My Ladybug Turned Seven! (and some other updates)

The last few weeks have been completely crazy for us - good crazy, but crazy nonetheless. The latest piece of news in our world is that our little ladybug turned seven. SEVEN PEOPLE. Sometimes, that blows my mind...as a little girl, I always dreamed of my little girl...and here is the first of two little girls we've been blessed with, growing up right before my very eyes! I am one blessed Mom - I get to be a mom to not just the ladybug, but her older brother and younger sister too. God is good. :)

For Rylie's party, she decided she wanted a sleepover. So, we invited a handful of friends to come over and play all night! It was an absolute BLAST. We have Rylie, Zoe, Riley, Kailey, Sierra, Madison, Sarah and Hailey. Riley and Kailey couldn't stay all night, but they hung out for awhile and played.

Have I mentioned I have one of the best moms in the world? Well, in case I haven't, I do. Who else would sign up to come over and not only "help" control the chaos, but contribute to the fun too?!?! One of the biggest hits of the night was "face painting with Nana!" - the girls literally fought over who was going to be next in line!

In addition to face painting, we had cookie-decorating (look below, MY daughter is the one that decorated her cookie with cheezits!), jewelry-making, cupcake-eating, picture-taking, movie-watching, popcorn-eating FUN all night long.

Oh - quick note. So, where were Mike and Josh for all of this fun right??? Well, my funny husband decided to get the heck out of dodge and got a hotel room for the night. Most people didn't believe me when I told them...really??? If you'd been there, you wouldn't have blamed him. This slumber party was as fun as fun could be, but it was NOT for the faint of heart. Er, NOT for dads or brothers. Er, NOT for boys. :)

Throughout the course of the night, we had a few meltdowns. You could tell by just looking at these sweet little girls that the emotion just caught up with them...I think they honestly didn't know what to do with everything that was going on and all the excitement, so it erupted into tears a few times. All in all, NOT bad...we didn't have to call any parents. And my sweet ladybug tried to coax one of the girls through it (mind you, she had her own meltdown at one point, but she was very focused on her friends!). One little girl popped a balloon and then got upset that it had popped. I ran upstairs when I heard she was crying and she explained what she was crying about. I told her it was actually ok, because she was supposed to pop some of the balloons...there were notes in each one that told us what our next activity was. So, she sniffled and wiped her tears away and we were getting up to go downstairs. Rylie leaned over on one knee, touched her shoulders gently, and said "it's okay...it might be the worst slumber party ever, but it's okay, because it's not!". That's verbatim, folks. Then she said (as she stood up) "now turn that frown upside down". Seriously, again, that's verbatim. She literally said that.

Anyway, it was truly a GREAT time and I'm sure from here on out, the choice will be to have a slumber party every year. So, Mom/Nana, hope you're ready for next year by the time it rolls around. :)

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Saturday, after all the girls went home, we had a relaxing afternoon at home. I cleaned up the house, got some cooking done, and even took a little nap myself. Then, we had family over for dinner. Rylie was given the choice to go anywhere she wanted for dinner, but she chose breakfast at home. :) So, I made breakfast casserole, pancake casserole, fruit salad, and my mom made cinnamon rolls. 

Happy Birthday Ladybug - you make me feel like the luckiest Mom in the world...I am so blessed and I thank God for you daily. Don't ever stop being just who you are - He made you beautifully. Psalm 139:14.

Singing Happy Birthday

The most beautiful ladybug I've ever seen! :)

Decorating cookies - clockwise from top (starting with Rylie) - Rylie, Riley, Kailey, Hailey, Sierra, Sarah, Zoe (Madison not pictured)

Zoe and her cookie...yes, she added cheezits to hers.

Riley and Rylie

Rylie and Madison

Rylie and Sierra

Rylie and Hailey

Rylie and Sarah

Nana painting Zoe's face

Making jewelry! Madison (with a flower on her face), Sarah (with a tulip on her face), Rylie (with a heart on her face), Sierra (with a ladybug, sort of, on her face), and Hailey (with a cupcake on her face)

Opening presents...see how nicely they're all sitting in a row a couple feet back? Yeah...that didn't last long. ;-) 

Jewelry!!!

Accommodations included two tents :)

And they're out!!!

My mom found these COOL lanterns that we used to light up the inside of the tent - they were perfect!

The next morning - they all survived!

Rylie's birthday dinner - Arden Ruth, Rylie and Zoe - SWEET girls (and not to mention gorgeous, every one of them!)