Five Years and a Tea Party!

Five years is entirely too long to live without a Tea Party! 

Little lovely Daunika, our dear oldest child, is now FIVE! There is so much I could say about the wonderful moments these five years have brought us. I could babble about all the things she's learned, that she's growing up so quickly.. I can tell you that anyday. 

But instead of reflecting on how much she's grown, I have looked at how much she's taught me.

How could I have known that compassion, love, joy, pain, fear, silliness, laughter, and so much more would come from such tiny beings. Isn't being a parent amazing? When I look at myself and my darling husband, I see ourselves reflected back in the actions of our littles. 

Wow. Thats a scary thought! 

Oh wait, I do suppose that means we've done a few things right too. 

Our darling baby girl, our little love, We so love you. 

Thank you for teaching me so much.

 Now, LETS PARTY!!! 

In true Huberty Family tradition, on the day of the kiddos birthday, they get there very own cake to decorate ANY WAY THEY WANT! This year, it was a massive mess of M&Ms and sprinkles. She loved it!

And of course, cake is no fun without our family to share it with. The actual day of her birthday is only to be shared with family - and that includes this special little man in Daunikas life. They are so close. 

But we cannot just stop there. Oh no. 

WE MUST HAVE A TEA PARTY!

These are the lovely invitations for the party

Just a few kids to invite :) Looking at those, I am so happy my baby has so many great friends!

And in preparation for a party....... this mama has lots of work to do. 

Yep.... It's about midnight, the day before the party and my husband was about to head out to play raquet ball.... Yes, at midnight. LOL

 Hat decorating with a million stickers? YES! 

 Yummy Lunch. 

 Pass the tea pot. Its like musical chairs mashed with hot potato... oh my. 

 Our DJ 

 Blowing out candles on her cupcake in her tea cup. Oh so sweet. 

 Hugs with friends, thanking them for their gifts!! 

 Oh yes. 

 We have created a 5 year old Diva. 

Save me. 

All in all, what an amazing little lady we have. She had a wonderful and relaxed birthday that was fun, calm, and she shared it with fabulous friends. I look forward to what 5 year old knowledge will teach me. 

Family Pictures: Winter 2010/2011

I'm a big picture taker.

 In fact, it's absolutely normal for everyone to see

 me holding a camera constantly. I love my camera. 

LOVE. 

But, it's not the camera that I love

its the pictures of my family that I get to capture. 

Still moments that will remind me of a lifetime 

of happiness. 

Most of you have received packages in the mail with framed 

family photos of us. Isn't it amazing what a 

simple camera, a timer, and us sitting on our bed can do?

I do so love the way our family pictures turned out. 

Let's review the lovely shots!

Goodness. It is just absolutely lovely isn't it? 

I have many many pictures hung up in our home. My walls are filled with 

memories. Moments that were life changing, or funny, or silly, or even sad. 

There are funky frames and elegant ones. 

My walls are littered with happiness!

I was so smug. I was thinking I couldn't ask for too much more than these lovely shots. 

I was wrong. 

Today, my lovely 5 year old daughter proved to me that 

family pictures can be better 

than my simple photos. 

Upon seeing this beautiful piece of art, I promptly bubbled up in tears.

How very special. 

To see the world through my daughters eyes. 

I was ignoring my children, we were just having some down time. 

Relaxing. No agenda. 

And my kids, as they usually do, scattered about the house. 

A 2 year old in the toy room, a 10 month old crawling around, 

a 5 year old coloring. 

Nothing unusual about that. 

But she amazed me. The picture is of her family. She included:

Daddy, Rafa, Aurora, Declan, Mommy, Me, and Grandma. 

I'm so happy that I am part of her family. 

Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family.

  ~Anthony Brandt

CRAP!

It would appear no one was receiving my e-mail updates. Thank you Damon for pointing out that you missed the last 5 or so blogs. Sorry everyone!

PLEASE REPLY TO THIS if you receive it. I'm purposefully posting this as a blog as a TEST.

...

2011 has come

2010 was an amazing year for us...... 

Well, for starters... we got to decorate our house for a birthday party! What a BLAST!

There was HOURS of running around in leotards and tutus...

Millions of times to tackle daddy!

We welcomed a new member of our family this year!

There was time to just be still and watch the whimsical fun of bubbles. 

We got to cherish times with family

Our front yard turned into a damn used Honda car lot for a while....Yes, thats 4 accords, all different years.

Hours of snuggles were loved

Several messes were made....

All of us enjoyed knit goods 

There was plenty of kid food to be had...

I kept a plant alive... this is a miracle. 

There were the regular up keep of life of course... 

And, it wasn't always smiles... 

However, so many many hours were spent with wonderful friends

Our guard dog is still perfect

Our children firmly fell in love with livestock and the idea of farming... we did too.

We headed for the hills.... and fell in love with camping alone

We got up before sunrise to give our kids experiences that they will remember... 

We watched our babies grow... 

And then... We were blessed to change so much by the end of the year! 

There was a lot of meals, memories and laughter shared with our family.

And well, more tears. 

We got to rearrange the house, compliments of our kiddos..

There was hours spent with my awesome brother. 

We celebrated a decade together and 5 years married... 

So, here's to 2010 (a little late... whoops) This year ROCKED. 

And what the hell, I'll set some goals for 2011! 

This year I want to laugh until I snort. Cry because I am surprised by the greatness of people. 

Witness great works. Watch my children explore. Enjoy a glass of wine. 

Get to know people better. Work hard. Have more date nights. 

Enjoy music at a level to piss off my neighbors. Drive into the mountains 'just because'.

 Run a mile in less than 8 minutes. Knit a gift once a month. 

Spend hours with extended family. Spend even more hours with my husband. 

Spend everyday with my children. 

Live with a purpose. 

I can't wait! The years just keep getting better and better!