Baby Legs!

I love, love, love Lucas' baby legs! They are so skinny yet somehow manage to have chub on them at the same time. The cuteness of this combination makes me smile often throughout the day. I'm so glad it's summer so they don't have to be covered with pants and we get to see them lots!

Okay, here's his head now because I'm pretty sure this is the part of him you want to see the most.

Daniel's Pirate Party!

We had Daniel's birthday party on Saturday and it was a lot of fun! Daniel chose a pirate theme which Jake and I were excited about because there's a lot you can do with it...like dig up buried treasure in your very own backyard, of course!

Here are the kids on the treasure hunt, finding clues around the backyard (Joshua became the designated Clue Reader since he was the only kid in the group who could read)

Off in search of the next clue

When they found the spot where the chest was buried one of Daniel's little friends asked, "Is this where the pirates buried the treasure?" So innocent and cute, I almost started to feel guilty!

Jake buried the chest decently deep in the ground, so the kids really got to dig. Their efforts were rewarded as they claimed their booty -- candy! I have to say it was nice to have a change from the standard pinata
Here's the pirate cake that we had a fun time decorating ourselves:


All in all we feel very successful for having pulled it off. And very brave. For those of you who don't know, it is incredibly tricky to throw a birthday party so close to the 4th of July holiday. Everyone is either on vacation or at family reunions or whatever. But we really wanted to do it for Daniel and are so glad that enough of his friends were still in town and that it was such a success!

07-08-09

Jake's birthday makes a pretty cool date this year, eh? Jake will forever lament that he missed being born on 7-7-77 by one day, but I think this year the blow is softened if even just a teensy bit. And of course we had to go out on a cool date to celebrate!

Happy Birthday Jake! I love you so much and had a great time tonight! And I never would have guessed it would be the night that together, we would discover the world's largest onion rings!

Daniel turns 4!

In some ways I can't believe that Daniel is now 4 years old. In most ways though, it really does seem like a long time ago -- that lonely 4th of July spent in a hospital room. Typically we try to celebrate the holiday and his birthday simultaneously throughout the day, but this year it ended up being all birthday. And that is just fine with me because Daniel deserves his own special day.

It all started out with a mantle full of presents, of course!

This was a big hit -- Lego Agents: Mission 5. Daniel's reaction upon opening it was pretty fun for Jake and I to see - classic little boy excitement. You called that one, Jake!

One of Daniel's presents was a wading pool and we spent much of the afternoon out in the backyard:



We went with our tradition of decorating cupcakes and homemade ice cream (rocky road). Always lots of fun! (just as a side note I'd like to mention that my chocolate cream cheese frosting was AWESOME!)


Happy Birthday, Daniel! We love you and want to make all your birthday wishes come true!