Monday, June 28, 2010

The Birthday

I think that the kids had a great birthday! We started out by waking them up and giving them their gifts to unwrap. Gary picked out their gifts, got them ready, wrapped them, and everything! I think he did a great job, although perhaps the kids didn't really understand what they got initially. . . .













Our kids seem to really like music. They dance a lot, bob their heads, bounce, etc. Gary has always played a lot of music around them and danced with them. And Gary plays real music for them, not just kid music, though we make sure that it's appropriate for their listening. We've found that dealing with CDs get old when you're switching out bathtime music to sleeping music, and then taking the CDs back and forth to the car for trips. And, we don't want to use our iPods with the kids, because we don't have only child-friendly songs to prevent constant monitoring of what is playing. So, it makes sense for the kids to have their own iPod with their favorite music and playlists. And since Gary is a sucker for a good set of speakers, he insisted that they needed their own iPod speakers. The kids' CD player and CDs will be passed down to Penelope for now. I think Gary did a great job with the kids' birthday gifts!

That night, we treated the kids to their favorite dinner -- McDonald's cheeseburger Happy Meals!!








For dessert, the kids each had their own cakes. I'm very proud of Gary for taking care of ordering all the cakes -- that had been in my job description until I screwed up the smashcakes for their first birthday party last year and Gary had to save the day. Over time, we've learned the Piper is a HUGE fan of chocolate, Henry likes a more plain cake, and Rosemary loved the strawberry cake from last week. So, we thought that instead of one big cake that each baby should get their favorite, which was a huge hit. . . .



















The kids went right to sleep with full bellies and slept in late on Saturday. All in all it was a great day for all of us!

P.S. Of course, we salvaged the remains of the cakes for ourselves!!

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just passing through. Your kids are all beautifull and congrats on their second birthday.

The pictures you take (I assume you take them) are wonderful. I was just curious to what type of camera you have.

Great blog,
Michelle

Anonymous said...

Just passing through. Your kids are all beautifull and congrats on their second birthday.

The pictures you take (I assume you take them) are wonderful. I was just curious to what type of camera you have.

Great blog,
Michelle

Heather said...

Hi, Michelle. Thank you so much!! I have a Nikon D60 that Gary gave me for Mother's Day last year. I took a couple of classes to learn how to use it (check blog posts from either June or July of last year) and I LOVE that camera now. It was a big investment for me to take the time to learn, but I am thrilled I did. My photos have a long way to go, but I am much happier with the photos of the kids. Please let me know if you want more information!!

Jennifer Crawley said...

i think that is an awesome birthday gift!! we are thinking of doing the same thing for sarah for either her birthday or for Christmas. i agree, it gets irritating when your ipod is full of kid songs and/or dealing with the cds!

Anonymous said...

Hi Heather,

Thank you so much for answering :) I'm looking to buy myself a new camera and I'll definitely take this one into consideration. Just curious, how much did it cost, if you don't mind me asking?!

Thanks,
Michelle

Cathy said...

What a great party! I love the cakes, and you can't beat the gift of music! Great pictures!

Heather said...

Michelle, I'm not sure what it cost. I'm guessing around $500 for the camera body and kit lens. Gary hid that receipt from me! :) I've since also been given a basic zoom lens and a basic prime lens as gifts, which I love, but definitely aren't necessary to start out.

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much, Heather :)

prettyhelmet said...

happy birthday piper, henry and rosemary! you may now commence tantrum throwing.

love,
liesl and Hannie.

Heather said...

Michelle, you're welcome.

Liesl, you will be interested to know that Piper did start out the day with a tantrum when she didn't want to put on her pants. I considered putting those pictures on this post, but decided to spare her this one time!

Marissa said...

It just amazes me how far they've come!!! :) Way to go kiddos!

Anonymous said...

Love it! Your photo taking skills are as awesome as you are!!
L,
Nanny Y

PS - I didn't know McD's served Happy Meals in boxes anymore. The McD's only use bags down here.

Jamie said...

i loved the smash cake stories. your bakeries look great- i'm jealous!