Happy 6th Birthday Christopher!!!

We've been celebrating Christopher's 6th for the past couple of days. His actual birthday was yesterday. I always find myself reflecting back on that day they were born on their birthdays. Sometimes I think birthdays affect mommies more than the actual birthday boy/girl. I told Christopher that his birth was so special to me, because he is who made me a mommy.
He got a trampoline from Bret, Xander, Darci, and I. We gave it to him yesterday morning before Bret had to leave for work. It was still in the box. He was so excited I just had to put it together for him. The instructions said it was a 2 person job, but I knew I could do it myself. 4 hours later Christopher and Xander were having a blast.
Christopher had Kindergarten in the afternoon and I got to bring treats for him. All the kids sang to him and enjoyed their cupcakes. I forgot until yesterday morning that the treats needed to be store bought and not home baked. I was lucky to find a large selection of cupcakes with plastic rings on them with Star Wars, Ninja Turtles, and Disney Princesses (for the girls).
This morning I woke up and started working on getting everything ready for Christopher's birthday party. He chose a cowboy theme and Grandpa Pingel ran with it. He brought one of his horses, bales of hay with lassos, and stick horses for racing. There were friends from the neighborhood and cousins and it was lots of fun. Christopher loved ALL of his presents. He's like his mommy and is just excited that his friends would get him ANYTHING.
A little later that evening his Grandpa and Grandma Armstrong came and gave him a gift and watched as he and Xander jump on the trampoline. This trampoline is already used more than I was hoping for and I'm thrilled.
It's been a fun 6 years and I feel so blessed to have a son as amazing as Christopher. Those that know him know how sweet and sensitive and caring he is. He is a very good boy and so very smart. He has a sensitivity to things of a spiritual nature and has started talking a lot lately about serving a mission when he's 19. He also takes his education very seriously and wants to make sure we do lots of reading and writing and numbers (his favorite) this summer. What kid does that!! I'd like to say I'm doing something really right, but a lot of it is just Christopher. He's a special and GREAT kid.

Darci's First Birthday

Has it truly been a year that Darci has been blessing our lives!!! She is truly a joy for our entire family. I never thought that having a little girl could be soooooo much fun. I enjoy every minute of it. She is already such a mix of girly girl and tom boy. She loves gadgets; cell phones, computers, remote controls, all the audio/video components. She gets excited when she hears a revving motorcycle or a helicopter. But she also loves to snuggle any stuffed animal or carry around a purse. She also loves to give her family hugs and kisses.

We had Darci's birthday party on Sunday, January 13th for convenience and I'll admit that the several days before I was in an awful mood and wasn't looking forward to it. But once I got decorating and saw her excitement that something fun was happening (and I think on some level she knew it was for her), I started to get excited myself. We decorated in pink princess ballons and she wore a pink tu-tu and carried a little wand.

Darci loves having her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins around her. Add on the fact that they were here for HER and she was in 7th Heaven. Lots of food and cousins running around playing. Ballons flying everywhere and presents for HER!!! Her cousins excitedly helped her open presents and then sat on the ground with her to pull things out of boxes and play with everything new.

Then the coup de gras!!! A cake!! The sparkler #1 candle was a mystery to her. She wasn't sure what to think of it. Then the cake got put in front of her and everyone watched her expectantly. She looked from face to face and wondered, "what are they waiting for?". Mommy took her hand and put it in the cake. She looked up at me shocked. Then I put her frosting smeared hand in her mouth. WOW!! She dove right in after that and savored every bite.

All this activity makes for one sleepy girl. Everyone left and jammies were put on. While Mommy and Daddy cleaned up Darci, Xander, and Christopher played with the spoils. She went to bed very happy :)

The 14th was more a day of personal reflection for me. I vividly remember her birth. I remember how excited I was when I realized that she was coming on my sister's birthday. I remember the rooms and my labor and delivery nurse. I remember seeing her for the first time and being so worried for her well being. I remember the spirit in the room. Bret was there, my mom and dad were there, and my best girlfriend was there. You could also tangibly feel how thin the veil was. I truly feel like my Grandma Pingel was there and so was my sister. It was a precious day that I will always treasure.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY XANDER!!

Yesterday was Xander's 3rd birthday. He chose a Buzz Lightyear theme and we invited all of the family. Last year his birthday was a bit of disaster in that he got really overwhelmed and by the time we opened presents he was in full meltdown mode. We were afraid we would have a repeat of that this year. He was a brand new (older & wiser perhaps?) kid this year. He truly enjoyed being the center of attention. He sang "Happy Birthday to ME" and enjoyed blowing out his candles. He had fun with his cousins and liked having helpers for opening presents.




Thanks to all that attended for making it such a special day for him.
Our only downer to the day was that Christopher wasn't feeling 100%, but even he was able to enjoy the time spent with family.