Weekend in Outer Banks

Earlier this month I was able to get away with some friends for a girls weekend. It was so nice to have some quality uninterrupted time with friends. We went to a friend's family beach house in Outer Banks, and it was the perfect place to accommodate us all.

We had slow mornings with coffee and late nights playing games. 

There was lots of good food. 

The beach was windy and beautiful.

I was looking for shells to bring home to Bonnie and a friend found this starfish she told me to bring her instead. How cool!

We also saw a puffer fish.

We went out to dinner one night. 

And got coffee at a cute shop on the water. 

It was a beautiful weekend. I am so thankful Benny is so supportive of me doing things like this, the kids had a great weekend with dad!

Bonnie is 5!

Bonnie is 5 years old! She is 43 inches tall and somewhere around 40 pounds (her doctor appointment isn't until December, but will update when I get stats). She rarely naps anymore but still does a quiet time - usually making jewelry, coloring, doing crafts, or reading. 

She started preschool this year (3 half days a week). So far she has loved it. The transition did affect her sleep for about 6-8 weeks but we have come through it for the most part. She is in the very beginning stages of reading and writing. She is able to sound out very simple words and likes to attempt spelling words, but only when she feels like it. She doesn't seem super motivated to learn yet and still prefers when I just read to her. Her recent accomplishment she is proud of is singing Fifty Nifty which requires her to recite all 50 states. She is now working on her capitals. 

Bonnie is a very confident on her bike now and is always the last one to want to go inside. She is very adventurous and is willing to try just about anything which is so fun. She did dance and played soccer in the spring, took swim lessons in the summer, and soccer again this fall. She wants to do all of them all over again, and also add in gymnastics and anything else we will let her do. She is swimming fairly well and able to get a decent distance, but is not yet proficient. 

Our girl is so smart and sweet and thoughtful. She is always paying attention and soaks in everything around her. She loves making things for us (drawings, jewelry, crafts) and feels very loved when we make things for her. She has really come out of her shell and loves playing with her friends and making new ones. She is sometimes particular about her things and where they belong, and she can't go to bed with a messy room. She is very silly, has hilarious expressions, and is the greatest big sister.

We love you so much Bonnie girl!

Bonnie's Birthday

Bonnie's birthday was very special this year! She had her first birthday party the weekend leading up to her actual birthday. It was very casual at a park with pizza and cupcakes, but ended up having about 50 people show up! She felt well-loved and had such a fun time.

We took one last picture with our 4 year old.

And just like that, she is now 5!

Her birthday morning started with donuts and then off to school.

Riser didn't love that he wasn't getting a lot of the attention.

When I picked her up from school, she requested Chick-fil-A for lunch so we made a stop on the way home for a little lunch date.

Then she requested to skip her rest time to do crafts with me while Riser napped. 

We made some cute snowman ornaments.

And she started painting a Christmas mug.

Benny got her flowers, which she loves smelling and telling us all about the different kinds.

When Eric got home from work, she immediately wanted to open presents of course.

She was so excited that Riser specifically picked something out for her this year.

She also got my jewelry box from when I was a kid.

She saw the Bunny cake my mom made me in some childhood photos and asked for a bunny cake this year. 

It was such a wonderful celebration of this wonderful girl. We are so blessed by her life!

Soccer

Soccer wrapped up a couple weeks ago and we had a great season. Bonnie loved her team (the Red Cherries) and seems to love the sport. The first few weeks there were a lot of cancelled practices and games due to rain, but once things became more consistent she really started getting into it. 

Their second gameday of the season they had a double-header and they had no substitutes that day. All 6 girls played nonstop and were completely wiped by the second half of the first game. Needless to say, the yellow bananas crushed us that day.

Another fun thing about soccer is getting to run into cousins on the soccer field for their games!

Eric helped coach and had a fun time doing it.

Riser had fun on the sidelines with his buddies. 

It was a fun season - she's already asking what we can sign up for next!