Another Year Older and Wiser Too...

Happy Birthday, to YOU!

Making a wish...

I bet I know what he was wishing for...Landon's birthday was about a week and a half before his exam.  Do you think wishes he can pass?  Yes!

When he took the exam, he had 45 minutes left and was able to review everything.  This was a very good sign.  He felt really good about it.  Here's to hoping!

 I made Landon's favorite cake--Black Forest.  It's my own rendition.  No alcohol in this cake!

We feel really blessed.  It has been a great year!  I am grateful that Landon works really hard, but also takes time for his family.  I'm always amazed at how well he does considering the time we demand of him.  :)

We love you, Landon!

The Big 04

We had a lot of fun for Erik's 4th birthday party.  So much fun, in fact, that Erik can't stop talking about his next birthday!

The theme was Star Wars.  Each child went through special Jedi training in hopes of becoming a Jedi.  They faced an obstacle course, they had to use the force to keep balloons in the air with their lightsabers and at the end they had to battle Darth Vader (Landon).  You should have seen how intensely some of them got into it!  At the end, after they had all become Jedi, they battled a the Death Star (a star-shaped pinata).  Then they came in for some Pizza the Hut and Jedi Juice.

We didn't get a lot of pictures since we were so busy playing games!

Come on birthday boy!  Look at the camera!

Can we not just get ONE picture with everyone looking at they camera?

Erik's gifts were really fun.  One of the gifts included Incredible Hulk fists.  He LOVES those!

Erik is...

40" tall
32 lbs
learning to play the piano.

He...
played soccer this year (nicknamed "the machine")
loves super heroes, and Transformers
knows what he wants
often says, "Yes, ma'am," and "I love you Mommy and I always want to help you." (Unless it doesn't fit with his agenda, of course!)
loves to show off his muscles and have us feel them.

He also...
loves his brother and wants to do everything he does including playing the violin and defends him even when that threat is only perceived
loves to play Star Wars Lego Wii
can interpret what Ella is "saying."

He loves...
the color red
salad
his bear blanky.

We love you Mr. Erik!
 

Birthday

On Friday (the day before my birthday), Landon let me take a nap while he watched the kids and cleaned up the downstairs.  It was very nice of him.  I was so tired and not motivated at all so I greatly appreciated it.  Then he took me out to an Italian restaurant and we went shopping.  I'm always asking him to go shopping with me, but he doesn't like to go.  He knew that it would make my day, and it did!


If you're wondering why we did this on Friday, it's because he was trying to surprise me.  I found out what he was doing though.

The next  day he made me breakfast in bed and before he could go and get me a cake, my sweet visiting teachers brought me this delicious cake and a book/CD written by Hilary Weeks.  They are such thoughtful friends.

Jonathan told me that his present to me was actually a favor.   A favor is like a present, he informed me.  His favor was he was going to make sure that there were no cobwebs or spiders in the house.  He came up with this idea because he though I'd like something clean on my birthday.  Isn't that great!?!

What a wonderful birthday it was!

Landon's Birthday

To celebrate Landon's 31st birthday, we went with some friends to Texas de Brazil.  We waited until after Landon's exam was over to celebrate, but it was worth the wait.  The atmosphere and food were fantastic!  Texas de Brazil is a Brazilian BBQ where the waiters are constantly coming around offering you different types of meat  any where from chicken to lamb to filet mignon.  They also had a wonderful salad bar with a lot more than just salad (like shrimp).

There was even an aerialist whose job is to entertain the guests while retrieving wine bottles.  I wonder what the job description looks like:  must be able to swing through air upside down WITHOUT dropping expensive, glass objects.

After dinner, we took a stroll along the River Walk.  We had such an enjoyable time!

I made Landon my own version of Black Forest Cake (his favorite).   I used a chocolate ganache, cherry pie filling, and REAL whip cream.  The kids and I gave him a chest pad for his TKD class and a book called Stretching Scientifically.  It was a fun birthday, even if it was celebrated a week after the fact!

Erik's 3rd Birthday

Shortly after Ella was born, Erik had his 3rd birthday.  I was worried that he'd feel overlooked because of the new baby.  I wanted his birthday to be fun even though we weren't going to have a friend party.  The great part was that his Grandma and Grandpa McEwen were here to celebrate with him.  Originally both sets were going to be here, but Grandma Karen's shoulder surgery  and recovery were more difficult than anticipated.

On Erik's actual birthday, we took him to Chik-fil-A.  The boys love going there because of the fun indoor play place.  He also went fishing with his dad, grandpa and brother at USAA.

After they came home we ate birthday cake and opened presents.  I usually make a homemade birthday cake for my kids, but I knew it wasn't going to happen this time around.  I'm just glad he loved the Spiderman cake I bought for him.

Of course, it's all about Batman right now! 

We then took him to Chuck E. Cheeses on the Saturday following his birthday.  What could be more fun than that?

ALL ABOUT ERIK

Erik is a sweet big brother.   He has made the transition well.  He loves his little sister and likes to hold her.  He also enjoys helping her "learn" Tae Kwon Do moves.  He loves everything that has to do with Batman.  He also like to do forward rolls, cartwheels and other gymnastic moves (even if it means jumping on his head).  He likes "do" letters on the starfall.com website and is very good at navigating the cursor with a mouse.  

Erik has also learned to defend himself.  He pulled out his Tae Kwon Do moves at the park when some older boys were teasing him.  He gave them a warning with an outstretched arm and leg along with a mean face.  When one of them didn't catch on, and continued to bother him, he kicked him and made him cry.  I never, EVER thought I'd want my kid to do this, but this same kid had made him cry unconsolably several months earlier and had sat on him trying to pull a toy out of his hands another time.  This boy had also bullied many other children (much to his poor mother's chagrin).  So, I was happy that Erik was finally able to take care of himself.  The funny part about it all was when I called Erik's name after he made the boy cry, he burst into tears.  He really is a tender-hearted boy.

We love you Erik!  Happy birthday!

Landon Turns 30

Yesterday was Landon's thirtieth birthday.  

The boys were so excited to give him presents.

He got swim trunks, a hat, a shirt, flip flops, and a beach towel for our upcoming trip to Padre Island.

He also got a pair of gymnastic rings to do some new workouts on.  He's really excited about those.

We had a special dinner including steak and shrimp (his favorite) and Gooey Chocolate Cake.

He also had a great day at work.  He gave a presentation to his bosses', bosses', bosses' boss and did a really good job.  Then he got to go to a work party they were having to celebrate the completion of a certain project.  This party was at a place that had arcades.  He was alloted a certain amount on a card from the company to play games.  Can you believe it?  Legitimately playing arcade games during work?  What next!  They also brought a cake and sang, "Happy Birthday" to him.

This morning, Jonathan asked me where Daddy was.  He ALWAYS asks me this.  I think he secretly hopes that I'll say something like, "He's outside waiting for you to come play with him."  Anyway, I told him he was at work.  The next thing I know, Jonathan comes out dressed like this:

"Daddy" had come to distribute birthday presents!  It was cute.

We love you Landon. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Erik Turns Two

On the 24th Erik officially turned two.  I say "officially" because he has been acting like a two year old for a while now!  To celebrate, we went with our former neighbors and friends to the Japanese Gardens.

It was a beautiful and sunny day.  The kids had so much fun running around the gardens, climbing the steps, looking at the fish, turtles, cats, and flowers.

Erik was such a big boy on this day.  He didn't want any help going down the stairs or anywhere else.  He finally relented to me helping him down a very steep trail.

What's that up there?

After WWII, the name of the gardens was changed to the Chinese gardens.  The name was just recently changed back.

After the trip to the gardens, the kids had ice cream and played outside.  Then Erik opened some presents from his friends.

The next day (Erik's official birthday), we had cake and opened presents.  I made one of Dorie's recipes for the cake.  It was called Gooey Chocolate Cake.  Oh.  My.  Gosh.  It is so good.  Warm and crunchy on the outside with gooey chocolate on the inside.  I'd have to say it is one of my favorites.  I overestimated on the amount of chocolate, so a couple of them turned out too big, but it still tasted heavenly.

This is me trying to be creative with a limited amount of time.

Blowing out the candles.

The birthday boy.

Everyone enjoying the cake.

Erik especially enjoyed it.

I wish I could have captured on film the look of delight on Erik's face from getting an airplane for his birthday.  It was priceless.

Now, for memory's sake, I list some of the things that Erik does, says, and loves:

--Most frequently used word/sentence: "no" and "let go of me."  (Can you tell he has an older brother?!)

--Favorite foods: eggs and pizza ("peepa")

--Erik LOVES to dip his food in sauce.  Sometimes he'll just keep dipping the same piece of food and just eats the sauce.

--Erik is very determined.

--Erik will defend his brother with his fists from perceived and real threats.  I would think it was cute and funny if he didn't do it to us too!

--He loves and is very attached to his blanket.  He won't let me put it on his bed during the day--just in case he "needs"it.
--He love to eat and he also LOVES dogs.

We love you Erik!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Happy 4th Birthday Jonathan

This is you on your 4th birthday. You told me to take a picture of you "smiling."

We had a celebration in honor of your four years of life.  We invited four little friends: Tommy and Tyli, our next-door neighbors, and Daniel and Matthew, your friends from Sunbeams.

And even though you were born in the cold month of January,  Texas decided to give you a birthday present too: warm weather.  It was about 70 degrees.  Although it was a little windy, you and your friends had a blast playing on your mountain and in your little house.  Afterward, you all came in for cake and to sing "Happy Birthday."

Next, you all took a whack at the pinata in the back yard.  When it finally cracked open, scores of treats and treasures were there to fill your bags.

All in all, it was a very fun birthday!

And just for my sake, I want to include your most frequently used phrases and things you love to do/play with.  Someday it'll be fun to look back and reminisce, so here they are:  Excuse me; I want to talk to you; I want to talk in your ear;  I have too many hands (meaning my hands are full).

Right now you are singing "Happy Birthday" to your "dog" Erik.  You and Erik love to pretend that he is a dog.  You love to go swimming, but you also hate to get water anywhere near your eyes when you're in the tub--go figure.  You are OBSESSED with keys, locks, and tying things up.  You also like to "learn letters,"  but I suspect that's largely due to the fact that you hate to nap and you want to end the charade we call "rest time" as soon as you can.  You also love tools and "fixing" things (which is kind of funny because it seems like you like to destroy things too--even if not always on purpose).

You have your definite ideas and are fairly strong-willed about carrying them out.  You are a rough and tumble boy, but you are also tender-hearted.  Your Daddy and I love you and are so glad you are a part of our family.  Happy birthday Jonathan!