{this moment}

Dear William,

Your birthday will always be  extra special for me because it was the day that I became a mother. Your birth began the fulfillment of a dream that I can’t remember being without. Before you were born I would walk into your room and look at the tiny clothes in the closet and my arms would ache to hold you. I was so impatient to have you here!

Now 5 years have passed and it seems that the moments of my life have always breathed your spirit. All that I ever did and all that I will ever do are because I was meant to be your mother and because I am your mother.    

As we celebrate your birthday we celebrate your zest for life, your curiosity, and your tenderness.  
We celebrate your role as a loving big brother, a role which you have embraced with your usual joy and exuberance.

We celebrate the milestones you have achieved and the challenges you have overcome.(I don’t think I will ever get tired of seeing you eat a “normal” meal.)
And I celebrate the incredible blessing I have been given of being your mother.

There is nothing I would rather celebrate than your life, Bud, I love you so much! Happy birthday!
Love, Mommy

The Perfect Party

William has been looking forward to his birthday party for months.  Most of his close friends have turned 5 recently and had birthday parties with their friends so we were sure to explain to him that this year he was going to get to have a family party in California with his grandparents and aunts and uncle. He thought that was pretty cool. Then the requests began. I love the simple requests of a little boy and relish how easy it is to please him now. I know as it gets older it will be a lot more challenging. So, the requests included:

  

Transformer party where he got to wear his Optimus Prime costume.

 Chocolate pie with chocolate crust for his cake.

His specific request was for a chocolate pie that we had a Thanksgiving time, but it was store bought and making the birthday cake is something that I love to do. I had intended to just mimic the store bought version until I was reading the newspaper at my parents and came across a recipe for Barefoot Contessa’s Mocha Chocolate Icebox Cake. I omitted the liquer and espresso powder and used chocolate wafers instead of chocolate chip cookies. William approved. 

Play Hungry, Hungry Hippos

How hippos are related to Transformers is beyond me, other than the fact that William loves them both. That was reason enough for all of us. Everybody got their game on, including Anne. At least, Anne wanted to be held right in the middle of the action so she could think she was getting her game on.

These two pictures of William and Marie are my favorites from the day.

Eat his favorite food … Pizza!

We opted to make our own pizzas which made for a bit more chaos and a lot more fun. It was such a perfect moment with all the family in the kitchen talking and laughing and making their pizzas all in honor of this sweet boy. Nothing could ruin this day,even though a hot pad nearly catching fire in the oven tried.

Presents

I think I would worry if my 5 year old didn’t require presents on his big day, agreed?  

And there you have it, the perfect party in the eyes of our handsome 5 year old. Here’s to hoping it will be that easy (and fun!) when he turns 16.

Christmas Day Top Ten (in no particular order)

    Santa brought a Wii! Mommy and Daddy come through with the remote control monster truck he had been asking for practically all year.

Don’t you love technology? With the magic of digital cameras and Costco we were able to help Dad put together this picture collage in one day.

Aunt Becca with the babies. The onesies are from her and say, “i’m as cute as my aunt.” Lucky girls, really.

Marie prepared breakfast with her new “kitchen things” from Mommy and Daddy and her table from Grandma and Grandpa.(Grandma found the instructions for it and Grandpa made it. The benches and the table fold down for easy storage. Grandma knew that Mommy has been wanting something like this for a while.) I believe the breakfast menu include yummy things like pancakes and heart cookies.   The Christmas season isn’t complete without making gingerbread houses. We cut it close this year by doing them Christmas day, but we got it in!

This sweet thing celebrated her first Christmas in style. I’m not gonna lie, I’m madly in love with my Anne girl.

Great-Grandma steals the spotlight every Christmas evening because it is her birthday. My girls sure do love all their grandmas. They are lucky to have so many in their lives.    Great Grandma and Grandpa showing of their new snuggies from Dad. Can you guess which team they cheer for? 

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve tradition with my family consists of four things 1) fondue, 2) nativity, 3) pajamas, and 4) books. Grandma and Grandpa didn’t disappoint this year.

FONDUE

Grandpa orchestrated the fondue dinner. With the number of people and the young children, he opted to precook the meat which was a fantastic idea. We had grilled rib eye steaks and chicken and included a couple of cheese sauces (this one and this one) to dip the veggies, bread, and apples. The meal was rounded out with a delicious salad that Shelley (Rachel’s mother-in-law) made and some chocolate fondue. I love fondue. Adore fondue. I need to have some more fondue. Anybody up for a party?

the spread

Anne just chilled in her Santa hat since her share in the fondue would come later. Although, these days she’s pretty sure she should get to join in on all the fun of table food, too.

I’m not sure if the kids ate more than a couple of rolls and way too much chocolate but it was Christmas Eve so who cares, right?

NATIVITY Mom found this fun idea for a nativity program via shadow puppets. The kids were a bit wired by then so there was a lot of silliness, but it was neat to see them recognize all the “characters” of the story and want to hold them up. My favorite part of this Christmas season was how solidly the kids grasped onto the story of Christ’s birth and the understanding of “the reason for the season” that they developed.

PAJAMAS

While Anne thought her jammies were pretty tasty

and Marie was thrilled to have a new “gown”

William was confused and disappointed. He was sure he was supposed to get dinosaur jammies because that is what he got last year. Christmas trees just aren’t that cool.

Thankfully, Grandma remembered a certain pair of Cars pajama pants that were supposed to come from Mommy and Daddy the next morning. She pulled them out to try to make up for the lack of dinosaurs. Look at that sweet relieved face. Phew. We were all glad that disaster was averted. 

After a party in the bathtub with cousin Jocelyn they donned their newly acquired jammies and then it was time to open the books!

BOOKS

The kids always get double books, one from us and one from Grandma and Grandpa. While I am OK with just Grandma gifting jammies I can’t help but buy them new books each year. It’s selfish really, I like variety during story time.

The Very Mixed-Up Princess and Fancy Nancy for Marie  

 

        Busy, Busy Town and Biscuit books for William 

and The Snowman and That’s Not My Dolly for Anne. Love the picture of William reading Anne’s new book to her.

After a ridiculous attempt at a photo shoot on the fireplace and setting out food for Santa and his reindeer we tucked the kids in to bed so they could start dreaming of sugar plums and all that nonsense. Then the adults had their turn to open jammies and books and I am ashamed to admit that I didn’t take a single picture. Oh well, we aren’t as cute as the kids anyway.

Finally it was time for bed so that Santa could come do his thing, or perhaps the Grinch …

Christmas Sunday: Take Two