Jayden's Birthday - Part 1

I'm trying hard to get caught up on my blogging - I've been so busy living life that it's been hard to find time to write about it:) Since Jayden's birthday fell just after the escapade with hand, foot and mouth, we decided to postpone her sleepover a week and celebrated her actual birthday as a family. It was a GREAT day!

We very rarely get doughnuts, so the girls were super excited to have them for Jayden's birthday breakfast.

After we picked Addy up from school, we headed to the mall to spend a gift card that grandpa Davenport sent to Barnes and Noble. The girls were VERY excited about their new Junie B Jones books, their fairy chapter book and a Barbie book that came with slideshow machine to put pictures on the wall that go with the stories.

While we were at the mall, we all went on a ride on the carousel. Having just been on the one at Disney World, this one felt surprisingly small, but it was fun all the same. The kids also enjoyed watching the ice skaters for a while before we left.

Even though we were having a cake for her party the following week, we couldn't celebrate Jayden's birthday at home without another cake:) You can never have too much cake, right? We got a small Dora one for the occasion.

Loving on the birthday girl.

Jayden's Rapunzel doll that MawMaw Bill got her from Disney.

Enjoying the cake! I love this picture because it gives such a good glimpse into J.J.'s personality!

And this one provides an equally good glimpse into her dad's personality:)

One of Jayden's other gifts was a nightgown with a matching gown for her doll. This Rapunzel baby was her big gift from mommy and daddy. It's become a favorite.

There are so many things I love about my Jayden girl. She is a fun-loving, spitfire of a girl. She wears her heart on her sleeve - if she's happy, you know it; if she's upset, you know that too. She is shy when she doesn't know anyone or is in a crowd, but once she warms up, she is quite the little chatter box. She certainly makes us laugh with her antics, but is very tenderhearted and sweet spirited too.

It has been fun to watch Jayden grow up so much this year. In the last two months she has started to retain more details from the Bible stories she learns and busts out sometimes with profound insights you weren't aware she knew. For example, one day we were talking about God and Jesus and she starting laughing and said, "God is a dad to himself! They are the same person!" She was quite proud of herself!

Jayden is our miracle baby - hard to imagine what life would be like without her in it.

Thank you Lord for entrusting Jayden to our care. We commit her to you and pray you will grow her into a woman who chases after you with everything she has.