Birthday Boy!

Cooper turned six on November 1st!  He had a great day and was celebrated all day long!  We began with donuts with his class.  Miss Jennifer is the sweetest teacher and made the classroom celebration so much fun!  All of his classmates went gave him compliments and then- of course- they sang!

Cooper and Miss Jennifer- note the light up Star Wars shoes from Nanie, Sis-sis, and Uncle Eric

with his friends Fox, Sawyer, George, and RA

Legos!  He would get them for every gift if we let him!

The next night, Cooper had six friends (since he turned six) camp out in Edie & G-Chip's backyard!  They had a bonfire, played, watched a movie, ate, and had a great time!  Thankfully, there were lots of dads (who happen to be friends of Dan's) who spent the night, too!

The backyard setup

the boys watching Star Wars on the screen outside

Nan and the sweet dads- Todd, Barry, Josh & Chad

Cooper is such a fun six year old!  He is so expressive and joyful all the time.  He is such a sweet big brother to RA- our favorite is that he walks her into her classroom and gives her a hug and a kiss every morning after they are dropped off at carpool!  We try to remember these sweet times when he aggravates her!  He is doing great in kindergarten and is reading and writing very well!  He loves to be the boss and never wants to miss anything that is going on.  Cooper loves hanging out with his dad- they enjoy doing just about everything together but playing Wii is close to the top of the list!  His favorite toys are- hands-down- Legos.  He got a great cart that organizes them from Edie & G-Chip for his birthday which definitely helps me keep my sanity with the massive amounts of little pieces!   Coop is on the smaller size right now- about 25 percentile for height and weight and has not lost his first tooth yet (although there are a couple starting to get loose)!

We are so thankful for this precious boy and all of the joy that he brings to our family!  I can't believe he is six- time needs to slow down!

October flew by...

So here is a quick recap of our fun, fall activities of that month!  We spent an extended fall break at the beach!  We went with a group of Dan's friends from college and their wives and kids and had a wonderful time!  I was in such a relaxed mode the entire vacation, and as a result, I did not take as many pictures as I should have.  Oh well, it was a great trip nonetheless!

The week after we came home, Cooper and his Kindergarten class had their first field trip! They went to Donnell Farm here in Jackson and got to experience all kinds of fall farm activities!  Cooper has such a sweet teacher and group of kids in his class, and we all had a great time on this first field trip!

The next Friday, we had Fall Festival at USJ.  This is a full morning of all kinds of activites!  The day was rainy and gloomy outside, but the kids didn't even notice and had a wonderful time!  I was worn out trying to go from class-to-class to see a little of both classes activities, but we made it through!

Reese Ann after she found her pumpkin on their indoor pumpkin hunt!  All of the Cubs classes made these cute pumpkin shirts that they got to wear to school for Fall Festival and for Halloween!

Singing with friends

The whole cubs class with Miss Karen and Miss Amanda

 

Got a picture of both of them together outside of Cooper's class!

Coop with his buddies Fox and George peeking through the library reading-room window

Our little cupcake with Captain America

Halloween was the next activity and we had an action-packed one!  We started out by trick-or-treating at Edie and G-Chips with witch Edie- you can see those pictures below- moved onto a party with some friends in our old neighborhood, then to Nan's to trick-or-treat, and finally back to our neighborhood to trick-or-treat (since we had enough neighbors this year).  Our cupcake finally melted after making it back to our house but before trick-or-treating in our neighborhood- she was done!  Oh well, there's always next year- we better start resting up now!

With G-Chip and the very believable witch, Edie!

RA decided the night before Halloween- while talking about visiting witch Edie's house- that she was going to be a witch next year.  She tried on the nails early in the night...

and by the end of the night got brave enough to put on the hair, mask and hat!  She looks pretty scary to me!

Our Late Summer/ Early Fall...

We have had a busy and fun last few weeks and month!  Cooper, along with most of the K-12 USJ kids, performed at a half-time show at a USJ football game a few weeks ago.

Cooper played in a church-based soccer league this fall.  Dan coached and Todd helped him again.  The team was a sweet bunch of kids, and everyone enjoyed the fall season!

Dan with most of the team

The four friends- Sam, George, Cooper, and Harrison- all in the same class this year- bless Miss Jennifer's heart!

Todd, Dan and the boys!

The other news of the early fall is that Reese Ann moved to a "big-girl" bed!  She has not been going to sleep well since the pa-pa fairy came in July, so Mama decided to make a uber-comfy big-girl bed to entice this tired three-year-old to go to sleep easier!  She has a comfy mattress, great sheets, and lots of room to spread out!  So far, so good!  RA has gone to sleep very quickly the last few nights which makes everyone in the Sikes house very happy!  Can't believe we are done with baby beds, but hopefully the antique, family-heirloom bed can be salvaged by our great woodworker for the next set of Edwards grandchildren (whenever they make their appearance)!

RA and Coop having a big time playing on the new bed!

so proud of her new bed!

Snow White Birthday Party

Reese Ann's birthday celebration continued when we had a Snow White party with some of her friends!  The party was lots of fun to plan for me, and she loved it all- Snow White has been her favorite princess from the very beginning!

The birthday girl and her Edie!

Waiting for the 1st little princess friend to arrive!

Our little Snow White

Decorating mirrors

Blowing out the candles!

Reese Ann is 3- First Celebration!

Our precious, spunky, girlie little princess turned three on Tuesday, September the 4th.  We celebrated all day long!  We started with balloons when she came downstairs and then onto a party bright and early at 8 am at school!  We brought donut holes to share with all of Reese Ann's friends, and her class and sweet teachers did a great job celebrating her!

This is Reese Ann's table at school (plus big brother) eating donut holes for her birthday!

After she ditched the birthday crown, she sat on her spot on the carpet in "criss-cross applesauce" style and showed off her magic wand from Miss Karen

I brought the birthday girl and Cooper lunch from Sonic and got to eat with them at school.  After school our friends Emily, Tucker, and Eady (along with their sweet mom) came over to play.  They brought balloons and princess fruit snacks for Reese Ann!  Our birthday dinner at home was with Nan, Edie, and G-Chip.  All Reese Ann wanted was a pink cupcake (Pinkalicious is one of our favorite books these days), so she was very happy when she had a pink cupcake with candles just for her!

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Reese Ann loved opening presents including this Cinderalla dress from Nan!  The cute smocked cupcake dress did not stay on much longer :)

Opening a bracelet from Edie and G-Chip

Princess RA talking to Nanie & Uncle Eric on the phone

Having tea from her Snow White tea set- her Snow White party with her friends is this next weekend

All four of us!  We missed a picture with the dollhouse that was our present to the birthday girl- guess we were videoing! 

Reese Ann, you are such a special little girl!  We are so thankful for the life and excitement you add to our lives every day!  

Your favorite food at three- hands down- is chocolate soy nut butter.  You only eat it by the spoonful!  You still like junk food but are a decent fruit eater and will eat yogurt and hummus and carrots every once in a while.  You weigh in at 31 pounds and are 37 inches tall- just about the 50th percentile for both.  

You love it when there are people around to entertain you, but also like to have the run of the house every once in a while!  Your favorite thing to play right now is dress-up.  You usually shed your uniform as soon as soon as we walk in the door for a costume (or if not you want "real clothes")!  You have spent the last six months or so clomping around the house in one of your 6+ pairs of princess slippers.  Your favorites- the Snow White ones of course- broke because you wore them so much!  Baby dolls and stuffed animals are some of your favorite things to play with, too.  While you are so girlie, you still love to go run around outside and get dirty- such a fun mix of personality!

You have been fairly rambunctious and destructive through the last year, but I definitely see signs of growing out of this (Praise the Lord)!  You have become concerned when you make messes and are a little more careful with your toys and books.  You are a sweet friend at school- always taking care of the kids who are upset.  We are thankful for your kind spirit!  

You still worship your older brother, and the majority of the time, y'all are very sweet to each other and enjoy playing together.

We have loved watching you grow and change since your 2nd birthday and look forward to what this year holds for you!  We love you so much!

Stay tuned for pictures from the Snow White birthday party...