Deacon's 9th Birthday

 Deacon turned 9 this year! Sometimes I feel like he's older because he's so mature, but I'll take him young as long as possible. Deacon is the boy who will be the first to give me a hug when I'm sad, give me a back massage when I'm sore, and ask to help if I seem overwhelmed. He's always looking out for others and will give anyone the coat off his back (quite literally when Leo forgot his jacket at school one day!). He is hilarious and always up for any challenge. He loves to play basketball and doesn't mind getting up for games or to go golfing with Dad. He's very determined and will keep trying when he fails. He may not love practicing the piano, but is persistent anyways. Deacon is so much fun, but also chill, and loves to joke around. At bedtime he will give us about 10 hugs because he "forgot he had already given us one." He is getting tall and eating more and more every day. We sure do love him! 

I also decorated Deacon's room bright and early in the morning before he woke up, and he was so happy! He especially loved how I attached the balloons to a big box of Ferrero Rochets. His breakfast choice was waffles with ice cream and berries! His birthday landed on a Sunday so we went to church and then over to Tamara's house where I brought the cupcakes. He was challenged to stuff a whole one in his mouth, which he willingly did. 

A few days later we threw him a birthday party at this new place in South Center mall called "Powerplay." We tried out the Immersive Gamebox, which is kind of like a video game projected on the wall, and you use headsets. They could select different games like squid games and such. I don't think it was quite as fun as they were expecting, but they still had a good time there. The better part was the bowling afterwards. They brought over a big Charizard and told them the first person to get a strike wins it. That got them going! Boston Ausmus ended up winning it. We also got pizza, fries and cake as we were bowling and the pizza was the biggest one I've ever seen! It was very good, and the kids said the fries were they best they ever had. I had brought the cake (basketball themed), so we sang to Deacon and ate that as well. Afterwards, the kids were each given tokens to use in the Arcade. That was a hit for the boys as well! It was a great party and I loved how clean and new the place was. 

Bentley's 11th Birthday

 Bentley turned 11 this year and she is just so much fun these days! I always wanted to have lots of daughters, but actually love having just one because we've become so close and love to do so many things together just the two of us. She truly is my best girlfriend! She loves to laugh and joke around, and doesn't mind when I make fun of her singing Gracie Abrams lyrics wrong ("pull the trigger on the gun, I thought you were the one..."). She loved doing gymnastics this Fall and is becoming a really good basketball player lately too! She loves to bake and is very good at doing everything on her own now. She is very organized, has her Alexa tell her to make her bed in the morning, and always has her outfits picked out and school bag ready to go. She loves to go to church and is in the middle of memorizing all the articles of faith. She keeps up with her school work and gets amazing grades. She sometimes brings home art homework and we work on it together, sometimes into the late hours of the night, while laughing about silly things! I could go on and on, but I'm just incredibly grateful to have her. 

On her actual birthday, I woke up extra early to sneak into her room while she was sleeping, and decorated it with balloons and stars. She actually loved it and we did a little photo shoot in the morning. We've also continued the birthday breakfast tradition where they get to choose what to eat in the morning and Bentley chose crepes with Nutella and strawberries again. After school, we went together to get our nails done. I let her get acrylics for the first time, and she chose a white tip with some pink hearts and designs. They turned out very cute and she loved them! I got mine done as well for the first time and was amazed at how well they stay good, as long as mine are short (because I hate having long nails that get in the way!), then I'm a fan. She got them taken off after they had grown out, and may get them done again for a different special occasion. I was also able to take her to the mall that evening and it was so fun! Shopping with Bentley is always such a blast. I bought her a few things as her birthday gift and she was thrilled.

A bunch of Bentley's friends were out of town for her birthday week, so we decided to have a little party for her on Feb.1st. We kept it very low key, since last year was such a big one. We did a hottub and movie party in our basement with Italian Sodas and snacks. The only bummer was that Bentley had just gotten her braces on the day before, but she made the best of it! The girls had a great time going back and forth between the hottub and the snow. It brought me back to my younger days when I would do that with my friends too. We played music outside and they had a lot of fun. The movie Bentley wanted to watch was "Cruella." I'm not sure how much actual watching of the movie happened, but the girls had a great time making drinks with the flavored syrups, different creams, sodas, and toppings (like freeze dried strawberries, limes, and mint), and eating the chips and chocolate snacks. We gave the girls a cup and a Starbucks gift card for their party favor. 

We also happened to go to Montana's on the day between Bentley and Deacon's birthdays, so they sang to both of them. They each got to wear the crown and get a free dessert! I really like that restaurant for kids.