Happy 1st Birthday, baby girl!

One year ago, at exactly 1:54am, our 4th precious child joined this world and turned our family of 5 into a family of 6. Little Vada Belle has been the perfect addition to our family, and brightens up all of our days. Her big brother and sisters adore her, and she is pretty crazy about them, too. Although she definitely has required the most attention and the neediest of the 4 as a little one, she is still overall a wonderful baby. I love the way that she sucks on her two fingers (yes, I know that is a horrible habit for her teeth- I've already discussed this with the kids dentist- ha!) while holding onto her treasured lovie; the way her face lights up and she reaches out for me the second she sees me (she is definitely a huge mommy's girl); the way she speeds crawls as fast as she can to see her daddy when he gets home from work; the way she bounces and dances the second she hears some music or one of her siblings singing; her precious little giggle you'll hear from her, especially in a great game of peek-a-boo; how she cruises along everything and walks all around with her walker (but she is still just not quite brave enough to let go and walk on her own yet,); how she snuggles up to me and lays her head on my chest when she is sleepy, and so many other wonderful things.

She spent the day celebrating by having birthday pancakes for breakfast, opened some cards she got in the mail,

 had visits and special treats (brownies from great granny Ollie and cake from Mamaw Di) from Aunt Jessica,Mamaw Di, Granny Ollie, and Jenny; had several phone calls wishing her a happy birthday, had her first taste of whole milk (so far she doesn't like it),

played with her brother and sisters until they went to two different Bible Schools, then she and I got to spend some sweet one on one time with each other on this special day.

Even though she is still so teeny tiny, here you can see just how much she has grown in ONE year. :)

She'll be having her first birthday "rainbow" party soon (combined with big sister Elsie's 3rd) so I'll post some pictures from that afterwards. :)

Happy first birthday, beautiful baby girl! We love you so much and love watching you grow and learn every single day. We are so thankful that God chose us to be your parents!

May pictures

May was such a busy and exciting time with Ansley Kate's dance recitals, cousin Leslie's wedding, Mother's Day, Jackson turning 6, and the last day of kindergarten, but I wanted to post a few more pictures from the month.

Before the end of school, Jackson received a citizenship award from his teacher, and also a "Star Word Award" trophy from the reading teacher. At the end of kindergarten they wanted the kinders to know the 100 "star words", and Jackson got up to 1,000. Way to go, buddy!

Since we didn't do a big birthday party this year (I have always said that they'll get one until they turn 5, and then we'll do smaller things after that), Jackson decided that he would like to go to Chuck E. Cheese's to celebrate. 

Ansley Kate continues her role as the best big sister ever, and she is such a wonderful little helper to me. She often does things without me even asking or knowing she is doing them. She'll make up her bed every morning, (and sometimes even her sister's and brother's as well!), she helps me fold the laundry, put up the dishes, clean, cook, get Vada up from her naps, helps change Vada's diaper, etc. I'm never letting her go to school! :) Even though she is our little princess, she still has a fascination and love for all animals, even creepy crawly bugs. 

Elsie continues to keep us laughing, constantly, even when she is asleep. She goes and goes until she just can't handle anymore, and we'll find her asleep in some strange places or positions. Here are a few of those times:

Vada Belle turned 11 months old on the 19th of May. She is cruising all along furniture now, but still not brave enough to let go and walk just yet. She loves to sit and play with her brothers and sisters now, and when they go running from one room to the next, she is right on their heels crawling as fast as she can to try to keep up.

We have also had fun playdates this month with wonderful friends, we finally got rid of the truck that wouldn't run and were able to get a new (well, new to us) truck that will make it up mountains (yay! added bonus- we were able to find one with the amount we sold the other one for so no truck payment- even better!),  we took advantage of our Tweetsie season passes, we planted our garden, and we celebrated Memorial Day. I am so glad school is out and summer fun has begun!