Golden Birthday 7 & The Big 4: Happy Birthday Zoë & Isaiah!

Happy Birthday Zoë & Isaiah!!

Zoë Anastasia

A golden birthday for a golden girl! I can hardly believe that you - my first baby - are now SEVEN years old. It seems impossible. Like a blink of an eye. Not only are you no longer a baby, you are not even really a little girl anymore! You have grown taller, stronger, wiser and more beautiful in form and in heart. You are a sweet friend to your little brother and I enjoy watching you play and imagine great adventures together. You are a delightful sister to Isabelle as you hold her and play with her. She truly saves her biggest and brightest smiles for you! I see the makings of a tender momma heart in you. You and your daddy have a special bond built through quality time playing Kirby and jamming to music in the car - it is beautiful, and I hope it never changes. And you are a wonderful daughter to me. I am continually blessed by your thoughtfulness, helpfulness and attention to my needs and the needs of others, and you know how to melt my heart with precious notes and pictures made just for me.

I am so proud of you for all the ways you have matured this year through facing and overcoming difficulty and fears. My heart swells when I watch you in all of your creative endeavors - drawing, crafting, imagining, experimenting, writing, composing, dancing, tumbling, and making beautiful things on paper, through music and through dance. Thank you for bringing so much joy into our home. Thank you for being gracious and forgiving. As our firstborn, you get the privilege and pain of braving uncharted territory with us - and by the grace of God we will make it through together! I pray that God would captivate your heart more and more this year with overwhelming love and grace for you. I pray that you would fall more and more in love with Jesus and come to know more and more the Abundant Life he has given you. Happy Birthday, dear Zoë! You are a precious gift, and we love you beyond the moon - to the stars and back!

love,
Mommy & Daddy


Isaiah Benjamin

The Big 4! Isaiah, you have grown so much in this past year. Your still-slightly-baby-face from a year ago has changed and now I see a BIG handsome boy with bright blue eyes and a charming smile (though sometimes those eyes and smile turn toward mischievous). Year three was a hard year for us. Both of us had to grow in patience, and both have been stretched to manage our frustration with one another in healthier, more loving ways. But you have also filled my heart with so much joy and laughter, and though sometimes your insatiable neediness is suffocating, the very fact that you want to be with me and play with me at all times speaks of your great love for me. And I love you dearly.
I will cherish the memories of countless hours building train tracks and legos, reading books over and over, riding bikes and digging in the dirt. Thank you for helping me along as I learn (slowly) how to role play with trucks and try to figure out this whole fighting thing and my aversion to you always wanting to be the "bad guy."

I love your cheerful heart and silly ways, my little comedian. I hope that you always see the sparkle in my eye and know that you give me a great gift in making me laugh every day. You are so intelligent and articulate that sometimes I forget that you are still so young. I am amazed by how much you learn without me ever getting the chance to teach you! You are brave and fearless (in most cases), and yet it is precious that you still run to me for protection and security when you are afraid. You also have a beautiful, tender, compassionate heart. You love fiercely with great passion. You are intensely loyal to your friends - whether they are toys, ants or humans. I love to watch you interact with your sisters. You are a sweet brother and friend to both of them, and I hope you will continue to treasure that friendship. Thank you for growing in patience as you waited many times for me to be ready to play with you. Thank you for being gracious and forgiving when I failed you. I look forward to having one more year with you home and I am hoping to make the best of it! I pray that you would seek after and discover God's goodness, faithfulness and love toward you, and may you come to know Jesus as your Rescuer and Redeemer. You are a precious gift, Isaiah, and we love you beyond the moon - to the stars and back!

love,
Mommy & Daddy

Paw Patrol Paw-ty

We had a Paw Patrol themed party yesterday with {mostly} family. Zoë asked to have a small Shopkins birthday party with some friends from school (which will be next weekend) so Isaiah got to pick the theme for the joint party and invite a few special friends. ;) It was a beautiful day and we all enjoyed celebrating Zoë and Isaiah together!

 

Memorable Moments:

- The Hot Dog Bar was a hit. (My attempt to use the instant pot for a massive amount of hot dogs was not such a hit. Too much water or time produces wavy dogs!)

- Toys for decorations are cute, but not when you are 3 and really, really, really want to play with them. 

- During the "Search for the Missing Party Favors", Isaiah went into full Paw Patrol mode. It was perfect. He got on his Chase mask and at one point was running on all fours through the grass. His favorite part of the whole party was "Stick the badge on Chase."

- Cousin Brady sprinting across the green to the baseball field to find the missing treats...and all the other kids chasing after him!

- Isaiah was so focused on opening his caramel from his party favor bag (which he helped fill last week and was obviously very excited about) that he nearly missed the entire Happy Birthday song (which was sung twice, because I started too early) and candle. But then he blew the candle so hard that he blew Zoë's out too. After a moment of shocked silence, Zoë burst into tears. So, we lit the candle again and sang one more time! 

- Even though this party was more geared more toward Isaiah, Zoë was so helpful in making the dog bone sandwiches and decorating the paw print cupcakes. She also loved the games and enjoyed reading the clues to solve the mystery.

- The cupcakes were amazing. At first I was really bummed that there were over a dozen left over, but then I realized - I GET TO EAT ALL THE LEFTOVERS! Cupcakes. Every. Day. The shortbread chocolate dipped doggie bone cookies were good too. Too good for a picture. 

This was the only picture from the party with Isabelle held by our sweet friend Danielle. Isabelle turned 5 months old this past week! She is cutting two teeth, battling a cough, learning to sit up and testing out her voice with her "feral cat" call as Daddy likes to call it. Who can resist such an adorable face?! Also, it is a good thing her birthday is over half a year a way because this momma is partied out (and we have another party next weekend)! 

The Birthday buddies both said that they had a fun time at their party and were blessed with many gifts given out of great love and thoughtfulness from family and friends. We will continue to party on today with a "perfect" birthday breakfast chosen by the duo (Donuts, bacon, hot chocolate. I'm adding eggs and fruit. :p), a quick after-school trip to the zoo, and out to Pizza Snob (a family favorite) for a celebratory dinner. Zoë has already expressed high expectations that her Golden Birthday will be the best. day. ever. I hope it is!