I figured that since it is now April, I should write about all the Valentine boys' birthdays that occurred in March. We are officially way behind on life & I blame it completely on the stomach bug that reigned from the last day of February to a couple days past the middle of the month + the fact that growing a baby makes me super sleepy. We had planned a train themed birthday bash for March 7th but had to postpone till the next weekend & by that time we just canceled it. The invite was adorable & we were often saying the phrase "Choo Choo, I'm Two!" The cancellation email I sent out said "Choo Choo, I'm blue!" & boy were we. We were encouraged to cancel realizing that the boys have no clue what a birthday party is.
Let's start with those twin boys that have filled our nest with sweetness & lots of shenanigans for the past two years....especially in the last few months as they have become a bit more mischievous. They celebrated turning two on various occasions throughout the month starting with March 8th. Owen had taken a 36 hour hiatus from vomiting leading up to the birth-day but started again that morning. Robby had gone to the store & I was sobbing as I called my parents to say we were back in the throws of sickness. We felt awful for him & were sad he would feel crummy on his special day. My mom hopped in the car & headed to Dallas within a couple hours & despite the illness was SO happy to see those little guys on March 8th.
Around lunch time, Papa & Grammy joined us for lunch. Robby grilled some delicious burgers which we enjoyed with plenty of sides. Owen got to eat a cracker & drink a swig of white grape juice. He was definitely in no shape to enjoy a cupcake & honestly we were a little nervous to give Anson one in case he would be the next one down for the count. Poor guy ended up never getting sick & didn't get to blow out a candle until his Daddy's birthday two weeks later. It was kind of humorous.
We still proceeded with the gift opening & Eloise was the most proud of her creation.....
Even though the boys are sufficient gift un-wrappers the girls could not help themselves & assisted anyway. I don't usually think these two look alike but this picture surprised me. You can see how skinny Owen's legs had become. He lost about two pounds over all.
They worked together on a couple gifts & were excited to receive an array of books, a mini backpack & lunch bag, elephant for Anson, monkey for Owen, some new clothes & a Curious George memory game which Charlotte promptly beat each person she played.
I think the most useful thing they received was an additional set of Legos & two 15x15 boards to build on. This is the one thing that keeps them busy for more than 10 minutes. I would spend a thousand dollars on sets of these to increase that time ; )
They got some reading done with Grammy. I love their rooster hair.
We relaxed as much as we could & then got the boys down for a little birthday snooze. You may notice the graham cracker in Owen's hand. That was a bad idea & was expelled hours later in projectile fashion about three inches behind my mom a mere second after she scooted up to the table. That's how the day ended.
In the meantime we began to recover but were not completely well till March 17th which was Bella Bella Blue Dog's 10th birthday. My Auntie Deb & Emma brought us some delicious BBQ with all the fixins & we decided to hook Bella up with something she would like better than a cupcake. We sang to her but I don't think she noticed because her eyes were set on this....
Fast forward to March 22nd, one day before Robby's special day. Bob & Jeannine invited us down to their home to celebrate. We were all surprised to see the kitchen decked out with Thomas the Train. We guessed it was for the little guys & not the big one ; ) They were so kind to consider that Owen & Anson did not have a real birthday celebration & made it fun for all of us. Owen's favorite were the balloons.
In fact I think all were enamored with them...
Anson decided that since he was two he had to be super cool...
We headed down there for lunch, naps (me included) then feasted upon fillets, baked potatoes & veggies. After lunch, it was time for gift opening. We had taken a family outing to Frye's Electronics the day before so Charlotte could purchase the gift she was convinced her Daddy needed. She wanted to get him a new wireless headset to use at home with his work calls. He actually does need this but it will not be cheap & he would like to pick them out. I instead steered her toward some ear buds that he could hook up to his phone. Eloise thought pink would be the best color but they settled on blue. Charlotte was SO excited for him to open the package that she wrapped so meticulously. It was well received & you can tell she was satisfied. When he opened them later that night we were laughing at the beautiful baby blue color.
One random gift we got for him was a wooden rolling pin without handles. We have been making our own tortillas lately & ours drives him crazy. I ordered it on Amazon & never thought to look at the size. I laughed out loud when I opened the box to find one that was at least 15 inches in length & then he got a kick out of it when he opened it. Definitely overkill but maybe it will save us time if he can roll three at a time ; )
Jeannine made the family favorite chocolatey cake with almond icing for these three...
The girls were in charge of candles.
Apparently all enjoyed the singing minus the thumb sucker & when we stopped Owen requested "more!"
We can eat that entire cake in one sitting but we had some restraint & enjoyed a slice (or two). The most hilarious part was when Anson who had already finished his serving asked Grammy for a bite of hers. She leaned down to offer him a bite off of her fork but instead he grabbed a full slice off her plate in two bear like swipes & woofed them. We were all cracking up. That is precisely why he has maintained his 2 pound lead in the weight class. We spent some time outside looking for Mindy the stray cat & getting Papa's garden ready for planting. I don't think he actually desired that but the tools were in view & the kids couldn't help themselves.
There were no more photos taken of the birthday celebrations but they continued. On Robby's birthday we waited until he walked out the door then the girls & I were full speed ahead emptying three large bookcases containing all of his books. They were put up on the shelves in no particular order about an hour before Charlotte's birthday party last JULY & never touched again. It has driven him absolutely crazy searching for books or merely glancing at the mess. I told the girls that we would be learning about being a librarian & boy did we. I had never sung the ABC's so many times in my life to figure out what came next. It wasn't all just by last name, he has sections just like a real library with non fiction, fiction, biographies, theology, travel & languages. I actually loved it & was so happy we spent a good portion of the day when we witnessed his reaction upon his arrival home. He said it was the best gift ever & gave us some huge hugs. Within 30 minutes our babysitter had a arrived & I whisked him off to dinner at Sushi Sake....the only place we go when we have a night out. We are always soooo relaxed & are never disappointed by our selections. The only thing I was slightly disappointed about was not drinking hot sake & not eating raw fish. Overall, my meal was still delicious & the company was even better. We love eating early then coming home right after the kids are in bed to collapse on the couch & catch up on a TV show. It was a decent birthday minus finding out we owed on our taxes & Robby's receiving a jury duty notice. He has had a trend of not so fun things happening on his birthday but I think organized books & sushi made up for this years.
What a wild month March was! I was thinking about it & can't decide what was more challenging...March 2015 or March 2013 with two boys in the NICU. Both years were intense & we survived thanks to be to God! Just a reminder of how Robby spent his birthday just a mere two years ago....
I love those three more than they will ever know & celebrating them on their birthday just falls into how we love them all year long.
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