Happy Birthday, Joshua!

Poor Joshua!
Being the third child, we are hard-pressed to find original ways to celebrate the milestone.
Tonight, four days after his third birthday, he asked me if we would still be able to go to Barnes & Noble for his birthday party. What??! Or course, I told him yes, but I'm not sure right now if we'll be able to fit it in.

Poor kid.

On his real birthday, though, we really pulled out the stops.
He got presents and cake and truly, he enjoyed the evening...at home.



I could tell him we are still recuperating from a weekend (last weekend) at church. We spent Good Friday there, then Saturday night, we were there for many hours as Doug was welcomed into the Catholic Church.

The boys held out for many minutes, but even our night owl couldn't hold out.



Surprisingly, Joshua didn't complain about the monkey suit we placed on him. No tie, but we were happy he didn't strip down to his skivvies during the service.



Earlier in the day, we thought it was important to get his hair cut (as well as the hairs of the other two). Good thing we made that choice. We were in the front row for the ceremony and everyone could hear Joshua singing...that is, until he fell asleep.



On a side note, something bizarre is happening this spring. Lots of rain or something. Our yard looks like a botanical garden of some sort. Never seen these blooms before!



Before all three boys took their naps at church, we got a chance to take their picture. It was the last time they smiled that night, unfortunately.



Hope your weekend is faring better!

Happy Easter!

We marked Good Friday this evening with a trip to church.
Unfortunately, Joshua didn't understand the solemnity of the situation.

He started to sing while we were all bowed in prayer.

Cute, but highly inappropriate.
And loud.
Then, he decided it was time for a nap.
Thank goodness he is cute.

The beginning of the end...

of diapers.

You can see Joshua is not too thrilled about it.



We officially started the process today, and so far, so good!!!

He is still not smiling about it, though.

Beach boys

It is hard to believe how much they have grown.



We paid a visit to the beach today. We figured it would be a nice way to spend our anniversary! No swimsuits this time, though; we definitely needed the jackets and an umbrella.




This new park opened on the sand and we had to check it out.



Despite the blowing winds and cool temperatures, we had a hard time prying the children away from all the fun equipment.




Afterward, we celebrated with ice cream!!!
Speaking of foods that taste good, lately, Jason and Michael have been on a bit of a health food kick. They learn all about the food pyramid and healthy eating from school and they realize a lot of their favorite foods don't really have a place on the triangle.

They know that potatoes can be healthy, but french fries really are not. So, the other day Jason asked me if he could squeeze the potatoes out of the fries, and if that was the case, THEN would the food be good for you? Nice try.



Will that mean a diet of green beans and sprouts from now on? Something tells me that won't fly.

Have a great night!

Happy Birthday, Michael! You are 6!

Michael was King of the Hill today.



It was as if he had two special days. We celebrated his 6th birthday in the classroom. He originally wanted his official party to be at the putt-putt golf course. We sent out the invites and that was on the location line. But earlier this week, I knew it was going to be chilly and wet today. We went to the fallback...Chuck E. Cheese!



They are doing something new and pretty cool now. It's called Ticketblaster. The birthday boy walks into a tube and with wind blowing inside, must gather up as many tickets as possible. He was allowed to bring in Doug for support. They did well, scoring more than 400 tickets!

If you are keeping track, this would be party #4 there. We always say we won't do it again. And every other time, they do disappoint. But this time was not one of them. We had a great time this afternoon. Weekday parties are the way to go.

And, I met Michael's two girlfriends. Yes, you read that right. Girlfriends. Plural. We did not realize he was such a casanova. But these charming young ladies apparently want to marry Michael.



He did as I thought he would in the face of all this adoration. He took it all in stride.

The other boys just ran around, trying to gather up as many tickets as possible.




By the way, whether I like it or not, we've introduced the "magic" of this place to our youngest. Something tells me today's visit will not be our last.