Holy wookie, Uncle Carl!

This is what Max thinks of the shirt (the one he has on in this photo) Uncle Carl, Aunt Claire and cousins sent him for his recent birthday...

A Sunday Trifecta in May

Yesterday was an amazing day for our little family. Kyle turned 39 with little pomp and circumstance. I promised I would make up for it in the near future.

Most importantly, Cate received her First Communion at a beautiful Mass witnessed by the church community and 20 family members. I am pretty positive that Cate had the largest contingent of loved ones there out of the 10 First Communicants. It was so wonderful to sit across the way and exchange a glance or two from my parents, siblings and friends during Mass.

(the sixteen guests taking up more than one row of seating)

Cate impressed many by her reading of the Acts of the Apostles passage. One of the final pep talks I gave her before Mass started was, "now when you get up there, what are you going to do?" "I am going to read slowly, loudly and with excitement." Atta girl! A few parishioners stopped her afterward to compliment her delivery, which made me a proud momma.

She looked beautiful in her dress made by Grandma LaVonne and her shawl made by Grandma Katie. Other moms admired her ensemble, wishing they knew someone with that sort of talent.

She was reverent and well-behaved, and hardly twisted her face after taking the wine. One of the boys dramatically shook his head due to the distaste. We parents had a good chuckle at that.

(at the altar during Eucharistic prayer)

......

(Our little family)

(with her Godparents, Aunt Jeanine and Kristine)

After Mass, we hosted a reception at my parents' home and celebrated with mimosas, fruit, muffins, sweet breads, scones and parfaits. Young and old enjoyed themselves.

(Cate with her grandparents at my parents' home)

At gift opening time, Cate read all of her cards aloud, which delighted Grandma Katie and enjoyed all the gifts she received. Kyle and I followed the tradition started by my parents and gave Cate a children's bible. My parents gave her a rosary, which they plan to give all of their grandchildren on the occasion of their First Communions. She also received a Holy Spirit medal from her godmother Aunt Jeanine who purchased it in Rome back in 2004 when she was living in Europe. In addition to other wonderful gifts, she was excited for the cash and Target gift cards and was very eager to spend her money as soon as today. Fortunately, Kyle intervened and when she didn't find exactly what she wanted, he was able to convince her to not purchase anything "just because."

And because Cate's First Communion landed on Mother's Day (the third event to fulfill the trifecta), I made several floral arrangements for table centerpieces and gave them away as token gifts for all the ladies' homes. I recycled old International Foods Instant flavored coffee tins, wrapping them in scrapbook paper, trimming them with ribbon and filling them with tulips and roses. I was quite pleased with how well they came together.

Once we cleaned up after the party, delivered our Mother's Day cards, Kyle and I took a nap as the kids watched a movie. It ended up being a very full day, but a very fulfilling day as well.

Cate Turned Seven!

We crammed in a whole lot of celebrating into one day as Cate turned seven a couple weeks ago. In the afternoon, four classmates, three cousins and one brother designed their own pencil boxes at Michael's Arts and Crafts. It was a great set-up...all we had to do was pick out the project, pull together the supplies, bring the cake and voila! The rest of the time was taken care of by the project coordinator.

In the evening, we hosted the grandparents, godparents and a surprise guest--Michael and Kristine's grandson, Anthony (5-1/2) who is one of Cate's buddies (and apparently first crush?). Cate's dinner request flattered her grandmas--she asked for Grandma LaVonne's homemade chicken noodle soup and Grandma Katie brought freshly baked bread. Yummy!

She received a lot of lovely gifts and we've been slowly working on getting the thank you notes out.

One especially memorable moment occurred at the end of the evening. As Kristine and Anthony were preparing to leave, Anthony grabbed Cate's hand and took her to her room for a moment. I stood in the hallway to look into the room, but they were in the blind spot so I couldn't see what they were doing. However, as they both turned to come out of the room, I could see both of them swipe their mouths with the back of their hand. That must have been one really special moment!

I told Kristine the next day that when they have their next sleepover, they need to sleep in separate tents. Too young, I say....too young!

Getting the boxes started

Look ma! I can paint without watching

Picking out stickers for the finishing touches

Star Wars Monopoly was a hit!

Enjoying birthday cake

Opening gifts

All ready for Mass on her birthday

Where'd all the money go?

Oh yes, to:

*the couple of Target runs for Target Clinic and prescriptions

*candy coffee everyday

*lunches and dinners

*Halloween costumes and treats

*back to Target again for new clothes because everything else falls in one of two buckets:

1) everything is dirty or

2) nothing fits

*fill the gas tank because of the multiple Target runs

*birthday festivities and the many indulgences such as:

1) a day-trip to Duluth

2) buying birthday gifts for other October babies and buying a $17 doodle book for patient little 6-y/o shopping companion

3) a massage

4) dinner, drinks and dessert

5) a new scarf

6) going to a movie (with popcorn and soda, thankyouverymuch)

Hmm, yeah. Not cool.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Max (like-a-week-and-a-half-ago)

So the wee little one turned three on April 26. We had a great day, despite the rain. It was alright because we had not planned on eating our meal outside, but I was a bit concerned Kyle would be stuck grilling while getting drenched. Grandparents, Godmother Jolene and Great Uncle Cliff came to celebrate with us. We served brats, hamburgers, potato salad, fruit salad, pickles and chips.After singing "Happy Birthday" it was time for Max to blow out the candles. It took him four or five attempts and a little help from Cate to get all three candles out. We cheered him on when the flames were no longer. I baked a chocolate cake which I decided to forego my sloppy writing decoration and settled for doodles instead. Regardless, it tasted Pillsbury fresh.



When time came for opening gifts, Cate was clearly more eager than Max to move on to the next gift. He took his sweet time opening the envelopes, listening to the messages, unwrapping the gift and really take what he received. He enjoyed each and every one of his gifts. Our kids are so lucky.


His favorite gifts, by far, are his plush Wall*E doll--from his favorite movie--and his very own light saber. Now he joins the ranks of his big sister and Daddy wielding a light saber. It's been heard more than once around here that Cate thinks I should have a green light saber for Mother's day. Who knows?

Cate's Birthday Week

Cate started her birthday week last Saturday with a family party. We enjoyed Cate's favorites--marinated flank steak, roasted potatoes, broccoli and rustic bread. She was surrounded by her grandparents and godmothers (and Michael). It was a lovely evening. Her birthday cake of choice was a frozen custard cake from Culvers. She was a bit overwhelmed by the Happy Birthday song, but managed to blow all her candles out in one shot.

Her favorite gift, by far,was not the bike. It was the Star Wars Legos kit she received from Jeanine. The coolest part is that she puts the kit together, plays with it and starts all over again. Max is allowed watch patiently and not touch, which he does pretty well.

She's not at all interested in Star Wars Legos, right?

She's already fast-forwarding to summer and thinking about falling with her bike

Max very patiently watching and helping slightly

Monday, February 23, Cate was Star of the Day in her classroom and as they recognize birthdays in this manner, it was going to be an extra special day. However, Cate woke up sick and missed her special day at school. When she did get back on Tuesday, she was told she could bring her birthday treat later in the week and so her special day just got postponed a day.

This weekend, we hosted her first friend birthday party. Three girlfriends from her kindergarten class came over for crafts and cupcakes. Cate was torn between heart cake and heart cupcakes, so I made both. The girls all wanted the cake. It's funny that they're both chocolate, with sprinkles, but they still wanted the cake. I think it was the written message that sold them! The girls all had a fabulous time with each other, it was fun to watch the interaction.

The girls working on their flower necklaces

(oops--I deleted the original before making it larger)
Clockwise from the top: Evie, Cate, Isabel, Abbey

All in all, her birthday week was a rousing success. I can't wait until next year!

Thanks everyone!

I had an awesome four days. I managed not to respond to any work emails despite opening all of them. I chilled out, enjoyed some alone time and recharged a bit. I may actually be able to function at work tomorrow.

Thanks everyone for the birthday well wishes. You are all so kind.

Only 364 more days until my next birthday...

Four day birthday extravaganza, here I come!

It's finally here!

As soon as one semi-annual Duluth weekend ends, I look forward to the next one. Today is the day we drive north. I get particularly excited for the October trip because it invariably lands on or near my birthday. I call it my birthday retreat and thankfully my family tolerates such vanity.

And the icing on the cake? While we return home Sunday, I will be out of the office through Tuesday, which is my actual birthday. Did you know my birthday was coming up? No? Really?! In case you haven't read other previous posts, I LOVE my birthday. And this year, I have four days of pure birthday bliss. How awesome is that? With so much going on right now, this time off is going to be really valuable time to just slow down. This is a break that has been a long time in coming.

Blog you later...

Oh...and my birthday is 20 days away

Those of you who really know me, know that I am obnoxious...er, uhm, passionate about my birthday. I love my birthday. I take the day off from work, go to lunch with someone special, get a message, whatever. And of course, I enjoy cards and presents. Sometimes the cards more than the presents. Because really, there's nothing I need. Ever. But I would never refuse a gift.

In our family, it is mandatory to provide a list for birthdays and Christmas. Not that I wouldn't get a gift if I didn't provide a list, but such suggestions help the brain flow a little easier. So in an effort to be efficient, I thought I would post my list here. :)

*Stationery / note cards
*Lovely pen for writing on my new stationery / note cards (blue ink preferable)
*White table cloth and matching napkins (60 x 84)
*Babysitting services
*Wii Fit
*Anything from Eddie Bauer or Ann Taylor Loft (size 12 or Large)
*Cities 97 Sampler CD 20th Anniversary (see Eric)
*Cool case for my Blackberry Curve 8330
*Gift care to Let's Dish
*Gift card to Archiver's
*Ear buds for ipod
*Itunes card

And one other thing on July 30th...

Happy Birthday, Carl!

Happy Birthday, Colleen!

Happy Birthday, Kyle!

Today Kyle turns 36. As we went to bed last night, I warned him to sleep with one eye open because Cate had something planned.

Morning came and she quietly came into our room to get me out of bed and help with her surprise idea for Daddy--breakfast in bed. The only times we eat breakfast at home is on the weekends and then Kyle is the cook, so there's generally not a lot to choose from day-to-day. If it's left to me, I absolutely prefer cereal, breakfast bar or toast. So Cate's idea was to make Daddy peanut butter toast with oj. We displayed the toast on the Happy Birthday plate and the oj made it into a Happy Birthday paper cup. And just for filler, I scrounged around the fridge and found one cup of yogurt as well. Cate wondered about a tray to put everything on and I made due with a cutting board, which fortunately was acceptable to her. We plopped a candle onto one of the pieces of toast, got Max out of bed and slowly snuck into the room.

I asked the kids to sing "Happy Birthday" with me and both of them bailed. Max was immediately so mesmerized by the candle, he just couldn't sing. Although, he did solo later.

I think Kyle was so pleased with Cate's surprise. It was a good start to his birthday.

Max is Two!

Max turned two yesterday. His birthday party was today and we were looking forward to having sixteen guests at our house to celebrate. There was much to do to get ready.

Yesterday, Cate helped me bake the cake (a la Pillsbury). We made a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. I had some sprinkles and frosting left over from some other project to use for decorating. My penmanship with frosting is horrible. I figure all cakes are test runs until I reach perfection for their high school graduation cakes.

We are pretty sure Cate woke Max up before he was really ready to wake up, because he was a terror this morning. Kyle ended up pinning him in his high chair for a while so we could get a few things done before guests came.

Once the guests came though, Max was a gem. With twenty people total in our little house, it was quite a lively time. For dinner, we served baked pork chops with homemade mustard, "Celebration" potatoes and a lot of fruit, courtesy of both Grandmas. My mom was to bring broccoli salad, but we got our wires crossed when she called days earlier and asked if she could bring fruit instead. It worked out fine because the Birthday Boy LOVES fruit and there was then a greater variety of fruit to choose from.

Max enjoyed everyone singing Happy Birthday to him and he clapped afterwards. He doesn't have enough "fuff" in him to blow the candles out by himself, so his older cousin, Henry came in to save the day.

Gift time was truly overwhelming for him. He received so many lovely gifts he didn't know what to do. His young cousins didn't think he was opening the presents fast enough, so they were "helping" out. I think his favorite gift is from (no surprise) Great Uncle Cliff, who gave him a Spider Man sweatshirt that blinks when moving around. He was mesmerized.

(poor guy looking overwhelmed)

Two hours after the first guests arrived, the card tables and chairs are down and the dishes are collected into the kitchen. Max is taking a long-overdue nap, Cate is coloring quietly in the dining room, Kyle is snoring on the sofa (over there-->) and I am done!