it's my girls' world

Ten pictures on the tenth day of the month. This 10th was a certain girl's birthday so almost every.single.one is of her. 

Early morning present opening. I don't allow my kids to open all their presents all at once for their parties. I let them open one present a day after. #attitudeofgratitude.

My parents picked the kids up from school and took them for treats and to a park.

Yeah eight might be too big for this horse.

Daddy gets in there. Either for a picture or some nachos.

Then A and I who were both clearly having bad hair days got in the action as well.

Sister squeezes in there for some love.

And then mama does too... just because eight years ago, mama went through some cray stuff on this day!

And that's a wrap on birthday 8.0!

Happy Birthday, C!!! Hope you don't have a hard time getting up this morning after partying like a rockstar yesterday.

Pancakes, pajamas, just dance and rainbows all around--- that's a mouthful for sure.... but the birthday girl requested this sweet and simple celebration brunch at home for her birthday.

Here are a few too many pictures.

I saw this rainbow tassel garland on The Tomkat Studio and my girls and I replicated it for ummm say 5% of the cost-- we had all this tissue paper at home.

Some dollar store balloons, ribbon, another tassel  garland and we were done with decorating.

 I did buy these plastic bottles from the Tomkat Studio though. And filled them with water for the dancers when needed. Ain't no way that those kiddos were going to be running around with glass bottles of juice in my carpeted living room ;-)

Some gear for the dancers. The birthday girl had an idea to put donuts together and make figure eights so her mama obliged.

 The favours were some teeny tys (tiny stuffed toys) with jars of jelly beans.

We served pancakes, scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, fruit salad and skewers. I also made a turkey sausage, egg and croissant casserole for the adults.And mimosas

Excuse the very dark pic.

 Somehow this under the table hideout was a spot  for a bit.

We are all about the home made cakes recently.

This sweet sister moment is my very favourite picture of the entire party.

After that, we took the kids outside for some fresh air and to burn off some of that sugar. A  few family friends stayed after for some more play and a pulled turkey/corn on the cob dinner. 

A wonderful day for my special, sweet girl!! Happy Birthday, Cass!! We only wish you the best, brightest and most beautiful year to follow!

On her birthday week (that's a thing in this house), I thought it would be fun to chat a bit with my sweet girl. Every year I ask her the same questions and it's fun to look back and see her different responses. 

(In case you're a grandparent, here's when she was six and seven)

What is your favourite colour?

Blue

And your favourite Food?
French Fries-- ice cream

(kid, Ice cream is not a food)

What toy do you like most?

Playing with the ladder thing

(a puzzle she has, news to me)

What do you like to do the most?

Read

(so very true, her mother's daughter)

 (a book)

Oh, C. Where has the time gone?! You're this bright light in our lives. You're such a kid now with your own sassy, strong, sweet personality. You make me proud with all your:

 missions- like wanting to raise money for the penguins through knitting and asking for food bank donations instead of presents for your last birthday

 your talents- knitting, cartwheeling and interpretive dance

 and your strengths...your resilience, your kindness and your big heart.

Thank you for all that you bring to our lives!

Linking up with 

Andrea, Erika and Narci for Favourites on Friday

 We started off the year with The Nazi's Officer's Wife- our January book club . This true story was not an easy read for sure but it was certainly one that haunted me after. We (D read it too) were so captivated by this woman, her strength and her life story. It's about her life story as a Jew in Austria at the start of World War 2 and how she survived.

So I listened to this one on my trip to NY. That still counts right? A very light, fluffy read about this family, each individual with their own issues, their vacay in Mallorca and how it all comes to head.  Perfect for a car-ride or the beach... with your sunglasses on.

 

So if there was ever a book that haunted me after I read it, it was this one. After reading all the rave reviews on blog-land I picked it up.  It was a quick read for sure and a delightful one but it did affect me. I really loved the good Ryle and I was affected and maybe even a bit saddened by Lily's decision. I couldn't sleep that night thinking of it. However, I began to think of my girls and if ever they were in that situation. I would definitely want them to do the same thing that Lily did.

 This was the February's book club choice. A somewhat interesting read about Anderson Cooper and his mom, the beautiful Gloria Vanderbilt. She went through the life, her very public custody battle as a child and all her decisions in her adulthood. The ending did drag on a bit for me though so this one wasn't my favourite.

This next one went through the last six first ladies and their lives in the White House. It was another good one if you're interested in the ins and outs of the East Wing and the White House with just a little gossip thrown in. It's very well researched and though a bit dry at time (any book about politics has a tendency to be that way), I enjoyed it.

So because I found a new author I enjoyed, I went onto read another Colleen Hoover book. This was yet another good one about a girl, her musical partner, their relationship and how it developed over time. Another quick read, or maybe it was me devouring it over two nights. It's fraught with that young adult angst and I loved it.... seeing I'm a young adult myself-- ahem, ahem..

What's on your bookshelf... or night stand... or Kindle... or iPad recently?

Linking up with Whitney and some other lovelies for What We're Reading.