Happy 6th birthday!

Happy Birthday, Collin! How could I have ever known that a little man, that is now 6 years old, could hold my heart in the palm of his hand. Collin is the first of my many blessings. I am still in awe of how amazing he is and what a miracle he is.
His 6th birthday was special! He celebrated at school (May 28 was on a Friday this year) with his classmates. Gram brought sports-themed cupcakes for him to share. He wore the biggest grin around all day! One of the perks to being a teacher's kid is that just about everyone in the building knows it's your birthday. So, everywhere he went he was showered with, "Happy Birthday, Collin!" He popped his head into my classroom at one point and my entire class started singing, "Happy Birthday to you" to him...he felt like a celebrity!
Friday night at our house is normally spaghetti night followed by a pig pile. Things were different on this special night. We ordered pizza and celebrated his birthday along with Caleb's birthday (June 9). Gram, Dink, Brandie, Jason, and their kiddos joined us. They opened presents and played!
Last Thursday we took Collin and Caleb for a day just for them and their 6-year-old selves! We were going to go to Wet Zone, but it was raining, so onto Plan B we went. We went to Northpark Mall (yes, they chose this...keep reading). The boys wanted grilled cheese sandwiches from Sonic, so that's what they had! We let them chose where to have lunch and this is what they wanted. I guess their sandwiches are just that good!?! Then we played in a random toy store on the way to our destination, the Lego Store. I'm not sure who had more fun in this toy store, the boys or Craig. This store had tons of Star Wars things. Action figures, statues, alarm clocks, Christmas tree ornaments, light sabers, etc. Craig was in his zone!! To top it all off, there was a Batman statue and a Superman statue at the entrance to the store that the boys (yes, ALL the boys) had their picture taken with.
Once we reached the Lego Store the boys were overwhelmed! They ran from side to side, choosing between Toy Story, then Star Wars, then Treasure Island, and on and on. Their main goal, however, was to build more Lego men before they left. They could not do that fast enough! Their final selection was actually fairly easy, and a great decision. They filled large cups with various Lego pieces that they got to pick themselves. They got tires, and bricks, and windows, and flowers, and random other things. They were so happy!! They have been building with these daily since.
The last part of their birthday was new bikes! It is so awesome watching them ride big boy bikes up and down the street!
The past 6 years have been filled with more love than I can describe. I love you, Licious! Happy 6th birthday!

Happy Birthday, Craig!

Happy 32nd Birthday, Craig!!!

After months of racking my brain, trying to think of the perfect birthday gift for my wonderful husband, the day has come and gone - whew! I must admit that I love celebrating his birthday just as much as he does. We went to the Dallas Mavericks game last year, which was a blast, but he decided that that's not what he wanted to do this year. Let me rephrase that....the dates that we were free to go to a game (no kids, no work the next day, etc) just weren't games that he wanted to go to. Now, he would not have complained one bit if we had gone to one of those games, but he wanted something different. I am a little sad that I'm not getting some of the tasty cotton candy the American Airlines Center has, but my butt says "thank you".

So, this year was pretty low-key. The kids and I took him to Magic Time Machine last weekend. It was a blast! The kids loved seeing all of the characters: Belle, Snow White, Mr. Incredible, Gilligan, Woody, the Mad Hatter, the Tooth Fairy...I can't remember them all. Taylor was in awe of all the princesses walking around! Her eyes lit up every time one of them walked by. Collin and Caleb had a blast walking around getting autographs from all of their favorite celebrities. The food was amazing! I'm not sure what I expected, but everything exceeded all my expectations! The kids had a drink called a "potion". They got to choose their color: red, blue, yellow, or ugly. Caleb and Taylor choose red and Collin choose yellow. The "potion" was made of pineapple juice, orange juice, sprite (I think that's it) and a piece of dry ice was placed in the bottom to make the drink bubble and smoke. Craig ordered the 3x4 plate. This consisted of a 4oz filet, 4oz chicken breast, and 4 bacon wrapped shrimp. OMG! The filet was so stinking good! I can't even remember the sides that came with it. I'm sure they were fabulous as well! The night ended with Belle and the Tooth Fairy singing a version I've never heard of "Happy Birthday" to Craig. He blew out the candle on his caramel topped cheesecake, and made a thoughtful wish, I am sure.

This weekend was very relaxing for him. I made a card for him using my best construction paper and cupcake die-cuts, and gave it to him first thing Friday morning. My students made him a card and sang to him when he visited. (I think they enjoyed that more than he did. He does not like being the center of attention!) We had dinner at Bucca de Beppo and walked around Firewheel Mall over the weekend and relaxed at home. This morning I made banana and chocolate chip pancakes for us and he made delicious bacon.

As far as him turning 32, that is hard to believe! I still see him as the 15 year old boy I fell in love with 17 years ago. He is still the most handsome man I have ever laid my eys on and I love him more and more each day.

Happy Birthday, Baby!