Happiest of Days

Happy birthday to my best friend, who wears many hats, literally and figuratively:

 Baby Holder

Dance Partner

Fun Organizer

 Doctor-Professor-Daddy

We hope you have a great day!

SIX!

Happy birthday Gabby Girl!

You are funny and sweet, motherly, and a little devious.

 

We love you munchkin!

Nate is Three!

Three?!  I can't believe that our littlest is three years old today.  I have such clear memories of that day--such beautiful weather, such bad traffic...  I don't think I'll ever remember that day without being thankful for a friend who insisted she stay with us that morning so that my little gals weren't caught in that traffic jam as we scrambled to the hospital!

Raising a boy has been so fun.  He loves dirt

and trains.  He was so sad when this ride ended.

He's the one that runs his head into things and bleeds in my lap.

He also loves taking care of 'Baby' (the teddy bear).

He often hangs out with the girls while they do school.

He's so cool,

And he adores girls.  That is a good thing, since he is constantly surrounded with his sisters and all their friends.  This young lady, he absolutely adores.  They are great sparing partners too.

He turns brooms into 'chine [machine] guns (you know, because I kept toy guns out of the house) and could turn jumping off of chairs into an Olympic sport.  He cuddles in my lap and calls me, 'my little Mama.'  He holds my heart in his little hand and causes it to skip beats.  He's my boy.

Happy birthday little man.  I pray that you will be a young man of integrity, a beacon of truth, and a man courageous enough to treat women as they ought to be treated, even when they do not do the same for you.  Luckily for you, you are getting plenty of training on that last one with two older sisters!  I can't wait to see what you become.  You tell me you want to be a daddy, a 'digger man,' and a firefighter.  We'll see where you path goes, but I love you always!

Gabriella is Five

Five years ago the nurses told me that we mis-named our baby girl, because she wasn't 'gabby' at all

My little Gabriella is FIVE today!

Miss Gabby, 

you are cute,

sweet,

and funny.  You've learned the fine art of using humor to get out of little scrapes.

If I had to choose one way to describe you though, I would have to say you are motherly.  You adore taking care of your dolls.  While you and your sister both like helping Nate, I think Kate likes to be in charge of him, but you want to take care of him.

You don't mind getting your hands a little dirty,

especially if it is ice cream!

You are learning to overcome your fears--like jumping over the sprinkler and talking to people you don't know well.

And you give wonderful hugs!

We love you Gabby Girl.  You are fire, ice, and sweetness all wrapped up in a cute little package.  We pray for you to use that energy and tenacity for great things.  We love you!

Love always,

Mama

Birthday Bash

Kate's birthday was last week.  We celebrated her birthday 'day' with cake and an odd dinner of her choosing which she helped me make.

We made 'wiener dogs' of hot dogs, crescent rolls, pickles, olives, and bell peppers.  They looked like little dachshunds.  Well, little dachshunds that kept falling over!  She also requested orange carrot soup.  That was not such a hit.  As in, I'm the only one who ate it and I didn't enjoy it.

She requested a crown cake in chocolate.

She talked to Justin's parents as she opened their gifts.

Saturday was the big day though.

My parents and sister came to visit bearing gifts.  This particular gift is an alarm clock that recites bedtime stories at a set time, has multicolored lights, and plays music while Cinderella and Prince Charming dance.

Then we had a party for both girls (since their birthdays are about 3 weeks apart) with some of their friends--seven little girls and Nate.

We made sequined crowns, beaded bracelets,

opened a cupcake pinata,

and ate rainbow colored food: fruit, veggies, suckers,

and even cake.

Happy Birthday, Justin!

ALL ABOUT MY DADDY

by Kate, Gabby, and Nate

My Daddy’s name is Justin J***** S***** • Justin • Daddy.

He is 4' 80" • 35' 85" • 11' 5" tall.

He weighs 100 • 85-60 • 797  pounds.

His eyes are brown • brown • good .

His favorite book is The Horse and His Boy • The Horse and His Boy • The Gospel.

He likes to go to the zoo • to the park • in the car.

His favorite food is eggplant parmigiana • meat • french fries.

For fun he likes to tickle me • to tickle us • running to tickle me.

I love my Daddy when he hugs me • hugs me • is eating with me.

My favorite thing about my Daddy is he reads to me • when he kisses me • running around.

Birthday Wishes

Happy Birthday to my Daddy. If it needs to be built, he'll build it. If it needs to be fixed, he'll fix it. And unless it involves speaking or singing alone in front of large groups, he'll pretty much volunteer to do it.

Thank you for all you do and all you've taught me--from how to out argue almost everyone to how to watch for ways to serve others.

Happy Birthday!

Two!

The baby boy is T-W-O! Not sure where all that time went. He's a funny little daredevil and we love his giggles. He's started teasing his sisters and speaking in sentences sometimes.

We had his party yesterday, so it would be easier for my sister to hang out with us.

Here's the little monkey's monkey cake.

We love you little man!

May you grow to be a strong an righteous man, filled with wisdom and love.

Fall Break

We made a run to my in-laws over this past weekend, as Justin had Monday and Tuesday off for fall break (did you miss me? no? I guess auto-post kept on going!).

On our way up we got to stop in the town where we bought our first house, just outside of Cincinnati. We had arranged to meet one of my dear friends there--she was one of the very first people I met when I moved up there because she was one of the instructional assistance in my room.

When we got there, it wasn't just her. She arranged to have two of my former peer tutors meet us too. They are both married and have a child each (and she has one on the way)! It was such a pleasant surprise.

The gal was able to bring her daughter who really hit it off with Kate. (Can one not hit it off with Kate? She makes it hard not to chat with her.) Too bad it is a bit of a commute for a play date!

Then we headed on over to visit his parents.

Where we played in leaves,

Carved pumpkins,

Ate birthday cake,

And opened presents.