Peter's School Birthday

Today Peter got to have his birthday day at school since his real birthday is during break.  Miriam and I went to school and walked with the class while they delivered Christmas cards in the neighborhood.  When we got back, he handed out his birthday treat--snickerdoodle cookies!  They also made a birthday book, and it was fun to see all the pictures that his classmates drew for him.

Miriam's 4th Birthday Party!

Tonight we had Miriam's birthday party.  We were joined by the McCaul family, Grandma K. and Uncle Nick.  Unfortunately Grandpa K. was sick, so he had to miss the fun.

I took Miriam to pick out balloons this afternoon, and she picked out a gigantic butterfly...

Miriam picked out a butterfly/flower birthday girl theme. 

Here is the adorable cake that Grandma made:

She got some very fun gifts.  From Grandpa and Grandma, she got a musical jewelry box, a cute Hello Kitty purse/bag, and some lip gloss and nail polish. 

Uncle Nick gave her a cute new outfit and purse for Ella, her Build-a-Bear Bunny!

Peter and Ty had some cousin snuggles while watching the gift opening...

Uncle Jeff, Aunt Renee, Tyler and Cassie gave Miriam 2 new sets for her Snap 'n Style dolls.  One is a really cute Christmas set that has pajamas, slippers, a blanket and a stocking.  The other one is a birthday set.

Ella tried on her new outfit.  She seems to like it!

She also got her doll ready for Christmas...

Cake time! 

We had a fun time celebrating our sweet and fun 4-year-old!

Gingerbread Houses

Today Peter's class made little gingerbread houses, and Miriam and I were able to help and participate in the fun!  His teacher had the houses all ready.  She glued graham crackers to milk cartons and then glued those on to a paper plate.  It made the decorating go much more smoothly than if they'd had to assemble the houses on their own!  The kids had frosting to spread on as their glue, and lots of different types of candy/treats to use for decorating.  She even gave them a gingerbread man cookie to put on their house complete the project.  Mrs. VanSledright was kind enough to have extra houses for Miriam and another sibling who came along, so they could do their own.  Peter was very sweet and let Miriam sit next to him while they were working.
Here they are with their finished products!

Happy 4th Birthday Miriam!

Miriam turned 4 today!  She has been so excited about her birthday, and it was a special day.  She got to spend the morning with Aunt Erin and Elizabeth and was welcomed with balloons and streamers decorating the house.  She also got to go to story hour at church where they sang Happy Birthday to her!  I didn't have to work this afternoon, so I was able to come back in time to join them for a lunch of chocolate chip birthday pancakes--yum!

The only candles Erin had were these...

Yup, 3 + 1 = 4!  I thought she was quite clever for thinking of that!

They gave Miriam a Strawberry Shortcake doll set!  She loves it!

After we picked Esther and Peter up from school, we just had to wait for Daddy to pick up a pizza and get home from work to begin the celebration!  We played Guess Who while we waited...

After dinner Miriam opened her gifts.

 Esther picked out a set of Dora rings for her, 1 for each day of the week!

Peter picked out 2 matchbox cars for her.  As we were in the store, I kept having to remind him that he was picking out a gift for her, not something for himself.  To his credit, she really does like playing cars with him and having her own "special" cars to call her own.

We got her a Polly Pocket set, another baby set for her Snap 'n Style dolls, and a couple books for her Tag Junior. 

Finally, it was time for cupcakes!  She chose strawberry cake with chocolate frosting (and sprinkles of course).

What a special little girl we have!  She can be oh so sweet and loving, but also feisty and strong-willed at times.  She makes us laugh a lot.  She loves hugs and snuggles, being read to, playing dress-up, playing with Barbies or other dolls, and playing cars and trucks with Peter.  She is becoming quite the little artist.  Most days she colors several pictures and then presents them to various people.  She wants to do everything her siblings do, and usually keeps up with them just fine.  We are so thankful that God blessed our family with Miriam.  Happy 4th birthday sweet girl!

Gingerbread Creation 2011

Today was the day of the annual Kuperus family gingerbread building decorating event.  This year it was Miriam's turn to choose, and she chose to build a church.  This was a repeat of a previous year, but we let it go.  Casey baked the gingerbread and built the church last week, so today we just had to decorate.

First step, get out supplies.  Sample a few for quality control:

Second, add the roof and steeple made of graham crackers:

Finally, decorate with as much candy as possible.  Continue sampling throughout the process.  Here is the finished product:

To see the past 5 years' creations, click here!

Miriam's Birthday Outing

Today was a busy, but fun day.  Casey and Esther participated in a parade with Casey's co-workers, while  Peter and Miriam played with Ty and Cassie and I was at a brunch at church.  After lunch Peter and Esther had rehearsal for their Christmas program, which will take place tomorrow night.

Then it was time to celebrate Miriam!  Since her birthday is Wednesday and the other kids have school and we have to work, we told her she could choose a special outing or activity to do today.  She chose to go to the Children's Museum, and we had a great time!

Miriam chose Steak 'n Shake for dinner.  Yum!  The added bonus was that we found out that kids eat free on the weekends!  We had a fun time celebrating our special almost-4-year-old today.  She is VERY excited about her real birthday on Wednesday!

Peter's Tree

Peter had a homework assignment to decorate a family Christmas tree.  Here is his finished product... he was very proud of his work!

Side note:  When the 5-year-old spends a long time tediously stringing beads to decorate his tree, do not lay the string of beads on the table where it's possible that the 3-year-old just might pick up the string.  This will result in all the tediously strung beads falling off the string.  This will result in mom restringing the beads because there is no way that the 5-year-old will have the patience to do it all over again.