Birthday Boys!

March 1st is an important day in our home, being the anniversary of both Joseph and Caleb's births.  This year it was pretty low-key because there was so much church stuff going on that weekend, but we had fun as a family. To kick it off, Caleb opened a present early in the morning before Emily left for school.

 I'm not sure who was more excited - Caleb or Emily.

The kids love Duplos and Thomas trains, so this gift was lots of fun.
It was actually a bonus present from me and Joseph found at Saver's for $7.

Caleb spent the day playing Mama Thomas and Baby Thomas.
They are cuddling in this picture.

A friend gave me a recipe for dirt cake. Caleb is a big fan of dirt, so I thought he would like it.

This is a half recipe, which was perfect for our family.

Aww... the two birthday boys.

Caleb was not sure at all about eating dirt. He wouldn't touch it until he saw the rest of us eating.

This girl eats dirt regularly. She had no problem with the cake.

Emily would eat only after I explained to her how I had made it.

My handsome husband. He's maturing in his old age.

Later that evening the boys opened a few more presents.

Rollerskates from Grandma Cooper = so much fun and no added toy clutter!

From Grandma Oba and Mom and Dad...

... a Strider bike! Wahoo!

 

A neat hanging easel for Joseph plus graduation regalia and BYU jacket later.

 So, all in all a fun day...

Wow. Can you tell by my writing today that I am exhausted? It has been sort of a hectic week with Joseph handling bedtime duties solo every day since Sunday, since I have had meetings and other obligations keeping me away every evening from about 6:30 until 9:30. He has had a lot going on at school too, being in the midst of coordinating five professors' schedules for his dissertation proposal.
Speaking of goings on at school, Emily's school nurse called me today. I was immediately worried about my little four-year-old, out there alone at school. The nurse reassured me that everything was fine, but Emily had managed to staple clean through a fingernail in her adventures making a paper purse. The staple had hooked behind her nail, which must have been painful to remove. She now has a really sad looking cut behind the fingernail of her index finger on her left hand. But, she was happy to return to class with a band-aid and an ice pack and was pretty excited to show off her wound to anyone who would look.

I feel like I am dragging anyone reading this down with my weariness, so I will head to bed now. Look for a more upbeat post in a couple of days!