Belated

Boy Genius turned eleven yesterday, and tonight we celebrated. I guess it shows he’s growing up that most of his gifts came from the hardware store.

His face really lit up at the box of “stuff” from Papaw and Mimi. . .good thing Larry and I got him a couple tools to use on his contraptions.

He asked for stromboli for dinner; he and Twirly Girl were studying the signatures on his tablecloth while they waited for everyone else to sit down.

He doesn’t like frosting very much so he chose apple pie for dessert. My favorite, but did you ever try to balance candles in a pie?

Mmmmm. . .

Happy birthday, Boy Genius! You are getting bigger and smarter every day, but to me you will always be the toddler who sorted the Playmobil people and lined them up on my end table, and the little boy who took apart all his toys to see how they worked. . .

Confirmed in Christ

Today, Reformation Sunday, marked the confirmation of faith for Drama Boy and his three classmates at our church. His confirmation verse is Joshua 1:9, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

Somehow it seems as if it were only yesterday that we brought our wee firstborn to the waters of baptism.

Happee Birffee!

For the past couple weeks, Baby Boy asks us “happee birffee?” and we reply “not yet.” But this morning when I got him up I could finally say “Yes, Happy Birthday, Baby Boy!”

How could two years pass so quickly?!

Happy Seventh, Bouncy Boy!

We celebrated Bouncy Boy’s birthday last Friday, while Papaw and Mimi were here to join the party. He chose homemade sausage pizza for his birthday dinner; yum!

As usual I baked a chocolate cake; he is a big Spidey fan right now so this was my best attempt at a Spiderman cake. . .he seems to like it and I got to practice some of the techniques I’ve learned by taking Boy Genius and Twirly Girl to cake decorating class.

After enjoying our cake, he dove into his presents. “It’s EXACTLY WHAT I WANTED!!” he squealed when he opened Papaw & Mimi’s gift.

Yes, his bear is wearing a Spider suit too. . .his gift from us was a Build a Bear the last time we went to town, and the bear’s name is (surprise!) Spider Bear. He alo received a soccer ball from Great Mimi and his older siblings made little gifts and cards for him. Since today was his actual birthday, other greetings have slowly trickled in via the morning mail.

Look who’s 40!

Well, I promised Larry that I would not to take out an ad in the paper or put a sign in the front yard. . .but he didn’t say anything about blogging so here you go. Here he is, modeling his birthday hat made by Drama Boy. He requested shrimp pasta for tonight, but we also surprised him with blueberry coffee cake this morning.

I am blessed to have spent the past 14 years of Larry’s life with him, and pray that God grants him (and us) many, many more years.

Birthday season finale

Phew! The older 3 kids birthdays are all in a row, with Boy Genius at the end of October, Drama Boy in mid-December, and Twirly Girl’s was yesterday (not to mention mine was 2 weeks ago). Then along came Silly Boy in January, followed by Baby Boy in late September. That’s 6 birthdays in just over four months, people. . .the same four months that include Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, I might add. No wonder I felt like I could bake a cake with my eyes closed this week.

Anyhow, here is the big 9 year old birthday girl putting the finishing touches on her cake;

enjoying her sausage and mushroom pizza while watching Charlotte’s Web;

 

opening gifts;

 

and directing the singing of Happy Birthday.

 

And yes, it was a pajama party. . .her party was merged with our Friday night pizza-and-movie, and the kids usually get ready for bed first so they can stay up a little later watching their movie.

I can’t believe it’s been 9 years already since Larry told me “It’s a girl!” and I replied “Are you sure?” Here she is all dressed up for church at one week old, so pink and sweet (but not so little, weighing in at 9# at birth!):

Birthday Boy

Here’s the big four year old, with the cake he helped decorate! (It’s a racetrack, in case you couldn’t quite tell )

Twelve

Speaking of growing up too fast. . .today was Drama Boy’s 12th birthday. Don’t ask me where the time went, I’m sure it was just last week I was suffering stomach flu and praying I would recover before labor started (I didn’t; thank God for IV hydration!). He is still a few inches shorter than me but his feet are bigger than my shoes, so I am sure I will be looking up soon. In spite of our frequent arguments, I really enjoy spending time with him every day. He is such a smart kid, which comes in handy whenever mommy brain strikes.

In true pre-teen boy fashion, he was very happy there was a carry-in lunch at church today, but somehow I still had to fix a birthday dinner tonight. Imagine that.

He chose Spicy Potato Soup (Gina’s recipe–thanks!) for his meal, and everyone but two certain little boys liked it (see Silly Boy scowling at his bowl. . .).

Then it was time for chocolate cake, baked by me (with help from Drama Boy), frosted by me (with help from Silly Boy) and then decorated by Drama Boy. I am told this is some particular scene from Star Wars. All I know is the red m&m’s and cherries are supposed to be lava.

He managed to blow out all twelve candles in one blow! Well, we all know he is full of hot air!

After we ate, it was time for presents. . .except he only had 2 to open. We  had already given him a new suitcase before our trip last month. Here he is with a Lewis & Clark game from Papaw and Mimi:

I know this post is about Drama Boy, but here are two Baby Boy pictures just because he’s so cute (in spite of the red eyes I didn’t have time to fix, sorry).

Soup face:

Cake face:

And if you’ve made it this far, I may not be blogging much this week (reading or writing). I volunteered to bring goodies for next Sunday’s fellowship time, which is only an afternoon’s project but. . .I figure we may as well use the week to make ALL the goodies the kids and I have planned, and put together our gift boxes as well. I’m sure I’ll gain twenty pounds just from handling all that butter and sugar! I also have some Christmas sewing to finish in my free time. I will be as busy as a cranberry merchant, as Mimi would say.

Growing up

Yes, another birthday. . .this week Boy Genius turned 10 and last night we celebrated.

Homemade pizza–yummy! He chose sausage and spinach for the toppings.

Baby Boy eats plays with pizza crust.

Chocolate cake, which he helped bake (and supervised my efforts to make it look tiger-like).

After the trick or treating, he opened his presents. A couple science kits, some coins for his collection. . .and a big kid sleeping bag. He seemed pleased, and has spent this morning building the phone that Great Mimi sent.

One

One little candle on the birthday cake:

One little birthday boy, having his first taste:

One happy birthday gift (and another and another):

One happy family, helping play and celebrate:

And one final monthly picture. . .my, how he’s grown: