September Fun

The day after we returned from our beach vacation, Katherine started Pre-K at our church. She's our fourth child to attend Community Preschool Pre-K. She's been so excited about starting school. It was our last fourth day of Pre-K and was bittersweet. We're all so excited for the memories she'll make, the things she'll learn, the friendships she'll make, and the adventures she'll have. 

Our co op hosted Spirit Month during the month of September, and the first week was Crazy Hair Day. Elisabeth was eager to participated in all the fun. 

I got to be Mom Helper in her favorite class- Fun and Cooking. This week they painted apple trees. The following week they got to make apple pies in a cup. Yum! She consistently tells me that Fun and Cooking is her favorite class. 

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Matt's work hosted a night at a Tulsa Driller's Game. The kids were thrilled to get to meet Hornsby during the game, and to get to play on the playground and eat free hamburgers and hot dogs. They didn't last through the entire game, but we had fun while they were there. 

We were missing Nathan that evening, but he certainly wasn't missing us. He was celebrating Wyatt's birthday with Hibachi, Roblox, a sleepover, and donuts. Wyatt is one of Nathan's very best friends, and he's always happy to celebrate anything with him. 

We picked him up the next night and spent the evening watching OSU's football game and hanging out with one of our favorite families. The night went wild from there. I had casually mentioned that we had planned to get rid of our upstairs couch and replace it with some beanbags for the kids. Brooke found a listing for bean bags for sale in her neighborhood, so instead of having a leisurely night watching a football game, the men stuffed two giant beanbags in our van, and Brooke and I drove them to Broken Arrow and then back to Bixby to pick up the rest of my family. 

It was a wild Saturday night, ha!

One of the best parts about Pre K for Katherine is that her best friend Laura is in her class and most days they carpool together to school. The girls made an intricate plan to dress alike for school one day down to their shoes and hair styles. They're adorabel. 

Thursdays are our co op days, and they are the best. The kids are learning so much. I'm so thankful for the effort and passion their teachers put forth each class period. Samuel and Elisabeth made salt dough maps of Africa. 

In their science class, the also did an experiment to show how whale blubber keeps the animals warm in the frigid waters. 

Samuel, Elisabeth, and Katherine are all participating in Trail Life and American Heritage Girls this year, and their troops hosted a fishing derby. Matt and I are not fishermen, so Papa Joe kindly agreed to take them to the fishing night. They all loved it and had a great time. 

As the weather cooled off throughout September, we enjoyed a night of bike riding in our neighborhood. 

We also attending a field trip at the zoo with our co-op friends. 

The kids enjoyed fishing so much, that Papa Joe took them fishing at his neighborhood pond one Friday night. They caught dozens of fish. 

This beautiful girl asked me to curl her hair for church, and we had to document it with a picture. 

Katherine's 5th Birthday

We had a special weekend celebrating Katherine's fifth birthday. 

Every birthday weekend begins with cake making and beater licking for the birthday girl. 

The Friday night before her birthday party was a rare occasion for me. Matt and Nathan went to Matt's department work function, and the other three kids spent the night with Papa Joe. That left me with an empty house and a giant birthday cake to decorate. 

Katherine requested a rainbow cake and picked out all her colors before she left for the evening. I thought it turned out pretty good!

For her fifth birthday Katherine asked to have her party at Bounce U just like her brother and sister. I happily obliged and enjoyed not having to plan, shop and clean for a party. 

She even wore the same dress her sister wore to her fifth birthday party at Bounce U. 

Aww Memories! It's a little sad to be celebrating our last fifth birthday party. 

This girl could not wait to celebrate with all her friends. 

They bounced and jumped and ran and played for a solid hour. One of my favorite memories is watching Katherine sprint from one are to the next. She never walked, only ran at full speed. It was like she couldn't control her excitement. 
 

Katherine is the classic youngest child and has strong friendships with children of all ages. Her ability to play with and form bonds with so many different children is one of her greatest gifts. We were so thankful to have so many friends celebrating her at her party. 

This guy is my favorite birthday party date. He's always up for our crazy kid raising adventures. 

Her smile was this ginormous throughout the entire birthday party. 

Goodness, I love her so much. 

Another favorite memory was how much she played with her daddy throughout her party, and how he never told her no even when he was out of breath. She'd run over and grab his hand, and he followed her everywhere. 

The bond those two have is absolutely precious. 

After everyone finished bouncing, we all headed to the party room for cake and presents. 

Katherine got a warm welcome. She adored being the center of attention the entire day. 

She ate (multiple pieces of) of cake and chatted with all her friends. 

She also loved her big yellow cup that was just for the birthday girl. 

After cake, Katherine was ready for presents. 

Her friends were very generous. She got some great things- polly pockets, Disney princess collection toys, and arts and crafts

The celebrations didn't stop at the conclusion of her birthday party. Since we were on the side of town as the mall, we decided to gift her with an early birthday present. For her birthday this year, Katherine asked to get her ears pierced! We went to Claires and she picked out rainbow flower studs. The hardest part of the experience was her having to choose which pair of earrings she wanted. 

She did awesome during the piercings. No tears and barely even a flinch. 

We let her pick out a few other pairs of earrings, and then let her play at the mall play place for a few minutes. 

Then we headed to the birthday girl's choice for dinner- Braums. Chicken strips and ice cream are the way to her heart. 

We had a full, fun day celebrating our sweet girl. 

Katherine's actual fifth birthday was on a Monday, and our Mondays are cram packed with school and activities, so we did the rest of her birthday celebrations the day before. 

She asked for banana bread with chocolate chips for her birthday breakfast. 

Matt snapped a few pictures of her before church on Sunday. 

I love this picture of her! It encapsulates her entire personality in one photo- This is Katherine at age FIVE!

After church, we ate pizza for lunch, and she opened her family presents. 

Her sweet siblings decided on a birthday gift for her and made her a treasure hunt to find the present they bought for her. It was adorable. Katherine is a well loved little girl.

She chose her birthday outfit for school on Monday. It was the same dress she wore for her second birthday party. I can't believe it still sort of fit. I couldn't tell the birthday girl no. And of course she was carrying around one of her favorite gifts from Momoo. 

She got to take a birthday treat to school on Monday, and we kept with the rainbow theme and decorated rainbow cupcakes. She had a great day at school

Whew! It was a busy birthday weekend, but I'd do it all again to celebrate my sweet girl!