Mariah's 4th Birthday - Under the Sea!

Mariah is 4!!!

Her actual birthday fell on Easter this year, so we had a big celebration with family and friends the following weekend.  We lucked out and had a GORGEOUS day!!!

Thank you to everyone for sharing in her special day!

Note - all party details were from HoneyBeanDesigns

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Now... time for an interview Mariah - 4 years old

(you can see last year's interview here) 

1. What is your favorite color? Blue
2. What is your favorite toy? iPad
3. What is your favorite stuffed animal? Colors the Bear
4. What is your favorite thing to sleep with? Blanket mommy made me
5. What is your favorite fruit? Bananas
6. What is your favorite cereal? Rice Krispies
7. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Cheerios
8. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Noodles
9. What is your favorite dessert? Ice Cream
10. What is your favorite drink? Orange Juice
11. What do you want to eat for your birthday dinner? Cake and Pizza
12. What is your favorite animal? Giraffe
13. What is your favorite book? Pinkalicious
14. What is your favorite song? "Alleluia! Alleluia!" (how fitting since this interview WAS done on her birthday/Easter)
15. What is your favorite game? Trouble
16. What is your favorite TV show? Bananas in Pajamas
17. What is your favorite movie? Turtle Tales
18. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play with chalk
19. Who is your best friend?  Addy (neighbor) & Abby (school friend)
20. What do you want to be when you grow up?  A Doctor

(The Past Month) - 11/11/13 - 12/7/13

Well, it's been almost a month since my last post.  Part of me is a little sad it's been that long of a break, but I know that things have just been so busy and something had to give.

So, let's look back at these past few weeks.  November just FLEW by and before we knew it we were gathered for a wonderful Thanksgiving meal.

Tons of yummy food.

And cute babies :)

And celery-eating little boys :)

With Thanksgiving behind us we moved right into CHRISTMAS mode!

We got the lights up on our house,  set up and decorated the tree, hung the stockings and swapped out the fall decor for all things red & green!

We also went to Festival of Trees

Mariah LOVED getting her face painted and sitting on Santa's lap

Madden, on the other hand, was not a fan...

But he would hang out with this dog any day!

Next, a funny little elf arrived at our house!

The kids were very curious and excited about their new friend.

We read the book and they picked out a name for him:

MAGIC

Then began the adventures of Magic the Elf.

Just look at what this little elf was up to this past week!

The first day he built himself a cute little house with the kids' blocks

But he didn't stay there long

The next day he got into my dry erase markers and gave Mariah and Madden's photos a makeover

We've got our hands full with this Elf, I'm tellin' ya! :)

Thankfully he settled down a little bit and spent the next day reading books to his new friends.

Magic was back at it the following day - fishing for Goldfish from high up on the kitchen cabinet.

No rest for Magic!

The next morning he had swapped out our stockings…

{I never thought I'd be posting pictures of our underwear on my blog…}

After a mischievous few days, Magic decided doing some gymnastics from the light fixture would be fun.

The next day he spent sitting atop the Christmas tree.

And just this morning we found Magic playing with the kids' yo-yo

I can only imagine what he will be up to next?! :)

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I know it's a busy time for everyone!

I am trying my best to take some time to sit back and enjoy the wonderful life we have with our amazing kids.

I mean look at these two!

They are growing up right before our eyes.

And Madden, my baby boy, will be TWO next Saturday.

Blessings to your and your family this Holiday season!

I will be back with more updates on Magic's adventures SOON!

{Our THREE Weeks} - 10/21/13 - 11/10/13

Just when I think things might slow down, they get busier!  Can anyone else relate? :)

I'm going to switch things up a bit and recap these past few weeks with photos!

Let's see - where shall we start.... Well, we had a family photo shoot in downtown Davenport in late October.

It was seriously the last not-so-darn-cold day of the year, so (minus the wind) it was perfect!

  We got some great pictures in the first 10 minutes, and then when the kids got restless we captured some action shots as well :)

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We also got Mariah's pre-school picture :)

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Next up - Mariah's FIRST dentist appointment!

I was a little nervous about how this was going to go - but this girl never ceases to amaze us.  She did AWESOME and loved every minute of it!  She continues to ask when she gets to go see the dentist again. :)

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Before we knew it, Halloween was approaching.

So, naturally, we carved some pumpkins! (Some more sensible than others, ahem, MIKE)

Mariah got to bring treats to preschool on Tuesday, October 29th.  We decided something healthy and Halloween themed would be perfect!  We put together these cute little "pumpkins"!

Remove the peel from a clementine and stick a celery stalk right in the middle :)

We also made some cookies for day care!

Despite the rain on October 30th, our little superheros enjoyed trick or treating and passing out candy.

They even shared their hard-earned treats when our supply ran out. :)

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On Thursday, October 31st Mike and I left for RIVIERA MAYA!

A well-deserved vacation as a late celebration of our 5 year anniversary.  It was so wonderful!  We loved having the opportunity to relax and have adult conversations.

We even did a little site seeing and exploring, complete with a tour of the Mayan ruins (Tulum), snorkeling, zip lining and cliff jumping!

We also spent PLENTY of time in the sun, at the pool and on the beach.

The kids enjoyed a WHOLE WEEK with Grammie and Grampi Hopper.  They enjoyed many fun activities - the park, Chik-fil-a, sleepover party, crafting and running around like they owned the place! :)

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On Sunday, November 10th I became a Godmother to sweet little Katherine Anne.

I am so honored to be such an important part of her faith life.  The whole family came to celebrate!

She was the perfect baby during her baptism and threw a great after party complete with cake and cookies :)

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And that rounds out our festivities these past few weeks.

Now the countdown is on for THANKSGIVING just a couple short weeks away :)