The Little Miss Kindergartner The Little Mister Pre-K(er)
and for the first time ever, The Little Sir Preschooler!
Okay, okay, so the Little Miss actually started school in August.
And the Little Sir doesn’t officially start until tomorrow.
But whatev, we’re unorthodox like that. Out of the box. Bonafide Picture-Taking REBELS, even.
Or…maybe just lazy. And a wee bit disorganized.
Oh, and if you’re wondering…
Yes, the Little Mister is always kooky like this.
And our household is ALWAYS insane. And loud.
As I’ve shared before, I’m basically raising a troop of monkeys.
I think the Little Sir may be the only one of us who is not totally off his rocker. Which is good, because someone’s gotta pay the bills and change our diapers one day.
And so to all of our Fellow Parent Sojourners our there, traveling with us on this wild and overwhelming journey we like to call “School,” (and just trying to hold on for dear life), we wish you well!
And we hope that all of your Little (Scholar) Monkeys keep you laughing as much as ours do.
Or at least that they don’t drive you totally bananas.
If you’ve read much of this blog you know that our family is BIG into celebrating. Simply put, we are REVELERS. And so for holidays, anniversaries, birthdays, baby-just-pooped-in-the-potty days, I-just-barely-survived-till-5:00 days, you name it…we’ll throw a party.
In our typical confetti-crazed fashion, when the Little Mister and Little Missy’s birthdays came on the horizon we rolled up our sleeves and got to work (i.e., I baked and shopped and planned and created all sorts of neat-o excel spreadsheets, and Mike just shook his head in bewilderment and got ready to carry the bags).
After 6 years “in the biz” (the parenting biz, that is) we’ve got this birthday party stuff down to a science. So let me break it down for you in 10 easy steps…
1) Grab some children.
Preferably those who are related to you.
And those who’ve actually turned a year older recently. Cause you know, gotta be legit and all (there are presents at stake!!!).
2) Lure in some obliging grandparents. The key here is to emphasize how the day will be full of hugs, cake, and “heartwarming milestone moments.” They’re suckers for that cheesy stuff! And you don’t want to scare them off with the reality of the noise and crazy that’s about to ensue…and the many, many ways that you are going to ask them to help.
3) Toss said party-goers into a room full of bounce houses and games. The bigger, the bouncier, the better.
4) Invite some super fun pals. Now don’t get soft on me here. We’re talking a LOT of pals…25 at least. Plus some babies for good measure!
5) Turn up the music.
Like, WAY up. Can you still hear yourself think? Yes? Okay, then crank it up some more.
6) Then let ’em loose! Make sure to shove your husband into the mix for all of the jumping, bouncing, crashing fun. Because somebody’s gotta do the heavy lifting! And because after having three children yourself, well, you joining in just ain’t gonna happen.
7) When you notice your large cadre of Merry-Makers has burned off their energy and are about to keel over from exhaustion…
8) Line ’em up and send ’em out…to the Party Room that is!
9) And then in the Party Room, with the smell of sweat and excitement wafting pungently through the air, you can ring in the new (birth) year for your beloved kiddos…
…and fill the masses with CAKE! Three kinds of cake, all homemade. Because I’ve never been one to show restraint…especially when it comes to dessert.
But, of course, remember to serve said cake in a place where someone else does all of the set-up, cake cutting, serving, and clean-up. Ugh, especially the clean-up. Because you’re brilliant like that.
And then party till the cows come home! Or until they kick you out because another party is comin’ through…whichever comes first.
10) Saunter out to the car and pat yourself on the back for a birthday party well done.
You are amazing. A champion, even.
Why hello there, world. Let me introduce you to the heart of our family…
It’s none other than our tenderhearted, effervescent Little Miss.
Our SIX-YEAR-OLD Little Miss, that is!
Her arrival in the early morning hours of July 9, 2010 was quintessential Annabelle – totally wild, crazy fast, and full of emotion. We were overjoyed to meet her.
(And to be done with that whole labor business…phew!)
Now I may affectionately call her one of my “Littles,” but there is nothing little (or quiet) about my passionate girl. Ever since her crazy-hard-wonderful arrival, the Little Miss has been living life BIG in every possible way.
She’s big on FUN,
Big on LAUGHS,
Big on ENERGY,
(I’m telling you, this Lil String-Bean never stops moving…even in her sleep.)
Big on COURAGE,
(What can I say? The girl’s got moxie.)
Big on PLAY,
(especially outside, where her imagination and enthusiasm can run rampant)
Big on FEELINGS,
(And opinions! And more feelings! And maybe another feeling after that! For the life of me, I can’t fathom where she inherited it all from…)
Big on SMARTS,
(She has about 1,000,000 questions, storylines, and songs running through her head at any given moment. And just when you’re about to keel over in exhaustion from trying to talk to her about it all, she’ll ask you to read her a book.)
Big on STYLE,
(And in my eyes, so long as she can dress herself she can wear whatever she wants. Hooray for big girl independence!)
Big on BUDDIES,
(Pied Piper, Social Butterfly, Ringleader, Chief Trouble Maker…whatever you want to call her, the girl is magnetic.)
Big on FAMILY,
And big on LOVE.
(She wrote this note as a surprise for me after an evening when I had been really upset. She taped it up so whenever I saw it my “heart would feel happy.” Sob!)
And so to our sweet, sassy Little Miss Annabelle Jane on her 6th birthday, may I say…
Daddy and I adore you. We think you are amazing and we know that God will use you and your many gifts to do BIG things in the world. You are a treasure, and each and every day since your birth you have made our hearts so very happy and have filled our home with LOVE.
