Brenna's Birthday

It is a tradition to lightly decorate our children's rooms on their birthdays so that when they wake up they know immediately they have been wished a happy birthday. It is always unspoken between us and the kids. It is just a known, a given. But on the eve of Brena's 8th birthday, she leaned over to her daddy's ear and whispered, "Don't forget to decorate tonight when I go to sleep."

Laughing or Crying???

Me: "Brenna, are you done in the shower already?"
Brenna: "Yes, mom and I even blow dried my hair."

Me (to Andy): "Wow, that was really fast. I'm going to go have Brenna try on her dress for her baptism; I'll be right back."

I walked up the stairs and met Brenna by her door. She immediately leaned down and said, "Mom, feel my hair. I blew it dry and...well, there's a little bit that's still wet, here, feel." Something about this statement and immediacy with which she said something as I walked up the stairs gave me a momentary blip on my radar screen. Hmmm...and then back to normal...

Until, I leaned down to kiss her freshly shampooed hair..and I didn't smell it. It dawned on me that this couldn't be the case; she couldn't have lied to me, but she did!!!

And over something so silly. A shower, seriously?

Should I laugh or cry?

Tobin's playoff game

Tobin played quarterback in the playoff game last week. If anyone were to watch the game, I feel Tobin did a great job. He had a lot to deal with, an opposing team that was giving him no mercy! I saw Tobin thinking on his feet, and making defensive decisions. Unfortunately, we weren't able to pull out a win. The Steelers, the team we played against, only lost one game all season. However, the one team that beat them was the team we beat! However, our season is over. There is so much I could write about this season--overall, I think it has been Tobin's toughest season mentally.

Dead Last, but Cute as a Button

She lost it on the landings. I think the last photo says it all. She knew. But she still had a good time. She woke up at 6:30 am and she has NEVER done that before. She was excited. I hope to get the videos up soon.

Brenna puts her Hands Up for Character

Brenna was so excited when her teacher chose her to be the first one of the year to put her hands on the pillar. Daddhy was able to be there to support her and giver her a hug and a kiss at the end. Way to go Brenna!

Andy's 40th Birthday

Andy turned 40 in the middle of October. I have planned for the last 5 years how we would celebrate his B-I-G birthday. In my mind it was always so fun and different and something people would remember! But it's amazing how in my daydreaming, I never imagined our current situation into the dream. Did I mention that in my birthday daydream, money grows on trees?

So, in a nutshell, my 40th birthday celebration daydream went up against our reality and goals of saving for a house. What to do? Save for the house we want so much to get back to or spend $$ on a night of revelry and fun? Since I haven't blogged I guess you know which one we chose. We went against the American way and decided we needed to save for our house. So, it has made it hard for me to blog about his birthday.

I must say though, that it truly was celebrated the way it should be celebrated--with family and a lot of love. We went with Andy to dinner at one of his favorite restaurants--The Pines. Italian through and through.











A second celebration at home on his actual birthday! The pjs give away that it was bedtime by the time we got to celebrate with Andy.



Happy Birthday, Andy!! One day, I will give you that party in my dreams.

Indoor Pool with Cousins