May Birthdays

Esther is 5 and Benson is 7 (and I'm 32)! Some things are getting smoother with this string of birthdays but it will always be a whirlwind of a few days. The last few years, I have made a recipe for one cake and split the batter between two pans for the kids. That is more than enough cake for our family. I baked them on the 27th and put Benson's in the freezer, to be frosted on his birthday. Esther wanted a heart cake with blueberries and strawberries on it and Benson finally (the day before his bday) settled on a bey blade cake. I'm no cake master, but I try my best to make their birthday dreams come true.

Esther is quite a girl. She is an expert rhymer. She also often makes up words for things to be silly. She loves playing in the mud, climbing trees, collecting worms and roly polies, riding her bike (went from balance bike to two wheels in March), visiting Ann and Dave Sperl across the street, drinking smoothies, taking baths with Tyson, holding Tyson's hand and helping him with lots of things, snuggle with Tyson, read books with mom and dad, play babies with Annika, work in her preschool workbook, color and cut, do "story math" (story problems), Marco Polo videos and FaceTime, spend the night at Papi's house, go for hikes, go for walks (she'll always say yes to going for a walk with me), play board and card games, play the piano (she plays twinkle twinkle little star and the first part of Silent Night. She'd love to learn more if I sat down with her more often), look at our family blog and picture books, and send mail to friends. Esther has her fair share of tantrums and whining bouts. But overall, she is so thoughtful and observant. She is a natural nurturer. I love watching her read books to Tyson. I'm excited to see her take care of her new baby sister in a few months!

Benson has really blossomed this year. His thirst for knowledge blows me away and he has expanded his creativity through building with k'nex and setting up and carrying out army guy battles. He asks very meaningful questions and shares insights after careful observation. He appreciates manmade items and likes to talk about how many people and how long it might have taken to build something. He loves to be clean (showers almost daily) and is very particular about where his possessions reside and who touches them. He's told us, and not in an ungrateful way, that he needs more space than his bedroom provides to set up his battles. I love observing the world he has created with his battles. He has become much more reasonable and logical in dealing with sticky situations. But he still has a ways to go. Some of his other favorites are apple juice, watching Clone Wars, playing with bey blades, reading Star Wars books, vacuuming the car (on Sunday he asked if he could and I said "no, we don't do work on Sundays." He replied "but, it's fun for me."), snuggling with Tyson (when he'll let him), eating food while he watches a movie, sharing pop with Dad, riding his bike, climbing trees, facetiming Drew Roylance and cousin Evan, playing Risk and Stratego, and doing flips onto the beanbag. He has mastered toast making and pancake flipping. He's the first kid awake every morning, usually around 6:30, but has become relatively patient when David and I want to sleep in until 7:30.

Esther started asking me if we could go to a parade for her birthday last fall. I kept saying "if there is a parade, we will go to it!" I thought she would forget about it. But it was still her dream a few weeks before her bday. So we invited our neighborhood friends, Keenan and Lindsey, and Papi to come drive through our driveway and throw candy. I was so touched by the number of neighbors who came and their level of enthusiasm for Esther's bday celebration. Donna Ruttan dressed up as a clown, the Sperl's and Braunwart's decorated their riding mowers, Dena threw confetti, the Walker's decorated their bikes and brought their own candy, Lindsey and Jasmine made posters, and MarthAnn Olsen brought her convertible for Esther to ride on and lead the parade. Esther rode up to the top of our driveway and then hopped out to collect the candy. It was so fun! 

Papi surprised her and came for the parade. When she saw him pull up she said something like "You came for my parade!"

She decorated her cake!

Chris Braunwart gave her a sequin flip llama and candy

We went backyard swimming after dinner on Esther's bday. She wanted tater tots and Percy Jackson soup (a recipe by Annika- pasta, corn, and peas in chicken broth).

Esther and Annika in the same outfit!

Dave Sperl at the parade

snuggles from my baby after his nap. I love this picture with my growing baby girl and Tyson together :)

I love the way she decorated her cake!

Our 7 year old still loves his baby blanket

Benson wanted to go to the Stock's pool for his bday. We invited Heather and Nathan. We were lucky to sneak in a few hours of swimming on this crazy weather day! We woke up early to the loudest thunder I've ever heard and there was more rain and thunder when we got home that night. 

Bey blade cake! haha He told me what colors he wanted and we did it in stripes to match his new bey blade. He wanted burgers and fries for his bday. Papi joined us for dinner that night and spent the night.

Oh how I love these babes! They picked out treasures at the dollar tree for me. My dad made milanesas for dinner. We had Abby and Keenan and families over for dessert. It was a loooong weekend. I'm grateful for all the good people in our lives!