Dear Hayden,

Today, you are 4 years old! We had a very special day. Dad stayed home from work, so we got some really good family time together!

You went to school, and they celebrated with you there:
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You handed out bubbles to your school friends as favors:
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After school, we went to “Old McDonald’s” for lunch (your choice).

Tonight, Nana and Papa and Meggy came over for dinner. We ate the food you chose (Mac and Cheese, chicken and edemame).

After dinner, we ate cake:
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You opened presents, too! Nana and Papa got you a bike:
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Barbie can ride with you:
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Megan and Jeffrey got you a mini bouncy house and a ball pit:
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Then, we watched a slideshow of your fourth year:
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It was a great day!

Most of all though, tonight I’m reflecting on how four years ago tonight, I became a mama. You made me a mama. You’ve taught me so much. I love you more than I could ever tell you — more than I ever thought was possible… before four years ago tonight.

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Love you,
Mama

Dear H and O,

Dad and I spent the last week in Hawaii! We went to see Emilie and Josh get married! It was such a good time — your dad and I have such a great time whenever we are together! We missed you both so very much! We had a few video chats (thank goodness!) and the time passed very quickly! You make my life so good — I was so happy to be on vacation with your dad, but I was so excited to come home, too, because of you!

Love you,
Mama

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Dear Hayden,

Today we had your birthday party! This year we did things a little differently than we have in the past — we invited only kids your age (plus your cousins!) to join us for your party. It was nice to have a smaller party this year — although it still seemed HUGE! We asked an awesome lady named Jungle Jill to come with some of her animal friends! It was a crazy and fun time!

Love you,
Mama

Invitations:

You played with Dolphin Trainer Barbie while we got ready for your party: (You are CRAZY about this Barbie, You talked about her for a month before your birthday and Grandma and Jiddoh gave her to you this morning!)

Zebra striped cupcakes:

Goliath the Kimono Dragon:

You got to feed Pringles (the goat) because you are the Birthday girl!

Jungle Jill also brought this ENORMOUS turtle, Mama Shelly:

Your favorite animal, by far, was the chinchilla:

You made a wish and blew out four candles:

You also opened some fun gifts from your friends:

Dear H and O,

We’ve had a lot of backyard adventures. This one was particularly fun.

Love you,
Mama

PS — Wonder Boy, you are getting a lot of hair!!

Dear H and O,

We went to Tucson for the long weekend. We took Meggy, Jeffery and Jojo with us, so we had a great time! The highlight of the weekend for me was getting to take you to the U of A football game. This was so special to me because it takes me right back to being a child myself. I used to go to U of A football games and tailgate with Grandma, Jiddoh and Uncle Ramsey all throughout my growing up and we’d always have such a great time! So, as you can imagine, I loved being able to share something that was so fun for me, with you! Now, in this particular game, the wildcats took on the NAU Lumberjacks, so Dad and I happily cheered for both sides, since we met at NAU and we are both NAU alumni!

Love you,
Mama

Dear Owen,

This morning I took some pictures of you and your good buddy, Josiah (aka JoJo aka The Joge). You two spend a lot of time together, and I just know you will be the best of friends!

Love you,
Mama