Another busy week

In addition to Mara's birthday, we had a lot of things going on this week.

Wednesday, March 25

All of our pictures so far have focused around the people in our family, I thought today would be a good day to get pictures of our furry family members. So, here are Brownie, Puck, Pixie, and Doxy.

Thursday, March 26

The weather was really nice tonight, so we opened the sliding glass door and closed the screen door. The kitties all just sat and stared out the door until we closed it.

Friday, March 27

Mara went on her first field trip with school today. She was supposed to go to the Dallas Zoo, but they had to change plans because of the weather. So, they went to see a movie instead. At first, it looked like it would have been a great day to go to the zoo, but it was pouring by the time the movie was over. Since I took the day off and didn't really have much time between dropping her off and when they would eat lunch, I decided to just hang around with her. After the movie, Mara had her four-year-old checkup. She was really excited about seeing her doctor until she got four shots (or "pinches").

Saturday, March 28

Occasionally, I braid Mara's hair to keep it out of her eyes, and when she takes her braid out, her hair is all wavy. That's how she wore her hair today.

Sunday, March 29

Logan celebrated his birthday today at the Dallas Zoo. We went to see some of the animals before the party started, and then she got to play with her friends at the children's area of the zoo.

Birthday Extravaganza

The last several days have been full of Mara's birthday. It started with her party Saturday, and then my dad gave her her presents Sunday. Monday, she spent the evening playing with her new toys, and then Tuesday we celebrated her birthday as a family.

The weather was perfect for Mara's whale and dolphin party, and everyone who came had a good time. The kids got to play on the playground, have cake and cookie, feed the ducks and pigeons, fly kites, and play with bubbles. Mara finally decided she wanted to open her presents after her friends left.

When we were done at the park, we visited my dad in the hospital so Mara could open some family presents there.

Mara passed out in the car long before we got home.

Since my dad was in the hospital, we went to his house Sunday, and he gave Mara her presents then. She got a Tinkerbell clock and a Disney Princess bicycle. She was really excited about her presents from Granddad.

When we were home, Mara spent the time playing with all of the presents she had gotten so far.

On Tuesday, I took the afternoon off, picked up a cookie from Sam's, and went to Mara's school to celebrate her birthday. I stayed for a little while so I could see Mara interacting with her friends and teachers.

We then met John at home where Mara opened her presents from us. I think we went a little overboard this year, but we decided to clean out the toys from John's closet that we had been accumulating for over a year. :)

After presents, we let Mara pick where she wanted to go for dinner, and we met up with my dad and Diane at Chick-Fil-A. I think Mara had a really good birthday this year. She definitely got more than enough toys and games. :)

Four years ago...

Four years ago today, we went to the hospital, and Mara was born at 6:40 pm after 20 hours of labor. The time has really flown. Here's Mara through the years.

First picture

Newborn picture

One month old

Three months old

Six months old

Nine months old

One year old

18 months old

Two years old

Three years old

Christmas 2008

It's amazing how much she has grown. She is such a big girl now. We still have to get her four-year portraits taken, and we'll have to do it soon if we want pictures with all of her teeth. (The tooth is getting pulled April 6.)

Busy week

The week leading up to Mara's birthday party was a busy one, but we still managed to take pictures each day. :)

Monday, March 16

When I came home from work today, Mara was curled up on the couch playing her DS while John fixed dinner. Doxy came in and laid down at her feet while she played.

Tuesday, March 17


We have had some issues with bugs getting into our grains, so we bought new storage containers for our flour, Bisquick, and sugars. While I was at it, I ended up rearranging our entire pantry. It's nice to be able to find things now and actually close the door. :)

Wednesday, March 18

Mara loves stickers,and tonight she wanted to put some new ones in her sticker album.

Thursday, March 19

One of my staff members has an aquarium in her cube. Recently, the aquarium has been more of a headache then a stress relief since the fish kept getting sick. Things changed today when something caught the corner of my eye. Come to find out, one of her remaining fish had a baby! This was the best picture I could get of it.

Friday, March 20

Tonight didn't go as planned as my dad had to spend the evening in the ER due to dehydration. Luckily, things weren't too serious, but he ended up having to stay the entire weekend and missed Mara's birthday party.