Georgia's Birthday Pictures

Georgia had a great birthday. We had a lot of fun during the day-going to the library, and playing with her cousin Madison and her sisters.



Right before dinner my other sister and her kids came down, so all the cousins were together (and Georgia decided she didn't like her hair any more and took it out...sadness). She had a yummy dinner of homemade mac and cheese, and then she opened her presents.



She got the three bears as stuffed animals from her Gigi and Pappy, and freaked out when I tried to take one of them to show my mom..."no, mine!!"

My Grandpa and Grandma Sessions started giving the girls dollars in their cards thanks to Gwen. Right before we moved here from Idaho, my Grandparents came up from St. George, Utah to see us one last time. Gracie's birthday was just a few days away, so they brought her birthday card with them. Gwen was so upset that Grace got something and she didn't that my Grandpa gave her a dollar. Gwen was soooo excited over that dollar (dancing and singing about it for the next two days) that they now put a dollar in each great-grandchild's card. Georgia was so thrilled to get hers too.

This was Georgia's birthday present from her Great Grandpa and Grandma Sessions. It's a fisher price little people stow and go camping set. We love camping, and this little tent has a handle so Georgia can put all the toys inside the tent and take the tent along with her anywhere she goes.

Georgia got a tag junior for Christmas, and loves reading the books. So Gwen and Grace got her an Elmo book for her birthday that she can read with her tag junior. She loves Elmo.

And because she loves Elmo so much, that kind of became the theme of her cake and party. We had Elmo streamers, and after she opened her presents, we got out the Elmo party hats. She loved those.

She was so excited to see her Elmo cake, but couldn't quite figure out how to blow out the candles. Gwen, Grace and I all helped her blow them out.

This was her Elmo cake. Nothing special. Some Elmo candies around the sides, an Elmo candle, some snickers minis covered in icing to look like more presents, some sprinkles around elmo and the writing to look like confetti, and that's it. I had a hard time finding things or ideas I could use for her cake, so this is the way it came out. Didn't matter to her though. She loved it, and had an awesome birthday. Thanks to everyone who came to spend time with her on her birthday, and to all who gave her gifts. You all made her day very special!!

Happy Birthday Gwenyth!!

Happy Birthday little peanut!! Today you turn 5, and I just can't believe it. How are you 5 years old already? Where has all the time gone? It seems like just yesterday that we were calling you our little orange yoda...and now 5 years have passed and you have grown into such a smart, healthy, and beautiful little girl.

We were so thrilled when we found out we were pregnant with you. Daddy went into shock for a couple of days, but he was just as excited as I was for you to come. As your due date came closer and closer, we wondered and hoped that you would come early. Already showing us you were stubborn, you finally came right on your due date. You were so tiny that the doctors thought for sure you were really early, but you were just our little peanut!

That first year went by so fast!! You continued to stay a little peanut, but you made up for it in how fast you learned. You hit every milestone early, and were walking by the time you were 9 1/2 months old. The only thing we worried about was you not having any teeth...it took forever for you to get your teeth. You were a very stubborn and trying baby, but we loved you so much and would've done anything for you.

And then you turned two!! I couldn't believe how fast time had gone. Your body still didn't grow very fast, but your mind did. You picked up on words so quickly that by the time you were two you were talking in almost complete sentences. You loved to read, and you still enjoyed snuggling with Daddy and I. You proved to be an excellent helper and such a loving sister when Gracie joined our family. You were such a curious little girl.

You almost had to share your 3rd birthday with another sister, Georgia. You didn't care though. You were so excited to help out with yet again another baby, still showing how loving you were. You did so many things that year...finally potty training, moving cross country, starting preschool, and going on your very first field trip. You grew up so quickly, and though it was hard to watch, I was so proud of you for all that you were doing.

By the time you turned 4, you were writing your name, recognized and could write from memory all the letters of the Alphabet, and knew all your numbers up to 20. You knew all your colors, most of your shapes, and loved loved loved preschool. You continued to amaze us with how great your memory was by telling us about things that happend when you were two and three that we didn't think you would remember. You also developed a very quirky sense of humor, and always said and did the silliest things to make us laugh.

Now you are 5. It makes me tear up to think of how fast you are growing up. Instead of the little baby and toddler toys that used to make you so happy, you enjoy playing computer and wii games, board games and leapster games. You like puzzles, princess dress up, and tinkerbell. You are so creative, constantly thinking of new ways to pretend play and finding creative uses for the things around you. You still love to read, and you absolutely love tickle fights, and look forward to them. You are starting to like the bigger kids cartoons, and even like watching Bones with Daddy and Mommy. You love learning new things, and are always spouting off different facts that you learn in your church and preschool lessons. You still enjoy snuggling, and are such a wonderful big sister, constantly trying to make your sisters laugh, or cheer them up when their sad, or just making sure they are included in all your fun. You have so many dreams about what you want to be, and your daddy and I will do everything to help you acheive those dreams.

You are a wonderful daughter and sister. Your Daddy and I love you more than words can say. We are so proud of our loving, smart, sweet little peanut, and we are so excited to watch you learn and grow over the coming years, and to be a part of your life and who you become. We sure love you Peanut!! Happy 5th Birthday!!

Happy Birthday Georgia!!

Happy Birthday Georgia girl!! Today you turn 2, and I can't believe how fast time has passed. You are officially a terrible two toddler, and not my little baby any more. As much as that makes me sad, I am so happy that you are a healthy, growing little girl. You have changed so much in the last year, and even more over the last two years.

You must have been so excited to come and join our family. We were really surprised when you came a week and a half early. We worried that you would be born on your sister's birthday, and we so wanted you to have your own special day. Thankfully you were born the day before her birthday, and you were a very healthy baby girl. We felt so blessed that you wanted so badly to come to our family.

You grew so fast over the next few months. You kept hitting milestone after milestone early. We had one big health issue with you when you were about a month old, but after that you grew and changed and were a very healthy little girl. When you were six months old you went through a big change-moving cross country-and you did so well! You were always such an easy going baby.

Then you turned one. I couldn't believe how fast the year had passed. You had gone from crawling to walking to running every where so fast!! You were starting to say more and more words, and you loved to dance. You got to have your own chocolate birthday cake, and oh how you loved it!!

When you turned 18 months it seemed that time was passing too fast. I couldn't believe how big you had gotten in just 6 short months. You had developed a great love for dancing, and you had become the biggest hambone-always making people laugh and loving to make people laugh. We were amazed at how fast you were learning new words and picking phrases up.

Now you are 2. It's hard to see my baby get so big, but you make up for it in all the snuggling you like to do with your Daddy and me. You have such a big heart-always concerned for others, and so full of love. You love blowing kisses and giving big hugs. You still love to dance, and you love tickle fights. You have so much fun playing with your sisters, and it makes my heart soar when I hear you giggle and screech with delight at the things your sisters do to make you smile. You are still my hambone-always finding ways to make people laugh, and in turn making yourself laugh. You have no problem letting us know what's wrong or what you want-you speak in clear sentences almost all the time now. You have even made it clear already that you want to use the potty like your big sisters. You look up to them, and want so badly to grow up and be big like them, and while it makes me sad that you are growing up so fast, you couldn't have better role models to look up to.

Everyone around you loves you Shmoo...it's hard not to. Your sisters love you so much, as do your Daddy and I, and we would do anything for you. I look forward to all the years to come-the laughing, the playing, the bad and the good. We sure love you Shmooie. Happy 2nd Birthday!!

A Gwen Funny

Christmas posts have to wait until I have all the pictures...so it'll be until after the girls birthdays. Sorry. But I wanted to put something funny up that Gwen said this week.

I was making the beds in our room, and had started on Gwen's. I noticed that one of her stuffed animals was missing, so I asked her to find it and put it back on her bed. She came into the bedroom with her stuffed animal and asked if she could put all her stuffed animals on her bed. More than pleased that she wanted to finally help me make beds, I said of course. As she placed each one on her bed, she would say "Lion blanket goes here...Rooster goes there..." naming a place for each. Then she got to two of her favorite stuffed animals-a care bear and puppy dog. This is the conversation that followed:

Gwen: "And puppy dog and care bear have to go together. And little teddy goes in between her mommy and daddy, puppy dog and carebear."

Me: "That's an interesting combination Gwen"

Gwen: "Yeah, well, first they went on a date. Then there was the pregnancy. And, well, it's a long story."

And then she walked out of the room as I cracked up laughing. Guess she's overheard my sisters and I talk about our pregnancies. Lol. What a silly goofball.

Primary Program

Back in the beginning of November our ward had their Primary Program, and it was the first one Gwen got to participate in. We were really excited for her, but she did not want to go up there. She eventually did, but sat on one of the teachers laps and cried. She got up and said her part really well, came down to see us, went back up with the little notebook that my mother in law had brought her that day, and was fine for the rest of the program. She sang along and participated...it just took a little bribary!!

The girls before church...I put these new kind of curlers in Gwen and Grace's hair the night before...their hair turned out so cute!!

And here are my sweet girls and my big Primary girl...can't see it, but they had awesome pink striped tights on. So proud of my peanut for the good job she did and proud of her sisters for actually listening to their sister say her part and sing. Love my girls so much!!

Thanksgiving

I didn't take many pictures on Thankgsiving, but here are the few I took. The girls and I spent the morning watching the parade with my sister and brother (and sometimes my parents) while Robbie went and played football with some of the guys from our ward and another local ward. I also helped cook, the girls snacked on some of the food being made, and eventually we got dressed. We had some friends from our ward over for Thanksgiving. The girls had so much fun with their two girls-one Gwen's age, the other in between Grace and Georgia's ages (and they are expecting baby girl #3 any day now). We had a wonderful Thanksgiving-we have so much to be grateful for!!

Pumpkin Picking &Super Hero Halloween

The girls really looked forward to Halloween this year. We didn't get to go to a pumpkin field to pick our own pumpkins at my parents house, so Rob's mom took the girls and I to a field on our way down to her house for a visit one weekend. The girls got to go out in this huge field and pick out their own pumpkins.

Georgia picked her pumpkin fast. It was pretty much a look this is the first pumpkin I found and it's mine sort of thing. Course, after she picked her pumpkin, she kept finding other ones to take home as well. She had lots of fun running around in the field and kept saying "puhkin momma."



Grace didn't have a hard time finding a pumpkin either. About 5 minutes after we got there and had looked around, Grace found a pumpkin that she really liked. She stuck with that pumpkin the whole time we were there...she never wanted to switch pumpkins and never found another one that she liked.


Gwen had such a hard time finding a pumpkin. We would find a good one and show it to her, but she would say it wasn't the one and that she had to keep looking. I think she just liked pulling the wagon along and didn't want to stop. At one point I stayed with the wagon so she could go look all over the pumpkin field with Grandma Congdon for her pumpkin. Still didn't find one. She came back and we convinced her to get one of the pumpkins we had shown her before.

After we finally got each girl to pick out a pumpkin, we had them stand by the wagon for a picture. Don't know if they are standing in front of their pumpkin, but the older two remembered whose pumpkin was whose when we got back to Grandma Congdons. We carved the pumpkins a couple days later when Rob was there to help (and we could have baths afterwards).

Georgia loved helping push the wagon all over the place. Grace finally came over right after I took this picture and helped push the pumpkins over to the car. They had so much fun picking pumpkins from a field.

We spent Halloween at my parents house. We went to a local farmers market to get pumpkins, and they had already picked all the pumpkins out of the field, so we just went through the pumpkins they had and had the girls pick some out. I even got some pie pumpkins to make pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving...yuuummm. We carved the pumpkins the day before Halloween. Gwen helped me with Georgia's after she lost interest, and then Rob helped her carve her own pumpkin. Gwen actually drew the face on her pumpkin and had Rob cut what she drew...her pumpkin even had a beard!

Rob helped Grace carve her pumpkin as well. Grace helped give Rob ideas for what shapes she wanted for eyes, nose and mouth, and even helped him carve the pieces out some.

Georgia was only interested in taking the goop out of the pumpkin. Once we were done doing that with her pumpkin, she moved on to someone elses pumpkin and tried helping them. She came back to her pumpkin when I was carving the face out, and wanted to help carve, but I didn't really let her help. In fact, she tried helping everyone carve their pumpkin. She had so much fun.

I think this is the last year I will make the girls costumes. It was a lot of work, and really stressful. It was cheaper than buying costumes, but I'm just not sure I will do it again. The girls were all super heros, and we used old cloths or cloths we found at a second hand store to make their costumes, along with some fabric.

Gwen decided to be Wonder Woman this year. I cut out, ironed interfacing on, and sewed a lot of things onto her costume. I made her headband (drew the red star on with fabric paint), the Wonder Woman logo on her shirt, her armbands, her belt, the stars on her skirt, and her "boots" which were made out of girls tights that I cut and we slipped them on over the top of her shoes.

Grace wanted to be Batman, but we made her into Batgirl instead. I made the headband (which didn't turn out as good as I had wanted it to), the Batgirl logo on her shirt, her armbands, her belt, and her tights (which I had to dye a pair of white tights to get the yellow). My grandma made the cape for Gwen for Christmas last year (Grace got a superman cape as well).

Since the other two wanted to be superheros, we thought we'd do a family theme and make Georgia a superhero too. So we made her Hawkgirl. Sooo many people didn't know who Hawkgirl was, but Rob and I love watching Justice League and cartoons like that, so at least we knew who she was. I made her feather headband, her belt and her boots. Her costume was a bit easier because I didn't have to sew anything onto it, and I didn't have to make the wings (thank goodness).

The girls loved their costumes and had so much fun trick or treating. This was Georgia's first year trick or treating and she had a blast. They are already talking about what they are going to be next year!!