Happy Birthday!

Yesterday was Anna's 7th birthday. I can't believe how old this girl is getting. She's such a little sweetheart who loves to help others.

Birthday breakfast: pancakes with a candle.
She had so much fun opening her presents with Sally's girls. Grandma Manwaring gave her an adorable umbrella that even matches her lunch bag. As soon a she woke up this morning, she asked me if it was raining. I said, "I think so," feeling bad about the girls having to walk in the rain, but she was so excited to get to use her new umbrella.

We got her a new bike since she'd been doing the whole knee to chin thing by the end of last summer, but she was so excited about everything else, she just looked at the bike and left.

Don't laugh at the cheesy cake. We're running out of ideas for decorating the doll cake, so I thought I'd try doing plaid this year. It looked real good when I drew it out on paper, but when it was all done, it looked more like a spider web so we tried to cover it up a bit by drawing flowers. Hopefully I'll have better luck next year.

Anna loved the cake, though, so I guess I shouldn't complain. She told me I didn't do it how she wanted it, but it looked even better! She can be so sweet.

Truman says "Happy Birthday, Anna, and thanks for the cake!"

Oh, and Anna informed me that she doesn't like frosting, so she just didn't eat any birthday cake. I guess she decided she can have her cake, but doesn't have to eat it, too.

Little Sweethearts

New shirts, new socks, new bows- Ready for the school festivites!

Dress up and Little Posers

The other night I was listening to Anna do her reading when out appeared Ellie and Ogden. They thought it would be so funny to put on each other's clothes. Little do they know, they're going to really regret that little game when they get older. But for now, here's the proof for everyone to see!

Also, the other day I went to take pictures of the boys because Ogden had climbed into the crib and was reading to Truman. It was so cute, but of course, they caught on that I was taking pictures and decided to pose instead.

Swim Lessons

Ogden just finished swim lessons yesterday and is already begging for another session. He was quite entertaining and the bravest kid in his class. He was the only one who would go off the diving board and the big slide. Way to go, bud!!

One...

..two....

..three.

Ellie's Baptism

On January 3rd, Ellie got baptized. I was too busy to remember to take any pictures, but luckily Gregg captured a couple for us. She's such a good girl and I can't believe she's so old. It turned out so nice and it was nice to be there with so many family members.

Ellie and Justin before the baptism
Justin, Amber, and Ellie afterward

Congratulations, Ellie! We're so happy for you!

Ellie's 8th Birthday

Monday was Ellie's 8th birthday. And what a day it was. The poor girl was sick and had to stay home from school. She still managed to make the best of it. She's such a good girl and doesn't let little things like being sick ruin her day. She somehow managed to enjoy it and let us enjoy it with her.

She seemed to be feeling better as the day went on. Then, just as I was putting the candles on her cake, she ran to the bathroom to throw up. She never even had a piece of her cake. Of course, she could still smile. What a good girl we've been blessed with.

We hope you still had a good birthday, Ellie, and we're so excited for you to be baptized next month. It's been a great 8 years!

Someone slow this boy down!!

The other night Justin was downstairs at the computer while Truman played on the floor by him. I went down and sat at the bottom of the stairs. I was sitting on the second step when all of a sudden, Truman was right next to me. We couldn't believe it, so we watched and helped him to see if he could make it all the way to the top.

He did it, and he was one happy boy!