Kyndall is FIVE!!

I don't know how it happened, but I blinked and my teeny tiny newborn baby suddenly turned FIVE years old.  People warned me that this would happen and that I would desperately want to slow time down but I really didn't believe them until this year.  Entering this fifth year of life means entering our last year of her being home with me before she skips off to kindergarten.  It means we're half way to TEN, which is half way to TWENTY.  It means no more free kids meals at her favorite restaurant, Snappy Tomatoes.  It means the beginning of loose teeth and growth spurts and clothing preferences.  It means my baby is not a baby anymore and this Mama is not ready for that!

Kyndall is completely obsessed, infatuated and in love with the minions.  So it was only fitting that those creepy big-eyed yellow creatures be the theme for her 5th birthday party.  She is also obsessed with skating.  She and Matthew go skating together every single Saturday and they LOVE it.  So again, choosing the location for the party was a given.  We began planning a minion themed skating party and sent out invitations to lots of friends and family.

All of our family arrived at different times on Thursday afternoon/evening which made things a little tricky since Thursdays are our craziest day of the entire week.  Nonie, Poppie and G-Daddy joined us midway through dance class and Aunt Kelly, Wyatt and Grammy showed up in time for cheerleading practice which follows dance.  By the time all of that was over we were starving and tired so we had dinner together at our favorite place in Medina, Rhodes Diner.

Goofing around with Nonie's glasses

Friday the girls went shopping while the guys....I'm not really even sure.  I made dinner that night and then we had a backyard bon fire complete with s'mores

FSU was playing that night so I finally got to wear my garnet and gold!

This crew helped me assemble treat cups, string up glow stick necklaces and make cupcakes all at about 10 pm!

Horribly tired and the party hasn't even happened yet!

We decided to go ahead and let Kyndall open her gifts the night before the party to save time the next day.  First up, a very generous gift from her Great Grandma!

This kid makes the most random requests.  A few weeks ago while blazing through Wal-Mart she spotted this Georgia Bulldog themed checkers set.  Immediately she started begging for it.  I gave her the typical "wait and see if you get it for your birthday" response.  I went back a few days later and bought it against my will. 

Grammy, G-Daddy, Aunt Kelly, Uncle Michael and Wyatt gave her a monogrammed skate bag AND a pair of legit skates!  My Mom actually ordered them from the skating rink, complete with customized light up wheels.  She was beside herself!

They thought of everything---Even glow in the dark socks!  She is set.

It's good to be 5

From Nonie and Poppie....

It's a tradition that Nonie and Poppie give her a new pair of earrings each year for her birthday

 We ended the night with a fierce but friendly game of checkers!

The next morning her cousin Garrison called her on Skype to wish her a happy birthday.  Oh, and to teach her how to do the whip and nae nae...??  Thanks, Garrison. Thanks.

It was a busy morning---bath, cupcake decorating, last minute party prep, a football game to cheer at and finally a PARTY!

Almost forgot---she squeezed in a game of checkers with Grammy!

Cheering section for....ummm....the cheerleader

A few quick family pictures before dashing off to the party

How appropriate is this?

My In-Laws are amazing....Or they've lost their minds.  I'm not really sure which!

 Whoooooo wants a bracelet??

That's some serious multi-tasking, Leslie!!

It was like seeing a floor full of miniature old people and their walkers!  So funny!

Time for limbo!

Hokey Pokey!

This is the best group picture I could get.  They were dropping like flies....literally!  Like dominoes!  One would fall and take another down with them....then another would lose their balance and down they went too.  This is the ONLY picture I got of ALL the kids upright!  And, wouldn't you know the birthday girl isn't even looking.  We were also missing Olivia, Caleb and Callie who had already left.

I think it's safe to say Breck enjoyed his cupcake!

Matthew chats with his future son-in-law, Gavin

It was a fun afternoon!  We let the birthday girl choose where to eat that night and of course she chose her favorite....Snappy Tomatoes

Just this week this video came up in my Time Hop app and it made me realize just how quickly my girl is growing up.  This was just two years ago, right after we moved to Jackson.  We had eaten at Snappy Tomatoes for the first time and she's loved it ever since!

She wore her new gown and slippers that night as she scooted around the house on her new wheels

Wyatt scooted around too....

We had to say goodbye to all of our family early Sunday morning.  We were sad to see them go but thankful that they made the long trip up here for Kyndall's party.  

Sunday was Kyndall's actual birthday so we sang to her as she ate her breakfast before church

Official 5 year old pictures before church!

 She's as goofy as she is girly and requested that we do one silly picture and since it was her birthday I agreed to play along.  

Daddy agreed to play along too

What's better than church on your birthday??

We let her choose (again) where to eat lunch and she chose McAlister's.  Actually, she chose Snappy's again but thankfully for our sake they are closed on Sundays.  We came home and spent the rest of the afternoon outside doing whatever she wanted.

This was her other birthday gift from me and Matthew.  We couldn't really hide it and wanted her to enjoy it before the weather turned cold so we gave it to her a few weeks early.  I guess "wheels" was the underlying theme for this year's gifts!  Skates, a scooter and a new jeep.  She is not lacking for transportation.

 By her own will, Kyndall has not had a nap in over 3 years.  I guess 5th birthdays are completely exhausting!

Fell asleep watching her ipad

Hands on the hips even when sleeping.  Yep, that's our Kyndall.

I think 5 is going to be a great year.  Four was a little rough simply because of all that she endured with my surgery, etc.  I plan to make her fifth year all about HER.  We're starting that off in just a few weeks with a long-awaited and much deserved FIRST trip to Disney World!