my Zu-Zu's birthday

Inside the mind of a 3-year-old birthday princess...




















Does everyone have a party hat? Has everyone seen my pretty dress? Is there enough pink in the room? Are we all ready to play Ponies after the cake?







































...Look at all my presents, all my pretty pink presents.




















...Nanna, can I open one of them right now, right now, pretty please? Pretty Pony Please?




















...Okay, fine, I'll eat my pretty pink cake first. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm...







































...At last, at last! Yay for birthday presents!




















...and my crazy Aunt B keeps bothering me for a picture. Okay, I'll pose for a second.

my mama's birthday party

I can't believe it's taken me this long to post these -- Mom's birthday was June 24th! Anyway, my sis Katie had the wonderful idea of us girls taking my mom to the LS Ayres Tearoom at the Indiana State Museum (the tearoom is a piece-by-piece recreation of the more famous tearoom that used to be at the downtown Ayres before it closed...). Since my mom loves tea and because she instilled that love of tea into all 3 of her daughters, well, it was just the perfect setting for a precious birthday party. We all had a lovely, elegant afternoon together!

Ethan's 4th birthday

Here are some pix from Ethan's 4th birthday party, which was a Thomas the Train extravaganza!!! Little did Ethan know that his Nanna and Pa-Pa had purchased "A Day out with Thomas" tickets for the whole family the next weekend! (I'll post those pictures next.)

I can't believe Ethan is 4 years old. Seems like yesterday I got my turn in the delivery room to hold him...and was astonished at his 11 pounds, 3.3 ounces and all 24 inches of him! He is my sweet little buddy. I just adore this little man and his 2 sissies...I feel like they're my own kids. Of course, I'm more than happy to leave them with their parents after a day of playing!

Anyway, here's some pix:



















The birthday boy (it was hard to get a smile from him for the camera because he really HATES being the center of attention...he gets really shy!).















Me with my precious PawPaw. Could he BE any cuter?

This is what Adam and I gave Ethan. It's a Thomas flashlight. Ethan loved it...he actually ran away with it to hide it from his sisters -- the ultimate compliment to the gift-giver. :)















2-year-old Ada Gracie did not understand that the cake was not for her. She kept taking it away from Ethan and finally just burst into tears...















But Nanna to the rescue! Mom pulled out a pair of new pink sunglasses for her, and it did the trick. (Ada's like me...give me an accessory and I'm happy.)















Here's Ethan playing with his trains. He has a train table with pockets where he keeps all his tracks and such. He loves to get right down with the trains as they go around so he can watch their wheels.

More random shots...

More birthday pix

See my musical stylings on the karaoke (notice how no one is watching me but giving each other looks of amused but tortured pain to their eardrums...I can't carry a tune to save my life but I love singing!)...my beautiful cake from Julie...the pajama parade...all my girls gathered 'round...and finally, being sung to, which always embarrasses me!

The Birthday Bash

Finally, some of the pix from the big 29th bash are beginning to roll in! Here's the first wave.
















Pretty in pink jammies are from left, Melissa, Julie, Kristen, and Katie















The soup kitchen: the girls forage for the yummy meal that everyone helped me prepare -- corn chowder, chicken noodle soup, French bread, strawberry poppyseed salad, a relish tray, and so much junk food I don't want to think about it!















Speaking of the food....mmmmmmmmmmmm
















Christa (left) and Kate enjoy the birthday feast (how corny are these captions?)