Birthday Celebrations

I completely realize that I am skipping over a major bloggable event...a fantastic trip to London with Kendyll. And, believe me I will be back to do that! Right now, it honestly overwhelms me. I don't know where to start!

So, first I want to post a little about our birthday girl.

Carlie celebrated with friends and family this weekend at "Going Bonkers", a great place to play, scream, run, jump, and be bonkers with your friends! She wanted a Hello Kitty party, which I wasn't too sure about. I'm not a huge character lover...but I have to say the big kitty grew on me! I'm now loving her and all of her fun things! (What has happened to me?!)

It probably helps that Hello Kitty has a simple face and a cute bow. Her party goods are covered with fun colors in polka dots and stripes. That makes me like her even more.

But, anyway! Wow. I have no idea why I got off on why I like Hello Kitty!

Carlie had a great time, and so did we. A couple of things that were worth commenting on:

1) I loved seeing Carlie actually enjoy multiple friendships at the same time. This sounds silly, I'm sure...but for those who know Carlie well, this has been a huge change for her this year! She actually LOVES other people her age! We're very pleased with this new side of Carlie, and it was cute to watch her love on her friends. And, here is the one boy who is allowed at her parties. No exceptions. :)On the way home from the party, she said "My friends are so sweet, aren't they, mommy?" I then said, "Yes, they are Carlie. Was this your best party EVER?" To which she said "Yeah...it was...(long pause)...were you not there?" That girl cracks me up.

2) I love the " on location" party for different reasons than I like my "at home" parties. It was quite loud, and crazy. But, so much of it was done for us, and it allows me, as the mommy, to actually enjoy the party, and not run around crazy the whole time. (Now, the downside of having a location party is that it's a little less personal...and your house doesn't get cleaned for the event. We came home to an already dirty house...and then promptly made it even messier with all the fun new things we received. :) But, the climbing fun was worth it!

Even Abby Kate enjoyed the climbing and sliding......and eventually fell asleep from too much fun!3) When Kendyll turned three, we began having gift exchanges at all the girls' birthday parties. This was for a couple of reasons. First, we have a HUGE family who so generously showers our girls with gifts. So, they end up with so much at the end of every birthday, that to receive even more from our friends would just be overboard. Second, we want the girls' parties to be about celebrating with their friends, but not necessarily about getting stuff. So, this year was Carlie's first "exchange" experience. She was a bit confused, even though I had gone over it multiple times at home. And, really, quite honestly, everyone was confused. :) Here is the funny choas that comes from having kids sit in a circle and pass gifts to music. I think at one point, there were five gifts in one lap, while half the circle sat without anything to pass. Oh well. They all ended up with a puzzle in the end. :)

4) I am absolutely fascinated by personality, and always have been. In fact, it's one of those things that attracted me to the field of psychology. Anyway, one of the most intriguing personalities I have ever encountered is my own middle daughter's. :) She keeps us smiling...and confused most of the time. One thing about her is that she is an introvert. She prefers small crowds, quiet interaction, playing alone, or with a friend or two, and as little attention drawn to her as possible. When she is singing in the backseat, we don't dare make a comment about how pretty she sounds, or how good she did, or she just shuts down completely. She does NOT want to be watched. So, birthday parties are her worst nightmare, I'm sure. When it came time for her to blow out her candles, she completely froze. She looked down the row at the group of people staring at her, and she just darted her eyes, half-smiled, and made some nervous gestures. Finally, with a little help from Kendyll, she was able to do the job. But, seriously. She sat there letting her candles melt for what felt like 10 minutes to me. She is so funny!

However, there was no nervousness about chowing down though!! YUM! (By the way, thank you Cailee, for being an awesome photographer! I didn't take a single one of those pictures!! :)

She had a wonderful party, and got to continue the celebrating today!

It began with singing in bed...with the usual Carlie bedhead.

Followed by hugs and kisses from sisters.

Followed by a trip in pajamas to Krispy Kreme donuts, at the request of the birthday girl. She wanted to eat four donuts for being four years old. She made it through three. And, this is what they look like when she finishes them...
We came home to open a couple of surprises. Uncle Chris was his usual hit with some Wall-E fun. Carlie was SO excited that she got a package, and even more excited when she saw it was Wall-E! Way to go Chris. :)

Then, Kendyll's gift to Carlie was a doll-sized tea set with a table and chairs. After she opened it, Kendyll's surprise announcement was that Carlie would get to go pick out an American Girl doll today to fill her chair for the tea party. As usual, Carlie had to think about that a while and decide if that sounded fun or not. (TOTALLY different that my firstborn, who was leaping off the couch just telling Carlie about the fun day ahead.)

When she finally decided that it was an okay idea to go, we headed to the American Girl store to pick out Carlie's doll, and to have lunch with Gammy and Grandma.

Boy, did we shop...and shop....and shop for the right American Girl doll. She finally settled on Kit (who she calls Kittredge), and we headed to lunch with our friends Kit and Nellie.
It was a fun outing for all the girls, and it was a delicious lunch! We of course, spent more time shopping after lunch. I have to admit...I was worse than the girls in that place!! I had to make myself leave before I bought anything else that we didn't need!

And, now, thanks to Gammy, Grandma, and mommy & daddy, the dolls have beds to sleep in, bedding to sleep on, pj's to sleep in, and new outfits to wear tomorrow. The girls in our house are in hog heaven!!! And, they haven't stopped playing with Kit & Nellie all day!

The day ended "Carlie style" with Blockbuster movies and Taco Rio (aka Taco Bueno) at home. She didn't want dinner out, and wanted to eat on TV trays while watching a Hello Kitty version of Snow White. Hilarious. But, nothing makes her happier than Blockbuster, Hello Kitty, and Taco Rio bean burritos. What would life be without our four year old to make things fun...and completely random?

And, while I'm on the subject, here are a few more things we have in our lives because of Carlie Reese:

*Squeeze Hugs (they're the best in the world, let me tell you.)

*Nicknames (not only for each other, but also for restaurants, songs, TV shows, etc.)

*Bean Jokes (mostly directed toward her daddy who doesn't like beans. She thinks this is hilarious to make fun of.)

*Private Time (she requests this quite often, usually when she's in the bathroom and any of us even attempt to ask her a question from outside the door. We're not getting an answer until she's done!)

*Random Words of Kindness (Carlie doesn't shower you with lots of words...but when she says them, they mean the world. She will randomly hug me and say "You're the best mommy I could ever have", or "You look so beautiful", or "I love you so much". When she says these words, my heart melts...because you believe it completely when she says it with such sincerity.)

*Sister Love...and Sister Frustration (She LOVES her sisters. When we are with other people, she clings to her sisters. They are her comfort and truly her best friends. However, she is also the first to ruffle the feathers of either Kendyll or AK too. She knows their buttons, and feels free to push them when she so desires.)

*The "Carlie Look" (Hard to explain really. It's when she's mad or joking or sad or "wanting space". She squints, and makes her mouth all scrunched up. It's now been titled "the look", and we all say "Oh, there's the look!"...which really helps the situation so much when she's mad or sad. :)

*The question "What in the world?" (We ask that alot when Carlie comes up with things...she will sometimes ask the most random of questions, or start a conversation that makes absolutely no sense. She also has strong opinions about very odd stuff. Like, the maleness or femaleness of any object. Seriously, the next time you see her, ask her if Monday (or any day) is a boy or a girl. She'll tell you...very matter-of-factly. Ask her if a pencil is a boy or a girl. Ask her if a plate is a boy or a girl. She seriously has an opinion about this. Doesn't it make you want to say "What in the world?!")

*The sweetest singing voice ever (I already mentioned that we're not able to comment very often on her singing, or she abruptly stops singing. But, there is nothing sweeter in this world than listening to her belt out "Behold He Comes" or "We Will Glorify" while driving down the road. She's very into praise music right now...which she calls "girl music" because it's a female vocalist...anyway, it just makes me smile HUGE.)

Man, I could go on and on. We love our Carlie Reese, and every detail of who she is. God has big plans for her, for only He could knit her together in the exact way He has. What a wonderful birthday celebration we have had for our sweet girl!!