Happy Birthday, Amelie!

I haven't celebrated my kitty's birthday since she turned two, but since I was feeling pretty good after feeling so icky for so long, I felt like it was a great time to take advantage and throw a mini-birthday party! We picked up some gluten free cupcakes, a few party hats, and we were ready to go! The kids got a *huge* kick out of the party, and we were so excited that Sean got to join us!!!

Happy ninth birthday, Amelie!!!

Happy Birthday, Harrison!

Harrison had a wonderful birthday! The events of the week have left us all a bit rattled, so we were very thankful for the chance to kick back and have a good time!

The day started with Kurt and Carter taking an entire truckload of boxes to a local charity. We have been so blessed with so many material possessions, and as we look at what the next chapter of our lives will bring, we realized we were ready to part with things that we no longer love or no longer use. It felt wonderful! We still have a lot to do, and sort through, but getting rid of an entire truckload was great!

After the donation drop, Kurt took Carter to pick out Harrison's birthday gift, and they stopped at Starbucks to pick up hot cocoa for the family! What a treat! Since we don't eat a lot of sugar, that was a pretty fun way to start the day!!!

After enjoying our cocoa, the boys showered and wanted to do gift exchanges. Harrison was SO excited about gifts that he literally leaped from the shower, pulled his towel on, and raced to the table. It was pretty adorable to see him so excited, so we humored him and allowed him to open gifts right there! So fun!

After we were all dressed we went to Barnes & Noble and Harrison got to pick another gift! He had received a gift card, and he really enjoyed getting to pick anything he wanted! He looked around the store-browsed books, Lego sets, and toys. He decided on a stuffed Smurf toy- he loved it!

 (Carter took this random picture right before we left the house- I love it!)

Harrison got to choose his activity, and of all the dozens of things we suggested, he asked us to take him and Carter for an afternoon at the park. I won't lie, I was pretty darn shocked! No golfing, massive jungle-gyms, bowling, swimming, movies, or beaches- nope, he just wanted to spend time together at the park! We had such a good time! We all played on the equipment, played on the huge piles of new wood chips, and then had a blast laying on the grass and rolling down hills! Great time!

When we were finished, we went home and played Legos and played with Harrison's new remote control Star Wars Toy. Harrison's parakeet, Blue, loved it! Blue really enjoys the sound of Legos being tossed around, and often sings songs that try and match the sounds- so cute! Blue has been spending more and more time out of her cage, and she is getting really comfortable with our family. It is very nice to see her bond with all of us!

We finished the day with gluten free cupcakes (woah! sugar high!!!) and sang Happy Birthday to our little spaceman!

Blue... our very own Angry Bird!

Since attending Sean's birthday, Harrison has talked endlessly about birthdays. Being around a pretty good deal of young children, I can say this behavior is one of my FAVORITE things about this age group! Kids this age seem obsessed with birthdays! They want to talk about ages, themes, cakes, and gifts! Harrison has settled on a "Hello Kitty, Star Wars Lightsaber, Toy Story Birthday!" He has told everyone from grocery store clerks to kids he meets at the park about it! One thing that has not changed, is what he wanted as a gift.....

For almost 9 months Harrison has wanted a puppy. I am not sure if I wrote about it, but at one point he and Carter had a lengthy discussion on the subject:

Harrison announced, "Guess what, Mom?! Santa is gonna bring me a puppy!!!"
My response was, "Um... uh... what?!"
Carter chimed in, "Harrison, that's silly, Santa doesn't bring puppies!!!"
Harrison glared at Carter, "Yes he does!!!!"
Carter continued to try and use logic, "Harrison, puppies are dogs. Santa doesn't bring dogs, he brings boxes. You can't put dogs in boxes- they'd have no air!"
Harrison folded his arms and firmly protested, "Yes he does- he is bringing me a WHITE PUPPY NAMED BEST FRIEND BONE!"
Carter and I both gave a heavy sigh, and dropped the subject...

Kurt tried to reason with Harrison. I tried to bribe him. No matter what we did, he INSISTED he was going to ask Santa for his white dog, named "Best Friend Bone" (Bone, for short). He told Cameron all about Bone, he told EVERYONE all about Bone. It was crazy! Finally, accepting there would probably be a "Bone" in our future, Kurt and I took the boys to a few local puppy stores* to see what Harrison was interested in, and to see how we would act around a dog (he is terrified of all dogs, we couldn't understand why he would want to own one if he was to afraid to touch one!). *I am firmly against "Puppy Stores" and would NEVER willingly buy any animal from one. However- we wanted to expose Harrison to as many puppies as possible, so we used the stores in our experiment.

Harrison picked a puppy. The woman put Harrison and I inside a small enclosure, and brought the puppy. The puppy didn't care about us at all, it just ran around like crazy. Harrison didn't seem interested. Harrison picked a second puppy. This puppy was PERFECT. The puppy loved Harrison, played with him, and enjoyed being with all of us. As anti-puppy farm as I am, I was SO ready to take him home (it was a VERY good thing Kurt was there to stop me! The price on said puppy was $1900! And this perfect white french bulldog would have been well worth it!). We left the store, feeling defeated- yeah, there would be a puppy in our future... sooooo, what do we do about our cat, trying to get Santa to deliver the puppy without the kids knowing before hand, vets, registration, walking said dog, etc? Not 10 minutes later Carter's eyes were practically swollen shut- his nose was running like a faucet on high, and he was itching like crazy. Carter is allergic to dogs!?! YEAH!!!! Kurt and I thought we had it made! We talked to Harrison, who (seeing Carter look so miserable) promptly agreed that a puppy was a bad idea. Before Kurt and I could finish our huge sigh of relief Harrison cheerfully exclaimed, "That's okay! Now I can have my birdie!!!" AHHHHH!!!

For about two years Harrison has wanted a bird. I have NEVER heard good things about birds (other than seeing SUPER cute videos of my friend Melissa's birds- but those are special parrots that are worth thousands of dollars each!), and we had hoped that Harrison's obsession with birds would eventually die off (which it did, when he decided on a dog instead). GREAT... SUPER....

We tried to talk him out of it. I tried to bribe him with Star Wars Legos of all kinds- but once we had hit the $400 mark and still had not sparked his interest, I knew we were in trouble. I tried to bribe him with vacations (Disney!? Don't you want to go to Disneyland!?), with costumes (how about 3 new Star Wars costumes AND a Buzz Lightyear costume!?), and with movies (Smurfs, Rio, and Cars 2?!?!?)... nothing. Harrison was dead set on owning a bird. Reluctantly, I took him to the pet store to browse around. With any luck, he would back down once he was forced to see how lame they were... right?

I was wrong. Soooooo wrong. I had been thinking that in order to have a bird that would allow Harrison to handle it, we would need an expensive parrot. WRONG! I was thinking that a bird would squawk and keep us up all night. WRONG! I was thinking a bird would drive my cat insane. WRONG! I was thinking a bird would bite, peck, and hate my kids. WRONG!!!!

Harrison found it. The perfect bird. A blue parakeet. He fell in love the moment he saw her! (oops, him... the kids are insisting it is a him.) The bird was very young, already had clipped wings, and was in great health. The bird had just arrived at the pet store (literally, just taken out of the box), and was very cute. Talking to the salespeople was very enlightening- they made it sound like owning a bird wouldn't be so bad. They actually giggled at a few of my concerns, and set the record straight. So, a few weeks before his birthday (because we didn't want some OTHER family adopting "Blue Angry Bird") we gained a new addition to our little family. I set up the cage, necessities, and toys (all totaling LESS than a single Star Wars Lego set would have been- for which Kurt was thankful!) and we introduced "Blue Angry Bird" to her (I mean, HIS) home. A quick text to my friend, Melissa, for some tips (give the bird time to adjust to new surroundings, don't handle her for a few days!), and we were good to go.

Blue has settled in nicely. Blue now enjoys being held by everyone in our family (wash hands before and after, boys!) and Amelie (my kitty) is uninterested in her. Blue enjoys having her belly stroked, perching on our fingers, and being talked to. In fact, if she hears the boys playing downstairs away from her for too long, she whistles until they come up and tell her hello =p! The boys are being SO GOOD about respecting Blue's desires and if she whistles to them, they are attentive- but if they are handling her and she flies to her own cage, they leave her alone. Blue is interested in Amelie, and has tried to get her to play... at least that is what we think she is doing- we have caught Blue waving bits of fabric around the outside of her cage in an attempt to engage Amelie in play... Amelie, however, just sits and stares- a mixture of annoyance and anger at the nerve of a bird to even look at her. Thank goodness for owning a wimpy kitty, lol! If Amelie is in the room (which is rare, as Amelie doesn't like children and avoids their bedrooms) Blue clings to the side of the cage nearest the cat and follows her. Crazy bird! It wouldn't be the first time one of the boys' pets has harassed my cat- the kids' dwarf hamster, Bob (you know, the one who moved to "Disneyland" *nudge*) loved to chase Amelie around the room- seeing the cat from from that tiny hamster ball was so funny! Amelie must have missed the lessons on the Animal Food Chain. (Speaking of- Amelie enjoys watching Discovery Channel shows about cats- and it is not uncommon for her to try and attack Kurt during or after the shows- in an attempt to be ferocious. So funny!!!! She never attacks him any other time- so we know it is the shows! Moral- be careful what your children (regardless of species!) are watching!!!) Blue loves her cage, and if we bring her out and she gets bored with us, she will flutter back inside. Harrison talks to her often, and it is very adorable to see him bond. Carter is excellent with her, and tells her things like, "Hello Blue! You are so beautiful! You have beautiful feathers, and feet, and eyes- I love you!" in a soothing voice. It is so sweet!!! Blue is quiet at night, and doesn't disrupt our sleep at all. Bringing her into our family was a good decision =)

Happy Birthday, Harrison!!!

Sean's Birthday

We were so fortunate to be able to attend Sean's 6th birthday party! It was a joyous event, with Sean surrounded by loving friends! There were so many fun games, our kids didn't want to leave! We enjoyed seeing Sean so much- we love him dearly and miss him like crazy!

One of my favorite things about being a mother, is seeing my children grow and learn. This year, rather than choosing Sean's birthday gifts myself, the boys asked if they could pick out Sean's toys instead. Taking the kids to the toy store, letting them browse around trying to find what they felt Sean would love most, was such a neat experience! They both ended up picking some kind of transformer-ish looking lego-ish animal-ish robot-ish thing- one in red, one in yellow. The kids were SO THRILLED to get them! I was so proud when the boys did not ask for additional toys (for themselves), but instead kept trying to fill our basket with more toys for Sean! I ended up having to limit our children, their generosity literally overflowing. I asked them each to pick a single toy, and with glad hearts they thoughtfully made their selections. They couldn't wait to give their gifts!

Kurt's gift to Sean was a little red shirt with Lightning McQueen on the front. My gift to Sean is not yet finished, but hopefully will be finished soon! I am crocheting him a simple blanket made with yarn that Sean picked out with me =) It is red and yellow (I didn't realize until this moment that my boys had picked those SAME colors! They weren't with me when Sean picked out the yarn! Sean told me yellow and red were his favorite colors- how funny is that?), and nearly completed. Sean picked very soft yarn, and my hope is that my little blanket will remind him that I miss him!

When it came time to wrap Sean's gifts I ended up putting packing material over them, and letting the boys (Carter, Harrison, AND Kurt!) decorate the plain paper. They LOVED it! Each person enjoyed decorating in his own special and unique way- and they proudly brought their gifts to our favorite little Seaners =)

As the years have passed, I have found myself literally in tears over how blessed we are. I am so fortunate to have my children, and I am so grateful for Sean. I love Sean so much, and I am extremely thankful for my growing friendship with his mother- her gentle peace and her dedication to her son are truly a beautiful thing! My children still insist we keep a chair at the table for Sean- and it sits there, every day, every meal, empty- for him. The love my boys have for him is so touching, and it is so strong! I am thankful for the time we have gotten to spend getting to know Sean, he is a remarkable little boy!

Happy Birthday, Kurt!

The boys wanted to make Daddy cupcakes! The process was delicious fun =p

Kurt had a nice birthday =) He worked most of the day, but that was okay, because it allowed us to make his dessert! The kids sampled them first, but there were many left over for Kurt to enjoy =) Grandma and Grandpa Smith came over to visit, and brought gluten free tarts and specialty cakes! Kurt celebrated by sitting back and enjoying games as soon as he got home =)

Happy Birthday, Carter!

Kids are thrilled to open the package from Grandma Lyle!

GIFTS! The kids sort and open!

Basketball!

CARS!

Carter just started to open the package from Grandma Lyle! The pictures are out of order, sorry!

Amazing kite from our family friends!

Darth Vader Carter!

Hugs from Grandma Smith- Happy Birthday!

Time for gifts!

Bowling fun with friends! Carter had a great time with Alisha, Marcus, Madison, and Harrison! FUN TIMES!

Carter won!

Harrison did this- lol! Perfect pins!

Brothers love bowling!

The brothers make sure that the other kids don't beat them, lol!

Look at that style! Carter bowls so well!

SPARE!!!!

Awwww, Carter is so cute! Hard to believe he is 6!!!

It is blurry, but this was Carter's reaction when he first saw his "volcano cake!"

"MAMA! Look! A volcano cake! I WANT THAT!" Carter saw it in the bakery catalog and INSISTED on it!

Happy 6th Birthday, Carter!

Grandpa Smith's Birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDPA!

Harrison celebrates Grandpa's birthday by eating chips as fast as he can. LOL!

Carter and Daddy. Daddy is making a funny face, but Carter looks super cute- soooo, the pic is goin on the blog! LOL!

Grandma Smith and Mom at Grandpa Smith's birthday lunch

Harrison messing around in the sand- he makes art with whatever is around him. He sees the world as such a beautiful place- he is so creative! We love it!

Good company, good view- GOOD LIFE!

This, and the following beach pics, were taken by Kurt =) Good job, honey!

Carter is such a sporty guy!

"Look 'arrison! ANGRY BIRDS!!!!"

Carter took this pic- I think he did a good job!

"Happy Birthday Grandpa!!!"

LOL, right after the posed picture, I accidently snapped this- what a great action shot! Harrison was singing "Happy Birthday" and Carter was messing around. I love Grandpa's face in this- full of awe =)

What a great way to celebrate a birthday- holding the one you love most =)

Today was Grandpa Smith's birthday- 62 years young! We celebrated by spending the day together, playing around. It was a wonderful! I cannot think of a better way to spend a birthday than surrounded by people who love me- I hope that my dad feels the same! It really was a great day- good food, company, and amazing views. We were at the front of a pretty empty beach- life doesnt get better than this, and we are SO SO SO SO thankful for this vacation! (And for our wonderful life!!!!)