Back-Blogging: She Turned Seven

Happy Birthday, Dear Samantha!
Yes, yes it was clear back in December. I know, I'm so very late getting things posted. But I want to at least get my kids' landmarks on here, so they know how much fun we have, celebrating their birthdays.

 Here's our brand new seven-year-old, parked in front of her stack of birthday presents, first thing in the morning. She was super excited and loved all the attention.

 We brought cupcakes to school for her class, and had a little party with some girls in our neighborhood after school. She called it a "fairies and butterflies" party, so we strung fairy candy necklaces, decorated wooden fairy and butterfly cut-out pieces, and also decorated individual cupcakes (which were GOBBED with candy, as you can imagine!)...

 We had a pinata...

And no one even got hurt, thank goodness! Candy, candy everywhere!

 The whole gang, eating cake and ice cream...

 Playing a fairy dance game, or something...

That night, Samantha told me, "That was the BEST day of my WHOLE LIFE!" Wow. And it only got BETTER... she got TWO parties this year!

On Sunday, we celebrated with Grandma and Grandpa Bishop, and with Ella, who was turning 11 the following week. Samantha had requested a "doll/dress" cake, so together she and I made one for her family party...

 It turned out pretty cute, if you ask me. It was just a bundt cake, with a doll stuck in a baby bagel, and gobbed up with tons of frosting and sprinkles. And it tasted delicious!!

Opening presents at Grandma and Grandpa's... Natalie loved the super big gift bag ...

The two birthday girls...

We sure love Samantha!

She is a very bright, lively, enthusiastic, sweet girl. She loves to make projects, cards, and crafts of any kind. She almost always has paper, scissors and crayons out, and also gets into markers, tape and glue (which she's supposed to ask for, because of that little Nat who gets into those things and makes messes.) She also loves reading and has torn through several books this winter -- "The Littles Chrismas," "The Amazing Clementine," "Junie B. Jones" (until we got tired of sassy Junie), "Little House on the Prairie," "The Indian in the Cupboard," "High School Musical"... to name a few.

Samantha has a lovely singing voice and had the opportunity to sing for audiences lately, which has been a great way to build her confidence and help her develop this talent. Most recently, she sang a solo at her cousin, Seth's, baptism, "If the Savior Stood Beside Me." It was beautiful.

Samantha really loves to do what is right, and recognizes when she is making right choices. She tells me, "I just get such a good feeling inside when I know I'm doing something right." I love watching her learn and grow. She is great at setting goals, and is such a good helper at home. She likes to make forts and clubhouses for Spencer and Natalie, and loves playing hide-and-seek and riding her bike with friends and with Spencer.

So far, we have love, love, loved having this sweet seven-year-old at our house! Happy Birthday, Samantha! (Even if your blog post is a couple of months late!)