Happy Birthday to us!

Late October is a big birthday time here at Aquinas Academy. N4 starts things out - he turned 5 this year, which is just unbelievable to me.


Despite our financial difficulties, thanks to grandma and grandpa, and "Aunt Jenn" (my best friend from high school who lives just a couple miles away and is my kids unofficial "auntie"), N4 had a great birthday.


The coolest present he got was a kids' digital camera. Or maybe it was the really neat bug stuff (house and a vacuum thing to suck up the bugs to study - now *that* I've gotta love! :-) The kids spent days catching moths, beetles, and a lizard. They cried when we let the lizard go! But I have to say - it's just so interesting to look at the things a 5 year old takes pictures of! Almost every picture he takes of me or dh is from an angle we've never seen before - looking up from about waist level! Lots of pictures of his bears, the furniture, the inside of his brother's mouths or their ears or... I will post some of N4's pictures soon - some of them are quite good!

Next was my birthday. I'm now officially in my "late" 30s, as opposed to "mid" 30s. Not so sure how I feel about that, but I had a great day. I did get one present - a bookstore gift card from the aforementioned "Aunt Jenn" - I can't wait to use it!! My other friend and my dh conspired to give me a mini-surprise party. We had a great time! I got beautiful flowers from "Monkey1",


plus a fun pizza dinner and my very own cake. When I had 9 young children singing me Happy Birthday, along with my husband and great friend, I felt like the luckiest, most blessed woman on earth!

This week, S3 wil turn 7. My head spins, wondering how in the world my tiny little babe got to be 7 years old! I'm really wondering if he'll have front teeth on his birthday. I took this picture a month ago when we realized his two front teeth were almost ready to come out.


But they're still there! One tooth in particular is just hanging there, but that last root will just NOT break. I told dh he just has to get it out before he goes out of town - I just do NOT do the tooth thing! S3 is going to look so cute with no front teeth!