Tween?!

Another child in our house has left life in single digits! I can hardly believe Sarah is 10...TEN years old! When I asked Sarah what she wanted for her birthday she said, "Oh, just clothes and jewelry...maybe a gift certificate to Clair's." Now, I don't know about you, but I think she fits squarely in the "tween" category. For further evidence, all you need to do is look at what she is wearing in these photos and where we are celebrating. No more Gymboree ensembles. No more princess parties. (Nope, I am not going to get sentimental...no, no, no...I will just keep telling myself that.)

First, the clothing. A couple weeks ago, she was trying to describe to me the kind of shirt she wanted. "Mom, it has this little jacket thing attached," is what she told me. I wasn't sure when she was telling me, but once I saw it I was pretty sure and when she unwrapped it, I knew I'd been exactly right. She also loved the "tunic" shirt I gave...only problem was, it apparently needed a black belt to complete the look. I obliged by sewing up a little black sash (see photos).

Second, the party. She was quick to tell me she wanted to celebrate at Boondock's this year. I'm glad I didn't see this one coming because I think I would have been much more sentimental about not doing a little theme party at home. Maybe I expected to do princess, butterfly and kitty parties forever or maybe I am in total denial that my little girl is growing up. Regardless, the party was hit...a huge hit and that makes me nothing but happy. It was such a joy to watch her having so much fun with her friends....she was in heaven. While watching all the girls at the party, Chad and I maybe an observation. Sarah has a wide variety of friends and that is just cool. I love that she can have so much fun with a variety of ages and personalities. I think finding commonalities with people is so important and I hope that Sarah continues to do that. I am so thankful for her truly unique and creative spirit...for those of you that know Sarah know exactly what I am talking about. She is special. She is one of kind. She brings so much joy to her family and those around her.

Here kitty, kitty....

This year was Jenna's very first friend party! She was so excited to have a real party this year (we only do friend parties every other year). Jenna had no problem deciding what kind of party she wanted...a kitty party all the way! With so many creative ideas floating around, I had no problem finding cute things to do. Jenna loved handing out her kitten invitation (found on Etsy) and she also loved helping me get ready for the party. Just before the party as I was running around trying to finish everything up, I exclaimed, "Where did the time go?!" Without missing a beat, she hollered from the other room, "It's on the stove, Mom!" I love, love this age.

As each of the girls arrived, I told them they would come as a little girl and leave as a kitten. While they were waiting for everyone to arrive, They got to practice licking like a kitten with a popsicle. (yes, I tried to turn whatever I could into a kitten theme)  We then started our first game in which they would be given their new kitten name. My little helpers (Sarah and her friend Maggie) had strung yarn every which way in the basement and the girls had to follow their string to their new, unique kitten name. I think my helpers got a little carried away with the string as it got a little tangled and confusing, but still very fun.

Next, we created name collars with ribbon and tags. Then, they were given a set of "paws" (socks with pink felt paws). Once they had their paws on, it was time to start the next game. I had two boxes wrapped in layers and layers of paper. The girls then had to paw their way through the layers. I love this game (and have used variations of it in many parties), the socks make it take longer and what kid doesn't love unwrapping something? When everything was unwrapped, the kids found two of their party favors; kitten ears and a kitten tail.

To make the transformation complete, I had my helpers paint whiskers and nose on each girl. They were so excited....I have never heard so much meowing (yes, it was loud!). They all began running, hopping and crawling (and of course, meowing...lots of meowing) like kittens all over the house.

Finally, it was time for cake and presents. In true Jenna form, she got a little embarassed and shy when everyone started singing to her. Look closely at the photo....she has her head turned to the side with her tongue twisted in her mouth....so funny, so Jenna. The girls loved their kitten cupcakes and kitten party bags. I think it was all a success. Jenna slept with her kitten tail pinned to her pajamas....I don't think I could have been given a better compliment!

Babies grow up

So my baby turned six today. I am trying really hard not to think about it too much. I keep pushing down the sentimental memories of Jenna when she actually was a baby. I swore I would never "baby my baby," but the hard thing about that is when you have your last one, you are never forced to move onto babying the next one and so you just kind of get stuck into always seeing that child as a baby. It's these darn milestones that force us to face reality a bit. We all grow up and that's a good thing, right?

As soon as Jenna realized her birthday was approaching, she began counting down the days. "Six more days, Mom...then I will be six," she said while holding up the appropriate amount of fingers. Without a doubt, this last year has shown a big jump in Jenna's maturity level; emotionally and educationally. It hasn't been without a lot of work though. She has really worked hard this year and it has been exciting to see so much growth. With each sight word learned, I have seen her confidence grow. If you know Jenna, you know she is a bit shy and that shyness usually exhibits itself with a ornery-tinged scowl. This personality characteristic has made learning certain things a bit of a challenge; she doesn't like to be wrong and it's been hard for her to find the confidence to try whether she knows the  right or wrong answer. Nothing has made me more proud of her than to see her keep pushing forward and allowing courage and confidence replace the fear of failure.

Last night, Jenna whispered to Chad that she wanted all of us to be hiding and surprise her this morning. This morning we all gathered around her just after she woke up and sang "Happy Birthday" to her. In typical Jenna fashion, she tried to hide her smile as she was shrinking into Chad's arms from embarassment. So funny to see her love the attention, but still not liking being put on the spot at the same time! Today she had a special lunch date with G'ma and G'pa Jensen, got a special phone calls from Aunt Tammi and G'ma and G'pa Medeiros, opened some fun gifts (she loves "I Spy") and had a dinner of her choice (Chuck-a-rama). I think she had a great day and she will get to celebrate all over again when she has her very first friend party next week!