Eden is 7!!!

Now that everyone is up to speed on most of the goings on around here (at least for now until I slip into another blogcoma), I can post an event that just happened.  Not one that is over a month old.  A for-really-real current event.  Shocking.  That's an event of its own, I know, but I digress.  Eden's birthday.  Now, she turned 7 last Tuesday (not completely current) but we celebrated her birthday last night (about as current as it gets anymore).  It's always interesting to me, as a mom, to watch my kids open their gifts and I have come to notice a vast difference between Eden and the boys.  I will have to see about Micah before I call it a girl thing, so for now, it's just Eden.

When the boys are opening their gifts, first of all, there are a whole lot fewer gifts because theirs are always more expensive (Legos are not cheap, plain and simple).  Then, when they are opening gifts, they couldn't care less about a card unless it has money in it, and they never get money, so they don't care about cards.  They are forced to endure going through the formality of opening them first in order to give the proper person thanks, inevitably directed by a "now what do you say?"  Even Elijah, after 10 years of training needs to be reminded to say thanks sometimes.  Seriously.  That drives me nuts!  Once their gift is opened and the mandatory "thanks" has been thrown out there, they are off to the next one as the previous gift is shoved to the side to make room.

Eden is different.  She will get several gifts mostly because her gifts aren't that expensive and she will be antsy excited to open them, but she will calmly sit and wait until the go-ahead is given.  She will sweetly get a gift and make sure to find the card.  If, for some reason she doesn't see one, she will ask everyone who's gift this is to see if she should be looking harder for the card.

Once she finds the card, she painstakingly opens the envelope, pulls out the card and proceeds to read everything inside of it aloud, including any of the personal notes to her, pausing only for help on an occasional word.  That part is really cute.  After the card is read, she opens the gift, loves the gift and hugs the gift giver.  VERY different from the boys for sure.

Even the kids got hugs for the packs of gum and travel office supply kit they got her!

When Eden is done hugging the generous gift giver, she will even stop to pose for a picture for her mommy.  Here is an outfit she got for her Madame Alexander dolls.  This birthday was all about them.  The three dolls she has got a Red Racer wagon, the outfit you saw above and they each got a twin bed that all bunk on top of each other.

Naturally the dolls would want to sleep comfortably, so I made these three reversible comforters and matching pillows.  Unfortunately the beds won't be here until tomorrow, but how much fun we will have putting it all together "for the dolls."

I think Eden made out like a bandit and I know she loved everything she got.

 

I should have gotten her some pony tail holders, right?!?  She wanted a DQ Blizzard cake again this year, and since she got a pink one last year, she decided to get an Oreo one this year.  Mmm.  Mmm.  Good!

While there was down time, grandma snuck in some reading to some of the kids, 

 

and not one to miss a beat, Levi was sure to entertain with his antics.

Thanks to everyone, even Kevin, for making Eden's birthday a fun night together with [most of] our family.  (We missed you Uncle Phil, Aunt Shelley, Nadia and Wesley)!!!