Poor Grandpa Bean...

...and the abuse he gets from Andrew

Ummm, so maybe next time no hat?

Dinner Time

How cute to see all of the kids eating at their tables. Thank you Grandpa Forte for grilling.

Random Birthday Pictures

Dad's 'trying' to look cool
These ladies don't need to try they already do look cool

Adeline did a great job greeting all of her guests. She even got a special hug from Sophie

Ginger and Willow riding the four wheelers. I am glad they were able to still ride them...I would ride it if I could. Ginger rode over my foot on accident but she quickly kissed it and made it feel all better.

The Morse kids...what good looking kids.

Addy's friend Chayse...she looks so cute dressed like Cinderella

Another hug from Sophie...she loves James. I got a hug too, it just wasn't on camera

Loving sisters, they are wearing matching dresses but Maya also has a Belle Princess dress on

So, if Adeline doesn't marry Matthias she could still marry Eli there is only three years difference

Missy with the two best buds. I think that is a pretty comfy place to be.

Must have water on a hot day

We couldn't have asked for better weather. The past two years it has been overcast but this year it was sunny and beautiful. We borrowed the Morse' pool and then also had our pool for the kids to swim in if they wanted to. Some of the girls didn't want to get out of their Princess dresses to swim but most of them did.
Chayse and Ginger. Chayse is Adeline's friend from the Omni (where I work out). Each day we go Adeline and Chayse run up to each other and hug. They all have their purses with make-up and Chayse always has extra quarters to give the girls to get gumballs. Addy was very happy that her friends Chayse and Annalyse were both able to make it from the Omni. And Ginger of course is Katie's beautiful daughter and is always so gentle with Addy whenever we go swimming with them at her Grandparents pool.

Looks like someone was swimming with the big kids

So thankful...

I was so thankful when I heard that my sister and Michael were coming. Their family has been through a lot this past year with the loss of jobs and sickness. It is not that they don't want to come but aren't sure if they can. Aliyah has been sick for awhile and Aleisha wasn't sure about bringing her around a whole bunch of people. I haven't seen that little Angel since Christmas :-( I was very happy to hear though that Aleisha and Michael would be making the trip. Addy and Michael have such a special relationship and I know Addy really wanted them there. Thank you Aleisha and Michael for making the trip it meant so much to us.

Aunt Aleisha got some Andrew time. He was a little out of it after his nap but he stayed with Aleisha and from what I heard she didn't want to let him go. (Papa! Is that a ball in his shirt?)
Cousins. What a special bond they share. Michael was such a good cousin pushing Addy in the swing, pulling her in the carriage, being her "Prince" as she called him. When Addy and Michael were by Isaac and Will the boys were very curious about who Michael was and how old he was. Apparently the conversation went like this:

Isaac "who is he?"
Adeline "he is my cousin"
Isaac "how old is he?"
Adeline "he is MY COUSIN"

And then in another conversation later:

Isaac "how old are you?"
Michael "five"
(lifting up five fingers, he turns five in August)
Michael "how old are you?"
Isaac "ten"
(holding up ten fingers, Isaac turned five in April)

I remember Michael sleeping on my chest as a newborn and now he is going to be five. He is such a sweet little man and a true blessing in my life.

We love you Aleisha, Morris, Michael and Aliyah. Thank you for making it work. We are looking forward to another celebration in August.

The Birthday Princess And Her Carriage

I think I started this at 11 pm the night before and finished it at 1 am. I am very glad that I did it because this little lady was so excited when she got to see it in the morning. Now a wagon certainly was not going to win the race but she definitely rode in style.

Princess cakes for the Princess

My first attempt made completely from scratch. I was very happy with how they turned out. I got one of the toppers from a girlfriend and the other one I had to pull off the legs to a Barbie. As I was attempting to pull off the Barbies legs I promised Adeline that if I broke it I would buy her another one. Thankfully it didn't break.

Birthday Morning

So I was really torn with what to do. I wanted to make Addy her birthday breakfast and I also wanted to run. Things worked out internally (if you know what I mean) so that I could run a long distance and not have to stop. And since we slept in a bit it would be too late for me to do both. This would be my last official outdoor run before my surgery and both Joann and Betsey were going. I asked James his opinion on if it made me a bad Mommy for not making the breakfast and he said "absolutely not". And Erin generously offered to make them. So....I went for the run, a beautiful six mile run. And when I got back I had a happy birthday girl who didn't seem to mind that I didn't make her donuts and really enjoyed her time helping Aunt Erin. I love the powdered mess in front of Andrew

So sweaty. Thankfully I got to take the first shower.

Andrew and Papa

Andrew and Papa are having some extra batting practice. Andrew loves his Papa!

Early birthday presents

Aunt Betsey, Joann and Aunt Erin came up Saturday and spent the night so that they could have some time with Addy. Aunt Betsey had to fly out to Washington for her next rotation so she was unable to make it to Addy's party. That meant that Addy got to open up some presents early which she didn't seem to mind.

After Addy opened up her fun presents we took a walk down to "neighbors" house and got some more walnuts. Then we all had some batting practice. I actually hit some over the fence. It is funny how a plastic bat and some walnuts can bring out the fun/competitive side in ourselves.

Here is Aunt Betsey taking a swing. I think she hit all of hers over the fence no problem.

Special Andrew time

Aunt Betsey got to have some special Andrew time. Once he woke up from his nap he sat with Aunt Betsey and drank some milk and then the two played together for quite awhile.

Snuggle with Aunt Betsey and Joann

Instead of giving Addy a nap we let her "rest" with Aunt Betsey and Joann while watching a movie.

Although tired Addy never fell asleep but Aunt Betsey and Joann sure did.

When baking be sure to wear your baking glasses

My little birthday girl helper. Adeline was very excited about helping me make her birthday cakes. She did such a good job and even made her own little cake that we baked in the oven. Thankfully once I put them in the oven she forgot about hers and didn't ask to eat it when it was done. The consistency of her ingredients weren't quite the same as mine.