Happy 7th Birthday, Helen!

She came down stairs so excited this morning and she squealed with happiness when we wished her a happy birthday!  ironically it was probably the same happiness that I experienced 7 years ago when I gave birth to her and found out that she was a GIRL!!!  I was convinced that she was a boy in my tummy.

 can you see the excitement on her face - she's so happy it's her birthday today :)

 traditional breakfast bar with a candle

 she's so excited!

 singing happy birthday in Dutch

 a special Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle dress from Grandma

 she loves it ..... and i think Jillian does too :)

 she wanted a pizza for lunch today --- and she kindly shared some with her sister

 a friend from school - i said that they looked like sisters :)

 her favorite food - PASTA!

 a Ninja Turtle themed Party - but a Frozen themed cake :)

 daddy ninja turtle :)

 such a happy birthday girl

 so excited ......

 ..... she got the present she wished for :)

 birthday MONEY!

 .... more birthday money!

adding to her Precious Moments collection

 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Family selfie!

and cupcakes for Helen's class

5 minutes left of SUMMER!!!! .... and other back to school fun!

as I was dropping the boys off for their first day of school on Tuesday, Jayden said to me "hey mom, there's only 5 minutes left of summer!"

 Helen and her teacher at open house- 2nd grade!!!

 Tailgating at the high school football game

 our tailgate :)

 super jilly wearing a spirit scarf as a cape

 helen photo-bombing super jilly

 The boys ran in the LaGrange 4mile the Saturday of Labor Day weekend

 Jayden is ready to run!

 Graham is scared that the starting gun will be too loud :)

 and they're off!  who will win?

 cheering for the boys

 here comes Jayden in the lead

 but Graham has some great running form .....

 and...... it's Jayden rounding the corner first toward the finish line - with his sisters running next to him

 and a few minutes later - Graham rounds the corner .....

 but he kindly tells his sister's to "get out of the way!"  ahhhh, Graham

 a baby buffalo - apparently the mascot of the race

 Jayden accepting his award for 1st in his age group and I think 7th overall in the 4 mile run

 Graham accepting his award for 2nd in his age group and I think 12th overall in the 4 mile run

 Jayden wrote a special story for Jillian and read it to her just before she went to bed on the night before she started KINDERGARTEN!!!!  yes, KINDERGARTEN - I can't believe she's in KINDERGARTEN!  she's going to a private kindergarten for 3 hours a day this year.

 it was a story about Hello Kitty (Jillian's favorite character behind My Little Pony) getting ready to go to kindergarten

 first day of school - porch photo

 my sweet BABY girl walking into kindergarten

 as i'm sitting next to her, making sure she is getting settled - she leans over to me and says "mom, you can go now and have a great day!"

 Helen waiting for the bell to ring on her first day!

the boys agreed to a QUICK photo in the parking lot of their school - getting ready for 4th and 5th grade!