewels using only the flashlights. They thought this was so much fun, we had to do it several times.

Then they had a great time sorting all their jewels, and trading for different colors or shapes, if needed.

Finally, they all got settled in for the night, even though it would be a long time before they would fall asleep. Don't let Kennedy fool you, she is not asleep. They finally drifted off close to midnight, and woke up at 5:30 this morning.

Some sleepy girls for sure, but it was a great night. I love creating sweet memories for my kids, and I know this will be one that Ansley will remember.

She did ask us if she could go to bed tonight. And I'm thinking our house is very quiet right now!