happy actual birthday!

from this

to this in just three short years

new look

May's family milestones (birthdays for Eric, Grandpa, and Jed, a half-year birthday for Macon, Amara's birth, and our anniversary) inspired me to freshen up our blog. I'm still debating whether I want the background for the posts to be a solid color or transparent, as it is now, but I like the new look and I hope you do, too.

#0.5

Happy six months, Macon!

fresh out of the bath

look very closely for some little teeth buds in the lower gum

#6

on our honeymoon in California

our top cake layer, opened up on our first anniversary

#3

Today we celebrated Jed's third birthday a couple of days early. In the past, we've had a family cookout, but this year we pulled out the stops and invited Jed's peers. I think a good time was had by all.

the scene on the front porch

I am an avid proponent of the homemade birthday cake.
Too bad I'm not an avid baker or cake-decorator.

And you might ask what's with the little spot in the middle of the cake? Well, that's where the candle was. Why, you may then ask, is there only one hole when the kid is turning 3? Great question. Where did I put the box of little cake candles might be a better question.

cake with cousin Katie and neighbor Bridgett

Thanks to Fire Station 3 (fittingly!) for stopping by the party!
They were the hit of the morning!

Maggie gets a lift into the truck.

After some initial hesitation, Jed did get in the truck.

Mama and Jed meet Firefighters David and Ralph.

Luckily for us (but not for someone else!), a call came in.
This meant that the truck-tour was over, but it also meant we got to see some action!

After the party, Jed and Grandma took to the "court" with the new basketball Grandma and Grandpa brought.

And back inside, Jed returned to his new/old obsession.*

Please note the feet. I think there's a correlation between quantity of dirt on one's feet and the quality of the party. And I'm pretty sure that holds true for frat parties, too.

*When Jed started playschool last fall, his teacher had this truck in the classroom, but Jed wouldn't do anything besides play with it so she took it back home. A few months ago, satisfied that her kids had completely outgrown it, she asked me if I'd like to have it. How could I say no?! With a good soaping and new batteries, I knew it would be the perfect birthday gift.

At the party, it was at the center of some sharing "complications," but just a few minutes ago, he came downstairs from him nap, went straight to the truck, and he hasn't said one single word to me besides, "Hey, Mom [yes, much to my dismay, he's been calling me mom, rather than mama, lately], this is a really cool big truck."

porch time

bulldawg!

At Christmas, our friend, Jim gave Macon a University of Minnesota Duluth t-shirt. A few months later, Macon is filling it out nicely. And he is celebrating UMD's national championship in hockey! And thanks to Dorothy for the delicious caterpillar!




And, if you haven't noticed, Brian and Dara have updated Amara's blog.

pretty pictures!

A few weeks ago, Beth Tilley Green made some wonderful family photos for us. She was great to work with and she managed to make our boys look even sweeter!






If you're interested in working with her, too, she's in the process of moving to Tennessee, but she said she'll be back in Raleigh from time to time. And for those of you living in the Greater Germanton Metropolitan Area, Beth grew up in Surry County so she might be available for work back home in the motherland.

just in time

for Macon to learn to sleep like this . . .

. . . I finish making this

happy birthday, grandpa!

I've been trying to upload Jed's video wishes all day long, but with no luck, but at least we can still say Happy Birthday in writing! We love you!

words fail me

bd3 is here!

Eric and I became Uncle and Aunt yesterday at 12:57 p.m. pacific time when our beautiful niece Amara arrived! She was a bit over 8 pounds, and her name means eternal in Sanskrit.

Brian and Dara are beaming, and we are, too, but when I showed Amara's picture to Jed and told him that Aunt Dara's baby had been born and explained that she is his cousin, his face went ashen. After a second, I realized what he was thinking and I said, "She's not coming to our house. Do not worry. She won't be living here." In his best oh-I-knew-that voice, he laughed and shrugged his shoulders and went back to his blocks.

So welcome to the world little Amara! We love you and we (even Jed) can't wait to meet you!

And to everyone who thought Amara would be a boy: we told you so.

(I would have posted earlier, especially because of the we-told-you-so factor, but Blogger, the host of our blog, has been having issues and I'm not sure when or if my last two posts will reappear.)

play date!

This morning, we got our neighbor and babysitter to come over at 5:45. This is a tall order for a 20-year-old college student, but she made it to our house before we even got downstairs.

Why did we need such an early morning sitter? Eric and I went on an exercise date! I am missing that extra hour of sleep, but it sure felt great to indulge in something I miss, the dawn run, with someone I love, and I'm already looking forward to next week's outing, even though I bet Anastasia is not!

ni ni mama and daddy

Tonight is the last night Uncle Brian and Aunt Dara will go to sleep in peace. (Or go to bed in quiet, I should say, because as anyone who has been pregnant knows, there is no peaceful sleeping during the final weeks.) Dara and Brian are already LG's Mama and Daddy, but tomorrow, he or she will make them Mama and Daddy--officially.

And while LG is passing out titles, we'll snag Uncle, Aunt, and Cousins! Hooray! We can't wait to meet you, LG!

Good luck, and sweet dreams. As Jed would say, "ni ni!"

growing like a weed

Recently, Macon has been fighting The War on Back to Belly. To date, he's seen little progress and we've seen little sleep thanks to his overnight skirmishes, but this morning, he notched his first victory. I'd hoped that defeating back-lying would yield a more cheerful overnight sleep, but I think I'm out of luck. Getting on his belly just resulted in a whole new level of rage, which depleted his resources to the point that he couldn't return to Point A (his back). Great.

thanks for saving me from myself, mama

And in other growing news, can you believe it's already time for solids? Macon certainly can. About two weeks ago, after weeks of intently monitoring Eric, Jed, and me while we ate, Macon got his chance. He handled it pretty well and since then, he's had rice cereal once or twice everyday. He enjoys it, but he hasn't been as crazy about it as I thought he would be given how closely he watches us eat, but today, I discovered the secret to his heart when I added sweet potatoes to his mix of cereal and formula. Bon appetit!




4:45 p.m. update: I'd forgotten how gross sweet potato spit up is.

Happy Mother's Day, belatedly

I was feeling a bit under the weather over the weekend and for much of last week (thanks to Jed's bug of Blue Dress infamy), so I didn't make a Mother's Day post, but let me take a moment and say Happy Mother's Day to Grandma and Marmie. Now that we've had a taste of things, Eric and I have a much greater appreciation for all your time in the kitchen, lost hours of sleep, and stained clothing. Thank you very much for all of it.

As for today, my children were very sweet to each other, and they both were good nappers. I don't know what was wrong with them, but I'm assuming they were saying "happy mother's day."

showing Macon the peak-a-boo ropes

Jed is chewing his fist, in imitation of Macon

happy mother's day to me