Family Birthday Party

On Saturday, we had our family birthday party.  All of my in-laws were here and the weather couldn't have been more perfect.  We spent most of the time outside and were able to grill burgers and hot dogs.  The kids got along splendidly, and I think everyone had a great time.

The kids enjoying "making soup":


 Isabel wanted to add some ingredients:

Working in the restaurant:

Just looking cute:

Isabel loves her Aunt Sarah (and Uncle Donnie):


Our generation + Isabel:

Cake time with all the candles:

Happy birthday to Taylor (10), Kathryn (8), Madelyn (7), Pierce (5):

Separated at birth?:

Isabel reading a magazine with Catherine (and a belly shot in the background):

 

Pierce is 5!

So, Pierce did it, too.  He turned a year older.  I can't believe he is five.  We celebrated with cupcakes at school, presents and more cake at home.  He also got to have a friend over after school, and they had a great time playing with new Legos and dominoes.  We're having a party this weekend with extended family. 

He is such a sweet, loving boy with a tender heart.  He's compassionate and funny, shows love so easily and is a great brother.  He ususually puts the interests of others above himself, and I hope we can continue to nurture and build on these qualities.  His tenderheartedness does lead to him feeling hurt when others don't display the same considerations. 

We feel so blessed to have him as part of our family, and I love that I get to be his mother!  We love you so much, Pierce!


So excited about Cars 2 Legos:
 

Cake-complete with his favorite colors:  blue, green, yellow, and orange (see below):

 

 

 

Pierce with an early birthday present

Pierce received a real guitar from my parents for his birthday. He asked for one when he was three. My dad told him if he still wanted one when he was five, then my dad would get him one. Pierce didn't forget, and now we are graced with lovely strumming frequently. One day, we'll get him lessons.

Baby update

We went in for our "big" ultrasound on Tuesday, and we are happy to report that baby GIRL is very active and seems very healthy. Pierce had a crestfallen look for about a minute when he heard the news and then bounced back pretty quickly. He actually told me on Wednesday that he was so excited about our new baby girl. This came completely out of the blue and totally unprompted, so I think any disappointment has faded.

Baby girl was quite determined to maintain her modesty, so I was beginning to think we would leave not knowing. I think the ultrasound tech was seeing her as a challenge, as she stated, "Oh, no, we'll definitely figure it out." The tech kept pressing on my stomach to get a few more pictures and stated that we might need to come back because she couldn't get the images of the spine that she needed. At one point, she pressed pretty hard and baby girl gave a swift hard punch and rolled. I told the tech to check again because she had just done some acrobatics. Sure enough, she was then able to get the shots she needed and the baby uncrossed her legs.

The neatest thing about this ultrasound was seeing the baby swallow. I had never seen this before, but you could see her mouth and jaw moving as well as her tongue. It was so cool!

We are very thankful for the healthy reports so far and are getting excited about meeting her. Now, what to name her...