Happy birthday, Anna!

We celebrated the big 5 this past Monday (among other days of celebration) for our baby, the one and only Anna Kathryn Callaway.  Her birthday season began back on May 2 with our family joint celebration in Concord, along with Logan's birthday and his first communion.  Daddy's and Aunt Leslie's birthdays were briefly mentioned, but of course the kids' events definitely trumped all.  

On May 16, Anna continued celebrating with a little neighbor/preschool friend garden tea party at our house.  I think she really enjoyed it, and it was still somewhat lower key than it could have been.  She had, of course, a big part in the planning of said party.

May 18th was her actual birthday, but Daddy was out of town for work so we didn't do a whole lot.  We did let her pick our after-school activity (going to the pool) and dinner (Chick Fil-A).  She had a fun day, and she also went to get her nails done on Tuesday as a part of her birthday gift from us.  Considering that she published her future career in her preschool end-of-year portrait as "nail saloner", we thought she should probably see what that really means.  After going, she says that she still wants to be a nail saloner, but I do wonder if the work would just be too much for her...after the nail salon, we also visited the playground, Chick-Fil-A (again), and got ice cream.  That darn Waverly Place just has too many of Anna's favorite things right in the same area!

Though not really birthday-related, she had her preschool graduation on Thursday.  It really has been a big week for Anna.  She did great, sang lots of songs with her class, and got her certificate.  She also had fun at the ice cream/bounce slide/playground party afterward! 

What birthday is complete for a kid without your well-child check?!  Well, Anna had hers this morning.  She did a really wonderful job and answered all of the doctor's questions truthfully.  She is holding steady at 46.6 pounds (84th percentile) and 47.25" tall (97th percentile!)  Her hearing tested good and her vision was 20/25, but they said that isn't anything to worry about at this point.  Her heart sounded perfect, and other than some dietary issues (typical for her age, he said), she is doing great.  He had a serious talk with her about eating more fruits and vegetables, so we will see if that sticks.  

So, Anna.  She is our princess, our diva, our social butterfly.  While the other three of us tend to like our "alone time", Anna does not.  She talks constantly, notices everything, and will hold you to your word.  She can be totally silly or VERY serious.  Her newest obsession is My Little Pony, and other interests are printing coloring sheets from the computer to color, reading, and anything art-related.  She has lots of little friends and has a great imagination.  She is precious, and we love her so much!

April!

Whew, another busy month is in the books!  April was full of fun with Erin tracked out for the first three weeks, including our big trip to Disney World (described in detail HERE) .  In the shadow of that, what else did we do last month?  Let's see - Anna had a fun Easter Egg hunt and party at preschool on the 1st, then we had a nice visit with Uncle Dale, Aunt Maria, Cole, and Cooper on their way to New Bern on the 3rd.  We had a very low-key Easter because Anna was sick with a stomach bug all day.  Luckily, she was feeling much better the next day and nobody else got it...very lucky, considering our trip the following Saturday!  Erin and Daddy got to participate in the neighborhood egg hunt while Anna was sick.





















The week of the 6th was fairly quiet with our usual events, until Friday when Grandma A. arrived in preparation for our big trip to Disney World!  I'll skip the trip since I posted about it earlier.  It was lots and lots of fun, though it was crowded and hot than it was last January.  We got back on the 14th and Grandma went home on the 15th as we tried to come back to reality.  We got to play at Jimmy and Danny's house on the 17th, then Anna had her last dance class on the 18th, followed by a fun visit from Grandma and Grandpa F., including trying out a yummy new restaurant in Morrisville!.




















We got to catch up with Liz and David on the 19th which was lots of fun, then Bob jetted off to California for 4 days, getting home in time to see Eric Church with Uncle Chris on Thursday night.  Erin tracked back into school on the 20th without too much of a fight.  Erin had her fun run fundraiser for school on the 24th, and I enjoyed seeing her out there with all the other kids having a blast!  (This was a huge improvement on her hiding in her classroom last year.)  We had a rainy fun party at the park for neighbor friend Caitlin on the 25th, then more playtime at her house while Bob got some house projects done.












Anna and I enjoyed making rosary kits at her friend Hadley's house on the 28th, followed by Book and Bite in Erin's classroom with her and two of her friends, and that about finishes out the month!  It was a fun month with our big Disney World trip!