Big B Turns 7

Brendan is thrilled to finally be 7. We celebrated his birthweek with Bakugan (favorite toy of 2009), custom food requests (macaroni & cheese with a giant chocolate chip cookie for dessert), and a homemade volcano eruption. Thanks to grandmas and grandpas for thoughtful gifts; and to Shannon and Mitch for the Bakugan battle pack... it was a hit!

You can see how surprised he was to receive the battle pack from Mitch and Shan:

The larger than life cookie:

It took us a week to construct this volcano out of salt dough and stippled paint. We used good ol' baking soda with colored vinegar for the eruption (we even put little plastic dinosaurs and fake greenery in for fun):



With buddy Taylor:

Happy Birthday to a special boy! We love you.

Caleb

What a wonderful baby boy I have. He is mild-tempered, cuddly, happy, and he sleeps well. He's also growing exponentially - he's only five months old and already wearing clothes that Brendan wore while potty training! Audrey is such a help in taking care of Caleb. She is always the first one to his side when he wimpers and her mothering instincts are quite apparent when she relates with him.

May Play Days

Here are a few fun shots of some of our favorite play time activities:

Audrey at the piano:

Madeline with her must-haves (sippy and blanket):

Brendan with Legos and Bakugan:

Dad playing hide and seek in one of his creative and dangerous hiding spots - you can't tell from the picture but there's a 15 foot drop to tile floor beneath him. This has become one of his famous hiding places (he had to cover his hand with a towel so the kids couldn't see it wrapped around the ledge holding on for dear life):

Hideout

The kids found an unexpected new play space - the linen closet! They cleared the shelves and moved right in, making comfortable beds for themselves. My mother was kind enough to reorganize the closet after the fun, although something tells me the linens will surely be pulled down again soon... how could these fun hiding spots be resisted?

Renovation

An unfortunate leak in the upstairs bathroom caused the need for a complete bathroom overhaul. Linoeum and subflooring were ripped out, new subflooring and tile installed. Overall, 'twas an educational process indeed as we learned every detail about the workings of a toilet!

Amid the mess:

A brand new flooring base for the toilet:

Finished product... with a sigh of relief:

Sweet moment

A precious moment from Madeline at the end of a long day...

A lovely time

Today I had the extraordinary experience of shopping for groceries with only my little Caleb. The trip seemed serene; blissful; a bit of heaven on earth as I carefully inspected each produce item instead of the traditional method of a mother of four (stuffing fruits and veggies into bags with one hand while passing out snacks with the other).

I laughed and chatted with my new friend behind the deli counter as she sliced my baby swiss. I stepped in time to the beat of the music playing overhead as I casually strolled through each aisle. I stopped to sample a warm baguette slice topped with pesto and asiago. I love how being a mother helps me appreciate the simple things of life. Thank you to Megan for this wonderful gift!