Happy 5th Birthday, Maryn!

5th birthdays are one of my favorites!

 At the age of 5, it begins to all come together....children realize it is their special day and they are so innocently excited!  So goes with Maryn....

 This little one was told long in advance that we would be celebrating her birthday this year at the beach!  The minute we drove on to the island she shouted, "YAY!  I am finally FIVE years old!"

Well....we had to wait a few days, but, she was ALMOST five!

 At the age of five, Maryn Gentry has quite the little personality.  She doesn't meet a stranger.  She has facial expressions for most any encounter.  She is loved by all.  She LOVES a good piece of candy and some ice cream for dessert.  She is in PreK-4 with so many sweet little girls from our church.  She loves playing dress-up with anyone who will join in on the fun.  She loves to ride her bike and swim!  Speaking of swim, she was on our summer league swim team this year and she rocked it!  

 Maryn is our child who will most likely be found dancing her way through life.  She is easy going unless you wake her from a deep slumber.  She loves a good joke.  She loves to be in the middle of everything.  She takes ballet and practices the "Roar of Glove" daily aka "The Roar of Love" but we hate to keep telling her it is Roar and not Glove as she truly believes we are wrong.   

 Almost one year ago, Maryn became a big sister.  We were all a little unsure of how she would transition into this new role.  Maryn was our baby and she fit the piece perfectly!  Alas, our hearts led us to one more baby girl in China and though Maryn did ask for months if we could just send Chapman back, I am happy to report that just the other day she said, "Mom, Chapman is just so cute. Can we go get another sister just like her?"  Her voice even changes as she speaks to and about Chapman.  Though we will not be returning to China for another little sister, we are so thankful to see that Maryn has successfully embraced big sisterhood!

 Of course, a party just wouldn't be a party without a friend to share it with.  Some of our favorite friends joined us for the week at the beach.  Their little girl, AG, came home just four months prior to Maryn.  We love having the opportunity to watch these two little girls bond over the years.  

 They enjoyed their time together so much and I couldn't help but smile so big when I found this selfie of the two of them on my phone!  Precious!

 Maryn is all about Moana.  In fact, she even purchased it for a whopping $29 all by herself on our TV - eek!  Thankfully, it has been money well spent!  She and Chapman are always up for an opportunity to watch Moana together!

 It just seemed so appropriate to have a Moana themed birthday complete with a homemade Moana cookie cake!  She was over the moon excited which made my heart swell!

 And the gifts....goodness.  She received so many sweet things. 

 Moana had to visit the beach....

 and when playing dress-up, one must play the part, right?

 This was pretty clever....Maddox made a paddle from a piece of sweet grass and sea bark.  We were all so impressed because it looks just like Moana's paddle.

 Oh precious Maryn.  You are loved more than you could even imagine.  I tell you that you are my favorite and you just gush with joy.  I love that I get to tuck you in at night and you always ask, "Can you please sleep with me about 5?"  Watching you grow up this year has been a treat though it also makes me realize just how fast time gets away.  

I am so thankful for you.  I will never forget your 5th birthday and the excitement you had about your special day!  You are special today and everyday to come!

Seabrook Island

Beach days are our favorite days!  

We were fortunate enough to run away to the beach for a short time just before school started.  Though we may have a missed an orientation here and an open house there, we were thrilled to have one last time together as a family before the madness of school ensued.  

 My family means the world to me, it is my dream come true.  Large family life is not at all easy and I do find myself stressed a bit each day and ready for a break.  I told Ryan its like going back to the days when our boys were infants and demanded so much of me - he would walk in from work and I would hand the baby to him so I could have a little break.  That has been our world this summer except I have been handing him a certain two year old and sometimes a little four year old too!  While they are both precious to the core, they are also a hand full of spunk and spice!

 We were lucky enough to have our sweet friends visiting Seabrook with us!  I found this pic on my phone of AG and Maryn.  They really just loved playing together all week!

 Moana is the princess of choice and she made an appearance during our trip!  These girls were all about posing and pics!

 It is a rare moment that Chapman goes off to play by herself.  She tends to stay in the thick of things 99% of the time.  However, we captured this moment at the beach of her playing in the sand and loving every moment while the others were fishing and dancing on the beach.

 Our last night led us to Pelican's Nest, a restaurant favorite on the island.  It isn't so much about the food yet all about the oceanside atmosphere.  I told them during dinner that I had one request and that was to get a photo of them all together.  Most of the time they humor me with my pic taking.  However, on this night, they were all done, lol.

 A stranger offered to take a pic of our entire family and I jumped on the opportunity!  I knew they would agree for her! Ha!  

 The boys were all about surf fishing.  They didn't really have time to catch anything because of the storms rolling in but they loved having the anticipation of catching the biggest fish in the sea!

 Maddox received Pie In The Face Showdown for her birthday.  It is the messiest yet best game ever!

 We all enjoyed our moment of getting slapped in the face with whipped cream.  Except Pryce.  Pryce had no time for whipped cream.  During our first round, he had to excuse himself because he was feeling a bit ill in the stomach - the child has the funniest eating phobias ever and whipped cream is one of them!

 Spoons.  This game never gets old.  We played and played and played.  I even won the first round which egged them on to keep playing.  Nobody wants to get beat by Mom!

 A little slice of happiness.  This little girl was on cloud nine with her Moana necklace and being allowed to get as dirty as she wanted!

 My boys....

 the beach for them included fishing, playing pool, swimming, golfing, bike riding, basketball...they are just so easy going and keep the calm in the crazy!

 Adoption Rocks

One of my favorite tees....and when momma forgets your pjs, you wear her t-shirt!  The added bonus was breakfast of champions beachside!

 To spend a day with Chapman is to spend a day laughing...she has every personality trait in the book and is just busy, busy, busy usually into everything that she isn't supposed to be into, including her sister's sunglasses!

 Thankfully, I had several pairs of sunglasses so everyone was happy!

 Many days this summer I have had to remind myself that the littles won't stay little and though the days are long, the years are so short.  I know this all too well having a 17 year old that I feel like I was just pregnant with yesterday.  This pic of Chapman just holds time for me....she is oh so precious in every single way and I do pray that I don't wish time away too quickly in the tough moments.  

 The beach just makes us all happy....parents relax, children play....so good in every way!

 On this day, Chapman went down for a nap as usual in her bed....she woke just an hour later, walked into the living room where I was trying to do a little work, she climbed onto my lap and fell right back asleep.  People were coming and going and watching tv and playing yet this little needed to rest.

 Being the baby of six is tough work for this little....she doesn't want to be left out of any situation.  The independence is real and the need to help is even more so!

 Chapman came to us very fearful of water.  She would not even get out of my lap at the pool a year ago.  Instead, she would sit quietly in my lap and watch everyone swim.  

 Thankfully, our trips to the beach and the pool have given her a love for the water!  

 AG and Maryn came home four months apart.  They are both from Guangdong, China.  We have been blessed by her family's friendship and we love watching these two together.  At the age of 4, they were just the cutest two on the beach as they imagined together and laughed hysterically at things only 4 years olds would dare to laugh at!

 Three little bow-heads....LOVE!

 Tidal pools are the best....and snacks with your sister in the tidal pool is even better!

 Mommy dared to swim.  It isn't too often that I get into the ocean but on this day, I was in my element with my three littlest girls.  We all giggled, we all talked about random things, we all just enjoyed the time together.