Rhetta is EIGHT!

Excited! (with her birthday ribbon from school)



Balloons!




Cuties! (she made her own banner)



Candles! (this cake was made from leftover GF brownies from Willon's birthday and leftover GF cupcakes and frosting from the CTCM party - I think that makes me the queen of thrift)

Hey Y'all, it's a PARTY!

Yeah, that was dorky but there ya go.

Had the kids' shared birthday party today at the Climbing Tree Children's Museum where I volunteer. More pictures of the museum at it's new location here.

Out of 36 kids from school we invited only three came but we had our friends and their kids, their school friends and tons of siblings and parents. It was great!

The museum does host parties but since this was my regular shift I went ahead and did the party stuff myself.

Here it is all set up before anyone started to show up. It was a Decorate Your Own Cupcake party with snacks and ice cream instead of pizza.



The kids played and played. The stage was as big a hit as always.





Willon in the Space Shuttle.



Rhetta, my silly girl, was so entranced by something in the Shuttle room she was the last one to get to her cupcake! I had to go get her and bring her out and there she is headed to the Art Room. I'm not sure if you can tell but that girl has a hitch in her getalong!



Yee-haw!







My angel under black light.



My Buzz (he's such a goof!)

Willon is FOUR!

Oh my, how my boy is growing. At four years old he is wearing 5T's, size 11 shoes, is nearly 42" tall and weighs 46 pounds. He loves books and reading, trains and puzzles, running and laughing, and telling jokes like "What's tuba plus tuba? Fourba!"

He and Rhetta made the banner together.



I asked him to sit down on a little stool and smile for me. No, no, smile, at the camera, sit here and smile, a real smile - don't laugh, that's your smile?, just smile honey, OK smile!, good, wanna try another?, don't look at me, whoops you stood up, stupid camera, oh well I..., dang the flash didn't work, why are you out of focus? OK, now just sit down and... would ya smile already!? Fine! make a funny face! THANK YOU!



My sweet babies. ♥ Cute even when they're forced to take a picture together.

Glasses for Cameron

Someone needed glasses and he's got a pair now! He can't stop staring at things. He keeps his head up and he participates more. He's all about cleaning them and making sure they don't get bumped. Imagine, now he can see his video games from the sofa. Cha-ching!

Buon Compleanno, Papà!

Somebody had a birthday today. :)

THIS is the look he gets when he's so in love with his children. I love that look. ♥



The kids made banners...





Daddy and Rhetta together baked a cake and frosted it.



On your mark, get set...



... decorate!







No, really, pile it on!



Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Snowman at Sunrise

"He put his hat on to protect his hair." (See previous post and squint to see hair, i.e. twigs.)

A Boy and His Snowman

Daddy helped. ;)

APU Swap 2010

This was my 5th time participating in the APU Holiday Swap. Every year it gets better and better. We each get a swap partner and send them a gift. There are no rules except a calendar deadline. I sent to Bonnie, whom to send to was exceptionally fun.

I received from Christine, whom to receive from was also exceptionally fun. ♥



Cameron got a Target gift card in the form of a box of Legos! Not only did he give us a goofy grin (this is a high honor), he sat right down and put it together.



Rhetta got a Decorate Your Own Frame. She tore into it immediately and covered it in some beloved math problems. She then drew and colored a self portrait to put in her new frame.



Willon got a Brio set from Thomas the Tank Engine called 'arry and Bert. They look like twins but, if you look closely, you can see they're different. Bert of course wears stubble.



Rob got a cool puzzler from Go! Games called Scorpion, and a Tom and Jerry movie we didn't even know they made. LOL





Me? I got a Disney mp3 player! Not only that but it's a Jonas Brothers one... har har har. It's retty cool, though, the controls are shaped like Mickey Mouse, and I got blingy earbuds to go with it. I'll have to get Cameron to show me how to use it (old lady who lives in a cave here).







Thank you, Christine for all the fun and thoughtful Stuff. Everyone here loves what you sent. We feel spoiled, and special that you managed to get the box sent out after getting 3 feet of snow the day before. You rock and I love you. ♥

Kid Convo's

Rhetta, playing with her new Garden Fairy friend, Lily (played by her hand):

Daddy: Do you want to plant a garden this spring, and Lily can help it grow?
Rhetta: Yes.
Daddy: Would you like to grow flowers or vegetables?
Rhetta: Fruits, um vegetables. Are carrots a plant that grows from the ground?
Daddy: Yes, we'll look through the seed catalog and pick some things for you to grow.
Rhetta: I want that.

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Cameron found a hidey spot under Willon's bed:

Willon (snuggled down in his blankets): I love you, Daddy.
Daddy: I love you, too.
Willon: I love you, Cameron.
Cameron (head pops out from under bed): I love you too, Bud.
Willon: I love you too, Rhetta. (Rhetta's asleep)
Willon (grabbing Daddy's hand): I love Momma, too.
Daddy: Momma loves you, too.
Willon (waving his hand in big circles): I love alllll you guys, especially Cameron.
Willon gives Cameron his momma-made numbers blanket: Here you go Cameron. We always share with our friends.
Willon asks Cameron: Will you sleep next to me?

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Willon in my lap:

Me: I hope I never forget what it's like to cuddle you.
Willon: I hope I don't either.