Birthday Week

We celebrated 3 birthdays in our family this week. Eric's 30-something, Rebekah's 1st and Melissa's 8th. It was a busy week! Here are some pictures and video we'd like to share.

I'd better start off with some commentary. Poor Eric didn't have the most notable birthday. I hadn't prepared well and planned on doing some shopping the day before his birthday to pick up the needed presents, etc. but ended up with a 24 hour flu bug and spent the day miserable on the couch. So on the morning of his birthday, he didn't have a present to open or anything to start the day off fun and then of course he had to go to work. Luckily I was feeling better and was able to run into town for presents and groceries. I found a nice mountain bike on clearance (yeah!) which was a fun present that I hadn't planned on. I also got stuff for a nice steak dinner (so we wouldn't have to attempt to go out with 5 kids 10 and under - one being a 2 1/2 year old, no other explanation needed) and a great chocolate cheesecake with strawberries and raspberries on top for his birthday cake (YUM!-and no baking required on my part!) As luck would have it, about dinner time Eric started feeling bad - he had caught my flu bug!- he wasn't able to enjoy dinner or any of his cheesecake! We sang to him after dinner and I gave the kids some cheesecake. Sad.

Next was sweet little Rebekah's birthday . . .

The knit cap in the above pictures was a gift from her Aunt Delores (Thank you!). She made it and its darling, but unless I can slip it on when Rebekah is distracted by something else she pulls it right off. She didn't care at all about the presents until they were opened, which her brothers and sisters were more than happy to help her with.

I always let the birthday child pick out their favorite dinner on their birthday. For a 1 year old that's hard to decifer. She seems to love lasagna so I made that and it worked out great because she ate like a champ. I can't believe how much she ate!

Rebekah also loved the cupcakes for dessert!

Melissa got an early birthday present and went night skiing with her dad a few days before her birthday. It was her first time going and she had a great time and did really well Eric said.

Melissa was so excited for her birthday. The day before we picked out some yummy frosted sugar cookies to take to school to share and thankfully she was excited and not sad about going to school on her birthday. The night before, she went to bed not feeling her best, she had a stomach ache that had started around dinner time. She woke up at about 11pm throwing up - all over her precious stuffed dog Snoopy and her hippo and her sister - poor Melanie. Poor Melissa too. She was afraid her birthday was ruined. She said her tummy was feeling better and asked if she'd still be able to go to school the next day. I hesitantly said she could if the rest of the night went smooth with no more throwing up and no fever. We were lucky. That was the end of it and she was feeling well in the morning and able to have her favorite - chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast and open presents before school.

For dinner Melissa wanted to go to Red Lobster - her favorite place, but I think its just for the name and the lobster tank in the entry way. Eric and I really don't like that place and tried to talk her into letting us cook up some of her seafood favorites like boiled shrimp and crab or lobster bisque, or even to take her to a different restaurant (any other restaurant) but to no avail, she had her heart set on Red Lobster - so we went. When we get to ordering it comes to her and she orders Macaroni and Cheese! Eric and I look at each other and then look at her and say No Way! Apparently she didn't want to order the same thing as her siblings and since Melanie had ordered crab legs and James had ordered shrimp, she felt she was left with mac-n-cheese. Oh, what a girl.

Eric and I spent the evening back and forth in the bathroom with one or other of the kids, chasing David back and forth from the lobster tank, or climbing over the half wall behind us, cracking crab for the girls etc. etc. It was not a fun evening. One good thing was that, what I could eat of it, my meal was better than any others I can remember having there, even though I could have made it just as well at home with much less trouble!

We've sworn off that place for good and going out with the kids as well - but I think we've done that before - it seems to only last until enough time has passed that we forget just how horrible going to a restaurant with kids is.

And that was our Happy Birthday week!