Mother's Day

Mother's Day festivities began a week early with a celebratory dinner at Weber Grill with Grammy, Grampy & GeeGee!

On Thursday I got to attend a Mother's Day Celebration at Jemma's school! First was Chapel time where we were given a Mother's Day blessing followed by singing! We then headed back to the classroom where each person in Jemma's class recited a page out of a book about moms! Lastly, Jemma's teacher read off some answers to the questions the kids were asked about their mom, and we had to try to figure out if it was us! I was confident in knowing it was Jemma's after Ms. Carrie read the one about where we like to go together! Here are her answers!

Jade came home with these goodies for me on Friday! I just love her answers! :)

On Sunday, the day started out with a dozen red roses from Nate and then church! After church we came home and I opened the gift from the girls! It was a blank canvas and some paints for us to make a family hand print tree! It turned out so cute! Sorry, don't have a picture of it handy! :(

April & May Catchup

Just wanted to share a few random pictures from April & May! So, hope you enjoy this super random photo dump! I'm noticing they are almost all of Jemma! We spend a lot of time together! ;)

A little sass before ballet class!

My little Ballerina!

Despite her face, Jemma was so excited to be the Star Student at school! She brought home that red bag and had to fill it with items and return it to school the next day to tell the class about!

Unexpected nice weather called for a park date with friends!

 

Jemma is a great companion for errands! I only have to bribe her with snacks sometimes! ;)

A spur of the moment day in CL with Grammy and Grampy and of course a visit to Nick's Pizza!

Cashing in on Jade's birthday gift card to Dairy Queen!

Trampoline fun!

Dinner and ice cream date at Chic-Fil-A with my favorites!

 

TJ Maxx and Park day!

A little Nate update! He was selected for the Cook County Sheriff's Law Enforcement Award of Merit! This is a pretty prestigious award that not many officers receive! We attended an award ceremony to celebrate his achievement! Great job, Nate!

Jade's Art Party

Jade loves all things Art these days, so she was 100% sure she wanted an Art themed birthday party this year! So, we had her kids party at the local Art Studio where she takes weekly classes!

Jade selected a Unicorn for the theme of their painting, so I just went Unicorn themed for the party!

Ms. Kim took the girls through a step by step process to draw their Unicorn!

Then she walked through various painting techniques!

All of the girls did such a great job with their drawings!

They loved using all their painting techniques, especially the "splatter" one! ;)

They were all so focused and enjoyed it!

Jade's almost finished painting!

After the girls were done cupcakes were served!

 I should have taken the group photo earlier on, the girls were quite silly towards the end of the party! 

They were all super excited for Jade to open their presents, and all huddled in close for each one!

Such a fun and special Birthday celebration for Jade! A big thanks to all her friends and especially Ms. Kim for hosting such a wonderful party!

Happy Birthday Jade

Jade's birthday started out with donuts! She was super excited to use our Star of the Day plate and the new Happy Birthday mug! :)

Present time!

Jade got a few smaller items (crafts, L.O.L's and a little spending money) however her big gift was waiting for her in the garage!

She was super excited to find out it was a big trampoline for the backyard!

The girls actually attended a birthday party later that afternoon for Jemma's friend Makena, who also has a big sister Jade's age! This worked out perfectly because Daddy put together the trampoline while we were there!

She approves!

Jade chose Macaroni and Cheese for dinner! The evening was rounded out with a cookie cake!

Happy 6th Birthday Jade!!

Jade's LOL Themed Birthday Party

The party theme for Jade this year was super easy! She quickly decided she wanted an L.O.L. Surprise Doll themed party! These are currently one of hers (and Jemma's) favorite toys!

Decked out in her shirt from Etsy and balloons from eBay! L.O.L. themed party supplies are hard to come by! :) 

Sweet sisters waiting for the party guests to arrive!

Among some of the first to arrive were Grammy, Grampy and Great Aunt Mar!

Jade's choice for lunch was the usual Baked Mostacolli, french bread and fruit! The kids enjoyed eating separate from the adults! 

Jade was so excited to receive these games from Great Aunty Jill and Uncle Jim who live in Minnesota! Thank you!

She loved her Target gift card from GeeGee who couldn't be there! Thank you GeeGee, you know her so well, Target is her favorite store!

Another delicious marble cake with chocolate fudge filling from Jewel! I added a few of Jade's L.O.L. accessories to it!

Happy Birthday, Jade!

Thank you everyone for the generous gifts and for spending the day celebrating Jade's 6th Birthday! We're so glad you all could be there!