When You're 5 The Celebration Never Ends

Just a quick note first to those of you eager to hear about the proposal--there's a reason Blake alludes to my lack of patience. You will have to have a lot too before you get that part.

Anyway, would you believe that we had yet another celebration for Kayli's birthday this week?

Believe it.

Because it happened.

At Kayli's preschool everyone gets a "special day" during the week of their birthday. And for those who had birthdays during the summer, it's done the week of their half birthday. Kayli falls outside of both of those categories, so it appeared her special day would be forgotten.

But then her teachers pulled through and told me to "just pick a day".

So, Tuesday was the big day.

I got there a little early so I got to observe how things work. I watched as Kayli did one challenge folder while the three other kids at her table worked together on the other one. And then they swapped and she completed the other one on her own as well. Apparently, she was the only child to do this.

I'm so glad she'll be in kindergarten with kids her own age next year.

But the next station was with scissors and I discovered that we definitely have a skill to work on. Now I just need to remember where I put the child scissors that I bought over a year ago for that very purpose...

Anyway, after a long wait, it was finally time to begin the rip roaring celebration.

First Kayli got to pass out the cookies I made

Does anyone else just cringe when they see milk with the lid off? I don't know why, but it's almost painful to me. I can just sense it losing nutrients and spoiling and whatnot.

After they ate their cookies they got the little "prize" Kayli brought for them. She LOVES those blower things.

Passing them out requires a lot of concentration

But it was well worth the effort when she finally got to enjoy hers!

(Note: I don't recommend buying these from Target if your child likes them for the sound they make. These didn't have any noisemaker inside! Awesome for the moms, not so awesome for the "special day" girl).

Even without the noisemaker, I still felt like I should apologize to her teachers when I saw this just as I was leaving. I'm sure it was a very productive remainder of the day.

Wednesday: SPOILER ALERT!

Just a warning, Blake kind of gives away the ending to our story at the end of this post. If you want to stay in suspense about whether or not we end up together, skip the last few sentences!

And now for a photo disclaimer:

I still haven't gotten to the pictures that I scanned onto my other computer. And then the pictures I initially tried to upload for this post couldn't hack it for some reason. So, you get super really random photos.

This is Blake playing in an intramural basketball game. This photo is actually from about that same time period. Look at the intensity on that face!

Taking Things to the Next Level

So, we spent a little more time patching things up from the recent drama. We went for a walk after my sister-in-law's birthday party the following weekend where "we talked about us and a lot about why I like him more than all the other great guys I've dated. I think he still needed reassurance after the whole thing last Thursday. I wanted so badly to tell him I loved him but I really wanted him to say it first so I held back. Finally we realized we had to say good night so he walked me to my door."

For years, I had been planning "My Love Story", along the lines of what we're doing now. I knew I would be retelling how I met and fell in love with my husband and there were a few key things that had to be JUST SO. We'd already botched the first kiss by having it on an unromantic couch. I needed to have him be the first to say the L-word. I had made sure that happened in other relationships because you never know which one you're going to marry.

So, I remember being quite anxious to say that to Blake, but I held back.

A couple weeks prior to this we had been asked to team teach a Sunday School class at church. So, the next day we planned our lesson together and then watched a movie. More from my journal:

"Occasionally during the movie I would look up at him and he would look at me with so much emotion in his eyes. After the movie ended we cuddled together and talked a little. I knew he wanted to tell me something and I was pretty sure it was that he loved me but he wouldn't say it. I wanted to say it to him but I was afraid of what might happen if he didn't feel it back. Finally, I couldn't hold it in any more and I said it. And he said it back. And then he said he'd wanted to say it first. I told him I'd wanted him to say it first too but I thought he'd never get brave enough and I couldn't wait any longer. Finally, after being silly and sappy long enough, he walked me home."

So, there went another item from my "perfect" story. But so far, it's been okay. I haven't noticed any adverse impact on our marriage from me being the one to "say it first". I still remember that moment though, and feeling like I would just burst if I didn't say it. And sometimes the love I feel for him still overwhelms me.

This is obviously not from the same time period. I just came across it and couldn't help thinking, "I really miss that tummy." I hope it's still in there...

My Version

I’ll admit that by this point in our relationship I was thinking of the potential for long-term. However, I felt that to say anything along those lines would have been very premature and would have made things awkward or worse. That’s why taking the marriage and family prep class together made me feel so uncomfortable. I just wasn’t ready to say that I could see things working out…forever.

After we got things worked out about the class (see our earlier post) and we had both acknowledged that we really liked each other, I could just tell that the relationship was getting more serious. Things were still very busy with school, but we saw each other every day and that time was always the highlight of my day. Most of the time it was in the evening as we had conflicting schedules. However, we always made sure to meet on Tuesdays at 11 a.m. for the weekly BYU devotional. I especially enjoyed this time as it gave me a break from school and I got to walk around campus with a super-hot girl.

With each passing day, looking forward to seeing Cheryl and thoroughly enjoying every moment I got to spend with her, I realized that I was falling in love with her. But when and how to say it? Would she share my feelings or tell me I was moving too fast? The first girl I dated after my mission said it to me and I responded that I did too, but inwardly it freaked me out and we ended things a month later. Then, there was another girl I dated and kissed after the fourth or fifth date. She later told me that I had moved too fast for her. I always second-guessed myself after that and things later ended between us as well. So, with Cheryl, would the L-word make things better or worse?

I hadn’t really come to any conclusion on the L-word when Cheryl and I hung out that Saturday night in January. We were over at my apartment watching an edited movie, Good Will Hunting. Great movie and great company! The main character, Will (Matt Damon) who has genius-level intelligence, is seeing a psychiatrist (Robin Williams) who is trying to help him care about and enjoy life. Interestingly enough, the psychiatrist points out that Will is so adept at anticipating future failure in his romantic relationships, that he either allows them to fizzle out or deliberately bails, in order to avoid the risk of future emotional pain. That reminds me of how I used to be with girls. I didn’t want to be hurt so I would always end it.

Anyway, you’d think that I would have been inspired to express to Cheryl how I really felt after this moving movie, but… I’m a wuss. We sat there looking at each other for a long time while the closing credits played. I was about ready to say it, but Cheryl beat me to the punch. Instantly, it was like, “why didn’t I say that a long time ago”? Oh well, it was magical even if it wasn’t “perfect” for Cheryl. A lot more things would be perfect for Cheryl if she’d just be patient! Just wait until you hear about the proposal.

A Concert for the Grandparents

Those of you who have been devotedly reading our "How We Met" may recall that on the night Blake and I first held hands and took a super super long walk, one of the things we discussed was our shared love for music. And how important we both felt it was. And oddly enough, we both stated that our (not necessarily together at the time) future children would definitely grow up in a home filled with music and would take music lessons.

And then Blake told me he played the guitar. I'm still waiting for proof of this.

But that's another issue for another day.

Kayli is still taking violin lessons and doing pretty well. So says her mother.

She finally gets to learn a semi-real song (it's an adaptation of 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star). She's been playing it really really well, so we decided to record it to share with all of you. But I made her wait until the end of her practice session to play it for the camera. I was thinking this would be good because she'd be all warmed up. But it turns out, it was bad because she was all worn out and ready to go to bed.

So, there are a few mistakes. But still, it's pretty good for a 5-year old. Plus, I'm just proud of her in general and I love to show her off.

So, without further ado, I give you "Tucka, Tucka, Twinkle Sandwich". There is a real reason for that odd name, but it's not really worth explaining.

Oh, and I don't really have an explanation for Bryce. Just enjoy him with your music. And let me know if he reminds anyone else of the flying monkeys from "The Wizard of Oz".

We're Excellent Gift Givers 'Round Here

I bought Bryce THE perfect gift today. I've been searching and researching for dump trucks for several weeks now, but none of them seemed right. And today I just happened to find the perfect one. And it was the last one so I had to snatch it up and I might have told a little fib to him that we were getting it for his friend's birthday and not for him.

And he cried.

And I felt terrible.

But I cheered him up by telling him I would indeed be buying presents for him--it just has to be closer to his birthday.

And he is going to go nuts when he opens this up on the big day. I can't wait!

And that's just how gift giving goes around here. Sometimes. Occasionally.

Like the flowers Blake got me for V-Day. I just thought you'd want to see how my Valentine's flower has been getting more and more beautiful every day.

Except, even if a picture is worth a thousand words, this one doesn't do this flower justice.

Kayli's rose from her date with her daddy has been dying for several days now. She's pretty bummed about it. And then this morning I remembered that I used to dry and save all my flowers. She was pretty pleased about this idea. And insisted I take a picture. It's like she thinks we take pictures of everything around here, or something. Where would she get that idea?

For Kayli's birthday, the perfect gift we got her was a sketch pad. I did this because if she finds a writing utensil, she is instantly doodling on whatever she finds around her. Whether it be a plastic lid, plastic wrap, facial tissue, the counter, etc.

And then we have random artwork all over the place and on things that aren't really practical to save. So I got her this sketch pad and told her to keep all the pages in it, so we could have a cool book of her drawings.

And she doodles in it all. the. time.

I love it.

This is a picture of me sleeping on the couch.

Blake and I have been having a lot of fights lately and it's so like him to kick his preggems wife to the couch curb.

Okay, not really. I'm not sure where this idea came from, but I thought it was a cute picture. The black lines on my mouth are the wrinkles lips have. She gets that fixation on detail from her daddy.

And this is a robot. Under a rain cloud. And I just thought it was super impressive for a 5-year old.

So, this post was really a sneaky way to brag about how amazing our Kayli Boo is, not so much that we're great gift givers. We've struck out plenty of times too.

I LOVE My Doctor

I really do. We hit it off right from the first visit. We'd probably be BFFs except for the reasons why that would be weird.

But here's what she said today that made me love her even more. We were discussing yet another *fun* side effect I'm experiencing thanks to this pregnancy and she said, "Has your husband promised you anything like a day at the spa, or something? He better be SO nice to you!"

There you go, Honey. Doctor's orders.

And then at the gym they called me a "Sexy Mama".

It's been a very satisfying day, thus far.

And now I'm going to work on our "How We Met", so you can have a real post one of these days.

Good News!

I found my journal. It took a little digging, but fortunately it was in the second box I checked. I wasn't really sure where to look after that, so "whew!" And shockingly, Blake has asked twice when I'm going to have my part of the next installment ready. That has NEVER before happened. So, hopefully, it won't be another year before the next blogisode of "How We Met".

But I still have to do my part. And I'm still trying to get all of these photos uploaded and organized on my computer. And I probably haven't mentioned it because I never complain here, but I'm really really really tired.

So, you're not getting it today.

All I have for today are more bizarre photos of Zima's idea of relaxation.

She was asleep before I snapped this shot--in this exact same position.

And you can see, she went right back to sleep when she saw I was just pointing my funny black box at her again.

That's her tongue hanging out the corners of her mouth.

I knew you'd want to see it up close, so here it is.

And we don't usually adorn our living room floor with this blanket. But every so often, when the winter gets to feeling WAY too long, we have a little indoor picnic on the floor. So, of course, we have to pull out the picnic blanket.

Zima thought we'd gotten her a new bed.

And then I think all my snapping away started to get on her nerves. You can tell she's about to jump up and let me have it any second now.

Fortunately, Blake was quick to rescue me by calming her down. She lives for his attention.

Don't we all?

The Two Things That Don't Last Forever

You may have thought that many thing fell under that category, but today we will be discussing the two that are of greatest significance.

The first is Valentine's Flowers

Here they are kind of from afar. I was about to throw that ribbon away with the rest of the flower wrappings, but Blake saved it and tied it on the vase. And here's how efficiently my brain is working these days: I saw it and thought, "Wow. That really matches the flowers quite well." Amazing how those florists can match ribbon to their bouquets.

In another life, Blake might have been an interior decorator.

We won't dwell on I what I might have been.

Here they are up close and personal. This is my favorite angle because I love the big purple one. I'm thinking it's some sort of mum, but I'm pretty sure we all agree that my thoughts are not to be trusted these days.

But you can see how diligent we are with our scripture study.

Here's another angle.

Still pretty.

And another. Because I was having fun standing on my tip toes and holding the camera high above my head to take these photos from above.

But this was still my favorite angle, so I took another for good measure. And the kids were delighted that Bryce somehow snuck into this one. We have very simple pleasures around here.

So, yes, flowers don't last forever, but the photos of them can.

The other thing that doesn't last forever is the Third Trimester.

I didn't feel like I was being overly negative about this pregnancy, but since I have caused trepidation for my little sister in her first pregnancy, I will now explain why being pregnant, particularly in the third trimester, is a good thing.

• Daily you get people telling you how cute you look. There is something about a pregnant woman that just draws people of all walks of life in. If only people told me I looked cute when I actually felt cute...

• You also get some really funny advice and comments. Of course, they only seem funny on certain days. On other days these same comments and tips may make you cry or want to punch someone in the face.

• There is no doubt that you are pregnant. No one is wondering if you've just let yourself go.

• People are so proud of you. For no real reason. People are proud of you for making it to the grocery store, getting out of bed, walking into the gym, putting on a coat of mascara, etc. Everywhere you go people say, "Good for you!" about some thing or other.

• Your baby is big enough to be seen while he moves around in your belly.

• It's easy for other people to see and feel this movement too. Of course, the joy in that is limited to a select few people. Mainly, husbands and other offspring. Anyone more distant than that and it's just really awkward to have them touching your belly.

• Husbands seem to be very proud of your growing belly and do and say silly things because of it. (Husbands take note: Commenting on the size of the belly is never appreciated. Ever. Unless you are pointing out that it is smaller than someone else's. That is always appreciated. Unless the 'someone else' is a sumo wrestler. Then we're back to the never appreciated part).

• Your baby will become big enough that you can see little body parts and figure out their position. I'm not quite to this stage but we're getting close. With Kayli, her favorite thing was to stick a little foot under my left lowest rib. It was a little painful, but seeing that tiny little foot took away most of the discomfort. With Bryce, it was his little tiny bum, just sticking up into the right side of my belly. Adorable little baby bum! With this one, I'm a little nervous though. I am not a super ticklish person. But I do have one spot right in the middle of my hip joint that is so ticklish that with the slightest touch, I lose all motor control. I expect that no one reading this will take advantage of this, my Achilles heel, as it would be more than awkward if you ever touched the middle of my hip joint. Except for Blake and he knows how mad it makes me any time this spot gets touched. Anyway, I've never considered this to be near or attached to my abdomen at all. But somehow, this baby manages to keep some appendage pressing against it at almost all times. I am completely baffled by this and it has me on sort of a constant edge. If he presses the slightest bit with that appendage, it causes me to jerk and flail uncontrollably. And that is, as you can imagine, so cool.

• And the final reason that I love the Third Trimester is that it is third of three. It's almost time to get to meet this mischievous little one. We're almost done!!!

So, Meg, get excited for Trimester #3. It's a good one.

Valentine's Hullabaloo!

Okay, so to be perfectly honest, the Valentine's Weekend around here was the most uneventful I've had since I began having eventful Valentine's.

We still enjoyed ourselves and stayed busy--we just kind of overlooked the holiday.

Friday we babysat a couple friends and decided to make and decorate sugar cookies with them.

Unfortunately, I forgot to pull out the camera until after our friends had left. But there were still cookies to decorate, so I made the kids keep helping.

And yes, that is canned frosting we used. I was tired.

But we made up for the store bought frosting by using lots and lots of sprinkles.

Sprinkles can compensate for just about anything.

Even unruly children.

And I had great plans to deliver these cookies to friends and neighbors to begin our weekend of sharing the love.

But it was really cold. And then my pregnancy brain kicked in and I kept forgetting to bring the cookies with me when I went out.

So, Blake's co-workers are enjoying them today.

Saturday was slotted to be the day we celebrated Valentine's because it just seemed like it would work better than Sunday.

We started things off with a romantic rendezvous at the gym lifting weights together. Then to keep that passion flowing, we headed off to another car dealership to check out Toyotas.

And a little bit of jealousy is just what every relationship needs to spice things up for V-Day, so I went out with another man for a little while. He was apparently very smitten because he has called me twice since our little outing.

Or he might just be really anxious for me to buy the car I was test driving.

Anyway, then Blake took off for a super way long meeting during which time I sat around and missed him. And then he broke our rule (we weren't going to spend any money to celebrate the holiday this year) and bought me flowers. Which I cannot for the life of me remember to photograph. They are very beautiful! Although, I don't think I've ever met a bouquet I didn't like. Especially when it's for me.

Then to really put our romantic day over the top, we all went grocery shopping together. C'est L'Amour!

Then we picked up pizza for dinner because I didn't feel like cooking.

And then we watched some Frazier reruns and I basically fell asleep on the couch.

And Sunday we didn't really do anything out of the normal for a Sunday. Except, I took a nap. That never happens. But I think I might have mentioned here before that I am very tired these days.

I did make a chuck roast that Blake was pretty excited about. And a delicious chocolate cake with cream cheese filling. Plus, I dedicated that super romantic post to him yesterday. So, it's not like I didn't do anything for him.

Just not much.

So, there you go, my friends. Romance 101.

The thing is, I don't feel disappointed. Maybe it's because I'm just too tired to get all excited over something like that. But more likely, it's because we find ways to celebrate love all year round and this year, Valentine's just didn't feel like it needed to be anything big or special.

Blake, if you're reading this, that doesn't mean you're off the hook for years to come. I'm sure it will matter to me again when I'm not so busy and preoccupied. But for now, you're doing a fabulous job of loving me and keeping my love tank filled to the top.

I love you!

To The Man Who Always Stands Beside Me

Thank you for supporting me through everything.

But you can walk ahead sometimes, too.
I like the view.

Happy Valentine's Day!

(If you want to know more things I love about this man, check out last year's post where I listed 178 things I love about him.)

Brothers & Sisters

I've heard that some kids make a quick and easy adjustment to a new sibling.

That wasn't the case with these two.

It took some time. But for a while now, they've been the best of friends. Their favorite thing to do is play together. They love to pretend to be puppies and kitties, puppies and owners, mommy and daddy to various toys, etc.

This morning Blake and I overheard the following invitation from Kayli:

"Let's play 'Brother & Sister'!"

Bryce readily agreed.

We're very creative around here with our pretend play.

A Lesson I Could Learn From My Dog

That's right. There is something Zima does that I need to do better.

I'll give you a hint: It does not involve chewing up the wires to the sprinkler system. I have had two dogs in my whole life. Both have had a thing for sprinkler systems. As in, destroying sprinkler systems. I know how to pick a dog.

Anyway, there is something Zima does that I'm a little envious of.

Relax.

I'm not saying I want to look exactly like this when I'm relaxing (we've actually found her asleep in this exact same position. So lady like). She can get herself into some pretty bizarre positions.

But if I could take a page from her book, this would be it.

I've definitely hit the Third Trimester Fatigue. And it came on so suddenly! Last week I was feeling great, thinking maybe the Fatigue would pass me by this pregnancy. But then it hit. Fortunately for me, I took full advantage of the energy when I had it.

That may be the last time my house was completely clean (we're talking deeply cleaned) for the next two years.

I should have taken pictures, so I could photoshop all my future pictures using the clean rooms as a template. That's why they say hindsight is 20/20.

And because otherwise the word "hindsight" would never get used. And that would be a tragedy.

Anyway, the thing is, even though I'm SO VERY TIRED, I have a hard time sleeping and relaxing.

This is the part of the pregnancy where I get really impatient to be done with it. I'm not trying to rush this baby out of my womb--it's still fun feeling him move around in there. I just miss being "not pregnant". I miss being able to lay on my tummy. And as I was looking around at the gym today, I saw a guy doing sit ups on the fit ball and it hit me how much I miss doing core work.

I'm probably a freak. I know. But I miss it.

Project-ing

That's why you didn't hear from me yesterday.

I was busy projecting.

I don't have too many projects going on right now, but a few of them are rather challenging. For me at least.

For example, the Moby Wrap project has been put on hold because I'm intimidated by my sewing machine. I'm not afraid of the sewing part--that will be easy. It's just that I have to figure out how to thread it and also wind a bobbin. The funny thing is, this may not be a big deal. I haven't even looked at it yet to see if it's hard. But the guy at the sewing machine repair shop said something that made me think it is. So, I'm waiting for a day that I have nothing else to do but sit and figure out how to thread my machine.

Unfortunately, I have a feeling my baby will be much much too big to fit in the Moby by the time that day comes. So, I may have to make it happen sooner than later. But not today. Or yesterday. Yesterday I decided to focus strictly on projects that weren't overly intimidating.

Wanna see my progress, so far?

The kids bathroom was the first room I designed (in my head) after moving here. Odd place to start? Maybe. But they were so homesick for the beach, I thought I'd bring them a little bit of the beach and the bathroom was the logical place to do that. For SO many reasons.

So, I got them some beachy colored towels and a shower curtain that is beachy without being overly so. And then I printed some photo collages to hang. And then I stalled.

But this week, I decided to get the frames needed to actually hang those photos. Unfortunately, the next step after this is painting the bathroom itself and I'm really not sure when I'll get to that one. The intimidation I feel from threading my sewing machine is like a molehill compared to this mountain.

But for now, I'm kind of proud of the way the pictures and their frames turned out.

Sorry for the bad lighting. I haven't glued the shells down yet, so I was afraid to move the frames and jostle the shells.

This is a little better. I may get some sand to throw in there too. Or a little hermit crab to live inside. Wouldn't that be fun?

The funky shells sitting atop the frames were my favorite, but the frames weren't quite deep enough to hold them. So, they have to sit atop.

And my next project:

A little old fashioned fire truck I'm going to paint to decorate Bryce's room. It will look perfect on the shelf full of fire man pictures. But I have to hang the shelf first. I'm not really a painter, so I'm a little nervous about this one. Fortunately, the recipient does not have a very critical eye and is extremely excited about all things fire truck-related.

And then I worked on a project that is a secret. But only from one of you, so don't the rest of you go getting all excited. I can't make projects for all of you. Besides, this one is nearly two months late already, so you'd be waiting a very very long time.

And throughout all of it, I was working on another little project of making my house smell like heaven.

And this is one project that I completed in full, with great success. The very first time I made this bread, Blake asked where I got it from. It looks so professionally made. That's because I have a habit of buying bread from a bakery, bringing it home, pulling it out of the bag, and setting it on a random towel.

Or maybe it had something to do with the oats sprinkled on top. It's the way the professional bakers do it.

And my family can't get enough of this bread. Blake couldn't even stand being in the house for more than a minute before he already had half of one sliced up and ready to eat. But that's a story for another post...

A Face Only a Mother Could Love

But you might enjoy it anyway.

So, while we were out for Thanksgiving Blake's family decided it was time to update the family photo.

Bryce was most displeased by this decision. He wanted to be playing with the chickens running around outside the studio.

So, it became the goal of the photographer to get him to smile.

My goal was to suck in my belly so I wouldn't look pregnant.

She succeeded!

Once.

And I insisted on being in the back row.

Then the smile became this

And this

He genuinely thinks this is a smile

I'm not sure what this is

He looks a little uncertain himself. About what, though? It couldn't possibly that sweet, angelic little face above him.

And then there was this

And then this

And the photographer had disturbing nightmares that night of Alien vs. Predator: The Offspring every night that week.

But still, she kept trying.

We thought we'd get a precious family snapshot

We got this

And if we'd seen this 6 1/2 months ago, we may have thought a little longer about our decision to procreate again.

Why We Needed Donuts

Or, The Best Night of Kayli's Life. Ever. So far.

Her first date! And yes, it ended with a kiss!

Don't worry, it was with her daddy

Our gym sponsored a Daddy Daughter Dance

She was so excited all week for this. It was the cutest thing listening to her anticipation chatter!

Don't worry, Bryce wasn't left out.

I told him we'd be going on a date as well. When I asked, he requested donuts and a movie. Sounds good to me!

Then the snow hit, so we had to improvise with our homemade donuts (Blake doesn't mind driving in the snow as much as I do, so Kayli's night wasn't ruined--thank goodness!).

I was so busy getting Kayli all ready for her date, I forgot to get ready for mine. I didn't realize until I was going to bed that night that I'd never even done my own make up. Fortunately, I'm pretty sure my date didn't notice (or care) either!

I couldn't even get him to stop eating his donut for any of the photos. At least he was enjoying our date!

Then we headed downstairs to watch "Fire Busters"! I think he might have been more excited to be sitting next to me while watching a movie than actually watching the movie itself. That's super flattering since he's still obsessed with firetrucks.

But all through the movie, he kept turning to me and saying, "You're sitting next to me!" It's not like I don't do things with him, they just hardly ever watch movies. When they do, it's usually so I can get some housecleaning done without all their interruptions. He always asks me to sit and watch with him though. Now I know, that's a really big deal for my little guy. It was so cute and sweet.

Meanwhile, Kayli and Blake were having a blast dancing the night away. There were lights and decorations, friends to dance around with, some of Kayli's favorite songs, and pieces of cake for them to decorate however they wanted. Although, Blake said she decorated her piece and then ran off to dance some more before eating it. He tried to watch it for her, but then she wanted him to join her and it got thrown away.

And then she decorated another, only to be distracted by yet another favorite song, and the whole thing happened all over again.

Have I ever told you how much this little girl loves dancing? And has ever since she had the ability to control her movements.

Blake said it was pretty hard getting her to stand still for him to get some photos with his phone

When they got home, she was just glowing (and she had a pretty rose they'd given to her). She hasn't stopped talking about it yet. I'm so glad they got to go! When they first got home, she said, "Everyone kept telling me I look very beautiful." It was so sweet. I'm so grateful she has a daddy wonderful enough to take her and make her feel so special.

That almost makes up for him asking me yesterday (quite doubtfully) how a kick from something so tiny can really hurt.

Blake and I had planned on doing something together after getting the kids to bed, but it turns out our dates were too much fun and we were both exhausted and headed straight to bed ourselves.

I'm so glad we did this though. It was fun to see how great and important it made the kids feel and I can tell they'll both remember that night for a while to come. Definitely something we'll have to repeat!