Cel-ah-brate good times...

I hope I'm not dating myself with that song for my title.

Middle girl celebrated her birthday in style on Sunday and Monday. Sunday was the friend party at the local gymnastics school where she has been taking classes for about 3 years. She had nine friends along with her two sisters as guests and they all had a ball with the "party people" Ann-Marie and her husband Bobbie.

Here are a few choice photos from the party:


A gaggle of girls ganging up on Bobbie.


The birthday girl waiting for instructions (along with friend M).


Eldest girl enjoying Ann-Marie's antics.


Youngest girl stuck close to me for the entire party with the exception of this short
stint on the trampoline - which she obviously enjoyed thoroughly!


Cake time! And for the record, I can no longer be called 'Martha on Crack' (right, K?). I forked over big bucks to let someone else run the party AND I bought the cake from the local bakery!


Present time - with help from mom and friend N.

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On Monday she woke up at 6:30 and I was able to wish her a happy birthday on the exact moment of her birth - 6:53am. Hard to believe that this baby is now six!


(....and equally hard to believe that the other "baby" in the photo - who seemed soooo big at the time - is going to be 9 this winter).

At school she celebrated with all her classmates. Her sisters and I ate lunch with her in the classroom and then we handed out cupcakes (homemade but with canned frosting - see, K? No Martha living here no mo'). This teacher does such a nice job of making the child feel special on their birthday (and even the summer birthday kids get to celebrate before the end of the year). During circle time they do a special little birthday 'ceremony' and sing a special song. One child sits in a chair holding a small candle - this child is the "sun". The birthday child carries a globe and walks around the sun as many times as they are old to signify how many times the earth has been around the sun since they were born. The teacher also reads the A.A. Milne poem "When I am Six" to the child and the class then sings a second 'birthday song' which is not the traditional birthday song. I don't know the words to the songs but they are both very sweet. :-) Oh yeah, and a birthday story is also read to the class and the birthday child gets to take home a special book bag of birthday stories to read at home. I can't say enough how much I love Ms. W!!!

Here are a few pics from the school celebration:



Putting on her special crown.


Circling the 'sun'!



A special birthday poem.


Lunch with mom and sisters.


Happy Birthday!


Time for cupcakes!

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And last but not least we celebrated with my in-laws by having them over for dinner that night! Middle girl requested chicken with spaghetti sauce over pasta and green beans. Nothing fancy so it was an easy relaxed dinner...and of course...more cake for dessert! :-)

All in all, a wonderful couple of days to celebrate the day we first met our very special Middle girl!

A Weekend of Celebration!

This weekend we hosted a lovely brunch for my parents 50th wedding anniversary. The night before we had a delicious time with just my siblings, their spouses (or significant other, in one case) and my parents at one of their favorite local establishments. It was a fun and festive night and a great prelude the event on Sunday afternoon. My niece, Hilary, and her boyfriend, Anthony, babysat my girls that evening and did a fabulous job! I was nervous about how E would handle being in a somewhat strange place with babysitters that were not that familiar to her but they handled it all so well and she did great! They helped the girls decorate mini pumpkins, ate cupcakes and popcorn, and watched a movie together. I think the girls had as much fun as we did!

Sunday was the day of the big brunch and we had a total of 58 guests in attendance. I have not seen a lot of the people there in quite a while so it was nice to see them all. It was wonderful to have them all there to celebrate and honor my parents on such a momentous occasion! Everyone was very festive and happy and the day was such a bright, crisp, beautiful fall day. My sister, Diane, (my partner in crime event coordination) had put together some beautiful scrapbooks to commemorate the day and everyone had a great time looking through the pictures and signing the book. My parents renewed their vows and reaffirmed their love for one another with my oldest brother, Jim, as "officiant" and my brother, Bob, provided us with a heart-felt and comical toast.

It was special and inspiring to celebrate with my parents and realize that they have been together for fifty years! They have had their joys and their sorrows during the course of their marriage. Their love has stood the test of time and they have been through all those years together, side by side. They are an inspiration and a testament to true love and devotion.

Happy 50th Anniversary, Mom and Dad! We love you very much and hope that we created a day full of love and memories that you will cherish! Here are a few choice photos from the day of the brunch!

Mom and Dad arriving at the restaurant

The scrapbooks and photos.



The toast!



The bride and groom surrounded by Jim the officiant
(far left), and their best man and matron
of honor for the day!



Cutting the cake!