#4 is FOUR!!

We started our week with a Choral Review Program at the Nederland High School Performing Arts Center!  Every school in Nederland was represented at the performance and we think that all of the choirs sounded wonderful!!  Our Langham Singers did a fantastic job!

 

Ryan was happy to see his Helena singing buddies after the show!!

Daddy and Mommy were proud of their Langham Singer!!

On Wednesday we woke up and put on our Texas Aggie Johnny Manziel attire in honor of Peyton's 4th Birthday!!  After having a Jake and the Neverland Pirates party, he requested a Johnny Manziel birthday, and we thought that was a great idea!  I am sure that you notice something missing in this picture... our brother Dylan... he was under the weather with the flu and was in bed at Nana's trying to get back to full health.

 

Aunt Allie brought donuts to school for Peyton to enjoy with his Preschool classmates!!  He grinned from ear to ear as his friends sang "Happy Birthday, Dear Peyton!"

Peyton had a fun day at school and then it was time for CCD.  Nana brought a cookie cake to celebrate his special day with his friends!!  Peyton came home to enjoy the FINAL celebration of his FOURth birthday... he sat in his birthday chair for a pizza dinner.

 

He ate quickly so he could get to the good stuff... the gifts!!

 

He was super excited about every present from the UnderArmour football, to the football mouthguard...

 

...and he loved the Chicago Bears uniform and helmet so much that he had to put it on right away!



 

Dylan came over in time to sing happy birthday.  He didn't want to miss the festivities, but he didn't want to get too close to anyone.  He "celebrated" from his spot by the fireplace, but he just wasn't feeling like himself.

 

Chocolate ice cream surrounded by Oreos was Peyton's dessert of choice!!

At 8:05 am on January 30, 2009, William Peyton Robert Bell joined our family and our life was forever changed!! Our free-spirited, strong-minded, baseball loving, football tackling, basketball bouncing, pirate playing, always keeping up with his big brothers, precious, amazing, and wonderful Peyton... he makes our family complete! We love this four year old boy more with each passing day!!

Wish BIG, baby brother!

 

I love Peyton so much, and I was hoping that he loved me enough to share one of those Oreo cookies with me!! hehehehe!!

 

Peyton decided that his birthday would not be complete without a Johnny Manziel birthday cake, so Nana converted the cookie cake that he brought to share with his CCD friends into a Texas A&M masterpiece and it was just what he wanted!!  Peyton enjoyed FOUR parties to celebrate his FOURth birthday... WHEW... it was definitely a SWEET celebration for us all!

Dylan was "partied out" by the end of the event.... he just couldn't hold his eyes open any longer.  Poor boy, we can't wait for him to feel better!!

Peyton and I didn't waste any time, we got started playing pirates as soon as the new ship was out of the box!  It was a super fun night to celebrate a super fun boy!! 

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Celebrating PEYTON!

On Sunday, January 27, we had a celebration fit for a pirate in honor of Peyton!!

 

We hosted a Jake and the Neverland Pirate party for our 4-year-old baby brother to enjoy with his friends!  He was ready to party from the minute he put on his pirate hat!!

 

By the looks of it, I think Peyton is super excited about his Pirate celebration!!

 

Captain Peyton and his Pirate Crew!!

 

Guests started arriving... it was time to party like a pirate!!

Pirate Peyton and Pirate Kiley

 

Peyton with this first mates, Fletcher and Logan!!

 

Connor Corcoran is a sleepy little pirate!!

Peyton is ready for the pirate games to begin!!

 



Fletcher and Wilson abandoned ship as we rushed to the first fun festivity!!

 

These mighty pirates had nothing to fear as they walked carefully across the plank!

After walking the plank, the pirate crew was ready for a friendly tug-of-war match!!

Ready... set....

 

PULL!!!

 

We mixed-and-matched teams for a little extra fun!

 

Mommy even joined the crew for one round!!

 

After tug-of-war, we received a treasure map!  We were excited to hunt for a hidden treasure!  The map led to Nana's front porch where we found a treasure box filled with golden necklaces and another treasure map!!

 

The next map led us to our Pirate Ship (the fort), and there we found the gold deblumes!!

Peyton was thrilled to find the treasaure!!  It was the BEST DAY EVER!!

 

Just when he thought the day couldn't get any better, we headed inside... Peyton grinned from ear to ear as his friends wished him a very Happy Birthday!!

 

WISH BIG Peyton Bell!!

 

Gifts unwrapped and new toys out!

I think that this is the way every party should end... enjoying the loot with your friends!!

I am pretty sure that Peyton loved every minute of his birthday celebration!! 

Let the celebrating begin!!

We have A LOT to celebrate this time of year... come to think of it, we always have a lot to celebrate and we count our blessings daily...  I would like to tell you about a few of our most recent celebrations!!  On Wednesday, January 23, we celebrated Granna's 60th Birthday with an after school treat at Something Sweet Bakery!!  We shared a delicious chocolate cake, enjoyed good company, and gave Granna a BIG Bell Boy birthday hug!

 

It was a fun little celebration and we sure hope that Granna knows how special she is to us.  She is so much more than our Granna, she is our favorite teacher EVER, the best tutor we could ever ask for, one of our bigggest cheerleaders, she is always so very proud of us, she loves us uncoditionally, and she always gives us good advice!!  We try to keep this a secret, but she always shares stories of Mommy's childhood and she reminds us that Mommy is "human" just like we are (she isn't quite as perfect as she would like us to believe... Granna tells us some silly stories about her younger days, and also says that our report cards are better than Mommy's were as an elementary student)!!  We love our Granna bunches and are so grateful for always making us feel special!!

Granna with her girls - Mommy (age 35) and Aunt Allie (age 25)!!

Dylan is always something to celebrate, but we did a little extra celebrating when Dylan was awarded for his good charachter and hard work at the end of the 3rd six weeks of first grade!!  He received an award in honor of his Trustworthiness and his diligent Goal Setting!!  We are in complete agreement with both of those wonderful character compliments.... Dylan is very trustworthy and honest, he often reminds us how important it is to make good choices and always tell the truth (even when the truth doesn't work out best for him).  He is also very goal oriented in his studies and in sports.  He is currently working very hard to read as many books as he can so that he can get enough Accelerated Reader points to earn his way on the "walking field trip" to Dairy Queen at the end of the school year, and maybe even enough to be one of the top three point earners in first grade so that he can go to Casa Ole!!  Whether he ends up being one of the top three or not, he is a winner in our book for working so hard to achieve his goals!!

We celebrated art on Thursday night at the City Council PTA Reflections Reception!!  Ryan and Dylan took photographs that advanced to the city level and we were very proud to honor them, along with other young Nederland artisits, at the reception at Nederland High School!

I took this picture of Granna and Wilson... I think I am becoming a young artist myself... I LOVE taking pictures!!

Dylan proudly walked to the front when his name was called! 

 

We are all so proud of these guys for their great work!

 

For both of my brothers, "The Magic of a Moment" was captured on a baseball field... these Bell Boys sure love that sport!!

On Friday, January 25, we celebrated another very special birthday... Paw Paw's 60th!!  We sent our birthday wishes to him in Heaven. We miss him terribly and cannot wait for the day that we get to hug him again, but until then we will remember what an amazing Paw Paw he was.  He loved every little thing about us, right down to our last imperfection; he turned the grumpiest of days into happy ones; he was the best friend and playmate that we will ever know; and he made our world a wonderful place to live! 

Wilson wanted Paw Paw to know that his family loves him!

 

Ryan sent a wish of love...

 

...Dylan sent a heartfelt birthday wish...

 

...and I sent a note with P's written on it.  "P" for Peyton and Paw Paw!!

 

Paw Paw-  on this very special day, we send all of our love your way!

 

Up, up, and away they go...

...into the beautiful blue sky!

A yummy chocolate brownie cake to celebrate the sweet occasion!!

On Saturday night, Mommy and Daddy got dressed up and went to the Baptist Hospital Foundation Gala with their friends!

Here is another one of my masterpieces... I think that this photo should be titled "Peyton's View of The World!"  I couldn't get eye level with all of those tall adults, but I did the best I could from my level!!

 

Daddy and Mommy with Josh and Chrissy Seymour, and Ryan and Aimee Slott

 

Mrs. Robin, Mrs. Aimee, Mommy, and Mrs. Chrissy at the gala!

They had a great time dancing the night away and we all woke up on Sunday morning ready for another fun-filled, fantastic CELEBRATION!!