Seven

I think this every year, but where has the time gone?! My Emma is SEVEN! I sure do love her. She's silly, kind, oh so smart, loves school and reading. She's obsessed with writing - she loves writing and creating little brochures, books, posters, invitations, etc, etc - her and Becca are almost always together when she's not at school pretending and creating together. Emma is a caring and fun big sister. She LOVES to care for Claire and has so much patience when Claire is fussy and helps by getting her snacks and toys and totes her around the house to keep her happy. I couldn't ask for a more amazing oldest daughter. She's a keeper! :)

Our birthday tradition is they get to pick out any cereal from the store for their b-day breakfast (so easy!) - Emma went grocery shopping with me on Monday and after exploring the entire cereal isle, she picked Frosted Flakes. She also took mini donuts to school to share with her class. I also always try to have an activity planned for the birthday kid on their special day, but in the past we've had more time to do a fun little something - but now that she's in school all day, there's not a lot of time left in the day - she doesn't get home till 4 from school! Anyway, I was also trying to be thrifty, so I thought we'd go on a little hike on a nearby trail. I always keep these birthday activities a surprise, so when we picked her up from the bus stop, I told her we were heading to go on a little birthday hike. She was thrilled! I was relieved that this made her excited. Add that to the list of things I love about Emma - she really enjoys being active and doing outdoor activities...

My little goofs... Emma kept doing this fist to the air thing while we were hiking... what a interesting girl she is :)

And they're off! They literally ran the whole way... until we turned around to come back - they slowed down a bit then... but my, my... they were awesome little hikers! No complaining or whining... they must have really been in the mood for some outdoor exploring...
















We hurried home after hiking and Ben was already home from work with birthday flowers for Emma. I love this tradition that Ben started - the girls love flowers from daddy. :)




Emma picked out an interesting birthday dinner - she wanted german pancakes, strawberries, and this pink cherry soda that we've made in the past from her princess tea party cookbook. It was a SWEET dinner! :) After dinner she opened her presents. Becca was cute and the night before, she says "but mommy, I haven't gotten Emma a present yet!" - so I took her out really quick so she could pick something out - Becca was SO excited to watch Emma open her little gift (airhead candy)...






Happy Birthday Emma lou!