Six

Sof is officially six.  Which feels way older than five. 

I’m so thankful for those little baby teeth that are still hanging on, because once those go, there’s no turning back. 

We started her special day with donuts for breakfast.

She was super excited for school.  She was the leader of the day, so she brought snack, had Buster Bear, and got to open a birthday book in class.  The fall fair was that night, and she wasn’t too happy about not “celebrating” her birthday.  Once we got there though, she had a great time and I knew I made the right choice in taking her. 

We planned to celebrate the next night at Em’s house, but I realized afterwards that Alexa had another birthday party to go to and Adrienne was going to homecoming that night.  I let Sof open some presents with the girls in the afternoon, and they both spent some time playing with her.

Once we got the big girls off, we headed to Em’s to celebrate with the cousins and Aunt Anne.  Em made dinner and dessert, and had some of the neighbors over.  It was a fun night and made Sof feel special.

 

You can just see in these pictures how much she loves being sung to.  She loves that 30 seconds when all the attention is on her. 

This weekend we will celebrate with her friends in a little Build A Bear party.  Her birthday has been a little all over the place, but she is too so it works!  Regardless, her life has been adequately celebrated for the blessing it is.  My little 6 year old package of joy.  It’s a privilege to love her.

Birthday Cheer

These days we’re all about combining events when possible and squeezing in celebrations anywhere we can.  We had the perfect opportunity to do just that when the girls had a Cheer Fun Meet a week away from Sof’s birthday. 

Since Grandma Linda, Grandma Jackie and Papa Curt were coming for the meet anyway, we made it a quick birthday celebration also!  We did lunch as our big meal.  Hamburgers and hotdogs are a favorite for Sof, and super easy!

The girls had to be there early, but we managed to fit in gifts and dessert before they had to leave!

Adrienne has been painting an old dollhouse and Sof got all the Little Critter rooms to go in it.  She loves it!  She’s very into role play, and she love things that are small and preferably animals.

It was a great little intro to her birthday, and then we turned our focus to cheer.  This meet was at the gym, and only showcased our teams.  It’s the only opportunity Grandma Jackie will have to see the girls cheer, because the big meets are just to difficult to get her into.  We got her a front row seat and she was thrilled!  We are always thankful for every event she can make it to at 90 years old.

This is Lexi and her little buddy.  All the girls are matched with a buddy that they are encouraged to bond with and support.  This girl is lucky to get Lexi!

Sof loves all her teammates, but the younger ones all get along really well!

It was a great day full of Birthday Cheer!

September

Despite the back to school grind, I’ve really enjoyed September.  The weather has been a nice mix of warm afternoons and cool mornings, and we’ve enjoyed a handful of fun along with the have-to’s. 

We’re getting used to our early morning weekend cheer practices as well as our rush out of school to get there weekday ones.  Typical September, we were ready early the first few times.  At this point we are rolling out of bed just in time to make it.

 

Friday night is that much sweeter when school is in.

I’ve taken a picture of Sof almost every morning before school.  Partly because she looks so cute in all her school clothes, but mostly because I look at those pictures all day and think about how she’s doing.

 

Even though she’s rockin’ this big girl thing, I still see my baby occasionally:)

This month we celebrated two big birthdays for the Johnson clan.  Andy turned the big 4-0, and Audrey celebrated 17!

 

We went to a local fair on a perfect Saturday.  Sof had so many little buddies there!

We were lucky to have a Thursday off one week, so we made our first trip to the cider mill with some neighborhood friends. 

Sof had a fun run at her school.  There was all sorts of excitement at the bus stop! 

Mark and I were headed to Chicago for the weekend so Grandma and Papa had to step in!

Later that night, our very brave neighbors took Sof to a Tigers game.

Papa Curt took Adrienne to a football game.

They were busy all weekend and I’m sure didn’t miss us!

 

Meanwhile, in Chicago, we were having a grand time sans kids.

Mark and Brian bought a new machine, which felt kind of big cheese-ish.

Maybe this is why I feel so pleased with September?  Because I ended it with a kid free weekend in Chicago.  Good food, good company, good times!  Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?