Last Day of School for Max

Max had his last day of school yesterday. He has had a great year. The year started with tears but ended with smiles. He confidently walked into his classroom every day wanting to play with his friends and the toys. He made a few great friends this year that he talks and talks about.



His teachers said that his end of the year book had the fewest pictures in it. (I didn't notice, I thought it looked great!) They said that he was never very interested in the activity they were doing if involved art. He wanted to continue to play with the trucks, trains, cars, whatever sort of "construction" activity they had in the room. In fact, in two of the pictures in his book, he is wearing a hard hat. So, he came home with only a few art projects this year. He can't really hold a crayon and doesn't really care to. He's just not into it. That's Max to a "T" - he'll do stuff when he's ready to do it.







First day of school on the left, last day on the right. According to his end of the year book, he grew 3 inches! Based on the way his pants fit, I'd believe it!

My Favorite Boy.

Each night when Max goes to bed, he has to pick some cars, trucks, or trains to go with him. He settles into bed, turns on his "Flashlight Friend", and lines them all up. Then, he talks to them and pushes them around until his eyelids get too heavy. He's been going to bed cuddled up with some of his favorite vehicles for a long time now. It is one of the things I love the most about him. That, and the way his arms feel around my neck when I kiss him good night. Just like I tell him every night, "You are my favorite boy". He always responds, "You my favorite Mommy."

First Day of Spring

Happy First Day of Spring! I know that is a welcome phrase for most of the country after this awful winter. The kids were out playing with the neighbors in the driveway in shorts and t-shirts. It was a great afternoon.

I'm taking a line drawing class via creativebug.com. I created this line drawing a couple of weeks ago. I colored it tonight. If you need a little yellow in your house in honor of spring time, feel free to download it and print!

Download it here!

Rainbow Looming

Last summer my mom asked me if I had heard of a Rainbow Loom.  I said that I hadn't.  She told me to check it out, Charlotte would love it.  I went to Michael's and bought one for her.  I brought it home and we opened it and read the instructions to make the basic bracelet.  We worked on it together and successfully made a bracelet.  Then, she wanted to do it on her own.  That attempt was not so successful.   She ended up VERY frustrated and the loom sat in the box until New Year's.

On New Year's day we discovered whole channels on You Tube dedicated to Rainbow Looming.  I showed her how to pause and re-start a video so she could loom at her own pace.  She spend 4 straight hours that day rainbow looming.  It was a miracle.  The first time this child had EVER done something by herself for a half hour let alone 4 hours.

For the next month after that, she was completely addicted.  Looming 'til her fingers bled.  (Well not quite that much, but a lot).  However, there was also a side of the looming addiction that we didn't anticipate.  If something did not go quite right on a bracelet - MAJOR tantrums would ensue.  It got to the point that I had to restrict access to the loom for a couple of days to let her cool off.  If you follow me on instagram, you have seen what she looks like when things don't work out.



But, now, she is a Rainbow Loom master.  She makes mistakes, but now she can correct them herself.  She loomed so much that she broke the hook that comes with the loom and we upgraded to a metal crochet hook.  She spent all of her birthday money on new rubber bands.  She has invented her own "snake" bracelet.  She brings home from school orders that her friends on the bus have filled out, so they can have their own custom "snakes".



Again, I have had to restrict the time she spends after school to a half an hour.  But, this is because she would do it all evening if I would let her.  And we probably need to be doing things like learning to read better, practicing math fluency (still figuring out what that is!), and other kindergartener type things.



We even came up with a little tag for her creations when she passes them out to people.



I created a PDF you can dowload if you have a little rainbow loomer that wants their own tag too!  Just download here!  And, here's a version for any boy loomers out there: download here.

Picnics and Such

Last week, Charlotte found the blog books I made for years 2008, 2009, 2010. She sat down and shared them with Max. The sat there for a long time on the couch looking at all of the pictures together. Later, when they went to bed, I sat down and looked at them. They are amazing books. Books filled with the little things we did every day and the big things that only happened once. They are something that I treasure. After that night, I have been itching to sit down and starting logging our adventures - big and small - again.

Since I last posted, we've made a few changes to our way of life around here. I quit my part time job to spend all of my time at home. My brain is rotting away, but the stress in our house is gone. I learned that I just can't handle the stress that comes with working and having kids at home.

We also got a puppy back in August. A beautiful beagle pup that we named Hudson. (After Hudson Rd., the street our old house was on.) However, after keeping him for seven months, I had my fill of puppy hood. He was a pretty high maintenance pup and with two kids I just couldn't do it. So, we made the decision to ask Atlanta Beagle Rescue to help us find him a home. Luckily, the said they would. He was placed in a new home this past Sunday. While it has been pretty sad, overall, our house is much more peaceful. I was really worried about the kids, but they have hardly mentioned him.



Charlotte is doing great in Kindergarten. She is reading to us every night. She comes home happy every day. She asked to ride the bus home from school, so in September I signed her up to do that. Everyday, Max and I walk down to the bus stop and wait for her. She has 3 baby teeth missing from her mouth, with 3 big teeth growing in right behind them.

Max is going to school 3 mornings a week. He doesn't cry anymore when it's time to go and walks in happily. His favorite days, though, are still the days that he stays home with me. He likes to wear his PJs until 10 AM and drive his toy vehicles around the rooms. I'm pretty happy to stay in my PJs until 10AM and relax with him.

Every day when he gets home from school he always asks to have a picnic. He runs to his room and grabs his "comfy blankie" while I make his sandwich. Then, he watches a show while he eats. This little routine makes him SO happy.

Our Summer AKA "The Blur", Part 2

After we got back from Hawaii, it took us a week or so to get adjusted back to Eastern time. The first few nights, the kids were up until after 10. I think the 2nd night back, they didn't go to sleep until after midnight!

We had a low key July 4th around Atlanta. It rained, actually. I opted to not run the Peachtree this year. Looking back I wish I would have because it would have been my 10th.

The Saturday after July 4th, the kids and I headed up to Pennsylvania to spend a week with my parents. The first night we were there, Charlotte got to stay up really late and have her first try at catching lightening bugs. I'm not sure how many she caught, but she had a lot of fun trying. Since we didn't get to see any fireworks on the 4th, we stayed up SUPER late to see the fireworks that the racetrack near my parents would fire. After a quick run through their neighborhood (when we realized they were starting and we couldn't see them), we had great found great seats on bleachers at a nearby baseball field. We had a wonderful summer night.

The next day we visited my parent's church (where the kids dutifully, without tears, went to the nursery). After church, my dad had the idea to go to the lake at Mt. Gretna. We had a great time there that afternoon. We swam, jumped off of docks, splashed, and played in the sand.



My mom watched the kids in the morning during the rest of the week while I worked. Then, we would usually do some sort of activity in the afternoon.

Even though the forecast wasn't great, we decided to head to Hershey Park on the Wednesday that we were there. It rained in the morning, and then towards lunch time it started to look really dark. We thought about not going, but that day was really the only chance we had left. So, we went for it - and we are SO happy we did.

It poured as we drove over to Hershey. It was pouring when we parked the car. It was 2 o'clock, we waited in the car for 10 minutes and it started to lighten up. So, we decided to go ahead and go into the park. We saw lots of REALLY wet people leaving as we were going in. Luckily for us, we didn't get rained on again. Everyone cleared out of the park, and we walked onto every ride we wanted to ride without waiting in any lines.

Max wasn't too sure about the rides at first, but then got really into it. Charlotte could hardly handle it. She wanted to ride anything and everything. She rode every roller coaster she was tall enough to ride. We ended up staying almost 6 hours!







We spent one afternoon with my Grandmother outside of Philadelphia. My sister and nephew, Jacob, came to visit us on Friday. We had a really nice day hanging out with them. We played at the park, played with toys, hung out and had a great time!



Sadly, the week had come to an end on Saturday and we had to board a plane home. Happily, though, we got to fly home and see Judd who celebrated his birthday that same day. We made him a root beer cake, drew pictures for him, and sung him a Happy Birthday.

At the end of July, I was lucky enough to head to Nashville to spend a weekend with some of my closest friends. We have known each other since freshman year of college and we still have a great time with each other. We did the usual - pedicures, eating out, and shopping. We also went to see the Grand 'Ol Opry, which was very fun. That weekend went by way to fast.

After that trip, my time was focused on getting Charlotte ready for her first big day of school. Summer was getting ready to come to an end for our little kindergartner.

Our Summer AKA "The Blur", Part 1

This summer was pretty darn awesome.

Since I actually have a job now that requires me to be at a computer each morning, I hired in some help this summer. Our lovely and talented cousin, Mariel dutifully watched my children each morning. They played, took walks, went to the park, crafted, and baked. In the afternoons, the kids and I would hit the pool, run errands, or hang out.

We spent every morning of the first week of June at VBS. We had a great time learning about God and how he can work in our lives. We sang songs, danced, and played. Charlotte said the closing prayer in front of 300 kids and adults on the first day! It was a great week.

The rest of the month of June was spent thinking about and being in Hawaii! We left on June 15th for a 10 day adventure on the island of Kauai. We had our first flight to LA, spent 2 hours in LA, and then flew to Lihue. The kids did WAY better than we anticipated on the flights. By the time we got to our rental house, it was 3AM our time.

We stayed right in the middle of Hanalei bay. We had the bottom story of a two story house. The backyard was the bay. It was amazing to say the least. The first morning came early - like 4:30AM early. The kids were up and at 'em. They crawled into our bed and we all tried to doze off, but it just wasn't going to happen. Each day got a little better, but we were up and going by 6:30 or 7AM each morning. Judd and I took turns in the morning going for walks on the bay.

Our vacation was spent exploring the different parts of the island. We found a great kid's beach that we spent time in a couple of days. We rented kayaks and hiked to the secret falls. We stopped and tried different restaurants. We ate lots of shave ice and Mac Nut ice cream. We spent time jumping off of the Hanalei Pier. We played on many different beaches.

From our house, we could walk about 100 yards down the beach to where a river came into the ocean. This was a wonderful spot for Charlotte and Max to play. The water was a lot calmer, but Judd and I could watch the kids while sitting on the island between the river and the ocean and put our toes in the ocean waves. The kids loved jumping off of the sand cliff that the river made. We loved how tired they were afterwards. We spent a few afternoons here.









It was seriously beautiful. That mountain behind Max in the last picture would have 3-4 waterfalls visible depending on the rainfall for the day. We would leave our house and all look up there to see how many waterfalls we could see.



I actually forgot about these pictures. I didn't have the big camera with me much. It is just too hard to take when you have small children and LOTS of sand everywhere. I happened to throw it in the car on the morning we went to a little beach, Anini Beach. We were the only ones there. It was a beautiful morning and very peaceful. We searched for tiny seashells. After that, we tried to find the perfect rocks for skipping. (Judd won) We took some pictures. Then, Max fell asleep in my lap, Judd took a nap under a tree, and Charlotte built a sand castle. It was silent for almost 20 minutes. It was a moment that I can still feel as I type this - pure contentment.









Our last night on Hanalei Bay, we gathered a bunch of driftwood, spend $30 at the store for smores supplies (groceries are SUPER expensive), and had a bonfire. It sounded good in theory, but it started to rain and then Max peed in his bathing suit. So, about 10 minutes in, we had a very smokey bonfire and a naked boy. Charlotte didn't care, she had a smore in her hand.



Our last morning, just before we packed up:



After our 7 nights on Hanalei Bay, we drove South and stayed on the South Shore for 3 nights. We had a very nice condo which had a wonderful ocean view. We were a lot closer to "civilization" down there. It was a very nice 3 nights, but Judd and I both agree that our hearts are on the North Shore.

On our last day we were able to play on the beach and use the hospitality suite at the condo complex to shower before we headed to the airport. We boarded the plane around 8:45PM. The kids were AWESOME the whole way home. They slept on the red-eye to LA. Then, Max slept most of the way from LA to Atlanta while Charlotte watched TV on the iPad.

It was a family vacation that Judd and I certainly won't forget. I know the kids probably won't remember much of it, other than the parts from the stories we tell them, but I hope they'll remember the fun. That and the fact that they have two parents that want to show them so many amazing places - I hope that this is just the start of lots of summers of adventures.

If you want to see more of our adventure, my Instagram feed is full of pictures of our trip.

Kindergarten

She woke up at 6:30, jumped out of bed and put on her outfit. She has been waiting a few weeks to wear the outfit that she and Grammie picked out together. She quickly sat down and put on the new shoes that she has been waiting to wear. Twinkle Toe shoes that light up with each step. She had a smile that was contagious. She just couldn't wait to get there.

After some breakfast and teeth brushing, we coaxed Max into his stroller and put Charlotte's back pack on. Finally, it was time to walk to school. Judd, Max, and I began the half mile walk to the school. About half way there, I looked back and Charlotte was adjusting her shoe. Then she started to walk funny. I asked her what was wrong and she said, "Uh, nothing, nothing really!" I asked if she was getting a blister and she said, "Maybe." So, we said that we would get a Band-Aid when we got to school.

As we got closer to the school we were met with so many of our fellow neighbors walking to school. The side walk was packed! It was a really cool thing.

We settled her into her classroom with her teacher, Mrs. Williams. I found the Band-Aid jar and placed one on her blister. We gave her a big hug and kiss. Then, we said good-bye and left her sitting on the rug next to the other kids.



I couldn't wait to get to her this afternoon. Max and I made the walk back to pick her up. We waited for her, and then I saw her come out of the door. As soon as she saw me she burst into tears. My heart broke into a thousand pieces. Then she said, "I can't walk home, my Band-Aid fell off and my blister hurts! booo hoooo hoooo!" I told her that I brought some flip flops she could change into. She stopped crying and gave me a big smile. Turns out she had a great day, she just didn't want to walk home with a blister! Whew!!

I have been more emotional about this transition than I thought I would be. I know that she is ready for school, and I'm very happy that she is starting school - and at such a great school. However, I'm mourning the loss of my pre-schooler. The one that was home at lunch time. Now we're in the big time. And this is it, this is how it is until she leaves us for college.

She's going to have a great year. I can feel it. I'm so excited about all of the things she'll learn and see. Kindergarten here we come!

Last day of PreK

Charlotte attended her last day at our favorite little school last week. This was her third year there, and she was a full fledged celebrity walking the halls of that school each morning. She walked in with her shoulder's back, head held high.

She had a wonderful year this year. The kids in her class were so sweet as were all of their parents. She had numerous play dates and parties. Her teacher, Ms. Tameka, was amazing.

They had a little celebration to bid farewell to the biggest kids in school, the Seahorses, Dolphins, and Starfish. Our Charlotte was a Seahorse.



They each wore their tye-died shirts and received a certificate of completion.



Charlotte with Ms. Tameka.



I was a bit of a wreck after dropping her off for the last day. But pulled it together in time for the celebration. Max will go there next year, so it's not like I said goodbye for good.

It is so bittersweet watching your children grow. I couldn't be prouder of how ready she is for Kindergarten. But, I am having a hard time believing that this 2 year old little girl excited to be a grasshopper is big enough to go to Elementary school.

Watch out world.

5

This past February, my beautiful girl turned 5. She finally turned 5. For Charlotte, it seemed that the day would never come. It seemed everyone in the world turned 5 before she did.

We decided to have a "drop off" party at our house on a Friday evening. My parents were in town and Judd and I decided that we should be able to handle 8-10 5 year old girls. We came up with some good old fashioned party games like bingo, "Pin the lips on the Hershey Kiss", and musical chairs. We had a great time with all of the girls. We had pizza and everyone made their own ice cream sundaes instead of cake. After the festivities, we turned on Tangled and they all sat on the couch and watched it until their parents came to pick them up. We think everyone had a good time, even though the birthday girl had a full out tantrum when she lost musical chairs.



She has grown up so much during the last year. She grew from an older toddler to a little girl. Her legs are so long. During her 5 year check we found out she grew 4 inches in a year! She rides her bike and scooter like a champ. She can do just about anything she wants on the playground. She is beginning to read and write on her own.



Sometimes we are riding in the car, or sitting at the table, and I look at her and she looks like the most beautiful thing in the world to me.



She has a servant's heart, and wears it on her sleeve. She didn't want to go to school for a whole week this past winter because one of her teachers had a cold and she couldn't stand to hear her cough. She cried and cried when one of her teachers tripped and fell in the classroom. She just can't stand to see those that she looks up to hurt.



She loved Mother's Day this past year and just wanted to serve me. On Friday evening we heard her out in the kitchen doing something, which is always a little scary. Then she came into the living room with a red solo cup (the only food vessels she can reach) filled with strawberries and whipped cream. She had a smile from ear to ear. I was curious to know how she had cut the stems off of the strawberries by herself - seeing as how she was forbidden to use a knife. I stuck my fork into the first strawberry buried in a mound of whipped cream. When I pulled it out, I realized she hadn't cut off the stems. The strawberries came stems in all. My mom, dad, Judd and I burst into laughter. Charlotte just looked at us, she had no idea why we were laughing. For fear she might think something was wrong, I quickly at the strawberry. She was so proud to have concocted this special dessert for me. She just wanted to do something for me on her own. I do think they were the sweetest berries I have ever tasted.



She is amazing. There are more days than not when I don't feel like I deserve her. I'm so very proud she's ours.

Transitions

The last few months have been filled with so many transitions. It seems Max, though, has been the one to go through most of them.

After the Christmas break, his teachers began to push potty training at school. I knew he wasn't ready, and didn't bother with pushing it at home. Plus, we were in the process of selling the house and moving and I knew it wasn't a good time to throw in another stressful project. He did, however, begin to use the potty just before bath time and started to use the potty at school some. He knew what to do, he just didn't really want to do it consistently.

Once we were moved and somewhat settled, he started to show a lot more interest and was going more at school. So, we decided to give it a whirl at home. Now, as far as potty training goes, Charlotte was a breeze to potty train. She was super motivated by M&M's and would do almost anything to get one. Max, however, is only somewhat motivated by treats. (In fact, he gave me his lollipop back the other day because he didn't want his hair cut) He is only somewhat motivated by a new car or truck. I knew I was going to have my work cut out for me.

It went OK for a week. But, he wouldn't go #2 in the potty. He wouldn't go #2 at all. He held it for 4 days. Finally, it had to come out, and when it did, I stuck him on the potty quickly and he went in the potty. He wasn't happy - he fought me and cried during. But, when he was done we clapped and made a big deal about it and then he went to WalMart and picked out a new truck. We made it! Right? Wrong.

He has only gone #2 in the potty 2 more times after that in the last 2 months. He still holds it for days. Then, when he has to go, we put a diaper back on, he whines and mopes around for a couple of hours, and then he finally goes. I change the diaper and he is on his way - a new kid.

I have tried everything - which may be part of the problem. I have ignored the situation. I have promised new trucks. I even purchased toys, wrapped them, put them where he could see them every day and told him he could have one if he went poop in the potty. It has been almost 4 weeks and they are still wrapped sitting on the mantle. Judd jokes that they will be graduation presents.

I would consider him to be fully trained with #1. He is even staying dry through the night. But, this #2 hurdle has been enough to have us both seek counseling. Actually, that's not a bad idea - do you know any mother/son poop counselors? Someone has to do that, right?

Max's other big transition has been that of a big boy bed. A couple of weeks ago I found an ad on craigslist for a set of Ethan Allen bunk beds with mattresses and matching Pottery Barn boy bedding. We rented a van, drove an hour, and picked up our treasures. The kids have LOVED the bunks.

Max said good-bye to his beloved "cribby" and made the transition very well. Charlotte has enjoyed sleeping on the top bunk and has slept there every night but two nights since we got them. Some nights we go in to check on them and she is down on the bottom bunk cuddled up with him. It is almost more than my mommy heart can bear.

Lastly, Max is beginning the process of dropping his nap. Every two or three days he still takes one, but a lot of days he doesn't. When he doesn't, bedtime goes much smoother, but afternoons can be a bit of a patience test. He likes to watch a show with his blankies and pillow. Then, I go in about half way through the show and find him sound asleep.

The last few months have also revealed to us this little boy that can now really express whatever thought he is having. He is so funny with his words and his expressions. He is saying so much more and his language is really exploding. He and I spent a wonderful morning together on Monday. We dropped Charlotte off at school and went to the playground and the Farmer's Market. He made me laugh over and over again. He was so sweet, held my hand, gave me hugs, told me he loved me out of the blue.

He's just plain awesome.

A Wedding

I went to the Farmer's Market yesterday. I walked by the flower section and decided to treat myself to some flowers. After the Farmer's Market, Max and I picked up Charlotte from school and came back home to start some lunch. Charlotte saw the flowers immediately and asked if she could have some. I gave her a couple stems and she ran off to her room. 10 minutes went by and she emerged from her room dressed in her "wedding" dress with the flowers wrapped like a little bouquet. She said she was a bride and Max was going to be her, "Mom what do you call the boy?", "the groom".

So, after lunch, she picked out an outfit for Max to wear. I heard screaming coming from his room, to find Charlotte trying to shove his Spring sweater vest over his Christmas plaid shirt. I took over and helped Max put on his "groom outfit".

We started some elevator music on the TV and she arranged her stuffed animals to watch the ceremony. She walked down the aisle and met Max at the alter. After I administered some brief vows and helped them exchange pretend rings, they kissed each other to seal the deal. I can't believe Max went along with it.

After the ceremony we each had a piece of "wedding cake". (The pumpkin chocolate chip loaf I got from the Farmer's Market) They even posed for wedding pictures!

Easter Weekend

I was supposed to meet Erin for a run this morning at 6:15. I got all dressed and ready to go, was about to walk out of the front door, but was stopped by the rain. I texted and said, "It's raining". She replied, "Back to bed?". I was already up and dressed, though, so I didn't go back to bed. I made myself some coffee and I'm enjoying listening to the rain while updating the blog. What a wonderful, unexpected start to the day!

We headed down to the lake last Thursday afternoon to spend a couple of nights with Judd's parents. Judd had Good Friday off, so we were able to go down on Thursday night. We got there on Thursday evening late, around 9PM. The kids were so good on the drive down. I forgot the trusty iPad at home, and they were content to talk to us, to each other, look out the window, and listen to music. Who knew kids could ride in a car for over 2 hours these days with no electronic stimulation!

The weather was gorgeous Friday and Saturday and we enjoyed lots of outside time. Especially down on the dock. Max learned to cast for the first time. Charlotte really got the hang of it.







It was discovered that Max LOVES the boat. Granddaddy took him on two big rides down the creek to the big lake. He had the best time. (They were just using the trolling motor here near the dock - he had a life jacket on for the big rides!!)



As usual, Max was Granddaddy's buddy. Granddaddy Davis came to visit on Saturday, and Max stayed right with him too. He loves all of his Grandfathers. Which, I think, his Grandfathers don't mind at all.





He's a stinker this one. But there is something about a dirty faced boy after playing with dump trucks and dirt.



Friday night we were joined by the Crowe family. Charlotte was thrilled to see her cousin. On Saturday we went to Lake Blackshear Baptist church for their annual egg hunt. They always do such a nice job with the hunt and the kids love it. In order to provide the children with enough energy for the 30 second hunt, they carbo load them. This year's options were ice cream, cookies, cupcakes, and fruit punch.





After a snack fit for Willy Wonka, the kids lined up and off they went. Max, being that this was his 2nd hunt of the year, knew just what to do. Charlotte found a golden egg right off the bat. She was so obsessed with this egg that she forgot about hunting more eggs. She only ended up with about 5 eggs. Thank the Lord she got that golden egg. If she hadn't then she wouldn't have been able to choose one of the coveted prizes and we would have had total meltdown.

Lilly decided she was too mature to hunt this year - but she provided support for her little cousins.



We packed up the kids late Saturday afternoon and made the trip back. A fun, busy Easter trip to the lake!

A favorite place

The kitchen, as we had hoped, is turning out to be the true heart of our new home. It is the biggest room and is right in the middle of everything. I knew when I walked into the house the first time that I loved it. As a mom & wife, I know the importance of a good kitchen. It feels like you spend the majority of your day making meals, cleaning up after meals, and putting away dishes.

One of my dreams for our new home was to have a window over the kitchen sink. This kitchen doesn't have that, but I have two wonderful windows on either side of the stove. This time of day they pour light into the kitchen. This spot, is at the very top of my list of favorite places in this new house.

Egg Stuffing

This little girl has been having a bit of a hard time lately. Her teachers have had to "talk to her" at school a couple of times this week . That's not like her and it makes her upset when she feels less than perfect. Her little world has had quite the shake up over the past few weeks with this move, so I'm hoping that this behavior is just an extension of that.

She is the sweetest, most loving child in the world. She has a heart for serving others that makes me so happy.

I just want to hold her and take all of the uncertainty away. I try, but she is getting older and holds onto thoughts of her own these days.

As I type this she is sitting across from me making a birthday card for our new neighbors down the street. They happen to be twin 5 year old girls that she's known since birth. She looks so beautiful concentrating on getting the words right and making sure she draws 5 candles on the cake. I love her dearly.