February birthdays

This year Cullen's (THIRTIETH) birthday fell on the weekend of a work retreat--the HNGR retreat for the interns who will go out this summer. His boss Paul and co-workers Sydney and Sarah Jane managed to pull together a little celebration that evening complete with cake and a poem written for him. The kids and I drove out an hour west to rural Illinois to celebrate with him. We went out to lunch at a not-so-fancy place called "Gene's pizzeria and carry-out" in Sandwich, Illinois and had mediocre food. Oh well, it's who you're with, right? And our family ALWAYS knows how to have fun, no matter where we are.









Celebrating Cullen's birthday with our small group the day of the Superbowl. Lily and Juliette wanted to get in on the picture too!



Ethan also celebrated his 5th birthday! Yes, Ethan is five. Pictures below are from Ethan's bowling party for friends (and cousins!). We had 10 kids--mostly 4 to 5 year old boys. A little wild, to say the least! But the kids had fun. Let's just say the adults weren't too sad when the clock hit 5 o'clock and it was time to go home :O). Ethan's aunt "Tess" (Stephanie) and Ama came with Steph's two boys. It was great to have them hanging out with Ethan's school friends!

Some of the boys waiting patiently for their turn. . . .




Our two 1/2 year old nephew Isaac and his fairly pregnant mommy. . . .


Ethan after knocking down quite a few pins. . . . with gutter guards, of course. . . .


Below are pictures from our family dinner at Culver's for Ethan's birthday.






Finally, I'll end with a few quotes from our birthday present to Cullen. . . . but let me give a little background first. For my thirtieth (last year), Cullen and the kids gave me 30 little hearts with 30 things they loved about me--10 from each of them. So for Cullen's birthday I stole his idea and we did the same thing, only putting it in the form of an advent-type calendar with little doors that open. So, for you to enjoy, here are some samples from the kids (totally original!):

"I love Daddy because. . . .
Hannah: "he made me feel better when I got my stitches"
Ethan: "he wrestles with me"
Hannah: "he is fun to cuddle with"
Ethan: "his cheeks are chubby" (note: this means he's cute!)
Hannah: "he does funny dances"
Ethan: "he says sorry when he hurts us"

And finally, one of Ethan's: "I love Daddy because. . . . he loves me!"

Ethan the stuntman (& his brother loves it!)

In January, Ethan began pulling some of his "stunts" for Caleb--i.e., throwing himself on the floor, without hurting himself. Caleb would laugh and screech. His laugh is a little more like a squawk. Here's a little bit of video I got of the two of them. It's a little rough, because I was holding Caleb at the same time that I was videotaping. Enjoy!