Hailey 1st Grade

I thought it was a good time to do a little taking about our beautiful girl.  Hailey just turned 7 on the 19th of last month.  Wow, how time flies!  I know people always said that you blink and they are grown.  I just didn't realize how true it really is.  

Hailey is doing so well in school.  Lets see, she has brought home around 8 awards from school this year.  We have a conference next month with her teacher and will get her 2nd report card.  How can the school year be almost 2/3 of the way done??!!  Again, doesn't seem possible!

Miss Hailey at age 7 is in to:

*Harry Potter -  hence the Harry Potter cake!  I have read all 7 books to her and she loved the story.  Hailey and Pete also like to play Harry Potter.  As you can see, she got a wand and cloak for Christmas.  Pete is usually Hagrid or Harry (however he has been Voldermort quite a bit lately...hmm) and Hailey is either Hermione or Ginny.  She also likes to spend time in her room listening to the books on cd.  Pete bought her a Harry Potter trivia game for Christmas.  If there are any careers that involve Harry Potter trivia, I think Hailey has found her niche!

*The newest "in" thing in Hailey's world are Webkinz.  I got her one when we were back in Memphis at the end of December.  Since then, she has been on the computer everyday playing with, feeding and buying things for her pet.  She got a few more for her birthday and I think I bought her a couple more too.  Right now, she has a total of 5 pets, all with adjoining rooms (on the computer).  The actual stuffed animals reside on her bed.  Lets see, there is a polor bear, an owl, a dragon, a fan tail gold fish and a monkey.  The pets like to visit each other in their rooms (again on the computer).  She has even bought them an outside yard, so that they can all play (yes, again on the computer).

*A couple of weeks ago we signed Hailey up for gymnastics again.  Let me just say that she is no Mary Lou.  But, she is having fun. :-)

*She also really loves going camping at the dunes.  Today, she confessed to Jeff that it is her "favorite thing!"  Jeff was going to take the kids camping this weekend.  However, the weather seems to have other ideas in store.  Hailey was so disappointed!  I'm sure we will go in a couple weeks instead.

Hailey at Olive Garden for her family birthday dinner ~ 1/19/09

Pete was accepted into Hogwarts School of Magic & Wizardy...

Pete was invited to a Harry Potter themed birthday party

yesterday. He had a really fun time. At the beginning of the party, they had each child sit on a chair and the "sorting hat" was placed on their heads. They were all sorted into different houses, just like they do in the Harry Potter books/movies. Pete was placed in "Gryffindor" (just like Harry). Of course, I felt Pete's hair was very Harry Potterish and he even has the scar on his forehead (it's not a lightning bolt shape though...)

During the party, they played several games. One was fishing for dragon eggs. Another, was searching for the "Golden Snitch." I'm sorry I didn't bring Hailey with us... The party was for a boy that Pete goes to preschool with and I didn't know if Hailey was invited too. As it turned out, I should have brought her with us because there were several boys from her class and also because Hailey is sooo in to Harry Potter right now. She and I just finished reading the third Harry Potter novel. During the party, Pete was excited to catch some tadpoles form the pond too.

I thought the invitation was very clever and definitely worth sharing :-)

The text read:

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into the Hogwarts School of Magic and Wizardry to celebrate the 5th Birthday of Ian... The Tri-Wizard Tournament will commence at... There you will find the magical entrance visible only to Hogwarts students and their families. Proper school attire should be appropriate for outdoor wizardry games. Wizard or Witch's workrobes and hats are optional. Please RSVP by owl or by Muggle Phone to the Headmistress at...

A Verry Merry UnBirthday To You!

Today, we threw Hailey an extremely belated birthday party.  It was only a little over four months late (closer to five months to be honest)...  Jeff and I were in Costa Rica in January during her birhtday and told her we would throw her a party when we got back.   For some reason, it has taken me this long to get her party together.

There were about 9 kids (including Hailey and Pete) here for the party.  I think everyone had a great time.  Upon arrival, they had their faces painted.  Then, they had a snack and enjoyed dec

orating their own cupcakes.

With full tummies, we relocated outside to batter the tea pot pinata.  After everyone had several swings and not much was happening, it was time for Jeff to step up to bat.  He managed to whack it hard enough to spill the much anticipated candy and prizes.  The kids all scrambled to gather their treasures.  It was wonderful to see so many happy, smiling faces!

Then, we headed back inside for a game of Pin the Tail on the Donkey.  After the first few kids had a turn, we figured out they were cheating...  The blindfold was see-through!  Oh well, they enjoyed it and in the end it was a tie.  Luckily, I had two prizes, just incase.