Marianne Turns 5!!!

Marianne turned 5 on January 25th! I just can't believe that I have a 5-year-old! It's amazing! This year, it seemed like Marianne's birthday lasted a whole week. Her actual birthday fell on a Sunday, so we celebrated just about every other day around it! Here's a little synopsis of what we did!

Saturday, January 24th - Swimming at the South Davis Recreation Center

We went swimming at the South Davis Rec. Center in Bountiful. Jeri, Sadie, Aubry, Carley, Madie and Cody went with us, too. It was so much fun. But, next time we go, we're leaving Bo and Rachel with someone else. They HATED it!


Marianne (always the poser), Bo and Allison waiting for the rest of our group to arrive before heading to the dressing rooms.


(L-R) Carley, Rachel, Aubry, Bo, Allison, Jeri, Marianne, Madie and Sadie in the women's dressing room. We're ready to get wet!


Marianne climbs the rock wall after her swim.


Allison is very brave...she didn't even cry when Justin let her go. (At least not as much as her big sister did!)


Bo wants a turn to climb, too. What a brave little guy!

Actual Birthday - Sunday, January 25th

We went to church where the primary sang to Marianne. I was subbing in Alli's class so I got to be there. We came home and lunch and took a snooze. Then, Marianne opened her presents from us...clothes and a My Little Pony play rug. We took invitations around to our family and friends and ended up at Grandma and Grandpa Arrington's house to play with cousins.

Spotlight Day at Preschool - Monday, January 26th

Justin and I took all the younger kids to Marianne's preschool to read to her class for her spotlight day. Her spotlight poster was up for the whole week and she decided to share the dum-dum suckers she got from the Boli for her birthday. Her favorite book is The Cat in the Hat, but a close second is Green Eggs and Ham. So, we got to read both! It was tons of fun!

Birthday Party - Friday, January 30th


The cake, of course. Marianne wanted a rainbow and Justin came up with the idea of using Skittles for the colors. The clouds are made of mini marshmallows. All the kids went nuts! Yummy!


Marianne opens her gifts. Here, she's holding up a Ring Pop and some candy necklaces from Koby and Sam.



Marianne opening her new pink camoflauge sleeping bag from Jim, Austin, Kyle and Josh.



I LOVE LOVE LOVE this picture of my little Marianne. Isn't she gorgeous!?!



Blowing out the candles. I have no idea what she wished for. She wouldn't tell me lest it not come true!


Justin and I had tried for about a year and a half to get pregnant. When I finally decided to switch doctors to Dr. Healy, it only took us a month for the fertility drugs to work. I found out I was pregnant the night before my Grandma Grose died. Justin and I decided, when we found out we were having a girl that we were going to name her after my Grandma, Mary. We had basically decided on Lauren Mary. But, about a month before Marianne was born, we went to the temple. When we came out, I was asking Justin how he enjoyed the session. He said that it was great and that he had the feeling that we should name our baby girl Marianne. My sweet Grandpa Grose called my grandma his little Mary Ann and even has the sweetest song for her. When we asked my Grandpa if we could name her after my Grandma, his eyes filled with tears and he told us that would be wonderful. So, that's how Marianne's name came about.

I love Marianne. She is such a great helper. She loves to take care of her little brother and sisters. She helps me almost every time I ask her to! She is so stinkin' smart. She can count to 100, write her whole name by herself, knows all her letters and numbers and can write them all, too. Her favorite thing to do is color pictures for people. She works tirelessly on pictures (ususally for an entire family), writes "for" and each person's name on every single picture, then autographs it. For those of you who have received these pictures, you better save them. They may be priceless some day! It nevers ceases to amaze me how much joy a child can bring into your life. Yes, it is difficult, but the rewards are a million times more than the trials! I can't think of a better way to have started off our little family. I love you, Mariannie!