Bryce is 8

Having a birthday on a weekend is way better than a weekday!  Bryce had big plans for his day today.  First up was breakfast at Waffle House.  This is a tradition that he and Jason started a few years back.  I love to think about when he's in his twenties if they'll still go to Waffle House for his birthday breakfast!

After Waffle House, the Walmart claw machine is also a tradition. 

Next up was the Science Museum.  Thanks to MeMa and PaPa, we were able to purchase a membership when we went today.  Watching the rats play basketball is one of their favorite things to do there!

How is it that he's already 8?!?

Submarine

I just died over how she posed herself without any help.

After picking up Bryce's cake for our family celebration tomorrow, we met up with Nanny and Nana for more fun.  Bryce picked Noodles & Co.  

And the biggest surprise of the day was going to Build a Bear.  Bryce had asked for a gift card for his birthday and Emmy got one earlier in the month in preparation for Bryce getting one.  Someone I didn't manage to get pictures of their completed animals, but Bryce chose a blue T-Rex.

Emmy got a dog and she put roller skates on her!

Two happy kiddos!

We came home for about an hour and then headed out for last hurrah; dinner at the Caddell's.  I felt bad because Bryce hadn't had any birthday cake or blown out any candles so Kelly put some candles on the brownie we had for dessert and we sang to him!

I'm pretty sure it was a fantastic day!

8 year old stats:

Weight: 53lbs

Height: 48 1/8

His vision test was a bit off so we're headed to the eye doctor soon to see if he has in fact inherited his daddy's poor eyesight!  

bryce's rock climbing party

Instead of a large party this year, Bryce opted to take a few friends to a local indoor rock climbing wall.  He was so excited!

This was a first for Bryce and all of his friends, but they did a great job and had a lot of fun!

The first wall was pretty easy and not too high!

The second wall wasn't too much harder, but it was the tallest in the building!

The final was pretty challenging and the boys were exhausted afterward.  But they still had enough energy to be silly.

After climbing, we went out for pizza!

The girls were invited to rock climb, but they opted to stay back and do their own thing with Kelly and then join us for dinner and dessert.

Sweet Frog with sweet friends.

The girls made sure not to miss the best parts!

just some things

My  little Target shopping buddy!

My little napping buddy!

Emmy is quick to join Bentley in the crate when he doesn't want to come out!

I love this little cuddle bug!

We have had some very unseasonably warm weather here lately and we're enjoying every second of it.  We tried out a fun burger place last Sunday and had such a great time eating outside and enjoying the weather.

Bryce's class performed in the talent show this past week.  They sang and danced to Justin Timberlake's "Can't Stop the Feeling".  It was cute and they did a great job.

Emmy finished up another session of gymnastics this week!

valentine's day

I had a time hop picture come up of fun Valentine cookies we had made two years ago so I decided we needed to decorate more this year!  When Bryce got home from school the day before Valentine's Day, we spent the afternoon decorating!

I did the border for their cookies and then they filled them and decorated them.

They turned out so pretty!

And they tasted pretty good too!

Bryce's class got to exchange Valentine's with the class, but that was the extent of the fun they have in second grade!  I'm the room mom for Emmy's class so I planned some fun things for them to do during their party.

A cookie as big as her face!

We had dinner with the neighbors on Valentine's day!  We enjoyed yummy food, a fun game and good company!

camera phone

I'm not usually one to run out and get the newest phone on the market, but I REALLY wanted the iphone 7 plus.  I had gotten the 6 over the summer because I had been having some trouble with my old phone, but after I started seeing the picture quality of the 7 plus, I had to have it!

I'm not good about using my SLR and I when I do, let's be honest, I have no idea how to use it.  I will say I did pretty good with the 55mm lens for our Christmas card, but that was literally the first time I've picked up that camera in months.  I was so excited to find out the 7 plus could do the same thing for me!

I just love how you can blur out the background so easily!

This is one of my favorites!

She looks good with any camera!

I highly recommend the 7 plus if you need/want a new phone and good camera!

Emmy is 5

Emmy started her birthday celebrations on Saturday with a shopping trip and lunch at Noodles with MeMa and PaPa.  She made a shopping list of what she wanted and came back with all of her items (birthday shirt, belt and slippers)!

The kids had a sleepover at MeMa and PaPa's on Saturday night and Emmy showed up at church on Sunday morning with a fancy birthday crown since it was her party day!

Emmy chose to have her party at Pump It Up this year!

She had tons of friends come out and celebrate with her! 

The boys stuck together!

Jason was the biggest kid out there.  He had a fun time bouncing and knocking the kids around the inflatables.  

Cheese!

I don't even know how we got to 5 so quickly.  Slow down time!

This birthday princess had a great party!

Opening presents at the party is too stressful for me so we wheeled all the presents out to open at home.  Emmy was not going to let them out of her sight!

Monday was her actual birthday!

5 year old stats

weight: 34lbs

height: 40 3/8in

vision: left eye-20/32, right eye-20/25

blood pressure: 86/48

We had a girls day planned with Nanny and Nana.

Emmy got her own chair since it was her birthday!  She usually sits with me and just gets her toes painted, but she got the full spa experience this time! 

Her lunch request was a soft pretzel from Target!

We had family over last night to wrap up the birthday celebrations.  

This sweet girl has blessed our lives more than we could have imagined.  She has a smile that lights up the world and she has the sweetest heart.  We're so proud to be her parents and are excited to see what great things God has in store for her.  

Happy 5th birthday to our sweet precious Emmy girl!