Milestones and a giveaway!

My baby girl is 7 years old today! I can hardly believe it! Where oh where has 7 years gone? I still feel like I am the Mom of toddlers {not b/c they act like that, simply b/c I can't believe they are already past that age} .... and when I really sit and think about it, I'm in shock that we're not only past the baby stage, but also past the toddler stage, and past the preschool stage and are well into the school age! WOW! It sorta makes me feel old ... ;)


Here is our beautiful ray of sunshine! This girl loves to smile and has one of those infectious laughs that just gets everyone else laughing.
Some quick facts about her:
*She is in first grade.
*She is not only almost as tall as her big sis, but also has lost the same amount of teeth as her big sis.
*She loves her sister. She will do anything Hope will do, go anywhere Hope will go and rarely leaves Hope's side {which sometimes annoys Hope.}
*She is silly and playful - I call her my free spirit. She has a zest for life!
*She does not like mornings and does not like to get out of bed.
*She {still} loves her favorite stuffed animal and blanky. She still carries them with her when she gets out of bed every morning and usually all through breakfast and the morning routine until I tell her it's time to put them back on her bed.
*She's becoming a really good reader! {Currently loving the Junie B. Jones books}
*She loves to swim - we think she may be part fish!
*Her favorite color is purple.
*She loves to dance, sing and listen to music.
*She {still} loves to snuggle. I would definitely say without a doubt that her love language is physical touch - she loves to hug and kiss and snuggle and loves to receive those things too. {I'm pretty sure her fave stuffed animal has been almost kissed to death a time or two!}
*She is our baby ... and will forever be ... even when she's 17 and 27 and 37 ... and we are so blessed to have her in our lives!

This morning she woke up to this .... confetti on the table, a 'birthday queen' crown, her purple flowers ....
and streamers covering her door ....

Are you still reading? Still wondering about that giveaway I mentioned? Good ... read on ...
So the second part of my milestone announcement is that I hit 500 posts today! WOW! I had actually been planning to have a giveaway for my 500th post, but got so busy blogging and catching up today that I missed it! ha! So this is actually my 501st post - but it's still a good reason for a giveaway, don't you think?!

What I'm giving away is this {made by me} Scrapbooked 'FAMILY' chipboard album. The 'pages' form the letters for the word family and I've added the papers and ribbons and all you'll have to do is add some of your own photos and voila! It's so cute I was tempted to keep it for myself ... but I do love y'all an awful lot so I will give it away!

How can you win?

Two ways:

1. leave a comment telling me what your fave hobby is. If you leave a comment but don't mention your hobby it will NOT count. please play by the rules!

2. for extra entries you can blog {on your own blog} about my giveaway ... then come back here and comment again telling me that you did so and giving me your blog address.

Sound fair? A winner will be chosen at random on Sunday, Feb. 21st at 8pm EST.
Good luck!!!