Happy Birthday Hanna!

Last week we celebrated Hanna's 14th birthday. Her birthday is special to me because it's the day I became a mother. When I first had Hanna, I had never really taken care of a baby before-- I definitely had no clue what I was doing. I hate looking at those home videos of her as a baby. One of them is when she was crying and I keep thinking, "Just get her a bottle. Why didn't I get her a bottle?"  Although I still don't know everything about being a mother and half the time I don't know what I'm doing, I sure have learned a lot and have gained a lot of experience. It's been quite a crazy ride we've taken the past 14 years.

Our church has a program for girls ages 12-17 called Young Women. There are three groups: Beehives (ages 12 & 13), Mia Maids (ages 14 & 15) and Laurels (ages 16 & 17). Now that Hanna is 14 she's entering Mia Maids. Her new advisor came over while she was in school and heart-attacked her door. She also gave her a "first dance kit".  It had a list of things to do before going to a dance (i.e. brush your teeth, take a shower) and then it had some gum and mouthwash and other stuff in there. I thought it was so cute and Hanna loved the surprise of having her door decorated.

Hanna's Door 

 The Birthday Girl

 This is her absolute favorite gift...a chocolate rose (costing a whole dollar!). 

 Lately Hanna has been pretty sick with either seizures themselves or some pretty harsh side-effects of her anti-seizure medicine. She was really worried about being sick on her birthday. As a birthday present, she had a tender mercy of the Lord and was able to enjoy her birthday. She felt well enough to go to school and had a great time there. Then she enjoyed her evening having KFC for dinner and watching the movie Soul Surfer.

 We made chocolate dipped strawberries for dessert. They were the first of the season and a little sour, but with the chocolate...a perfect treat.

 Hanna wanted a Candyland cake for her birthday. The kids had a great time decorating it.

Alyssa and Kohler are watching over the cake.

Opening presents.  For her birthday Hanna got some art supplies, puzzles, money, dresses and some books. She loved them all.

Here are the puzzles she got from Grandma and Grandpa Wheeler. She opened the card that Grandma and Grandpa Smith sent and was surprised to find money!  She's not sure what to spend it on yet...she wants it to be something special.

 Blowing out the candles.

We told Hanna that she had to be 14 years old before she could attend dances. She was so excited that only a week after her 14th birthday her school was having a Valentines Day dance. 

 Here's Hanna all dressed up and ready to go to her first dance.

A close up shot. She's even wearing lip gloss. She's looking so grown up!

It was a surreal moment for me. Hanna has been out with friends before during the day, or at church functions and we've gone out a lot as a family but this is the first time Hanna has gone out on a Friday Night by herself (of course there were chaperones at the dance...but still). It was the first time that I had to stay up and wait for my daughter to come home so I could ask her how her night was...very strange. She had a great time though. She danced with a couple of boys and followed all of our rules. My baby is truly growing up, sniff, sniff.

Here are some fun facts about Hanna...

Favorite Color:

Red

Favorite Food:

Seafood

Favorite Movie:

The Hulk (but she can't WAIT until The Avengers comes out in May)

Favorite Book:

Harry Potter

Favorite Song:

Soundtrack to the Secret Garden (she loves movie soundtracks)

Favorite Scripture Story:

David and Goliath

Favorite thing about being a teenager:

Getting attention from boys (I think we're in trouble)

What she wants to be when she grows up:

Traveler/Explorer

Favorite Activity:

Drawing

Favorite thing about school:

Art

Favorite Sport:

Soccer

Something Special About Hanna:

Hanna is a special girl and those who really get to know her, truly love her. She is very kind and wants to help people. She uses her art to bless the lives of others. Our Bishop's wife has been very sick and so Hanna painted her a picture as a get well present. She's very thoughtful of others and sometimes feels bad that she doesn't fit in or that she's different but we keep reminding her that different does not mean less. She has a great spiritual nature and practices her faith everyday. She works hard on her Personal Progress (a program in Young Women) and she's read the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price all the way through by herself. She's now reading the Old Testament and is in the book of Ruth. She's a great example for us and we love her!!

Happy Birthday Alyssa!

This past week we celebrated Alyssa's birthday...If it seems like I've posted a lot about birthdays lately it's because I HAVE!  Fall and Winter are the seasons of our family birthday craze!

This year Alyssa's birthday fell on Martin Luther King Day and so the kids had the day off of school. For an activity, Alyssa decided she wanted to have a picnic at the park and have a play date with her friend Ashlyn.

Here she is opening her present from Ashlyn. They both love anything Monster High.

She got a Monster High pet, and a Monster High bag that Ashlyn sewed for her.

Alyssa and Ashlyn are cute friends. They love to be together and they look so much alike.

In the evening Charlene and her family came over to celebrate. Alyssa decided that she wanted Chinese Food for her birthday dinner.

 Jason showing off his dinner.

 Here's the Birthday Girl with her new boots. She has been asking for months for boots. I guess they're the rage now. She loves them and wears them everywhere she goes. 

Here's another shot of Alyssa's dinner. We tried a recipe for Panda Express Orange Chicken in the crock pot that I found on Pintrest. Eh--it was okay--not quite the same as going to Panda.  Aunt Char made the ham fried rice and egg rolls. Those were a hit! 

 Alyssa wanted a chocolate ipod cake with purple frosting (all of her favorite things). :)

Here's Alyssa with her finished product.

Everyone is ready for cake and ice cream.

Lighting the candles.

Blowing out the candles.

 Alyssa with her stash of presents.

 Opening presents.

 Seriously, why this is sideways I have NO idea!! Anyway, she got a Batman and Catwoman Lego set from Grandma and Grandpa Smith. She loved putting the Lego set together and loves the little Lego Batman and Catwoman.

I think the little ones are even more excited than Alyssa.

From Grandma and Grandpa Wheeler, Alyssa got a Littlest Pet Shop set with 10 Little pets. Her favorite is the dog with the purple sparkly ears. Luckily Alyssa is great at sharing because her siblings were dying to get a hold of these.

One cool story about her birthday (and this shows a little about Alyssa's personality) is that she really wanted a Monster High Clawdeen Wolf doll for her birthday. But all the stores were sold out (I mean every store in the Metro-Phoenix area). We tried online and they were going for $50-60. There was no way we could get one for her. Even though that was on the top of her list, Alyssa decided to be grateful and enjoy the presents that she did get. She was patient, did not throw a fit and was grateful for what she had. We really feel privileged to have her as a daughter.

Anyway, Jason stopped by Walmart to get a few things (the one right by our house) and decided to check the toy section. They had 2 Clawdeen Wolf dolls (they were all out just a couple days prior) so Jason was able to surprise Alyssa with a Clawdeen Wolf (about a week after her birthday). She was

so excited!! 

Alyssa really had a great birthday full of friends and family. We really hope that Alyssa could feel special and know that she is loved.

Here are some fun facts about Alyssa

Favorite Food

Pizza

Favorite Color

Red

Favorite Movie

Megamind

Favorite TV Show

Teen Titans

Favorite Book

Mermaid Sister

Favorite Scripture Story

Nephi and the Brass Plates

Favorite Song

Primary: Pioneer Children 

Other: Love Story -Taylor Swift and Love Song- Selena Gomez

Favorite Thing about School

Recess and Math

Favorite Activities

Make Cookies, Play with Barbies and Monster High dolls, Draw, Watch TV, Play Wii, Play with Friends

Special Things About Alyssa

*Alyssa is a night owl. She loves to go to bed late and likes to read in bed.

*Alyssa is probably the easiest one to get along with in the family.

*Alyssa is very content and grateful for what she has.

*Alyssa is constantly getting dirty- whether it's a milk mustache or dirty fingers--she must have a lot of fun.

*Alyssa has a very sweet spirit. There is just something endearing about her--I can't quite put my finger on it, but if Alyssa is sad it breaks our hearts.

*Alyssa is pretty quiet but you get her alone and she'll talk your ear off.

*Alyssa is playful and loves to tease.

We love Alyssa and are so happy to have her in our family. Truly without her, it wouldn't be the same.

Family Visits

Jason's cousin Lana and Kurt White came into town to attend a wedding. We were able to meet them at the Mesa LDS Temple and catch up a little.

 Alyssa is our tree climber. If there is a tree to climb, she'll be in it.

Lauren and Brynlie are trying to climb trees too.

 I love this shot of Alyssa.

 

After visiting at the temple, we went out for lunch. It was so much fun to catch up and visit together.

After visiting with Lana and Kurt, we headed over to the park to enjoy the beautiful afternoon weather.

Kamary, Alyssa and Lauren love playing in the sand. Hanna and Kohler played baseball and threw around Kohler's football.

Brynlie conquered the slide--it truly is a feat!

Kamary buried waist deep in sand.

It really was a great winter day in Arizona. Time together as family with plenty of sunshine and places to roam and explore.

Random Pics for the New Year!

Here are some random pics and things that we've been up to.

First the dogs. We have a huge English Mastiff named Minnie and a Chihuahua/Maltese mix named Little Smokie. We love having opposite dogs. The little one is feisty, the big one is a gentle giant and they are best friends. They love to cuddle. Every time we try to take pictures they move. So here's our attempt at capturing our sweet puppies.

 Smokie loves to lay on top of Minnie. This is a common sight. (Yes, I know my floor needs to be vacuumed).

Here they are on the couch.

 Sweet Minnie. She really is such a sweetheart. I don't remember when it became okay to lay on our couch, but somewhere along the line we gave in.

Minnie often sleeps with her tongue sticking out-- silly dog.

Another shot of Smokie and Minnie. It's really funny because Smokie freezes in the Winter so we have to keep her warm and Minnie gets too hot in the Summer so we have to keep her cool. I guess it goes with the polar opposites of size.

Charlene came over for the New Year and gave us all new looks-- Yay for Char. She is a total sweetheart!

Brynlie got her first hair cut ever.

She looks so cute!  More like a little girl instead of a toddler- sniff, sniff.

Another shot of Brynlie.

I decided to put some strawberry highlights in my hair. We knew that my hair pulled red, so we chose a really light color that hardly had any red in it. Here's the result. I really like it though. It's fun and has personality. 

 Another shot.

Here's the back.

 Lauren got a trim.

Alyssa got bangs again.

Here are Lauren and Alyssa together. Kohler also got a hair cut and looks like a handsome little boy (instead of a scraggly one)-- I didn't get a picture though. 

Here's another random picture...

Who needs a swimming pool?  My kids love to take baths everyday. Instead of struggling to get them in the bath, I struggle to get them out!

 Brynlie loves the movie Tangled and loves to pretend that she's Rapunzel. She uses a hooded towel for her long hair. If we brush her towel (or even her real hair) she'll sing Rapunzel's special song. Too bad it doesn't really make me younger (or at least give me more energy).

Here's her "hair" from the back. Kamary actually made Rapunzel hair for Brynlie out of yarn. I'm going to have to snag a picture of it and post later on.

Even though life is crazy and often chaotic, I love my kids. They bring so much personality, fun and entertainment into our home. They all have great spirits and really try their best to do what they know is right. I am blessed to be their mother.