Happy Birthday Nate!

7 years ago when Nate was born, I imagined what he would be like as he grew up. I never could have imagined this! He's persistent, strong willed, very affectionate, and smarter than I am! I enjoy listening to his stories and jokes, even if they aren't funny and don't make sense! I can't help but smile, knowing he takes such pleasure in trying to make his Mom laugh. He's so loving and generous to Adrianna and myself. I pray, often, that this respect for women sticks with him throughout his life. There isn't a whole lot that's better than when he wakes up in the middle of the night, comes into my room, kisses me on the cheek and then goes back to bed...what makes him do that? He LOVES to do word searches, crossword puzzles, math worksheets, and read aloud. He can't get enough of the Nintendo DS or the Wii. He'll ride his bike for hours and loves to go on walks at the park and through the woods. You rarely need to remind him to say, "Thank you," or "Please." He told our "landlord" this week that she was "very kind for sharing her house with us." Yeah, he's whiney and sometimes his voice sounds like fingernails on a chalkboard, but I think he's a keeper.

I love you, Son. Here's to another great year of wonderful memories!

How predictable...imagine catching my husband doing something that a child would do...riding a bicycle through the isles of Meijer!

On his birthday, Matt and Nate took a trip to the Dayton Air Force Museum with Nate's Cub Scout troop. They enjoyed the company of Brian and Eli Mulcahy. Nate was disappointed that his party wasn't until the next day, but did say, "If I can't have my party on my birthday, the next best thing is to spend the day with Eli." They left at 6:00 that morning, so we saved the candlelit breakfast (our family tradition thanks to the Harlesses) for the next morning. His request was homemade chocolate doughnuts and bananas...he's not hard to please!

To go along with his swimming party, he wanted a shark cake. I'll admit, I was very intimidated about making an actual shark cake, so we came up with this idea. The JELLO cake was topped with whipped cream icing! YUM! Word of advice...this would have been a lot more appropriate for fall or winter birthday! We didn't really think through the fact that whipped cream tends to get a little oozy in the heat!

This was Gabe after the party...yeah...I think we all had a GREAT time!

We've been planning a trip to visit my sister and her family for a while now and he told me today that going to see River (my nephew, his cousin) "is like icing on the best birthday cake ever!" Stay tuned for the adventures of a Grandpa and Mother taking 3 kids on a 500 mile road trip! Fun time are comin'!