Our New Favorite Birthday Tradition

Last year, Lexie and Coen's birthdays fell days before the pandemic made our world shut down. We were able to celebrate their birthdays, but had to put their birthday parties on hold. Lily had been hoping for a big birthday party with her friends, because she had never had a party with classmates due to having a Summer birthday, but as August 3rd approached, we knew it wasn't going to happen. She was so diappointed, so we decided to come up with a fun alternative!

On Lily's 9th birthday, our new favorite family birthday tradition began! We tackled our usual birthday traditions, then after Grant finished work for the day, we loaded into the car, dropped off our dog at my parent's house, and took the party to a hotel with a swimming pool. Thanks to lack of travel during the pandemic, we had the entire hotel to ourselves!

We had such a great time that we decided that it needs to be a permanent tradition! Once a year around Dylan's birthday, once between Lexie and Coen's birthdays (14 days apart), and once between Lily and Liam's birthdays (15 days apart). I thought it would be fitting to share our new favorite tradition on Lily's half birthday!

Lily's 9th Birthday Interview & Photoshoot

We are back from Lily's 9th Birthday celebration! We had a great time, and found a new favorite tradition to add to our list. I will be sharing our little adventure later this week, but first wanted to honor Lily's wish to share her birthday interview!

My kids love answering the questions for their birthday interview each year! It's fun to see how much their answers change from year to year, and compare their answers to their siblings' answers. I didn't realize how much Lexie and Lily had in common until I copied Lexie's 13th Birthday interview, and changed the answers for Lily!

Lily had a wonderful 9th Birthday despite the pandemic changing all of our original plans. She wanted to answer these questions the night of her birthday, but we were all exhausted. Instead, she answered them last night, and I promised I would share them today. So here is Lily at 9 years old...

Happy 9th Birthday, Liliana!

She arrived on a warm August morning, as the sun was rising over Pittsburgh. What I remember most about that day was how still, how silent, how calm, and how beautiful that morning was. Not a sound was heard in labor and delivery, as she took her first breath. Her arrival was peaceful, as if she had always been with us. 

As of 7:24 this morning, Liliana is 9 years old! I truly can't believe 9 years have gone by since her birth day. Lily is a beautiful, smart, loving, funny, strong, and confident kid. She is so sweet and unique, and has the ability to capture the heart of everyone she meets. 

Lily had her heart set on a party with her friends at a skating rink, followed by a big family party this year, but hello, pandemic. She was so bummed, so Grant and I worked extra hard to give her a socially distanced birthday celebration that she will always remember. We can't wait to celebrate our beautiful girl when she wakes up later this morning! For now, here's a look at Lily's birth day, followed by each birthday she celebrated. She grew TOO fast!

Life Through the Eyes of a Nine Year Old

She was the most beautiful baby girl.

I begged her to slow down on the growing up thing, but she didn't listen.  Instead, she grew and grew and grew. I blinked, and she somehow reached her ninth birthday.

I didn't think she could get any more beautiful, but she did.  But as everyone knows, it's what's on the inside that matters.  And she is full of so much love and kindness that it takes my breath away.

ALEXANDRIA ELIZABETH

9 Years Old

4'6" 

51 lbs

FAVORITE COLOR: Yellow
FAVORITE TOY: Shopkins
FAVORITE CHARACTER: Jessie
FAVORITE SUPERHERO: Wonder Woman 

FAVORITE FRUIT: Blueberries
FAVORITE VEGETABLE: Corn
FAVORITE BREAKFAST: Eggs, Bacon, and Toast
FAVORITE CEREAL: Cap'n Crunch
FAVORITE LUNCH: Nachos
FAVORITE DINNER: Poppyseed Chicken Casserole
FAVORITE DRINK: Iced Tea
FAVORITE SNACK: Fruit Snacks
FAVORITE RESTAURANT: The Deck House (Taco Bell is a close second!)

FAVORITE TV SHOW: Jessie
FAVORITE MOVIE: Jurassic Park
FAVORITE ACTRESS/ACTOR: Debby Ryan (Jessie)
FAVORITE SONG: Dynamite by Taio Cruz
FAVORITE SINGER/BAND: Demi Lovato and Taio Cruz
FAVORITE BOOKS: Teeny Weeny Animals
FAVORITE BOOK SERIES: Junie B Junes

FAVORITE OUTFIT: Pink and White Striped Dress with the Sparkly Belt
FAVORITE GAME: Minecraft
FAVORITE SPORT: Gymnastics
FAVORITE ANIMAL: Bunnies
FAVORITE PLACE TO GO: The park (AKA "The Blue Park")
FAVORITE THING TO DO: Jump on the trampoline

FAVORITE SUBJECT: Science
FAVORITE STUFFED ANIMAL: BunBun (her lovey since she was 6 months old)
FAVORITE DAY OF THE WEEK: Friday
FAVORITE MONTH: April
FAVORITE SEASON: Summer
FAVORITE HOLIDAY: Christmas

BEST FRIEND: Aubrey (a cousin)
FAVORITE FRIENDS TO PLAY WITH: Gabrielle, Reagan, and Maggie
WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY: When my family is together.
WHAT SCARES YOU: Spiders and Clowns
WHAT MAKES YOU SAD: When Dylan attacks me.

WHAT DO YOU WISH FOR: I wish I had a robot that would do everything for me. (ME TOO!)
FAVORITE MEMORY: When we went to Virginia Beach. (Family vacation last year.)
DISLIKES: Clowns 
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP: An artist or a scientist

There you have it:  Lexie at 9 years old! Can we please slow this year down?  Double digits is way too close for my liking!

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NINE

Happy 9th Birthday to my sweet, smart, kind, loving, and absolutely beautiful Alexandria Elizabeth!  

I truly can't believe Lexie's already 9, yet here we are, just one year away from double digits! (Hold me!) I am so blessed to have this special girl in my life and I am honored to be her mother!

Last night, we gave Lexie a new pair of pajamas, and we tucked our 8 year old into bed. While she slept, I prepared for her birthday.  I wrapped gifts, wrote my 9th birthday letter to her, put up some decorations, decorated her seat at the table, filled her room with balloons, and put a new birthday outfit on a hanger to greet her in the morning!

Lexie only missed one day of school this year and on that day, we had to beg her to stay home.  We gave her the option to stay home today (SHHHH!) and she decided that she wanted to miss school. She was most excited about seeing her former preschool teachers during Lily's preschool drop-off, and helping Liam's therapists during his OT and Speech sessions!

After Dylan headed to school, Lexie and I were able to quietly celebrate her birthday while her younger siblings slept. It was such a sweet, peaceful moment with her.  I presented her with our traditional birthday donuts and sang "Happy Birthday" as quietly as I possibly could!

Mondays are a very busy day for us. Between preschool drop-off and pick-up, two therapy sessions, and baking a cake, the day flew by!  Lexie was just happy to be there for our Monday routine and spend time with Lily, Liam, and I.

Later in the afternoon, Lexie was surprised by a visit from her Grandma!

While MaNa was still here, her Papa showed up with flowers for his little princess.  Her face lit up!

After everyone left, Lexie officially turned 9 years old!  We documented it with a quick birthday photoshoot.  I'm going to save the rest of those pictures for another post!

Grant finally arrived home from work, and we all went out for Lexie's birthday dinner.  She chose Taco Bell this year!

Lexie waited so patiently to open her gifts all day.  As soon as we got home, it was time for the big moment she had been waiting for! 

Gifts from siblings came first.

Then her gift from mommy and daddy. She was a very happy little girl!

The cake that we baked together was next on our list of festivities. She smiled so sweetly as her entire family sang "Happy Birthday" to her!

We usually have Family Movie Night on Monday nights, but we didn't have enough time tonight.  Instead, Lexie got to pick two episodes to watch with us from her favorite show: Jessie!

We surprised her with a new pair of pajamas as one final gift, then tucked our NINE year old into bed!

Lexie said she had an amazing birthday. I know I had a wonderful day celebrating the birthday of my first baby girl.  My birthday wish for my sweet girl is that she lives a long, healthy, prosperous life full of love and happiness!

Happy 9th Birthday, Lexie Bean! You are unbelievably beautiful, inside and out. I love you to the moon and back a million times and again.

 

 

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Dylan's 9 Year Interview

Dylan turned 9 on November 22nd, so I suppose this is his 9 1/2 Year Interview!



Dylan Ross
Age: 9
Stats: 4'9" and 57 lbs (at his 9 year checkup in December)

1. FAVORITE COLOR? Blue
2. FAVORITE TOY? WWE Toys
3. FAVORITE CHARACTER? Wolverine
4.FAVORITE SUPERHERO? Spiderman
5. FAVORITE FRUIT? That has to be...strawberries
6. FAVORITE VEGETABLE?  Carrots
7. FAVORITE BREAKFAST?  Eggs and Bacon
8. FAVORITE CEREAL? Lucky Charms
9. FAVORITE LUNCH?  Mayo, meat, and cheese sandwich
10. FAVORITE DINNER?  Steak and Crockpot Mac and Cheese
11. FAVORITE DRINK? Gatorade
12. FAVORITE SNACK?  Fruit by the Foot
13. FAVORITE RESTAURANT? McDonald's
14. FAVORITE TV SHOW? Wolverine and the X-Men
16. FAVORITE ACTOR?  Brendan Frasier
17. FAVORITE SONG? Gorillaz Clint Eastwood
18. FAVORITE SINGER/BAND?  Imagine Dragons
19. FAVORITE BOOK?  Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief
20. FAVORITE BOOK SERIES? The Percy Jackson series
21. FAVORITE OUTFIT? UnderArmour and Call Of Duty Shirt
22. FAVORITE GAME?  Battleship
23. FAVORITE SPORT?  Baseball
24. FAVORITE ANIMAL?  Frog
25. FAVORITE PLACE TO GO? Ocean City, Maryland
26. FAVORITE THINGS TO DO? Go outside and play XBox
27. FAVORITE SUBJECT? Math
28. FAVORITE DAY OF THE WEEK?  Friday
29. FAVORITE MONTH?  November
30. FAVORITE SEASON?  Summer
31. FAVORITE HOLIDAY? Christmas
32. WHO IS YOUR BEST FRIEND? Jack
33. WHO DO YOU LIKE TO PLAY WITH?   Jack, Dom, Logan, and Alex
34. WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY? Being with my family
35. WHAT SCARES YOU?  Spiders
36. WHAT MAKES YOU SAD?  When my pets die
37. WHAT DO YOU WISH FOR?  A huge Lego set that me and my dad can build
38. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEMORY? Going to Ocean City, Maryland with my family
39. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?  WWE Wrestler
40. DISLIKES?  Blueberries

Celebrating Dylan's 9th Birthday

I dragged my heels and lived in denial, but it happened...my firstborn baby turned 9 years old! NINE!  The very last single digit birthday.

The night before his birthday, I went to dinner and to see Catching Fire with a group of friends.  I got home late, but Grant and I spent some time blowing up balloons and filling his room with them, wrapping presents, and taping up his doorway with streamers.



On the morning of his birthday, he had to get up early for school, but he was so excited, because it was his big day!



Donuts for breakfast is a birthday tradition! We sang to Dylan before he ate his donut.




Dylan's big present was going to wait until the evening, but we wanted him to start his day with something little.  Pokemon cards for this Pokemon-obsessed kid was the perfect choice!



I sent Dylan off to school with a hug and a kiss.  It was the first time he was away from me all day on his birthday, and I'm not going to lie...I hated it! Instead of sneaking in and giving him a kiss at 8:54 AM, all I could do was think of the day he was born.

Dylan ended up having a great day.  He handed out cookies to his class at lunch time, and a few of his friends gave him little gifts. 

After school, he got to visit my parents for a little bit.  They had a big gift to give him at his party, but they wanted to give him something little for his birthday.  He was thrilled with his Call of Duty Mega Blocks set!



When Grant got home from work, we took Dylan out to eat. He chose his favorite restaurant, The Deck House, for dinner.  He got to spin the birthday wheel, and won a gift card to a nearby arcade!

As soon as we got home, he wanted to open his big present! 






He was THRILLED!

I'm so glad my sweet boy had a great birthday!



Dylan kept thanking us for everything we had done for him!  He said it was his best birthday ever!




And just like that, his birthday came to an end, and he was officially nine!!!

The next day, the celebration continued with two birthday parties.  We have a huge family and a large group of friends, so if we have the parties at our house, we have to split them.  That afternoon, we celebrated with family!

Dylan chose a Red vs Blue Halo theme.  My mom always makes the cakes, and he was so excited about his cake this year!



It was a fun party.  Dylan loved all of his gifts and we had a great time celebrating with some of our closest family members!












We didn't get a break between the parties.  Some friends arrived before the last family members had left!



Soon, our house was completely full again, and we repeated the birthday activities.








The party ended with a sleepover.  Cousin Aubrey slept over with Lexie and Lily, and Dylan's friends (Dom, Logan, Alex, Ryder, and Jack) slept over in his room.  Let's just say there were a lot of kids sleeping over and it was very noisy the next morning!





Dylan had said he had the best birthday and party ever!  Nine is going to be a good year!