I have been feeling quiet lately. With all of the holiday clatter going on around it seems to be all that I can do. Charlie is cutting some serious teeth and has been sick to boot. The kids are wild with excitement and from being cooped up inside and my computer(and Tommy) has been having some power issues. I just can't win. So I am trying to remain calm. And Quiet. Here are some scenes of late. Maybe I will revisit and elaborate in the near future.
Miss Katie turned 6 yesterday. This little girl lives for birthdays so she was in heaven.
She requested a pool party this year. Usually we have a homemade cake at home on her real birthday and a party on the weekend. But this year it was all on her day. To cut down on the stress I had a friend get the cake at costco. It was soooo good! I still might have to bake one though. It feels weird not to.
She helped in the menu planning. Mac and cheese, pb&j and carrot sticks. She helped with the design of her birthday crown and she picked the cake. This party was all Miss K. She loved it.
Katie at 6
Happy birthday sweet Katie.
I have been married to sweetest most sensitive and caring man that I know. He is an amazing father and husband and I am so very lucky that he wouldn't take no for an answer. I had no idea when we met under the big skies of Montana that our lives would bring us here now. Thank you darlin' for our wonderful life. All of my love.
I can't believe that my baby boy is seven years old. It seems that the last seven years have passed by in a blink. I don't even want to think about how fast the next seven will go. I love him so, just the way he is now. I know that he can be difficult at times, but he is so darn sweet. He was just glowing yesterday. He couldn't quit thanking me for everything. It makes me realize that I need to give him more special time.
Things have been crazy around here. With cousins in from overseas our schedule has been full. On top of that our house is on the market. Getting it ready was no joke. So his birthday crept up on me this year. I was worried for a minute that we were going to let him down. But in the end it all worked out.
The house was still quiet when I got up. So I crept into his bed to snuggle with my big-ol-baby. And just like every year I told him all about the day that he was born. He never gets tired of that story. Neither do I. Then we made him chocolate chip waffles for his b-day breakfast. That was the word of the day. I can't tell you how many times Katie said b-day yesterday. We spent the morning hanging around the house mostly. I told T that we could do whatever he wanted because it was his day. So Robbie's Hobbies is where we found ourselves. Tommy has loved this store since he was old enough to say train. It's an old musty ebay/sign/model train shop. They have all sorts of treasures in there. Katie loves them, but Tommy could care less. He was there to watch the trains run. George was working yesterday. It's always a little dance with good old George. When Robbie is in, he lets T run the trains as much as he wants, but you have to wear George down a little. We have to walk in and browse for a bit. Then he will mosey up to the front and eventually turn on the set in the front of the store. But yesterday we told him it was Tommy's B-day. We still had to do our customary dance, but in the end Tommy got to hold the remote and blow the whistle as much as he wanted!! That is one of those moments that I was kicking myself for not having remembered my camera. He LIT UP! The look on his face will be pressed in my memory forever. I have never seen a boy so happy. He tooted that horn nonstop for 15 minutes and stopped only because I told him to give it back. He got to leave with 2 huge catalogs which he said will keep him busy for hours.
When we got home he was surprised with another special gift. His pal Maya from next door had remembered that he liked some robots at the art fair. They were made out of old kitchen utensils found thrifting I'm sure. They were pretty pricy so Maya decided to make one herself. It is so cool and Tommy adores it! She put a lot of work and love into that and I am so glad that he has learned to appreciate handmade love.
We ended the day at Nana's with family and a homemade cake and ice cream. Katie revealed her gift there. She had me help her with a Happy Birthday banner. We drew things that made us think of T. Soccer balls and hockey stuff, legos and of course birthday cakes and balloons. Tommy got some cool lego sets that he immediately came home and worked on till late at night. Now as I sit here typing the house is quiet, but I can hear T getting out of bed and going straight back to work. I don't imagine that he'll be coming out until his fire engine is complete!
Now he is looking forward to Friday when he gets to take a couple of friends to play putt putt and have ice cream. Thanks to all the flexible moms that didn't seem taken back by my last minute phone calls. All in all I think that he had a special, laid back kind of birthday filled with things and people that he loves.
I love you sweet Tommy.
Ha. I just realized that my post didn't post! So here it is...
For his birthday I decided to try my hand at a homemade chocolate cake. It didn't go quite as expected, but tasted delicious! I used this recipe from the smitten kitchen. Oh how I love her recipes! Amazing.
Honey~ We are so lucky to have you in our lives. You are a great partner and an amazing father. Thanks for being awesome. We love you.