Happy 9th Birthday Cohen!

Our Cohen just celebrated her 9th birthday!!  NINE YEARS OLD!?!  How my baby has turned into a 9 year old little girl is beyond me.  It just keeps going by so fast!   Its so fun watching her become a little girl but so sad at how quickly time goes by and how each year brings so much growth and change.  This girl amazes me on a daily basis at how smart she is, how funny she is, and how dedicated and determined she is.  I also am amazed at how sassy she can be!  I know that fun is just starting.  She is definitely a little perfectionist at heart.  We couldn't be more proud of her though.  She works so hard daily at her school work, her baton, and anything she is involved in.   For her birthday she wanted a paint/art party.  We have had an art party in the past but this time it would be the girls painting a picture step by step.  Reagan Floyd came and did the party and is so extremely talented!  Cohen had chosen to paint a seahorse.  I was amazed at how well all the girls did on their paintings!  I also got a kick out of them and how after each step Reagan showed them they would do it and then look around at everyone else's and claim how good someone else had done and how bad they felt they had done.  Really everyone had done so good and everyone's turned out so cute.  Reagan painted their initials for them at the end on their seahorse.  It was so much fun for them!

These little girls had fun painting their own masterpiece

And so did Bryce...he loved "painting" with his markers

After painting we had cake and snacks and let Cohen open some presents.  It was such a special day for her and we can't thank all her friends enough for coming to share it with her.  She is one loved, special little girl!

Fruit skewers on paint brushes!  Sug made these so cute!

Bryce was trying to entertain everyone with his chainsaw and weedeater

Cohen had a few girls spend the night with her after her party.  They had a great time and we were highly entertained.  From taking selfies with her new selfie stick, to performing for us, and then having a bubble bath they were just great playing together.  They were also sweet to make sure Kate was included too.   

 Cohen had a few other birthday celebrations around her birthday too.  Earlier in the week we had celebrated with Grannie, Papa, Vicki, and Danette.  Cohen was asking for money for her birthday because she had asked for the entire American Girl catalog it seemed like.  This way she could do her own shopping.

Aunt Vicki is always so creative with her wrapping...even when she gives money!

Friday before her birthday I went to eat lunch with Cohen at school.  I only had Bryce that day and since this weather we have been having is so nice we got to eat outside.  Cohen's sweet friend Hayden got to come join us too!

Monday was Cohen's actual birthday and thanks to not having to have jury duty, I was able to take a birthday snack to her and her class at school.

 Cohen is such a joy to our family and I can't believe how quick these 9 years have flown by.  She is a sweet big sister (when she wants to be) and I know Bryce and Kate both look up to her.  She can definitely have her moody moments but is very caring and sweet, she is so smart and talented and we are loving watching her grow.  At 9 years old here is a little about our Coco:

• all about her iPad and apps on it.  She loves watching tutorials on YouTube about makeup and hair, she loves Musicly on her iPad and is definitely 9 going on 19.  We do keep an eye on this though!  
• she loves to put on makeup which she is only allowed to do here at home.  We were shopping at the mall last weekend and were in Justice.  She came running up to me with bright pink eye shadow on saying she had found a table with "try me" on the makeup but not to worry she had a clean brush.  She still makes me laugh often!
• Loves to read and is still my little bookworm.  Often reading 2-3 books at a time.
• Is still our little majorette and is so dedicated to baton.  I can't wait to start her 4th competition season in just a couple of weeks
• Loves to go and will always ask for friends to come over or to go to their house.  She is a social butterfly for sure!
• Cohen is a perfectionist!  She can also get frustrated easy or does here at home.  From all I hear from her teachers she is great at school so lets hope that's the case!  
• Loves her American Girl dolls and celebrated at the store over the weekend.  All that birthday money came in handy!

Happy Birthday to my sweet Coco!  Nine years ago she came into this world making me what I had always wanted to be--a Mom!  She has taught me so much and continues to do so daily!  Being a parent is so rewarding and yet can make you question everything you do, but I love that she is mine and I love that she has made me the person I am today!  I can't wait to see what else God has planned for this sweet girl!

Here are some pics taken of the birthday girl!  She is not camera shy in the least!

100 Days of School

Recently Kate celebrated her 100th day of school at First Friends.  Since the 4 year olds go every day they get to celebrate this fun day and to celebrate they all got to dress up as 100 year olds!  I was pretty excited to get to do this.  You see so many schools doing it now or only preschools and kindergarten I should say.  That is when fun is still allowed.  Cohen never did so I was excited to get to dress up my sweet Kate as a sweet Granny.  She usually is not into any kind of dress up when it might draw attention to her.  And I think at first she told Mrs. Amy that she wouldn't be doing it but once we talked about it and she saw the fun "old" glasses she would be wearing she was a little more ready.  By the time the day came she was excited to be "an old granny".  And I have to say, she was the cutest little Granny!  I even did some wrinkle lines for her!  I had to share my sweet little Kate!  If this is what 100 looked like we wouldn't hesitate to grow old now would we?!