Happy 5th Birthday McKenna!

My "baby" turned five last week! I can hardly believe I have a five year old now. In some ways it seems like McKenna is much older than five, because A LOT has happened in our family in her short lifetime. However, I can still remember the day I gave birth to her like it was yesterday. It just doesn't seem like five years have passed since I was holding my first perfect little newborn. She was my first "love" (I call my kids 'love' or 'lovey') & I was the most proud mama on the face of the earth! Even though I had a ton of experience with kids and babies NOTHING compared to MY first baby.

I remember crying over her beauty and "perfect-ness" that first night in the hospital. It was all I could do to utter a short prayer of thanks to God for giving me such a beautiful little blessing. I was in complete awe of her. I loved everything about her...her sweet little head, dark fuzzy hair (there was A LOT of it), chubby little cheeks, rosebud lips, long lean fingers, round little belly, and of course those tiny little baby toes! It was so much fun finally having a baby of my own!

Today it's still fun to be McKenna's mommy. She has grown to become quite the entertainer. She loves to put on "shows" for me while she dances around in her "fairy" costumes & leotards. She is VERY creative too! She is always "pretending" while she plays with her stuffed animals or her little brother and sister. She is also the most friendly little kid you'll ever meet. EVERYWHERE we go she asks me if she can go talk to other little children so that she can ask them if they want to be her friend. She knows no stranger that's for sure!
I also think she is going to be quite "artsy" (unlike her mommy) later on in life, as she already shows quite a bit of interest in painting, drawing, and music. Wherever you find McKenna you are sure to find a trail of paper, pens, crayons, and markers!

If she doesn't grow up to be a greeting card designer (all of her pictures end up being 'cards' for someone), then my second guess would be something along the lines of "retail design analyst". "What's that?"... you might ask. Let me explain. Whenever we go out McKenna has a sharp eye for things that are "out of place". Taking her to Bath and Body Works is a nightmare because she cannot stand to see things not in their rightful spot...heaven forbid if the "Sweetpea" lotion should end up in the "Raspberry-Vanilla" section on the shelf!! She also insists that certain things belong somewhere else & it really upsets her when she can't rearrange things the way she would have it. Oh, and whatever you do...DO NOT venture into the makeup section at any store (WAY too many things to be tempted to "fix" there!). I secretly fear for her husband-to-be one day, because I'm pretty sure she will have him color coordinating his underwear drawer-or else! LOL!



I love that I have such a creative, organizationally-minded, fun, and energetic little girl. There is really no one like my girly....she's a "one of a kind"!



*Her birthday was on the 27th of November & we took her to the new "T-REX" restaurant. For those of you that don't already know, McKenna has a major obsession with dinosaurs. This restaurant was her dream come true! The look on her face when she saw the front of the T-REX was unforgettable-it took her breath away!




OHHHH, AHHHHH! Seeing the front of the T-REX for the first time.


She got to take her two favorite cousins with her to help celebrate. They all had SO MUCH fun!

McKenna doing one of her big cheesy smiles :-)

Inside the restaurant gift shop they had a special "Build-A-Dino" workshop where you get to build your own dinosaur. So guess what McKenna got to do as her gift from Mommy and Daddy? This was the big highlight of her whole evening!


McKenna and "Ellie the Dinosaur" on the car ride home. What a fun 5th birthday!