Faith asleep

Faith was so worn out from all the excitement today that she must have conked out sitting up and then fell over backwards.  There's no way she can be comfortable like that but that baby can sleep  in any position on any surface.  It's amazing.

Sidewalk chalk

For kicks and giggles we played with chalk today.

Both girls laid down on the pool deck.

And I traced their bodies.

Then they traced my body.  I don't really look like that.  I hope.

Then we put clothes on.

Because our chalk selves can't be naked, y'know.

Bowling

We used some kids bowl free passes today.

And rocked out in the bowling alley.

After 2 games both girls were tired of lugging those heavy balls around so we headed to the arcade.

For some Fruit Ninja!  Hi-Yah!  We had an awesome afternoon today.

Hippo Hooray! Faith is 3 today.

It's so hard to believe that Faith is three years old now.

It seems like each day she's a little more like a big girl instead of my baby.

Her favorite color is "pur-hull" (purple).

She loves all things tiny and looks forward to tickle time with her Daddy each evening.

Faith loves to cuddle, color, listen to stories, and watch "tee-bee" (tv). 

We let our girls watch a little Disney Junior right before bedtime each night.

And all she wanted for her birthday was a "pur-hull hipp-ah-mus tay-kkkk" (purple hippopotamus cake).  That's it. She asked for a purple hippopotamus cake for her birthday every day without fail for the last 10 weeks.  

For some reason Faith is slightly obsessed with hippopotamuses.  She even sings a little song about wanting a purple hippopotamus for her birthday...It goes to the tune of wanting a hippopotamus for Christmas song...

Before long it was time to bow out candles which Faith successfully accomplished on her first puff thanks to the help of her big sister, Grace.

Then she opened her presents.  Along with a butterfly necklace and Princess Candyland

Faith finally got her very own Baby Be Blessed dolly.

Who was promptly named "Lee-Lee" (Lily).  

Then we ate cake.  Although Faith only ate the "mahsh-ma-woah" (marshmallow) eyeballs and a bit of the icing.  She's never been one that really likes sweets.  She's more of a red meat and potatoes kind of girl.  She's the only kid that I know who will go to Chickfila and eat 1-2 nuggets and say she's full.  Then she'll trade in her toy for an ice cream cone (only because Grace wants a cone and Faith wants to be just like Grace) and then take 2 licks and say she's done.  So funny.

All in all, I think it was a pretty great birthday for my 3 year old.  

Happy Birthday Faith!   You are such a special little girl with a joyful and happy spirit.  Your smile alone lights up the room and everyone in it.  Even when you were a tiny little baby, strangers would walk up to you and start conversations just because they saw and couldn't resist your smile.  You are so full of laughter and you bring such happiness and sunshine to everyone around.   I have enjoyed every little moment with you over the past three years and I look forward to each and every day with you.  I love you more than my heart can hold and I am so grateful to be your Momma.  

Decorating with icing

Faith's birthday party is tomorrow.  So I started decorating cakes tonight.

David helped by decorating the birthday girl.

Faith loved it.

And so did Grace.  Tomorrow is going to be an awesome day.

VBS

I peeked in Faith's class today.

And Faith was acting quite regally.

Benjamin got to dress up today too.

This children in PreK and K5 classes got to face paint two of the men today because they brought in the most money for missions.  A whopping $202 for that age group.  Amazing.

After VBS was over I let Faith and Grace dress up in armor while I cleaned the classroom.

Both girls thoroughly enjoyed that.

Then we headed outside for a picnic.

Our church is in Fairhope and we live in Spanish Fort.  It's quite a jaunt and just made sense to bring lunch.

And it allows time for the kids to play on the playground, too.

Before we go home for the afternoon.

VBS

It's vacation bible school this week.

We have a medieval theme.

With a lot of kids showing up.

We are learning about the armor of God.

In my class, we let the kids play with toy armor.

The girls dress up like princesses.

There are even armor of God relay races.

All the kids loved those.

On another day, we built castle walls out of shoe boxes.

And tried to knock down other team's walls.

We also enjoyed great snacks each day.

And arts and crafts.

We finished by going back to the assembly for final songs and prayers.

And testimonies with object lessons.

Even the youngest children had a great time.

As did the adults.  It's been a fantastic week and I hope we were successful in planting seeds in these children's hearts this year and I pray those seeds will grow and flourish in the years to come.

Conversation with Grace: A real princess needs to live in a castle.

Vacation Bible School this week has a medieval theme with knights and princesses.  On our way home from VBS today, Grace remarked, "I wish I were a real princess."

I thought for a moment and asked, "Who made you?"

Grace:  "God."

Me:  "Who is God?"

Grace:  "He's my Father in Heaven."

Me:  "Well, God is also King of Kings and Lord of Lords, right?"

Grace:  "Right."

Me:  "So if God is King of Kings and your Father in Heaven, that makes you a princess."

After a long moment, Grace responds, "Mom.  If I'm a real princess then I need to live in a real castle."

Beach

We love the beach.

So we took a trip there today.

It's wonderful living so close to the sand.

And surf.

Benjamin wasn't too sure about the sand between his toes though.

But he quickly warmed up to it after the girls started building a sandman.

Benjamin added the finishing touches of hair.

And was super proud of himself.

Then he decided to explore the sand a bit.

He tasted some of it, too, and decided he didn't like it.

After a while, we wore all the kids out and decided it was time to head home.

What another wonderful day together.