Birthdays! (Better late than never.)

Dylan turned NINE years old in September and we recently celebrated Caitlyn's SEVENTH birthday!!!  I love that their birthdays are right at the beginning of fall, kicking off my favorite time of year with back to back celebrations!  This year Dylan decided to have a Lego themed party, and he got some really neat Lego gifts.  One of my favorites was a Lego game called Creationary, similar to the classic Pictionary but with Lego pieces used by the players to build their creations instead of drawing them!  (And let me tell you:  this is harder than it looks!  But with three levels of difficulty, it's a game that several of us can enjoy together.)  We had bid on (and won) some SpongeBob minifigures from eBay just prior to his birthday, but we told him that since they were a gift, he had to wait until his birthday to have them.  So, he decided to use them as decorations on the Lego brick cake I made!  It turned out so cute.     

I had originally planned to make a Barbie cake similar to this one for Caitlyn's birthday (she LOVES Barbies right now!) but she reminded me that she really wanted a  pumpkin cake this year.  She really enjoys fall and Halloween, but I had never used that as a theme for her birthday until this year!  We looked at a lot of really neat pumpkin cakes at this website, and we just loved the way her cake looked when it was finished.  It was SO easy to make, too!  (Um, that is to say: it was easy AFTER I discarded the top layer, which completely fell apart when I was trying to frost it!  Oops!)  Her birthday was extra special this year because it was her last day of swimming lessons.  Being a June baby myself, I remember going swimming on many of my birthdays, but this was definitely a first for her!!!  And, since her birthday was on a Friday and I had that whole weekend off from work, our family was able to visit the pumpkin patch the next day!  That was so much fun, deserving an entire post of it's own.  :)

Fall Blogging

Ahhh.  Perhaps now that I've finally gone ahead and switched over from my summer template to a more suitable autumn layout, I might actually be inclined to blog here more frequently!  Hope to see you here again real soon.  :)

No contest

"Who loves you?" I prompt my two year old, nuzzling her soft cheeks and covering her sweet neck in kisses.
"Daddy!" is her immediate reply.
"Yes, Daddy loves you, but who else loves you?" I hint, hugging her tighter.
"Um, Grandpa!" she answers, enjoying this little game.
"Yes, you're right.  Grandpa does love you.  But who else loves you?"
"GOD!" she shouts, laughing now.

That's it.  I'm beat.  Not even Mama can compete with God.  :)

Seasons change

This morning, during this blending of seasons in southern New Mexico where chilly mornings are a sweet reprieve and hot afternoons greet early evenings, one of my girls clings tightly to the fading days of summer, bedecked in a now-too-small Fourth of July sundress and a huge bow headband while her sister, eagerly anticipating the cool, cozy days of fall, has dressed herself in khaki pants and a soft orange, long sleeved, lace trimmed tee.  Equally appropriate, each is uniquely beautiful.