Birthday week for Sydney!

Let me just update you on the birthday week festivities for Sydney! It all started on Saturday, when GG Arvy came to Kville to watch soccer games. Since they are going to be out of town for Sydney's birthday (they love to vacation this particular week yearly), we decided to have an impromptu birthday party. I baked a cake, we had some lunch and Sydney got her favorite obsession as a gift: WebKinz! And not just one....Three! Immediately, she had to 'adopt' them on the computer and loves, loves, loves them. As a side note (and for journaling purposes), on Saturday night the kids went with my parents to Garrett's first birthday party at Rog & Cozette's. Mike & I went to our high school reunion committee bbq (events will not be posted, but I will tell you about them if you ask!). Thanks for taking our kids GGGib. Sunday, we had a little family birthday lunch because we had picked up the Backer's cake on Saturday (do to scheduling conflicts). We bbq some steaks, had potatoes and ate cake all before church! (After church we went to Scott & Kellie's for Renae's bday celebration. We have A LOT of family birthdays this week-thanks for a fun evening S&K-and I also took the world's best piece of sheet cake which was a hit). Monday, we had GG Gib up for dinner and Skookies (we are burned out on cake now). Sydney loves the littlest pet shop animal and immediately had to 'adopt' her on-line, also. We were ok with her playing on the computer because after her SCREAM of joy that left us with minor hearing loss. That girl can scream....Here she is in mid-scream!
Did I surprise everyone but Grandpa? Thanks for smiling, Papa!

Tomorrow is Sydney's actual birthday! Tomorrow she will get her family presents and celebrate at school. Then later this week, she will have a combo birthday party with her BFF, Abby. I will post that later as it should be a fabulous event!

So, I thought I would just leave this post with Seven Things I Like About Sydney! (Sounds like a song, huh!...Darin, that's Miley CyPRUS, in case you were wondering).
1. Sydney's smile! She can light up a room and is a beautiful girl with hair like spun gold!
2. Sydney's kindness. Especially with kids younger than she is. She LOVES babies! And she wants to hold them forever. She was especially good at this when Brandon was an infant. She makes friends fast and loves spending time with them. 3. Sydney's imagination! She makes up the best games and throws great parties! She is a very creative fashion designer with her own portfolio. Ask her, she'll show you. She sleeps with all her stuffed animals on her bed. There is hardly room for her! But, she doesn't want any of them to 'feel bad' so she gives them all a good-night sleep.
4. Sydney's determination: She is strong-willed. But as we have seen her grow-up, we see how that is working to her advantage. She is a great reader, good friend, and works hard at all her activities. I even saw this as she walked to the bus stop in the pouring rain this morning (her older sibling would have been begging for a ride-oh, she actually got one, but that's another story). Sydney gave a talk in Primary this week. Normally, she gets so scared that she only gets through half of her talk, and then breaks down in tears. This week, she gave her whole talk...all by herself and not one tear or nervous thought! Way to go, Syd Syd! 5. Sydney's love for family: Sydney has always been a Mama's girl and I have really come to appreciate it. She LOVES her Daddy and gives him the best hugs! She really loves Amanda and looks up to her (although the sibling fighting is alive and well between them). I know that these sisters will be close forever (Lucky girls). And Brandon is Sydney's baby. She always makes sure he is taken care of. She LOVES her grandparents and cousins! 6. Sydney's Curiosity: Sydney loves to learn new things! I'm sure if she had a better mother, she'd be quite the well-rounded child! She always wants to help me cook....even if she gets to put in just one ingredient. She constantly asks questions and won't settle unless it's a good answer. 7. Sydney's Joy for Life: Sydney loves life. She is always going. She wants to always be with people. She is a very important part of our family and we are so glad she is our girl!
We Love You!
Happy Birthday, Syd Syd!