Showing posts with label Birthdays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Birthdays. Show all posts

02 December 2014

when you turn SIX and you just love the Christmas season...


...and you ask for ice skates for your birthday, your birthday present isn't exactly a surprise since your parents are sure that your feet are needed to assure that said ice skates will fit.

We found out feet weren't needed, however - because they make adjustable kids' ice skates these days. How's that for neat?!!

So, as Mary and I were walking the length of the mall last night to get to Dunham's to purchase her skates, she's skipping along, grinning from ear to ear and singing along with the Christmas carols playing through the mall's sound system. She was so obviously delighted that her antics elicited smiles from most passerby's - even a group of teen guys in saggy pants, sunglasses and trench coats (otherwise, they might have made me a little nervous)!

I asked her if she was happy to be going to get her skates ~

"Yup! I'm happy about that Mama! But I'm really happy because I LOVE walking in the mall at Christmas time!" she answered.

"Why?"

"Because everyone keeps singing my name!"

I must have looked a little confused, so she joins in with the song playing throughout the mall:

"Have yourself a 'Mary' little Christmas!"

Hope you enjoy some of these fun pictures from our pipsqueak's past year!
"Let it snow!"
a cold beach in Georgia
funny mirrors
"Swing me higher!"
silly faces, silly poses
hanging with big bro, hunting tadpoles and garter snakes
the fam
Hartwick Pines
First day of first grade
more silliness
African cowgirl!
little legs biking Mackinac Island
learning about pottery
SHE chose the Christmas tree

"See my new ice skates!!!"


06 February 2014

Lovably a "Ruffnut" AND Eleven

We had another birthday this week.

Victoria.


She's ELEVEN... going on THIRTY-FIVE, I think.

People say she's the most like me

(which isn't necessarily a complement).

But perhaps that means that if she had to choose a faction, she'd choose Dauntless...

For on good days, she does say and do things that fit with Tris' character ~
“I have a theory that selflessness and bravery aren't all that different.” 
“We believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another.”
“Politeness is deception in pretty packaging.” 
“Who cares about pretty? I'm going for noticeable.” 
“It reminds me why I chose Dauntless in the first place: not because they are perfect, but because they are alive. Because they are free.”
&
“...there is power in self-sacrifice.”

I often thought "Victoria" as I was reading the book...





It's highly possible that given the opportunity, she'd argue with a fence post, and most likely win!

I now understand why my mom always used to say the same about me...

"And if I were weak and girly, I'd be my brother."
"You know, they say competition is the very essence of life itself."

Tuffnut: Try those songs mom used to sing to us when you were little and afraid of the dark.
Ruffnut: You were afraid of the dark, not me! I was afraid of you!
Tuffnut: Just sing!
Ruffnut: (Sings) Hush little viking, don't you cry...Or the beserkers will come and stab you in the eye...Don't let the enemy see you afraid, or he'll cut you with a rusty blade...

But for all her bravado, she really does have a tender, gentle spirit - when she's willing to share it with others...

That's real bravery instead of mere bravado... and a lot harder to learn in the long run.


Even though she's most like me, 
sometimes I think I understand her the least of all of these Wrightlings...
You know... all those "Why do I do that/say that/act that ways... we're always asking ourselves...

Thus, I find myself asking these well-known questions ~
???????????????????
How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?
???????????????????
But how do you make her stay and listen to all you say?
???????????????????
How do you keep a wave upon the sand?
???????????????????
How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?
???????????????????

These oft' sung words describe her, more eloquently than I...

She'd outpester any pest
Drive a hornet from its nest
She could throw a whirling dervish out of whirl
She is gentle! She is wild!
She's a riddle! She's a child!
She's a headache! She's an angel!
She's a girl!


Because that's not just the way we love her...

it's also the way we really like her, as Ruffnut herself would say, 
a whole stinkin' lot!!!

(Yep... there's a whole lot "borrowed" to construct this post... from 
Divergent, The Sound of Music, and How to Train Your Dragon movie/TV series. 
Also a special thanks to Holley VanDenBerg for sharing the better quality and in focus 
Ruffnut and Ruffnut/Tuffnut photos!)

28 January 2014

Yikes! She's FIFTEEN as of last weekend!

And thanks to a frigid Tuesday and lots of recovering-from-being-sick teachers at the kids' school, she and I were able to sneak off together for some mama-daughter time this morning. We'd tried over the weekend, but we spent too long at Barnes and Noble and the coffee shop had already closed by the time we pulled into the parking lot.


It was a delight! Listening to her talk and share without having to filter out other chatterers, stop for interruptions or keep an eye on the clock! Those moments don't happen to often. And she's got the best sense of humor. As a young'un, she was always the extrovert and life of the party. But she's growing up to become a quiet, reflective friend who enjoys people but doesn't often draw attention to herself. She's really quite perceptive and a people watcher/listener!


And the conclusion?


I really, really like this FIFTEEN year old!

05 December 2013

We now have FOUR teenagers in this family... officially... as of TODAY!


And I noticed she's a little harder to find photos of... but then she's often the one behind the camera anyways!








 










Happy THIRTEENTH Birthday, Anna!

03 December 2013

Guess who turned 5... yesterday?

We celebrated with family (almost ALL the cousins on the Stewart side of the family)...
(We did miss you, Kiersten),

at Chuck E Cheese.


It was her kind of birthday! 
Surrounded by her bffs and favorite people (family).
The icing on the cake? 
Joe and Andi were there, too!

Lots of games and fun things to do... pizza... and our little M&M the center of attention.



Just for fun? Some cousin quotes... May they always be true for this gang below!

"Cousins are those childhood playmates who grow up to be forever friends."

“Nobody will understand the craziness of your family better than your cousins”

“Cousins are those rare people who ask how we are and 
then wait to hear the answer.” 
~ Ed Cunningham

“A cousin sees the first tear, catches the second, and stops the third.”

“A true cousin is someone who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.”

“God made us cousins, because He knew our moms couldn’t handle us as sisters.”



Thanks to Gampy for snapping and editing the pics!

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