Birthday Boys

It is the afternoon of Father's Day and in just a few short hours, the whirlwind of June celebrations will be over. We start the month with Nathan's birthday on June 2, then Jack's two days later, Josh's less than two weeks after that and then end with Father's day, this year just three days after that. Phew!

So I never wrote about Jack and Nathan's birthdays other than to say that we went to Legoland. The truth is that I have to write about them because I have pictures of my hard work on the treats I made-I have to share them with someone!

We started out by celebrating their birthdays with a BBQ on Memorial day while my family was in town visiting. We had cousin Laura and Sam over and the missionaries too (thanks to Josh and his kind heart that invited them over without checking with me to see what our plans were for that day). It was quite a party.

On Nathan's birthday he got up early and went to breakfast with Dad and then came home to the house decorated by me and Jack and he opened his Legoland pass. Then Josh dropped him off at school with these:

Cakepops. Probably the world's yummiest treat. Little did I know the reaction they would get. When I went to his school to have lunch with him that day the secretary in the office had heard about them and commented about it. Then the teacher raved and even the principal was excited by them. I guess I am now famous for cakepops.

(Reality: I was cursing myself the night before for not being the kind of mom who could just go to store and buy a pack of cookies or something simple, but instead chose to spend my time making these multi-step concoctions.)

Anyway, that night we opened presents, I made him a pie (and honestly, that warrants a whole post of its own. It was good-really good.) And then we just played Wii bowling and had fun together as a family.

Jack's preschool had a picnic the day before his birthday, so we took cupcakes. He wanted "toadcakes" (he is obsessed with Mario and wanted them to look like Toad.) I was a little unsure of how I was going to create these, but they turned out great. He was thrilled and that's what counts.

Friday, on the day of Jack's birthday, we surprised the boys and went to Legoland, but I already wrote about that. For his treat that night he chose mint ice cream and Reese's pieces. Interesting combination.

Really, I think there were several other celebrations thrown in there, but I honestly can't remember. It is always an exhausting week, but fun.

Now, things to remember about each of these little sweeties on their birthdays this year:

Nathan-Age 7:
Wants nothing more than to do good. He has a heart of gold. He aims to please-his parents, his teachers, and Heavenly Father and I love that about him.

He reads and reads and reads these days. There is nothing he likes better. He also loves to draw and write. He writes really well and his teacher even made copies of a story he wrote and gave it to the other teachers to see because she was so impressed.

He can entertains himself for hours if allowed to. Playing, reading, writing, drawing, anything.

Which brings up another thing about him-he hates to be rushed or told what to do, especially if it is hurried. He gets involved in something and absolutely hates it when I make his stop.

He loves to learn. He is smart, and he knows it. (We may have to work on humility as he gets older.)

I love his freckles, his toothless grin and his giggles. He loves to laugh and we love it when he does.

He is good at making friends. He has a lot of friends at school-he is friendly to everyone and is not afraid to be friends with anyone-even the girls who might have cooties. :)


Jack-Age 5

The first thing anyone would say about Jack is that he is strong willed and that is still so true. And I am sure it always will be. I was just saying to Josh that no one can make Jack do something-he has to decide on his own to do it. The other day he picked up an early reader book we have and read it to me straight through. I had no idea he could do that. I grabbed another and tried to get him to read it. Nope. Not interested. He will do it on his own time and in his own way, but when he does it, he will do it well. His handwriting is good for a 5 year old boy and that is of his own doing. I suspect he is capable of reading more than he lets on to-of his own doing.

He is also the most tender of souls-though most people don't get to see that side of my sweet Jack. He absolutely cannot resist snuggling. Even in his maddest moods if I offer a back scratch he is putty in my hands.

He feels things strongly and the way to connect to him is through love. He has a soft spot for love and tenderness. Loves baby things like turtles or any other baby animal. In general he loves animals (poor kid has two parents who don't.)

He is very obedient. He is almost always the first one ready for bed or done with his chores. When we ask him to do something, he does it. (Which I guess sort of contradicts what I wrote first about him doing things on his own time. Let's just say the Wii is powerful motivation for Jack to get his chores done.)

These are two special boys who I love and adore and treasure each and every day with them.