The mind of a 4 year old

Bedtime with munchkin included an interesting little conversation cuddled up in the dark the other night...one that really struck me & I thought about it for awhile after.

K: "mommy...I don't want to grow up"

Me: "really? why's that?"

K: "because I want to stay little forever"

Me: "aw toots, me too...I miss when you were a little baby, but I LOVE watching you grow up!"

K: "but I don't want to...I don't want to be 6, 7, 10, or 12...I want to stay little, like 4 or 5"

Me: "I'm sorry honey...this is life - it doesn't work that way. Each day we grow just a teeny tiny bit. 

And each year we all turn a year older...that's just what happens and we can't stop that...so we need to try & be happy with each day that we have & enjoy getting older."

K: "well....do you like being grown'd up??"

Me: "of course I do, growing up meant that I got to have you for my daughter...and it means we get to learn more, do new things and meet new friends...growing up is fun!"
{somehow I'm honestly saying all this without a doubt in my mind}

K: *sighs...deep in thought...looking up to the dark ceiling*

Me: "don't worry about it honey, you're too young for that!" *giggle to myself*

Then we held each other in silence as we always end our day together...I made myself repeat this convo in my head so I'd remember to write it down here...that was a priceless moment for sure.

MAN - was that heavy or what? For a FOUR year old?! Sheesh. And maybe 3 weeks ago, she randomly came up to me and said that she didn't want to go to Kindergarten ..which we've never talked about before...so I assume it's from overhearing the big-kid group at preschool talking about their next journeys onto Kindergarten.

I also found out after, that she'd mentioned a similar thing about not wanting to grow up to James earlier that day....wonder what is goin through that little noggin of hers lately....

What's more interesting as I type this...I realized we have been dealing with (or just casually speaking about) a lot of life's 'adult' pressures...jobs, homes, finances, more kids, etc. It's funny what kids can pick up on & somehow understand, even when you think they are completely tuned out. Then we finally watched "This is 40" with my sister & her bf... hilariously honest movie - exaggerated I'm sure - but definitely spoke a ton of truth.

I don't dismiss the fact that 'time flies' and I find that I'm continually stopping to remind myself of so many things:

 - "she won't be this little forever" - when she asks me to pick her up & hold her

 - "she won't want me to snuggle with her one day" - when she is insistent every night for a book & lots of snuggle time...even if James read to her, momma still has to crawl in for "2 minutes snuggle mamma". *melt*

 - "she won't want me to inspect her every move" - when she says:  "Watch ME mommy!" 152,479 times in a row.

 - "she won't depend on me for much longer" - when I have to help her brush her teeth, change her clothes, brush her gorgeous hair, or prep her food.... though she is very stern when there is something she can "do all by myself mommy".

She's already able to "pump" on the swings all by herself now and swing super high without our help. She has a very strong opinion on her clothing & shoes. She is beginning to correct the "s" that she's had in place of "f"...she used to say "singers" instead of "fingers" - which we just love & the other night I realized she said it correctly, with an "f" - aww!

*sigh*

Life & growing up are a combination of so many things and so many feelings - it's difficult & exciting, challenging & rewarding, slow & fast, heart-breaking & inspiring...

...but most of all, it's pretty damn incredible when you actually stop to think about it.

Officially FOUR

Although we had a great big birthday party the weekend before K's birthday...I knew we should send her to school the day of her actual bday with a special cake to celebrate with her school friends:

The evening, we also decided to have a simple dinner out - just us 3.

Happy Birthday Munchkin...we love you more than words can thoroughly explain. 

Over these past 4 years, your incredible light has brightened up our existence and taught us SO many things...

About appreciating life. 

About finding patience. 

About sheer exhaustion.

About never-ending fears. 

About immense joys.

About quality time. 

About astonishing strength. 

About unwavering, unconditional, pure love.

Kapri's little hand at 2 months old

Happy 4th Birthday Princess Kapri

Finally...our countdown on the kitchen chalkboard has come to an end - and literally ALL. MORNING. LONG. she was asking about every 2-5 seconds if it was time for the party... her very own "Princess & Pirates" themed birthday party:

As if I didn't have enough things to check off on my self-imposed 'to-do' list...I had to cope with a seriously anxious little girl...oye.

My helpers & I got there 2 hrs early to set up...though there is NEVER enough time...I felt insanely rushed....and sweaty. I ran home 15 minutes before the party was supposed to start, changed Kapri into her tulle dress...and she decided at that very moment to tell me how itchy it was...o...m...g.

{{CLICK HERE to see the post about making her tulle tutu dress, picture overload!}}

It was now the time the party was to start...and we were there yet...whooops!! So I slipped on a pink tank underneath, changed into my dress...and off we went. Little princess was about 20 minutes late to her own party...ah well - she looked beautiful!

coral ladies - seriously not planned!

Pirate James & Princess Steve

Food & Treats table: princess & pirate cupcakes, "royal PB&J's" (were supposed to be in a crown shape, but the cookie cutter I had wasn't really workin with this bread...I think I should've refridgerated the bread overnight so they didn't just break when I went to use the cutter), "sword kabobs" (salami, cheddar cheese & gouda cheese), and "fish-n-chips" (literally! haha):

More food:  blue & pink swirled lollipops from Oriental Trading (HUGE hit with the kids), "pirate jello sails" (idea HERE), "wish upon a star" cookies (vanilla yogurt cookies from Trader Joes), and "pirates booty" cups:

Saw these Fruit Wands on Pinterest (HERE) - and knew they'd be perfect!! I love how they turned out!

I found these 'lace' style plastic table covers at Walmart for less than $2 each... they were actually really pretty! The drink containers were filled with "Pirate Sea Water" and "Princess Punch"...scored those from Kirklands Home store (I added a chalkboard sticker in front to name them).

I can't seem to find a picture of it...but next to the gifts I had an 11x14 framed image of this...I made it using PicMonkey:

all 11 Disney Princesses - so stoked I found this image!!

The goodie bag station... love the little tissue paper tassel garland my sisters & I made to hang on the table (tutorial HERE)... took a little time & finesse, but turned out great I think!

The goodie bags were filled with fun toys I bought from Oriental Trading... stickers, necklaces, rings, chocolate coins, & stamps... I made ones for both girls and boys:

Kid activity tables... make your own foam pirate hat and/or princess crown (with sticker embellishments), treasure hunt list & easy-to-assemble paper treasure boxes to store their loot in, a tattoo station, and a coloring/bubble station:

The girls were obsessed with the 'poster' princesses - they got to pose with them & take pics... too cute. I didn't buy this... my sis did during a last minute Party City run...it was maybe $6 and came with 2 pieces that you tape up together...and a separate "Happy Birthday" sign...pictured above...between 2 pink balloons on the outside/doorframe of the rec room.

A few pics of our fam & friends enjoying the day...loved seeing all the kiddos dressed up as either a princess or pirate...what kid doesn't like to dress up?!!

Outside play time... Tinkerbell boucy, treasure hunt in the sand, slides & swings...oh what fun!

She LOVED her special Cinderella cupcake (scored for $7 at Ralphs of all places the day before!!):

Here's a vid of everyone singing to her (she was shy, but it was adorable!):



One quick family shot (only one pretty much), as we finished cleaning up the rec room & headed home after a long day of fun!

Oh...and here's a photo collage of her last year... I make one for every birthday...love looking back at these:

Cannot believe we have a FOUR year old!!

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K's PreParty Pics ~ Tulle *Tutu* Dress

Kapri's 4th birthday party is fast approaching..which is a "Princess & Pirate" theme (cannot wait!). Together, we had searched all day a few weeks ago for a fluffy, pink 'princess-y' dress.

No luck.

I later showed her a few pictures of 'tutu' tulle dresses that I had pinned on her bday Pinterest board...and she liked them! YAY - I can do this.

To determine the length, I measured from her armpit down to her ankles, doubled that length & added 1" (to allow for the knot along the elastic top - this gave me the measurement to cut each strand of tulle. Example:

• Armpits to ankles = 28"
• Doubled = 56"
• Plus 1" for knot = 57" pieces of tulle

Then off I went to gather about 5 rolls of bright pink tulle (Walmart = $2.99/roll... 6" x 25yards). I had some inch wide elastic & measured around her chest (just under armpits), minus 3 inches to make sure it was 'snug' & didn't slip down...then sewed the ends together.

When making tutus, I like to use a new, thick roll of paper towels, so I just followed the same process (search YouTube for a ton of how-to vids)... took me a few hours but it was definitely worth it! With about 1/2 left, I put it on her to make sure it fit around the chest okay...she cried when I had to take it off - so that was a good sign!

Finally I added a coordinating satin ribbon that I had on hand, embellished it with some sparklies, & tied it around, just under her chest...but not quite to her waist...so it gave it an 'empire' look. Then I added a more sheer ribbon in front, to tie around her neck for added support.

And of course every birthday princess needs her own crown & wand...felt, hot glue, tulle ribbon, a wooden dowel, a headband and some more sparkly jewels - done & done!

I cannot believe how easy this was to make & how great it turned out...she loves it. I love it...win/win! She'll be the 'belle of the ball' for sure in this perfectly pink poofy princess tulle dress!

{I had actually made a few star wands for the street fair & didn't sell them all...which was totally fine, since I realized I could use them to give out to the other 'princesses' at her party! On her wand, I just added a matching jewel to her crown to make it a tad more special}

After everything was finished, my youngest sister & I took K to a local trail/lagoon area that we've walked through a few times in the past. I knew it was the perfect spot to take pictures of Kapri frolicking around in her new, bright, fluffy dress! I cannot believe how many pics I took (with my iPhone 5!!) and how many came out really great...it was the perfect setting that I envisioned in my head! Pics edited with "SnapSeed" app.

**WARNING**

Picture overload below...These are a 'few' of my favs!!

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Mother's Day{s} 2013

I love when ONE special day get's split between a few days...like birthdays for example - they're more often than not, divided into a few different dinners/lunches, with varying family/friends...and this Mother's Day was similar.

It started on Wed. May 8th with a "Mother's Day Breakfast" at K's school... just me & munchkin... she was SO excited in the days leading up to it...I know she cherishes the time just her & I spend together...total mother/daughter bonding - as I do too of course!

She made me a 'picture frame' with her cute face in it, and a cut out of me with a bejeweled pink dress, and awesome 'flower hands'!




Along with the sweetest card...these things I will seriously treasure FOREVER:



And a pretty awesome bouquet of  'paper' flowers:



Then Sunday morning we met up with 2 other fams & their kids for brunch at Cody's La Jolla - seriously LOVED everything about this cute little place! It had pretty great reviews on Yelp, and was able to accommodate 6 adults and 5 kids...so it was a win/win!

I wore this dress that I made for myself the night before...using an old yellow tank top and 2 yards of grey stretch jersey cotton that I scored on sale...and made the belt from an old body-pillow case, love it!

Then we walked down along the coast to check out the seals, as we do each Mother's Day... it was nice to let the kids run around & get out some energy...before heading back for naptime!

As K napped, James & I laid out in our patio with a little Prosecco...

Later that day I made 3 tubs of homemade playdough for K to play with {so cool!}, while I began to make this seriously BOMB banana coconut bread - from here.

Then Kapri & I let dad hang out at home, while we picked up some dinner to take over to my mom's and spend some time together...she loves GramMo's house!

All in all - quite a productive day...surrounded by tons of people that I love!

I heart bein a mamma! It's tough work sometimes... but sooo many rewarding times as well that tend to stomp on the crappy ones. We definitely do a LOT as mothers/parents...so it's nice to have a day dedicated solely to us. I may not have put my feet up ALL day, nor did I get to sleep in... but the things I did do, were part of who I am, and what makes me happy....what makes me 'mom'.