First Comes Love...

Happy Birthday, Hei Hei!

There aren't many people who love birthdays as much as George, which makes celebrating him especially fun! George has been talking for a while about a Chuck E Cheese birthday party (thanks YouTube channels 😏) so we finally gave in and everyone had a great time.

The birthday celebrations roll on... ...and this weekend we are in Leavenworth to celebrate Kevin's birthday!

It appears I'm getting cheesier with blog titles in my old age. Every few years my birthday falls on Schwingfest.  Since I can remember Schwingfest has always been an annual highlight for me and this year was especially great, celebrating The Tacoma Swiss Club's 90th Anniversary!

After a weekend full of celebrations, Abigail turned 7 yesterday! We celebrated with breakfast in bed, got her the robot she soooooo wanted but now wants to return (because it doesn't cook for her 😂), then had Gma and Gpa + Uncle Victor and Auntie Catherine over for dinner last night.

Again! We had so much fun at the pool for Abigail's 6th birthday that she decided to have her party there again this year (although this time we scored the pool closer to our house) .

Alright, little man - it's your turn!

G Man is four and half, and you can be certain he's one proud dude! George takes birthdays very seriously (namely gifts / toy procurement) and while he didn't receive any gifts today, we did splurge on Girl Scout cookies with a candle and song which had him giddy with delight.

I've decided that I will never stop calling my little girl my baby.  Abigail may have just turned six and a half, but she will forever hold a place in my heart as my first precious baby.

Abigail and I took Mamie to The Georgian Room for her birthday this year! It's been somewhat of an ongoing tradition but Abigail was delighted to join this year (she did around a year old, but she obviously doesn't remember that). Kirk watched the boys while we headed into town.  George was sad that he wasn't able to join, so he and I decided that we would pack some decorations and donuts for he and Papa to plan and surprise Mamie with when we got back. He seemed good with that 😊 Here are some pictures from the afternoon.

...and now I'm a mother of either toddlers or little kids, but no babies.  It's been an odd few months not pregnant or with a newborn, but it's also been nice to slow down a bit and focus on each kid and their growth. And Ben, have you ever grown!

My smart, amazing middle man turned four this past weekend and we were so excited to celebrate him!

Today is Kevin's birthday and there is more than one reason to celebrate. A couple weeks ago he was offered a job at Amazon as a Senior Project Manager in the AWS division (Amazon Web Services).  I am so proud of the time and dedication he has made to his career in order to get to this place. Add to that a freshly minted 36 year old, and I feel brimming with reasons to celebrate! Since he worked today we joined him for lunch at the new digs.  The kids and I parked at Pacific Place and took a roundtrip monorail ride as well - a highlight for them!

It seems impossible, right?  But it's true!  Our baby is now a caring, thoughtful, and kind little six year old girl.

The kids celebrated my birthday this morning with breakfast in bed, and I'm off to Leavenworth with Steph and Kristin this weekend to celebrate. Thank you all for the kind Instagram messages and texts / calls so far today!

This year we celebrated Abigail's birthday with a pool party! (I seriously cannot get over how adorable this picture is) We are forunte to have two pools here in our community, so we decided that with a summer birthday (plus a little girl who learned how to swim this summer!) it'd be fun to celebrate there. Abigail invited all her friends and family (for the most part, I left the invite list up to her!) and we spent the afternoon playing in the pool, eating Jimmy John's and cake (a watermelon cake made by Mamie!), and opening presents.

G, you're the sweetest.  Here is your first birthday interview.  You loved being in the hot seat; all the attention on you.  Hopefully by the next interview you'll learn to ignore Sissy and answer the questions for yourself  😉 (I realize after re-watching this how annoyed I was with you two, but no doubt I'll look back on this someday thinking how cute it was.  Go figure!)

Alright buddy - your turn! I'm not sure I'll ever get use to back to back birthdays (especially in my world, where every birthday is the biggest deal ever), but I clearly need to adapt. Benny, you are such a spirited, funny, perceptive guy.  You light up a room with your smile and curiosity, and have been learning things these past few months faster than I remember your siblings doing.   You're my little sponge!

George-o, you're 3.5 and we celebrated with a dinner of your choosing: pancakes and oranges! It feels like such a long time coming, but the idea of you being 4 in six months makes me ridiculously sentimental.

Your half birthday skipped by without notice this month, but I didn't want to get away without a Birthday interview, so here it is!