Five

 As of June 19th, Brynn is Five!

As always, Brynn has been looking forward to her birthday and the accompanying party for months. We had her party a few weeks early so she could celebrate with all her friends in Utah one more time before saying goodbye. Brynn's request this year was to have a princess party where we decorated cupcakes. As the party approached, Brynn was bitten by the Frozen bug and decided she wanted to dress up as Elsa for her party and slowly all the details of the party took on a subtle Frozen theme. Never once did Brynn ask for an actual Elsa costume, instead she told me, "I can wear my Cinderella dress because it is blue and Elsa's dress is blue. It doesn't really look like it, but I can just pretend." After hearing this I wanted nothing more than to surprise her with an Elsa costume for her birthday. I started looking for one and quickly learned that Frozen paraphernalia is apparently more valuable than gold and virtually impossible to get your hands on. I started finding $20 dresses listed for $150 on ebay and hearing stories about people waiting in line for hours outside of the Disney store just to get a number and then hoping their number would be called so they could purchase one of the few Frozen items that were in stock each week. I found the whole thing to be ridiculous and decided to boycott Disney and make my own costume for her. Scott was not excited when I decided to take on this project the week before our move. I think he still has PTSD from the quiet books. Honestly I was a little surprised and very relieved when it all came together flawlessly in just a couple hours one night. It turned out better than I hoped and most importantly Brynn was thrilled!

 I used a silver gymnastics leotard as the base. Then I just sewed the material for the top onto the leotard. I made a basic skirt and attached to the bottom. It is all made out of stretchy sportswear fabric so it's comfortable to play in. I attached the cape with little eyelet hooks rather than sewing it on so Brynn can take it off if she wants, which she often does when she is running around playing. Mason surprised Brynn right before her party with real Elsa shoes to finish off her costume (thanks to my friend, Heather, for seeing them and snatching them for me the morning of the party). The costume turned out perfectly.

The cake on the other hand....not so much.
Brynn wanted an Elsa cake made with an Elsa barbie doll. I searched and searched clear up until the morning of the party for an Elsa doll, but came up empty handed. Plan B was to use my old 1990s beach Barbie. The finished product was Pinterest worthy... and by that I mean it was worthy of one of the hilarious Nailed It comparisons.

 In case you weren't sure, my version is the one on the right.

 (If you don't know what I'm talking about check out more Nailed It comparisons here. This one is my absolute favorite)

Brynn was a good sport and pretended to like it.

As the party guests arrived, they were able to get their nails painted and make up applied if they wanted. I must say I've never seen a group of more beautiful princesses.

Allie, Sophie, Keyana, Karissa, Brynn, Mason, Hailey, Brooklyn, Lyndee, Lucie

 Mason didn't want to be left out so last minute, with the help of my mom, he the threw together a "Marshmallow" costume (the snow monster from Frozen) and joined the party.

 I had to get a picture of Elsa and Anna together.

 Brynn wanted to decorate cupcakes, but my mom took it one step further by making individual mini doll cakes for each of the girls to decorate. My mom gets 100% of the credit for the planning and execution of this activity. We had little baggies of colored frosting and a bag of decorative candies prepared for each of the girls and then let them loose. It was a lot like decorating gingerbread houses, only it was girly and princessy. It was a huge success!

 I failed to get a picture of each of the girls with their finished product, but here are a few I did get.

 As the girls finished decorating they went downstairs where I had turned on the Frozen soundtrack and pretty soon we had ten girls twirling around belting out Let It Go at the top of their lungs. It was pretty darn cute.

Our impromptu Frozen dance party lasted until it was time for cake, snow cones (another little Frozen touch), and presents. 

I have to mention that Brynn had been acting a bit off all day. She was more emotional than normal and while she was very excited for her party, her enthusiasm was about a quarter of what I expected it to be. I blamed it on the late night we had the night before. But, at this point in the party Brynn started whining and complaining she was cold and pretty soon her teeth were chattering and she was begging to go lay down. It was right as all the parents were picking up the kids that I realized she had a raging fever. Hopefully all the party guests didn't get an additional party favor of the plague that caused high fevers and absolute misery in all of my kids for the next week.

Even though she felt crummy, Brynn gave each of her guests a heart-felt goodbye. This ended up being the last time she saw many of her friends before our move. I'll admit I got pretty emotional as I watched her hug each of her friends one last time. Brynn has been lucky to have some pretty amazing little friends and she really loves each and every one of those girls.

Brynn's birthday was 2 weeks after our move and even though we had celebrated earlier, I tried to make her actual birthday a special day. Brynn wanted to go to the Children's Museum and because I would do anything for that girl, I loaded up all the kiddos and took them on our first outing with all 4 kids by myself. We all survived and I can't think of a better way we could have spent the day for Brynn.

Naturally her favorite part of the museum was the Children's Hospital part. I think we have a future doctor here.

That night when we got home our new neighbors, who have quickly become our good friends, had heard it was Brynn birthday and brought over a brithday present for her. They had watched her run around in her Elsa costume every day since we moved in so they thought she might like an Anna costume to go along with it. I was speechless. They said being in a new place on your birthday is hard and they just wanted her to feel welcome. If you couldn't tell, they are the nicest family ever and we are so grateful they are our neighbors.

 

We finished off the day with Brynn's requested birthday dinner of Pink, heart-shaped pancakes.

A little bit about 5-year-old Brynn
*She has the biggest heart and always tries to choose the right.
*She loves her brothers and sisters more than anything else in this world.
*She is the perfect balance of active/adventurous and girly girl.
*She loves learning and especially loves Math.
*She has a lot to say and likes to give a full report of everything she thinks and does (I know, she gets it from me).
*She, at times, has a darling stutter that she described herself by saying, "Sometimes I have to say the end of a word over and over until I can remember the next thing I need to say."
*She has very natural coordination and athleticism.
*She loves to sing.
*She thrives on structure, routine, and rules.
*She wakes up every morning and makes her bed and gets dressed before she leaves her room.
*She is my pickiest eater and is pretty much a vegetarian since she refuses to eat any meat. She is pretty much kept alive with pancakes and grilled cheese sandwiches.
*Still sleeps like a princess with her hands placed perfectly under her cheek.
*Has maintained the "I do myself" attitude she has had since she was a baby.
*Is the best little girl a mama could ask for.

Love you Brynnie Bug.

Ellie's Bubble Bash

We celebrated Ellie's first birthday with a big bubble bash. We started off the bash with a spaghetti dinner since Spaghetti sauce is one of Ellie's favorite tastes right now. She likes to play with the noodles and then taste some of the sauce off her hands. After dinner we had fun playing with all sorts of bubbles. I had a table of bubbles with different bubble wands for the kids, then we made bubble snakes, and we finished off by putting each of the kiddos in a giant bubble. The kiddos were having so much fun with all of those activities we didn't have time to do the bubble art I had planned, but that's okay. 

 

Bubble snakes are made by cutting the end off a plastic water bottle then securing a washcloth on the end with an elastic. You dip the wash cloth in regular bubbles and then blow to make a long bubble snake.  The plastic water bottles we happened to have laying around the house are for the sterile water we use for Ellie's trach mask and I found that gauze worked just as well as a washcloth and so we ended up using some of Ellie's extra trach supplies to make the snake bubbles. When I was getting everything ready for the party Mason said, "oh I get it, we are having a trach supply birthday for Ellie." I got a good laugh out of it.

Ellie loved the snake bubbles because she could touch all the bubbles.

The giant bubble was a hit with all the kids. At first the wind was making it hard to get a good bubble, but after we held up some blankets to block the wind then we had better results.  I made the mix using water, bubbles, and karo syrup and letting it sit over night.

Before we knew it these crazy boys were in their skivvies having a blast.

Trouble Maker

Since Ellie is not able to eat anything orally there wasn't much point in a smash cake, but she does love the taste of frosting so we gave her a cupcake loaded with frosting and helped her get her hands covered in frosting so she could get a good taste. She loved it and consumed enough frosting to make herself sick that night.

She was a huge fan of all the presents wrapped up with their crinkly bows and tissue paper. The presents inside were okay, but not nearly as cool as the wrapping they came in. Once all the wrapping paper and bows were forgotten about then Ellie really did love all the presents, especially the activity box from Grandma and Grandpa. It has been the greatest toy now that she is sitting independently.

It was the perfect celebration of our sweet Ellie and all she has accomplished in her first year of life.

All About 1-year-old Ellie

* Her favorite thing to play with is crinkly wrappers and paper. Her suction catheters with their plastic cover are especially fun. She will pucker up with the saddest face you've ever seen when a wrapper gets taken away from her.

* She doesn't eat orally, but is starting to recognize food and tries to get her hands on it to explore it. She still shutters when she gets a taste of any in her mouth, though. Some of the tastes she accepts better are spaghetti sauce, gravy, ice cream, frosting, and bananas. (by tastes I mean a wiping some on her lips and the corners of her mouth)

* Her crazy auburn hair is getting longer and thicker, but continues to stick straight up no matter what we do.

* Still loves her big green binkies as well as sucking on her fingers and hands. Those are the only things she openly invites into her mouth.

* She is fascinated by combs but absolutely hates getting her hair combed. It must be sensory overload for her because she starts thrashing around when I try to comb her hair making it nearly impossible.

* She is still a tiny peanut with tiny little feet. Size 2 shoes are still way to big for her.

* Right around her first birthday she finally became an independent sitter and can be left on her own to sit without tipping over a few seconds later. She also started to get the hang of rolling and started rolling completely onto her stomach rather than her little half roll she had become so good at. She even started rolling to get to something she wants. 

* She squeaks and squawks around her trach more, even without her speaking valve on.

* She laughs the hardest when Scott or one of the kids startle her.

* She is a solid sleeper and sleeps through the night every single night. If only we got the luxury to sleep with her, but we still have to get up at least every 3 hours to refill feeds and adjust all of her equipment. 

* She got her first tooth at 9 months, had 5 teeth (3 on top 2 on bottom) at 12 months, and is up to 10 teeth (4 on top 6 on bottom) at 13 months. Teething has been an interesting process with her because she doesn't eat. Her gums just bulge and bulge but with no chewing on things the teeth don't break through until she has almost full grown teeth and the gums can't stretch any further. It has been a pretty miserable process for her.
*Loves to be outside and swing in her swing.
 * She is adored by her brothers and sisters.

*Has the cutest big toothy grin in the world.

Warning: this may be the cutest video you have ever seen.

Happy Birthday Miss Ellie Jane.

Mason's Quiet Book

Last but not least is Mason's quiet book. I told Mason and Brynn that I was making quiet books for Ellie and Miles, because that's what this project started out as, but they were so in love with all the pages that I decided to make books for them, too. I surprised them on Christmas with their books and they were so excited to have books of their own after months of me telling them that I was sure Miles and Ellie would share their books.  Mason may be my oldest, but he is my child that love love loves little trinkety things so these books are right up his ally. 

Clips and Locks

by: Anne Durham

Inspired by: little hands, big work

 I love this page. All of those pieces tuck away inside of the treasure chest and then you can pull them out to practice locking and hooking and then unlocking and unhooking things. Perfect for my 6 year old.

Banana Split

by: Lulu Suberville

Inspired by: Imagine our Life

 This page blows me away every time I look at it. Every piece of it is so well done! There were tears shed over who would get this in their book. Brynn has begged me to make the same page for her book. I don't know...maybe next year. 

Wow, 5 days in a row of these pages. Overload.

 Tic-Tac-Toe

by: Andrea Carruth

Pattern from: Pops and Podge 

Doodle Pad

by: Cammi Bates

 Mason loves playing tic-tac-toe so this page is great for him.

This doodle pad page is so simple, but so great. Inside the pocket is a notebook, pencil, and stickers. Perfect for my little artist. I don't know if I would trust putting a pencil or crayons in Miles book since he would probably draw all over rest of the book.

Sandcastle

by: Kenzi Openshaw

Pattern from: Imagine our Life

 A fun little sandcastle page.

and more of the same.

Truth be told I have one more page I am still working on for Mason's book. So, I don't have a picture yet, but I'll add it in once I'm done.

I Spy

by: Ashley Allen

Inspired by: Imagine Our Life

I'm just making a few modifications to the page to personalize it for Mason.

On the back of it is

Seasons Tree

by: Summer Carroll

And that my friends is what I've been working on for nearly 4 months. I will conclude the week of quiet books with a quick post explaining how I sewed the pages together and made the covers.  I felt like there were tons of sights that showed off their quiet book pages, but it was really hard to find out how people assembled the pages, so I will just put it out there how I chose to do it in case anyone is interested.

Miles' Quiet Book

 We've made our way to Miles' book. Miles was the child who I originally intended to make a book for before this blew up into a 4 book project. This book has transformed sacrament meeting from a 1 hour wrestling match into a struggle to keep him from yelling the names and colors of his shape page so loudly...until the last 10 minutes and then it's still a wrestling match...apparently I need to add a few more pages. We don't just use the quiet books for church, though. This has been great for the times I have my hands tied with Ellie. Miles comes and plops down on the floor in her room with his quiet book and does all the activities while we talk about them. There are still plenty of times the ipad is used in this capacity, too, but it's nice to have another non-technological option.

I See Me

by: Ashley Allen

Inspired by: pagebypage2

 So this page originally had a reflective material on it for the mirror. While finishing the page I ironed the back of the page and apparently the heat ruined the material because after it was completed I realized it just looked like dull foil. Oops! So I took the material off and ordered this plastic mirror. Because the page was already sewn together and finished I haven't quite found the best way to attach the mirror and not have it look so awkward. Miles doesn't seem to mind and loves pulling faces in the mirror. Of course we love the BYU pattern as well. I thought that was a cute idea since everyone in the group has a husband attending BYU's MBA program right now.

Caterpillar Counting/Matching Shapes

by: Jen Avery

Inspired by: Jenna's Book

 This is hands down Miles' favorite page! 

The magnets used on the shapes page work really well. Jen used Neodymium magnets which are super small and strong enough to work even through several layers of felt. You just have to make sure the magnets are sewn into the book and pieces in a way they can't come out because these are the kind of magnets that if a kid swallows one it could be a big problem.

Okay, these pages are getting old by now, I know.

 

Zippers

by: Anne Durham

Inspired by: serving pink lemonade

Barn Page

by: Lindsay Miller

Inspired by: serving pink lemonade

 I love how Anne added this little pouch onto the zipper page. I'm thinking of putting some little coins or something fun in there for him to unzip and find.

Of course the barn page is a hit as well.

Mr. Potato Head

by:  Marissa Mortensen

Inspired by: Kayla Danelle

Same old, Same old.

You might have noticed a few similar pages to Ellie's book like the beads, barn, and Mr. Potato Head. Remember that I was in two separate groups, so other people did not get two of the same page for one book.

One more book to go tomorrow and that's Mason's. His has some "older kid" pages that fit his personality perfectly. Can't wait to share them with you.