Catching Up With Noa

December is always a busy month for the Murrays. Noa and Nate have their birthdays. Christmas always brings fun activities like decorating, baking, seeing the lights at the zoo, as well as shopping and wrapping. It's usually a total blur! 

This past December was no exception and I wanted to share a few highlights that our feisty Noa enjoyed!

First, she turned 5! She is officially a full handful! 

Oh my little Monkey...She's a early riser and most days wakes up with a big smile on her face. She loves crawling into our bed and snuggling before her brother and sister wake up. She never walks, she bounces around the house and loves to dance and put on "shows" for her family. She LOVES picking out her own clothes and changes at least 3 times a day. She can do her own hair and loves to come up with her own unique styles. A side-pony with a headband is currently her favorite. She has the biggest heart ever! She is always willing to share her treats and toys with her sister. We put a dozen balloons in her room overnight as a surprise for her birthday. Before Lo even woke up, Noa was dividing them up so she could give Logan half. When ever we're out running errands she always asks if we can bring a treat home for her sister and then she can't wait to bring it to the bus stop-so thoughtful! She loves to play games and do puzzles. Don't let her set up the match game on her own, she'll cheat EVERY TIME and then totally deny it. She loves dolls and was super excited when Santa brought her a dollhouse. She creates all sorts of stories and situations for her dolls. Last week one of the dolls said, "It's okay. I'm 18 I can do it if I want"...Oh my! She's really sneaky too, but most of the time she gets caught before she can put her diabolical plan into motion. She's very smart, but doesn't like to show it. She love pushing her boundaries and is comfortable to be who she is. I love my feisty little monkey!!!

She had a great birthday! She didn't have school so she got to spend the whole day at home doing whatever she wanted. We did puzzles, played games and she ate all her favorite foods. For dinner she picked Red Robin (YUM), mainly because she wanted a balloon, but we were all happy to have yummy burgers!

She is quite the little ham...

We made the servers sing happy birthday to her, she was a little shy...

 That all went away once the sundae appeared...

She has such a kind and generous heart. She was more than willing to share her tasty birthday ice cream with her sister.

At home we had more sweets and she got to blow out her birthday candles. I mistakenly bought her a "4" candle at the store. I didn't even realize it until I brought out her cake and she said, "Hey! I'm not 4 I'm 5!!!" Good thing I had extra candles at home! I think I was a little in denial. I want her to stay little just a little bit longer!

The other exciting thing for Noa in December was her first art gallery opening!

She had been going to Art Club at her school for the past 12 weeks. Each week they learned about a different art method and created a masterpiece. At the gallery opening we got to see all the students work. It was so amazing. All the kids are in pre-K and I can't believe how detailed all their work was. They were all so proud! There even were little appetizers for the guests to nibble on while they took in all the art!

This is her self-portrait, complete with her bright blue eyes and mile-long lashes!

She loved her little pink dish that she made out of clay.

...and her Christmas Cow...

Each artist had their own display. There even was a description of each piece that told what type of materials they used and what the inspiration was. SO FUN!

Of course Noa loved the snacks! That's my girl!

December was a good month to be Noa!