Birthday Festivities

Grant was so excited in the week leading up to his birthday that he didn't want to go to school and woke up at 6 a.m. almost every morning. On the ride to school, he listed off what he wanted for his birthday: a frilled lizard toy, volcano books and most of all a Wild Kratts Creature Power suit like his cousin Grady got for his birthday.

The week of birthday festivities started with a celebration with the grandparents. We had cake and ice cream topped off with present-opening.

The day of his birthday, we had a quiet celebration at home, opened more presents and ate more cake.

The finale of the week was a dinosaur-themed party with friends at the Science Center. G chose his favorite dinosaur shirt for the occasion. The party even included a science experiment that involved shooting Alka Seltzer-fueled rockets into the air. The kids thought it was pretty cool.

 G is still recovering from the week of fun. Meanwhile, Miles is counting down the days until his special day: "Only 3 more days!" he says every morning. "3 more months," I remind him. "Oh yeah."

Happy Birthday, Sweet G

Just six years ago, we were holding this 6 pound, 6 ounce wonder in our arms, wondering how we would get him home without breaking him. We wondered if we would ever get a full night of sleep again and how we would live with this delicate, crying, hungry, terrifying being. 

Now we wonder how we ever lived without him. 

Catching Up

So...winter.

The boys skied for the first time:

Winter didn't really keep them inside:

We took a weekend getaway to Minnesota of all places, where the boys loved jumping from one hotel bed to the other:

In Minneapolis, we also visited our favorite children's bookstore, the Wild Rumpus:

For the first time, the boys are truly friends. They spent hours over the winter playing imaginative games together, snuggling, telling jokes, giggling wildly. We love them and love that they love each other.

Phoenix With Friends

In early March we took a much-needed getaway to Arizona with friends. The timing was perfect—everyone was getting tired of the cold and snow and being stuck inside. We hiked and explored Phoenix and spent lots of time in the pool. Frankly, the boys would have been content to play with rocks in the backyard all day. They were so happy to be outside.

Hiking:

Pool time:

Just hanging around the house wearing sunglasses:

At the much-loved Phoenix Children's Museum:

A day at the Phoenix Zoo:

First spring training game:

Pretending to be a backpacker and "exploring" the backyard:

Another day, another hike:

A typical family picture (at least we got Miles in the frame):