It Was a Great Day for a Birthday...

When I have said my evening prayer,

And my clothes are folded on the chair,

And mother switches off the light,

I'll still be three years old tonight.

But, from the very break of day,

Before the children rise and play,

Before the greenness turns to gold,

Tomorrow, I'll be four years old.

Four kisses when I wake,

Four candles on my cake.

M. Meyerkort

Now, this was a great birthday...it was the first birthday where Ava Belle actually got it...none of it manufactured by myself...it was pure excitement from the moment her eyes opened and she jumped out of bed to show me how she'd grown over night, to the moment her head hit the pillow that evening and she asked if she would still be four in the morning and if that meant it would still be her birthday. It wasn't all about gifts, it wasn't all about 'me-firsts' (even though there was certainly a bit of both), it was simply all about celebrating her young and happy life. Her teacher did an exceptional job of helping us set the tone for her birthday....I stayed with her at school while a dear friend kept Emmett, and I think that was gift enough to each of us! We have very little time together without the company of her younger brother (not that I'm complaining - my 20 mo old is delightful, but, let me repeat...he is a 20 mo old boy) it was just really sweet to have an opportunity to soak each other up without much distraction. A special day for my special little girl.

Ava Belle requested Strawberry Cupcakes for her birthday party at school.....they were pretty yummy....

...but, a busy birthday meant there wasn't time to make a second cake for that evening...thank goodness Daddy saved the day with a store bought cake....my puritanical self gave in.......

...as you can see, she didn't care that it wasn't homemade...

she was so thrilled about the birthday song and all those candles....

Catching Up

It's been some time since my last post, and we have certainly been enjoying our fair share of adventures. We spent the entire month of February living in Washington, D.C. so that Paul could attend a series of lectures at Walter Reed hospital, basically a board prep course that all radiology residents take at this point in their training and it's always in D.C. My brother happens to live there too, so, it was GREAT fun visiting with him and his lovely girlfriend. We lived in McLean, VA in a house with our dear friends (who are, YES, still our dear friends after one month of living with our crazy family and nearly 50" of snow!) It has been a full end to winter and we are ready for spring. Already we have enjoyed a week of warm weather and are welcoming the spring with thoughts of our garden-to-be, Ava Belle's birthday, etc! I apologize that the pics are a little out of order....enjoy!

My sister and I on my birthday...

Always love it when my parents come to town! It's always full of laughter, food, wine and as my Dad says, "low quality time." For my birthday they gave me an amazing gift...a DYSON vacuum cleaner! Truly, it deserves a post of its own...after getting it I spent roughly 4 hours cleaning my house....I took a picture of all the dirt we were living in. Wow.

My sister, Alex, and I took the kids to the gardens one morning....

Alex has decided to become an Auburn Tiger! We are so excited, truly, I've never had more school spirit!

Monkey business in DC

Emmett, an enthusiastic tourist....

More monkey business, Super Hero style....

We had a crab boil at my brother's place, AB was really into the tools...

Enjoying some 'low quality' music along with our 'low quality time'

Fantastic Doll house in the American History Museum...complete with an attic full of furniture, tiny record players, etc....AB was mesmerized!

Of course, we had to get a picture of AB with her 'sparklies' alongside the original pair! Ruby slippers meet ruby slippers...

Quadrilla! Note to Grandparents: This would be a great gift!

Bowling! An absolute highlight of the trip!

We visited some friends of the Mettenburgs who lived outside of Charlottesville, VA...the children loved getting to play in the barn area...

Lastest fashions available at Eastern Market...the vendor insisted I take a careful look at myself....pretty sure I look even more like a cocker spaniel than I already do...

And, the 50" of snow that became our playground....