Addison turns 5 :)

It was fun pulling images from Addy’s first year and from her last few birthdays to share with you. It was an awesome opportunity for me to sit back and be amazed at the fact that my baby (she’s our youngest, and our last… so she’ll always be our baby!) has changed and grown so much. I feel pride, joy, excitement… and a tinge of sadness. I’m so thankful for the images we have taken of our kids over the years… because it makes it a little bit easier to let go of the “baby” part of their lives :)

It’s funny… I actually turn 30 later this month, and I’ve wondered how that milestone was going to feel for me. And honestly? I feel nothing. I don’t feel “old” or even “older”. But when I think about Addy turning 5? That somehow makes me feel old. And a little sad. But then I stop and look at her, and I can’t really stay sad. I can’t even wish for her to stop growing up. She becomes more amazing, with every year that passes… so I’m excited to see what the future holds for her.

I love this image that Nathan grabbed of the most beautiful girl I know…

This year, on Addy’s birthday, the four of us spent the evening at Chuckie Cheese’s. I may have other “birthday week” pictures to share with you later on, but for now, I hope you enjoy celebrating Addison’s day with us!

Lots of fun time spent playing in the arcade… Both kids are old enough to really enjoy this, and to do a lot of stuff by themselves. It was fun!

Nathan grabbed a few images of me trying to show Addy how to skee-ball. It was a fairly dangerous undertaking… Addy doesn’t quite have the concept of aim nailed down.

Austen gets pretty intense when he plays… and Nathan turns into a big kid! I haven’t seen him laugh like this in a long time… it was wonderful to watch :)

Addy isn’t quite big enough to do everything on her own… Thankfully, she has her Dad to help her.

Finally, it was time for cookie cake and presents. It looks like Addison might’ve snuck a taste of the icing before we cut the cake… Yum.

It was Birthday Barbie day (yes, we’re geeks and we do themed days for birthday week)… and Addy got a Barbie house that she’s been dying to have, and two new Barbies. She’s SO fun to watch open presents, because she’s so animated.

I have to take a second to mention how much I love my husband for always taking over the camera at moments like this… I generally do most of the documenting for our family, but when I look back at the last few years of Addison’s life… it’s been Nathan that was behind the camera at crucial moments like these. Love that.

(totally mad that I can’t take credit for this shot. Perfect!)

And yes, poor Addy still can’t keep her pants up :)

I love my family. I love our little traditions. I almost even love Chuckie Cheese’s and the little sketch booth that “draws” our picture in exchange for a token. We have a ton of them on our fridge, and every one of them represents a fun day in our lives. I’m pretty easy to please… some yucky pizza, loud arcade noises, a paper sketch of my family smiling like crazy… sounds just about perfect to me!

Happy happy birthday to my favorite girl in the whole wide world… Four was a pretty amazing year, but I have a feeling that five may be even better! Addy, we love you SO much, and we are so thankful for you. It’s hard not to be happy when you’re around.

Everything’s better with a little bit of Addison added to it :)

love you so much,

mom.