Happy Birthday to my Little Tinkerbell!

We celebrated our daughter's 4th birthday this weekend and it was so much fun! Friday we went out for lunch at her choice of restaurant, and Saturday we had her party at our house with family. She wanted a Tinkerbell theme this year, which I was more than happy to oblige. I made her a Tinkerbell  costume to wear for the day, we had a pink and green cake with Tinkerbell's on it, and we had pink and green everything - plates, cups, napkins, balloons. I had a lot of fun decorating and getting everything ready and I know she loved the party.

It's crazy to think she's 4 already and yet at the same time, she feels like she's 4 going on 6! Her older brother is in Kindergarten this year and Shaela is a little sponge - she soaks up absolutely EVERYTHING that he comes home and tells her. I swear she'll be reading by the time she starts school! She's also an adorable little bundle of energy. She loves to sing and dance and play "mom" to her babies. I love her to pieces and I'm so thankful for the last 4 years we've had with her. She makes me smile every day and that's the best gift a Mom could ask for! :)

They Always Joked it Would Skip a Generation

 

This is just one of a thousand pictures (literally!) that our son, Xavier has drawn in the last year. He has a serious love affair with markers and crayons and drawing pictures, and it makes my heart smile to see his creative mind at work.  In the drawing above "Puke Man" (left) is saving Santa from "Pusher-Man" (right) by letting Santa ride on his puke - how lovely! But seriously - where does he come up with these things?!?! It makes me laugh!

It also makes me incredibly sad. My father-in-law was a very talented artist and sadly, passed away almost three years ago due to brain cancer. My husband and his siblings aren't creative when it comes to drawing/painting at all, and they always joked it would skip a generation. Apparently it has and if Dad were still here, I know that he would LOVE to sit and draw and colour with Xavier. I can see Grandpa giving art lessons and helping him develop his skills. It would have been incredibly endearing and it just kills me that it can't happen. I am, however, very excited to see where this talent will take Xavier as he gets older. I hope that as his parents we can continue to foster a love and appreciation for art in his life - and hurry up and make a chalkboard wall in our basement so we can stop killing so many trees with the amount of paper Xavier uses in a day! :)