Happy Birthday Patrick!

Today is Patrick's birthday! We celebrated on early, thanks to work conflicts today. Allen helped me make him a cookie cake. It was an adventure! But happily it turned out ok. The boys had a great time celebrating their awesome Daddy!

The boys said Daddy needed some grownup books...so the complete works of Sherlock Holmes is now available for his reading pleasure! :)

Happy Birthday Daddy! You are an amazing father and a wonderful husband. We are so lucky to have you as the head of our family. We love you!!

Drew's Birthday

One week ago, our oldest son turned SIX! It is so hard to believe that! We had his birthday party on Sunday night at the bowling ally. He invited his classmates and they had a great time bowling, beating the laser maze, eating pizza and enjoying Drew's bowling lane cake. It was a pretty great birthday party! Since his "real" birthday was on a school day, it was pretty low-key. But we did have dinner at PeiWei followed by frozen yogurt to celebrate.

Yep...that's a dictionary...

It was Maddie's birthday too! She is 8!

Happy 6th Birthday Drew! You are a sweet, intelligent little boy who is growing up so fast. You have such a good heart. Your teachers comment on how much you encourage your classmates in every area. You make friends quickly and enjoy spending time with them all. You are testing different sports and, although you haven't found one you absolutely love, you keep trying them out. But man can you run!! You have almost mastered your new bike. The weather is making it harder to practice but it's really just a matter of time until you perfect it. You love school - recess, specials, centers, friends...everything about it! You have a hard time "staying on task" but your teacher says she feels badly correcting you for it since you aren't disruptive...just quietly interested in everything around you! We love listening to you read, especially to your brother. Your love of all books is refreshing. You can't get enough of reading! You still love trains, but mainly to build elaborate layouts with bridges, tunnels, cities...anything to be creative. You amaze me with your attention to detail in everything creative you tackle!

We love you and we can't wait to see what this next year will bring!

Another conversation with Allen...

My latest conversation with Allen...and another insight into how he thinks...

While driving to the grocery store today...
Allen - "Mommy, do you need a new car?"
Me - "No. My car is just fine...I think. Why do you ask?"
Allen - "Well, does Daddy need a new car?"
Me - "Yes, he will probably need a new car pretty soon."
Allen - "Oh. Can I go with him when he gets a new car?"
Me - "Maybe. Why do you want to go with him?"
Allen - "Because I want to ride in the tow truck!"
Me - pause..."Why will we need a tow truck?"
Allen - "Because the wheels are going to fall off his car and he'll have to call a tow truck!"

Gotta love how he takes one thought, works backwards in his head, and starts a conversation to get to his point. I love that kid!!