Jacque is 7

Jacuq turned 7 years old today!! I can still remember laying in the hospital, after she was born, and trying to decide on Jacque's name. All throughout the pregnancy, Jacque was going to be Kari Cecile. But the morning I went into labor, Aaron teased that we could call our baby girl Jacque. Then we'd have a Samuel and Jacque, and the Sextons (who we worked for at the time) had a Sami and Jake. We'd be following them. Well he might've just been joking, but I liked the name. I couldn't tell how he really felt, so I kept going back and forth. I think Ori was visiting when we finally decided. It was a very scientific process that we used to settle the question. Aaron took out his pocket watch and we decided that he would flip it, like most people do with a quarter. If it landed heads up, her name would be Jacque. If it was tails, she would be Kari. Well I guess you know the ending of that story.

We love our Jacque Lynn very much! She is probably the most thoughtful child I've ever known. Usually we have the rule, that the presents you get on your birthday are yours for the day, and then you have to start sharing them the next day. Jacque's birthday marks the end of the birthdays for the year (not counting Sarah because this doesn't pertain to her), and each kid has chosen to follow this rule. However, Jacque opened her gifts and then after spending a few times with her new baby doll, was passing it around for everyone else to play with. This baby doll is special. It talks and has a magic spoon that has bananas appear and then disappear as you feed the baby. All the kids were very interested in discovering how the spoon worked, and Jacque was willing to let everyone have a turn exploring it today. Then as she left for school, I figured that she would put the baby away so she'd have a chance to play with it once she got home nad it wouldn't get broken while she was gone. But to my surprise, she told the girls that they could play with it all day! She also told them that if Sarah started crying, they should let her play with the doll! This is how my little Jacque is everyday! She is awesome and I love her so much! Here are some pictures:

My first attempt at making an ice cream cake. It was really good!! I even made my own hot fudge!

I wanted to try and get Jacque a crafty gift, and this is what we came up with. It's a kit to make your own soft book. I'm hoping that we'll learn how to do it with this kit, and then be able to make our own later on with old sheets or fabric. Jacque loves to draw and right, and I think this will be fun for her.

I grabbed a swimsuit for her. Last year, I waited until the middle of the summer, and all the modest swimsuits were all gone. So I learned my lesson early, and bought it before the summer.

The beloved doll!!

A coloring book with stickers.