10

She's 10!

Happy Birthday, Sweet Cheeks!
You are loved!

8th Birthday Party

Her 8th birthday party was a blast!!

But before the fun began, the birthday girl got to choose her breakfast....

why not start the day with spaghetti, tons of sauce and sprinkle cheese!!

She's my kind of girl.

Having carbs while watching her favorite show....Phineas and Ferb was a great way to start her birthday!

Look at that B-I-G daddy bite my little girl took!

That's how she rolls now that she's 8!

Back to the party...

Three hours of solid games, food and fun!

It was planned for 3 hours that turned into 4 and that was fine with me.

The kids arrived and went straight to the adoption center.

Pick a card, then grab their pet.

Find the matching adoption certificate and complete the details.
Adoption is a big deal, you know!

Easy and cute!

Off to create their own, customized pet house with all the necessary embellishments...

Next came a fun relay race.

This is always a hoot and a half for the kids.

Take a big huge bowl of cheap cereal, like fruit loops.

Give each kid a plastic spoon.

Scoop some cereal on the spoon and balance it in your mouth to the other side of the yard.

Whichever team fills up their bucket first is the winner!

A little pin the tail on the bunny...

Some pizza....way too much pizza... 

The hubby is still teasing me about the quantity I ordered.

Delicious birthday cake...
it looks store bought but it's not!

Thanks to my great friend, Laura, for making this gorgeous cake!

She's made our b-day cakes for years now.

You're awesome, LT!!

Swimming...

A great bunch of girls!!

My Mom is in town.

She comes every year for the girls birthdays.

Thanks, Mom.

I appreciate you!

Grandma and Papa "M" are always here to help, too, but no picture to prove it.

Thanks for all your help!

Great fun!

8....really?

It happened so quickly.

Some things she really likes at this stage in her life are...

Spongebob Squarepants...

Dancing...

Singing with a microphone...

Rap music...

Playdates with her BFF, The Kid from here...

Being silly...

Drawing...

Littlest Pet Shop...

Phineas and Ferb...

Pigs...

and your all time favorite for the past 4 years...

Chocolate milk a little bit hot

Happy birthday, Sugar Nugget!

You are sweet and kind.

You are a silly soul.

You are sensitive and expressive.

You are my baby and I love you dearly.

8

She's 8!

Sugar Nugget is 8!

This morning at the official hour of 7:41am she turned 8.

She's been awake since 6 and was just too excited to go back to sleep.

It's a big day.

The party starts at 3!

I just love her soooo much.

She's my goofball...

She's whimsical, like a Pixie Fairy my friends say...

She's sensitive...

She sees the bright side of life...

She's a loves to sing, dance and listen to rap...

She's great and she's 8!

And, here's the rest of her ensemble.

Quite a super hero!!

Sorta Cinderella

Sweet Cheeks is in the 4th and 5th grade chorus at her school.  They have been practicing and rehearsing for the Sorta Cinderella play for weeks....and the performance finally came last weekend.

The play was adorable.

Costumes just too cute.

Acting and singing were great!

Here she is getting ready back stage.
She gathered these girls together and started meditating.
A little meditation got her into character.
She just cracks me up.

I'm so proud of her.
She was Peke the Dog (a chihuahua that looks just like our Max).
She had a few lines and delivered them perfectly!
Not too much drama and not too little.
It takes quite an actress to pull off being a dog.

That's her the 5th from the right (counting the girl in the pink costume).

Now they changed to the Ball scene where her character changed to Ms. Boo.

Check out her moves. She's right smack in the middle with the navy blue skirt!
I love that picture!!

When the 2nd performance was over, she was bummed.  She told me that she wanted to perform more!

Well, she's in luck.  The principal of the school gave the O.K. for the chorus to perform in front of the entire school on Monday.
Let the show go on!!

New Shoes

I haven't been around for a while.

Just busy with birthday preparations, making sure my gals are healthy and....just life.

But, I have something exciting to share...

There's nothing better than the crisp, fresh look of new shoes.

But it only lasts for one day.

Enjoy it while we can!

Some may not feel it's exciting, but it's all I had time for today.

Her worst day ever

After an emotional morning at the hospital on Wednesday, we've learned that Sweet Cheeks has esophagitis.   I'll rewind and give you some details first.

We got to the hospital at 6:50am and were the first ones in line to sign in.

The nurses began checking her blood pressure, temperature, vitals, etc.

Sweet Cheeks was a doing great in spite of her nerves.

We waited about 15 minutes then were called into a different room where they were going to put in her IV.

HERE'S WHERE THE DRAMA BEGINS...

The first nurse tried and the vein collapsed.

She had to poke into a second vein.

After poking in the needle, she had to literally move the needle around, poking and proding, searching for the vein.  It collapsed.

That nurse gave up and another came in.

After 2 rounds of no success, Sweet Cheeks began to cry and say she couldn't go through this pain.

She wanted me to take her home.

She could live with her stomach pain but couldn't live through this.

IT WAS BREAKING MY HEART.

The poking continued.
The nurse would insert the needle, then have to move it in and out to try to engage the vein.

Finally.....after poke #4 they did it.

IT TOOK A WHOLE HOUR, plus a few minutes if I want to be technical, TO GET AN IV IN THIS POOR KID.

They gave her a little stuffed frog - from a pre-used treasure box - to say "good job".

I told her that I was putting it through the laundry when we got home.

She loves that thing now.  It's like her prize possession for getting through that horrible time.

She was nervous as we went off to the ER.  The nurses started making her feel comfortable talking about the machines, etc. while the anesthetiologist spoke with me.  Within 5 minutes, Sweet Cheeks was down on the table and I was being escorted out to the waiting area.

Not 15 minutes later the Dr. approached to tell me of the results.  He found white spots on different parts of her esphagus.  He said it could either be plaque or yeast.  He also took biopsies of the esophagus, stomach and the small intestine to look anything that may be bothering her stomach.

I was so relieved to hear that nothing more serious was found.  She has to take an anti-fungal drug for about 3 weeks.

Please pray for no long term negative affects of this and that her body responds quickly to the drug, as well as heals COMPLETELY.

Sweet Cheeks is doing fine.....and that's the way I want it to stay.

No other pain related to the camera down her throat.
No side effects of the sedation.

Now, it's time to continue praying for complete healing.
No side effects.
No future problems with the esophagus.
It's time to thank God for his everlasting love.