Dawgs 2018

Karsten's birthday was a crazy busy day because not only did we celebrate her BIG with a unicorn party in the morning, but we headed to Athens in the afternoon to watch the Dawgs play football.  We got tickets and planned it last minute, so had we thought it through a little more we probably would have decided that it was too much to pull off in one day.  I'm glad we DIDN'T think it through though, because we had a blast.  Our kids love football games and they thrive on the excitement of being at a college game.  

Here they are, all ready to go!  We thought they would nap on the way there since it was afternoon and we had a few hours in the car. That didn't work out like we hoped but wasn't really a big deal. We got to Athens, loaded Karsten in the stroller, and then started walking over toward the stadium. 

It was a night game and we stayed until the beginning of the 4th quarter. Kate was ticked that it was time to leave. She LOVED it and was so into the game. She made me proud!  Karsten on the other hand....

Let's just say that she liked everything up to the point of the football game actually starting. And then she didn't care about it at all. She was really good though, and I came prepared with the Leap Pad and coloring books, and of course tons of snacks. I know my girl well.  And she's newly 4, so it's not like I really expected her to sit and watch a game. She did great! 

We had SO MUCH FUN. This has inadvertently become a family tradition to go to one Georgia game a year, and I love it. Now we have to figure out which Clemson game to get over to this year! :)

A Unicorn Party for a FOUR Year Old

What little girl doesn't like unicorns? I mean it's the best of both worlds - horses and fairy tales. Naturally, Karsten decided that's what kind of birthday party she wanted and that's exactly what kind of party she got. So here's a little peek of our morning last Saturday, as we celebrated Karsten with all-things-unicorn.

Karsten is Four

Yesterday, the baby of our family turned FOUR. I'm still in denial.

We spent the day celebrating her and had So. Much. Fun.  I'll write about it later, but for now I wanted to take a minute to put down on paper (screen?) what Karsten is like at 4 years old.

Karsten is the most on-the-move kid that I have ever been around. She is constantly running, jumping, skipping, hopping, twirling, bouncing, spinning, or SOMETHING. Walk is not a word in her vocabulary. She has wanted a watch like Kate's for months now, so she can track her steps.  Kate has NOT wanted Karsten to get a watch because she said Karsten would beat her in steps every single day. I mean, when a seven year old realizes that you are active, you know it is true!

She is always smiling. Unless she is in trouble, she almost always has a smile on her face or is laughing at something.

She is so sensitive. When she DOES get in trouble, she takes it hard.  A few weeks ago before church, she drew on our brand new refrigerator with an invisible ink pen that Kate bought at school. You could still sort of see where it was, but it wasn't a huge deal. The ink was washable so I just wiped it off, but I did have a talk with her about drawing on things and that we only draw on paper. I barely even fussed at her but she took it SO HARD and cried and cried about ruining our fridge. I calmed her down and showed her that it was okay and we fixed it.  At bedtime, we were praying and she interrupted to say "Dear God, please forgive me for drawing on Mommy's refrigerator."

She is girly. She loves painted fingernails and toenails and would have me redo hers every day if I would (but I won't).  She loves to watch hair shows on TV (Sunny Day on Nick Jr).  She's always asking for her hair to be braided, or have twists or pig tails. A few nights a week we have started doing what the girls call "family movie night", where we just watch Little House on the Prairie together as a family. Karsten loves to sit beside me and comb and braid my hair. It's just her thing.

She loves her big sister with her whole heart and wants to be JUST like her. She'll even tell you that. I'll sometimes ask "Karsten, why do you want to ______?"  and she will answer "Because Kate does and I want to be like Kate."

She is sassy, silly, sweet, cuddly and we sure do love her so. Happy birthday, Karsten. You are FOUR.