Scenes From Emma's Birthday

Emma's birthday began with breakfast, followed by the birthday ring (and birthday wishes) and gifts! 

Later that morning we went to Old Sturbridge Village for Grace's costume fitting and then met up with my parents for lunch and more celebrating. And sadly, I took not one picture at either stop. It was then home for some quiet time before Alex joined us for an evening of pizza, s'mores, cake and Book of Boba Fett watching. Alex and the girls have been friends since Nature School and all three are now at Parker together! 

And she absolutely blew all fourteen of these candles out at once! Whatever she wished for is bound to come true! It was such a perfect day to celebrate our sweet youngest daughter and when I asked her which part of her birthday she loved the best she couldn't decide! Happy Birthday, Emma Faith! You are an absolute joy and we are so grateful to be your family! xo

Fourteen

 

Today was a perfectly Emma day. We celebrated with a yummy breakfast, gifts and the birthday ring this morning, along with a call from Grandma Joan wishing her a very happy birthday.. After that it was off to Old Sturbridge Village for Grace's costume fitting and then   lunch with  my parents and more celebrating. We then headed home for a bit of quiet time before being joined by Emma's friend Alex for pizza, cake and movies. Pictures will come tomorrow for tonight we are tired after such a fun filled day. Happy birthday, sweet Emma Faith! May this next trip around the sun be as delightful as you are! We love you to the moon and stars and back! xo 

Chicken Update

 On Wednesday we met up with my mom (the first time we had seen a member of our family that we don't live with since early Febraury) to celebrate Grace's birthday. Before we said our good-byes she handed us a few things, one of which was this gift from my brother for Grace (or, really, the chickens). 

 If you haven't seen the video of chickens playing xylophone be sure to check it out here. 

 So, that evening, the girls took the xylophone out to the coop to show the birds. 

 Though these pictures don't capture it correctly they were indeed curious, with Amelia (Grace;s favorite of the hens) playing a bit. 

 One day soon we'll have to figure out a way to hang it up so they can peck at it and "play"! 

 Worn out after their music lesson! 

Fast forward to yesterday when we learned we had a rooster (for sure)! There had been some question about this bird for awhile, but when Dave heard it crow while he was working on the rose garden there was no denying it! Nubs was a he, not a she as we had thought! Thankfully my friend Stephanie was in need of  a rooster so we brought him to her (and then got to meet her three new goats)! Thank you, Stephanie, for all your help and for giving Nubs such a good home! xo

Celebrating Grace

 A quiet start to Grace's birthday, in which Queen Gretchen keeps watch of the birthday ring and gifts. 

 Pointe shoes and an egg were the perfect choices for her birthday ring ornaments this year! 

 She began her day with cards and gifts from David, Emma and I. 

 A week of ukulele camp on Outschool! 

 She had been wanting rose water since homeschool day at Old Sturbrige Village when we used it in lemonade we made! 

 The table is ready for a sweet gathering later that morning. Scones, clotted cream, strawberry jam, watermelon and homemade lemonade that we made fresh that morning. 

 Having Jennifer and Abigail here to celebrate was the most normal thing we've done in months! 

  The girls have been friends since they were eight weeks old and have celebrated every birthday together ever since! 

 Since we didn't feel right having a larger gathering of her friends I got in touch with their moms to see if they could send cards and letters to her. She was in awe of all the wonderful messages she received in the  mail! 

 Then it was time for her family party on Zoom! I had saved the gifts that her grandparents and aunts and uncles sent for her to open then. She did that and then we sang to her and all had birthday treats together! 

 Singing over Zoom is not easy! 

 After we said good-bye the girls got ready for dance. At dance she received many more birthday wishes, cards and gifts! Our dance family sure knows how to make a girl feel loved! 

 After dance (hence the leo she's wearing) we did the birthday ring. It was truly a perfect ending to a very special birthday! 

Thank you to everyone who helped to make her pandemic birthday so very magical! From the cards, texts, calls, messages, letters, gifts, people stopping by, everything about this day just radiated joy for our sweet firstborn girl! Thank you for loving her as much as we do, everyone! It means the world to her and to us! We are so grateful! xo

Dear Grace,
May this next trip around the sun be as full of love, joy, kindness and magic as you are! We are so honored to be your mama and daddy and we couldn't be more proud of the young woman you have become! We have no doubt that you will indeed do something to make the world more beautiful, and we cannot wait to see what it is! Enjoy, sweet girl, and know that we are with you every step of the way. Always.
XO,
Mama and Daddy