At the party, we made pillow cases, ate cake, opened presents, watched movies, enjoyed sparklers and finally went to bed (although it was 1 a.m. before all fell asleep!!) I still can't believe they stayed up that late.
It was a lot of fun and Laura loves being "7" now!
For his presents, he got a "Cars" race track which he really enjoys playing with and a new back pack for school (or as he calls it a pack pack).
The one thing (and there are a ton) that I love about Grant is that he is funny. He makes me laugh a lot and I'm so grateful for his sweet and funny personality.
Laura and her good friend Ann-Clayton having a good old fashion lemonade stand outside of our house. They had two customers---me and a sweet lady passing by who gave them $5! They were pretty thrilled!
Laura took "cheer camp" for a few mornings one week. The last day they did a little program and it was very cute!
We spent the 4th of July in St. Louis with Jim's parents. We went to a carnival and watched the fireworks. Grant would only watch the fireworks with glasses on and in Grandpa's lap. It is funny because if we ask him about the fireworks, he says "loud, glasses, Grandpa hold me".
Laura turned "6" on July 22! Wow! Hard to believe my 6 lb 4 oz baby is now in Kindergarten and growing up (and has lost 6 teeth--we foresee braces in our future). We decided to have a smaller birthday celebration this year and just invite one special friend. Her choice was of course Ann-Clayton. We went to Toy Story 3, Build a Bear and then A-C spent the night. It was a fun-filled day for everyone. Laura requested a "Belle" cake this year, so I searched the internet and came up with this cake. She loved it and I was proud of the end result!
A few highlights of Laura at age 6:
Laura turned 5 years old today. Like all us mommas say, it is hard to believe when your child keeps growing up! Laura is delightful, sweet and just so fun to be around. She is always up for a good time and a good time was had at her "star princess party" today! She thought of this theme months ago and I was lucky enough to score a princess pinata in the shape of a star at the party supply store.
We had six little girls over today who all came up dressed up as of course a princess. We made crowns, painted nails, played dress up and ended the party with cake and a pinata. Laura loved every minute of it and thoroughly enjoyed her birthday all day long. I think I heard "I'm the birthday girl" about a bajillion times today.
Laura is so fun to watch open her presents. She gets really excited about each and every gift. I've heard stories on how Jim was like this as a child! This afternoon she was saying "my wish came true because Mackenzie sent me play make-up for my b'day present." Side note: it is not "play" make-up, but real sparkly eyeshadow which was put on immediately! I'll be paying you back, April...you just wait!! 
This is the first birthday cake I've ever made and I'm pretty excited about the way it turned out. Laura loved it and that is all that mattered to me!
Jim and Laura thought it would be fun to get their faces all messy.
Grant LOVES his Playskool Busy Gears toy. We also got him a baby activity walker. I am hoping that he will push this around instead of the kitchen chairs.
Happy 1st Birthday, Grant! 
Oh it was a shock to hear the doctor announce that it was a boy! I had felt all along that I was carrying a girl. Tears of joy streamed down my face as I listened to his first cries and finally got to see his sweet face. One of the downfalls of a c-section is having to wait to hold your baby until you get back to the room and I felt very nauseous before, during and after the birth, so it was a rough go for awhile. But once I got to check Grant out and make sure he had all his fingers and toes and touch his soft head, I was in love. It was so fun to introduce him to our family and let Laura see her brother for the first time.
I took this picture of Grant the day after we moved to Searcy. 
Grant enjoying his bath at 6 months.
My little stinker at 9 months!
So as Tuesday approaches where my St. Patty's baby will turn one year old, I find myself going down memory lane . It has been a fun year; a challenging year as well learning to juggle two kids. I thank God everyday for blessing my life with Grant. I never thought I could love a little boy so much, but I sure do!
Mackenzie's grandparents, Granna and Z-Paw, were great hosts of the farm theme party. They came up with different games to play, including "milk the cow"! The girls got a hoot out of milking the rubber glove!
Pin the tail on the donkey
Hunt for the chicken egg game
Blowing out the birthday candles together
Grant was the life of the party.
Ending the evening with a sleepover with Abby