the petersons: 2015

Saturday, October 3, 2015

Ayla: 7-years

Seven years ago, this sweet baby gave me the most important role I will have in this lifetime...she made me a mom. Today, she is a kind, loving, gorgeous, and smart little lady who is so full of contagious joy. She has always been such a happy soul. Happy 7th Birthday, Ayla Ming!

We had a fun-filled birthday weekend celebrating Miss Ayla! Friday after school, we went to Dairy Queen for ice cream and after dinner, the girls got to roast marshmallows over the fire pit and make s'mores. :)

Saturday morning was spent getting ready for the party. We had about 16 little kids here plus several adults. I started to rethink my decision to have the party at home when all the kids started filing in but considering the party was three hours long, everyone (including me) did really well! The magician arrived shortly after all the guests got here and he had everyone's attention for an entire hour. I think the kids really loved the show. He did such a great job with them!

We did presents after the show and then cake and ice cream. And then everyone just got to play until their parents came to get them. It turned out to be a beautiful day so they were able to run around outside.

After most of the crowd left, Marla whipped up some awesome chili for the few of us still hanging out and we just had a nice, relaxing evening while the kids played. The girls made s'mores again...right before bed. :)

On Sunday, Dean took the girls on a walk while I was working and then we went to Target so Ayla could do a little shopping with the couple of gift cards she received. She definitely shops like a woman. We walked around FOREVER. She looked at everything...put stuff back...and finally decided on the very first thing she looked at. At this rate, she won't use up these gift cards for years. :) For dinner, she got to choose where to go. It wasn't a surprise that she settled on Red Robin.

It was a BUSY weekend but she had so much fun and I could tell that she felt really special. Love it. :)

I know I say this every year, but she seriously has grown up so much. She is still our happy little lady, but I can see the traces of "little girl" starting to go away and it completely freaks me out. I feel like she's this mini-teenager already. I'm not ready for it. As long as the core of her personality remains the same, I'll be okay. She is such a sweet, caring, sensitive person. I don't every want that to change.

I can't say this enough--I am so incredibly proud of her and who she has grown to be. Lately, I find myself just staring at her and thinking how crazy it is that I feel like it was just yesterday she was a giggly little toddler. Everyone told me that the years would fly by. They weren't kidding.

I have lots of pictures to share from the weekend...that will have to wait until the next post!