Black and White Wednesday - "Sarah's Birthday"

November 24, 2010

Sarah is FOUR BLOG IT 2
Saturday morning Sarah bounced out of bed wearing her favorite princess pjs and made her way down to the kitchen to see some of her birthday goodies waiting for her. As soon as she walked down the steps, the phone started to ring with lots of Happy Birthday Wishes. Here she was talking to Grandma and telling her all about "princess" things on the table.

Sarah is FOUR BLOG IT 5
She decided to set up a tea party and wanted to invite they D!sney Princesses, so she used her Ariel cell phone to contact them direcly with this special invitation!

Sarah is FOUR BLOG IT 6
Unfortunately, The D!sney Princesses had other obligations, but her new "Princess Sarah Bear" came all the way from Vermont(Thanks to Aunt Marla) to atttend this celebration. You can see half of her there in the photo. I should have taken a better picture of her. She is adorable and the name "Sarah" is monogrammed in the lower corner of her pink princess dress.

Sarah is FOUR BLOG IT 3
Apparently Princess Bears are a little messy and destructive when attending tea parties, so this OCD Mommy had to take over and reorganize the messy table settings.

It was a fun filled morning for the bday girl! Later that day I wanted to take advantage of the warmish weather and the fact that I had all three kids, so I
attempted the Christmas Card photoshoot. UGH!!!

All I can say is that it was not good. I was bound and detemined to get a shot with all three of them together. After coming home defeated, I reluctantly downloaded the photos. I did manage to find something that will work. It is not exactly what I wanted, but I figured I better just go with it instead of torturing them (and me) again!

I also wanted to get a few shots of Sarah by herself to mark her 4th bday since I don't do the annual photo studio visits anymore.

Sarah is FOUR BLOG IT 1

This was not only my favorite shot of her, I think it was probably my favorite picture of the afternoon. There is something so innocent about her look, but at the same time you can tell she is growing up and looking more mature. I keep saying this, but how can she be four already?

While we were done trying to get "The photo", I promised Sarah we would go to her favorite bookstore and let her pick out something special. Of course, she picked a book with princess paper dolls in it:)

Later that night my parents came over for a small celebration dinner and cake in honor of Sarah's big day.

Because of all the changes Sarah is dealing with, we decided to do separate birthday celebrations this year even though the girls' bdays are just days apart. We felt Sarah needed her own special day, so that is what we did and worked out perfectly.

She loved her cake and all of her gifts. Just about every gift had the princess theme, but the thing she LOVES the most(as does Reagan, and Nick, but he will never admit it)is the GIGANTIC pop up princess tent that is now in the middle of our family room. Thanks Mom and Dad!! The good news(for me)is that it can be folded up easily and tucked away when not in use.

baby legs pink and brown BLOG IT 2
Little Reagan's first birthday was yesterday, but we are not offically celebrating until Thanksgiving. We are hosting this year, so we figured it was the perfect time. With all that we are eating Thursday, why not add birthday cake to the menu!!

More photos to come. There are so many things happening and lots of cute pictures backing up on my computer. I just can't keep up these days. Not enough hours in the day.

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!

We will be giving thanks for the many blessings our family has received this year.

~Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours~


49 comments:

Anonymous said...

So precious! Looks like a great birthday! Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Barbara said...

Happy belated birthday Sarah, looks like a wonderful day. I love the Princess tea set :O)

Debbie said...

Morning Lisa! Love these pics...Sarah is turning into quite the lady! Im trying to figure out how to post to your B & W Wed, please bear with me. I remember tou gave instructions once and have tried to find them?

Sandra Burns said...

Wow! Four years old! Of course, she does need her own special day. What a great photo too!

Guess what our big news is for Wednesday?
http://likechristmaseverysingleday.blogspot.com/2010/11/black-and-white-wednesday-woot-woot-bit.html

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday to Both of your beautiful girls.

Warm wishes for a blessed Thanksgiving too

Mimi said...

That pic of Sarah is stunning; you have no need to go near a studio.
Glad that she had a good day, and you're right to give them separate days. Our younger two are just 3 days (plus 3 years! i'm not superwoman!) apart, and we always have 2 separate celebrations.
Lisa, i don't know how you get to post as often as you do, but I look forward sooo much to these posts. I suppose "not enough hours in the day" is not a bad complaint!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

anemonen said...

I bet it was a lovely birthday! I like your blog very much. Such lovely photos. Thanks for sharing

Kim said...

BEAUTIFUL Birthday for a BEAUTIFUL little girl..
Love ya..
Happy Thanksgiving..
Hugz..

jillconyers said...

Great captures of a little girl. The black and white is a favorite.

Number 6 and no more counting! said...

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, the tea set. Glad you had a nice day with Sarah. She is a doll.

And, Happy Thanksgiving to you and your fam.

Lea
xo

Unknown said...

You are such an amazing Mom! Love the photos of Sarah - her eyes are so expressive!

Many blessings to you and your family - we have so much to be thankful for!

Love,
Jill

Wanda said...

Oh, what sweet B-day pics. Love the princess set (as will the girls when I show them these pics). So cute.

Your b&w is stunning. Sarah is changing so much - we can see the young lady she will be. Such a perfect shot.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all. I know you have so much to celebrate and be thankful for.

Big hugs,
xoxox

Love Letters To China said...

What a beautiful picture of Sarah! She does look so grown up in this last picture. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to meet her and see that beauty in person.

I hope you have a very Happy Thanksgiving! We all have so much to be thankful for.

Hugs,
Grace

Missy said...

Happy Birthday to your sweet princess Sarah! I can't believe she is already four years old! When you and I became friends, she was just two...now she is a little girl :( I LOVE the black and white photo of her. Hands down, it is my ALL TIME favorite pic of her and you MUST get it on canvas or framed for your home! Happy Thanksgiving sweet friend! I am thankful for our friendship :)

Unknown said...

Happy birthday to Sarah, she such a beautiful girl!

Kelly And Allison said...

Beautiful girls. Happy birthday to Sarah. Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Unknown said...

your work is soooo beautiful!!! so jealous...but in a good way. thanks for this awesome photo challenge.

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday sweet Sarah!!!! Your such a beautiful little princess!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all too!!!

Rochelle@AFamilyofLooneys said...

Happy Birthday Sarah.
Hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Sherri said...

Happy Birthday to you Princess Sarah!!!
It looks like you're ready for a party over there so have fun :)

Gail said...

Happy Birthday Sarah!! Love the shots of her having tea. She looks so happy.

I can see why the black and white is your favorite. It's such a timeless image and is definitely one to be framed!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Lisa, we have so much to be thankful for!


xoxo

Jboo said...

What a fabulous birthday!! Miss Sarah is looking like she is growing up fast -- so sweet and beautiful! That tent sounds like a big hit for both your girls -- will Nick fit in too? :) Have a fabulous Thanksgiving!

janet

ellieshine said...

Lisa,

I LOVE that photo of Sarah! For exactly the reasons you mentioned - she has a sort of sweet look, and *sob* she does look so grown up :(

I'm laughing about your Christmas card photoshoot - I took my 4 2 weeks ago (since we are moving in 5 days) and it was torture as well!! I am using one of them just to avoid another session like that!! I'm sure your photo will be great and a wonderful memory!

Happy Birthday Princess Sarah - AND Empress Reagan!

xo ellie

Keisha said...

Awlll! How sweet! Happy Birthday to your little Princess'!!! Loved the expression on Sarah's face w/ the phone!!! CUTE CUTE CUTE! I could feel the excitment she had from receiving those birthday wishes!!!
Hugs my friend! Hope you have a Wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

Kim said...

So much to be thankful for ... Happy Birthday Sarah & Reagan!
Love & Blessings from Hong Kong,
Kim

Kayce said...

You are so right, that black and white of Sarah is so innocent. It seems as though her birthday was perfect...you can see it in each and every smile! Enjoy all the blessings around your table tomorrow Lisa! Happy Thanksgiving!

Anonymous said...

Sarah truly is a beautiful princess just like her name. oh, Reagan looks so regal, she is an Empress!

Happy Birthdays to both girls. I spent my last 3 weeks in China & have missed your blog, my trip was not adoption-related, but after reading your blogs, I decided to visit an orphanage. With helps from one of my cousins, I visited Dongyang City Social Welfare Institute. It was turly an unforgetable trip. Thanks for the inspirations. --helen

Izzy said...

That tea set is too cute, hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Paige said...

I have loved following your blog as you have gone through this journey. You capture your children so beautifully.

Shari U said...

Isn't it wonderful to have so many things to be thankful for on Thanksgiving? Happy birthday to both your little girls. I'm just blown away by how much your little Reagan has blossomed since you first got her in China. It's really neat to see the changes in her. We adopted a little girl from Hunan 7 years ago this month and much like Reagan, there were so many changes, almost daily and they continue today. What a beautiful gift. God bless your family this Thanksgiving!

Donna said...

Happy birthday to both of your sweet girls! xoxo

Donna
Our Blog: Double Happiness!

Hot Hot JJ said...

My boy turns 1 today! How can time travel so quickly? I wrote him a birthday letter and posted a black and white photo of him. Happy birthday Sarah!

Briana's Mom said...

Happy, Happy Birthday Princess Sarah! Looks like you had a magical day!

Faith Hope Love Photography said...

What a great birthday...she looks to be having so much fun with her tea set...my girls would LOVE that!!! Beautiful black and white....I would agree that she looks so grown up in it...but she is the big girl now!! And of course that sweet Reagan!

Rosie Grey said...

I love those birthday photos - so cute! And your black and white of Sarah is simply adorable!

Special K said...

Happy Birthday to both of your beautiful princesses!

Ray said...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Unknown said...

She is so pretty. they both adorable lil ones/ Happy Birthday to your lil princess

http://www.joedub.com/2010/11/black-white-smile.html

Michelle R Photography said...

Oh my goodness, the word "mature" popped into my mind as I saw the b/w image of Sarah. She has grown so much over the past year. Maybe it's the role of big sis that is playing a part, too! :) And I know how you feel about not getting the Christmas card shot you had envisioned. Neither did I, but I used what I had because I didn't want to drag the girls out again. I'm sure yours turned out beautiful. You have three darling subjects!

Happy Thanksgiving & Happy Birthday Celebrating!!
xoxo
Michelle

{LyndsD} said...

Awww Happy Birthday to both! Hi!! I'm new here. I just stumbled upon your blog today and joined in on your b & w wednesday meme as well. You have a beautiful blog. I can't wait to read more. Happy Thanksgiving

Mia_h_n said...

Happy Thanksgiving and happy birthday to both of your beautiful girls.

I'm thankful you've added {and back} and allowed us to continue to follow your family and enjoy your beautiful photography.

Sara said...

What sweet birthday girls :) I think you planned the celebrations perfectly, and I'm sure Sarah loved having her own special day - she truly is a princess.
Sara

Dita said...

loved these photos of Sarah's princess day....that shot of Sarah you got the other day is just STUNNING....her face is changing and getting even more beautiful (as if that is even possible!)

Happy Birthday, Little Princess!

xoxxoxo
Aunt Dita

Kim said...

Happy Birthday, Sarah! She looks so grown up in that b/w picture.

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

Jodee said...

It looks like Sarah had a great birthday! Cute pictures of the tea party! You must post some pictures of the gigantic tent! I am sure it will be a big hit!

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

3 Peanuts said...

It looks like Sarah has a perfect birthday fit for a princess. it was probably a good idea to really seperate the girls celebrations.

Hope you had a deligthful Thanksgiving. I know you have a lot to be thankful for. And I am quite certian you got a good photo...all of your photos are great!!

LOVE this one of Sarah...you did capture something special there. She looks on the threshold of growing up.

Gunsside, Norway said...

Happy birthday Sarah
- looks like a wonderful day with your princess ;))

Alyson and Ford said...

Happy Birthday Sarah!
Wonderful photos (as usual!).
Hope your family Thanksgiving went well and celebrating the second birthday!

Alyzabeth's Mommy

a Tonggu Momma said...

Happy birthday to BOTH of your sweet girls. I am loving the photos and finally well enough to comment.