Happy 11th Birthday, Caleb!!!

The numbers just keep getting higher and higher...

I think eleven is sort of an "under the radar" birthday at our house. 

Today Caleb chose homemade pizza and orange cake.  I thought the orange cake was sort of a funny choice, because usually that request would come from Ian, but it was pretty good (coming from someone who doesn't like cake):

It was a very Lego birthday... aren't they all.  Uncle Brad would be proud of Caleb, because he is super good at guessing what his presents are before he unwraps them:

 

After some mishaps, we even ended up with a couple of decent birthday portraits:

 

I love you, Caleb!  Happy Birthday!

Happy Fifth Birthday, Miah...

I feel like this is a rite of passage kind of birthday...  Somehow, when you turn five, you're not a "baby" anymore.  But my brain is having difficulty making this connection.  How can my baby not be a baby...

And yet, here she is... absolutely beautiful, a far cry from the very grey, cheesy, pitiful little thing she was when she came into the world:

Miah chose Chuck-E-Cheese for her birthday dinner (should I admit that the one good thing about getting the "baby" to age five is that I do not see any more trips to the rat infested, cardboard pizza palace in our future):

And, here, she is blowing out a five candle that is stuck in a pan of brownies, because the cake is coming at the party, later on:
 

Per normal, she made out like a bandit in the birthday present department:

She even got a unicorn, compliments of Daddy who had to work pretty hard to figure out which of the secret Lego minifigures was the unicorn, without opening the packages:

Even though I'm having a little bit of trouble processing how quickly she's growing up, I can't wait to see what the next five years hold...

Mama loves you, "Miah Moose"... Much... Much... Much...

Happy 8th Birthday, Ian...

Ian traditionally has amazing birthdays, and today was no exception, although it was a little understated.  He chose Little Caesar's pizza for his dinner and got his own Italian Cheese Bread, which was a really big deal!
 

Of course, there was orange cake and Blue Moon ice cream.  I mean, what else could he possibly want?

 Oh...  presents...

And it was a beautiful December day for pictures, which is always a blessing.  Those outdoor b-day pics. are hit and miss.

I love you, Ian!  You are so amazing and creative and fun!  Happy Birthday!

Love,

Mama

Happy Card Holiday...

I stink at Valentine's Day.  Since this is a "back blog", I should probably admit that I bought Phil's card on the 15th this year...  the day after V-Day (and also, his birthday, which... you know... means I went through the check-out lane with two cards...  I went through the self check-out, because it was so embarrassing...)

He, of course, came home with a beautiful card... and flowers... and gifts for the children...

At first I was a little surprised when he called just Grace and Miah into the kitchen and presented Grace with flowers and both of the them with candy (Miah knows how to eat her candy, let me tell ya.  She was like, "I sit on the chair.  Open it.  I eat chocolate!").  Then, however, he called the boys in and gave them each a two liter of pop.  He's probably crazy, but they thought it was the best Valentine's Day gift possible!

So...  "Daddy" is the only Valentine she's ever going to need, right?

"Oh my goodness...  I'm so excited...

I've eaten eight Hershey's Kisses

and no one is trying to stop me!"

 

 Yeah...  It's gonna be a long night:

I did make heart shaped pizza... and cheese and bacon stuffed breadsticks...  I guess that counts for something!

L.