Happy birthday to my baby boy!

Our dear Solomon Asher Horn hit the two year milestone today.  I'm just astounded at him.

Solomon has grown SO FAST.  I know this is a common occurrence for youngest siblings but it's especially true of our Solly.  He abandoned sippy cups months ago and he's even trying to copy Clive in the urination department.  I'm hoping and praying having an older brother to model the process will speed the potty training process along significantly!

Keeping up with his siblings paired with his natural inclination towards curiosity and strong physical motor skills means Solomon is into a lot.  He's an explorer and experimenter, to be sure. (And now you know *exactly* why I've not blogged much in the last year.  Keeping Solomon safe and occupied is a full-time job!)

Solomon is also extremely joyful and loving.  He's also saying loads of words now and even trying to count to ten using his fingers.

Solly is also proving to be an opinionated and stubborn little guy.  God is certainly increasing my patience in working Solomon towards becoming a manageable and pleasant toddler!  

For Solomon's birthday soiree we hosted a morning playdate with some of his little friends.  Of course Solly's pals are also the youngest ones of their families so many older siblings came along to party too (which is just lovely for Chloe and Clive). We had such a blast partying together!

Since Solomon's absolutely favorite dvds to watch are old Sesame Street episodes (you MUST check out the vintage Sesame Street flicks available at your library -- hilarious, entertaining and educational in a truly old school and fun way) a Sesame Street party was the obvious choice.

We love you to pieces, Solly-wog.  Happy happy birthday to our crazy little Mexican jumping bean!  Can't wait to watch you grow!

Apparently two year olds don't really do birthday party games.  Get's too complicated for them.  Still it's fun to watch their little brains try to figure it all out!  This was for pin-the-tail-feathers-on-Big-Bird. 

The birthday bambino!

Opening gifts

This was an Elmo-faced strawberry platter whose lower portion kept getting nibbled on by children passing by. 

Broccoli faced Oscar the Grouch.  Obviously.  Or maybe not so obviously since he's sans mouth.

We had so many kiddos partying with us (15 in all -- only a crazy woman like me would dare attempt that many little bodies in my small house) that we did lunch in shifts.  This was the little kid shift.

Big kid shift.

He's a pro at blowing out candles.  Especially when they're only 5 inches from his mouth.

Crazy Clive and his equally crazy buddy, Sammy.

Sesame Street character party favor bags.  These took FOREVER but they were super fun to make!  Even if they look very little like the idea I pinned on pinterest.  Please tell me they at least vaguely look like Ernie, Cookie, Elmo and Oscar?

Playing outside and getting dirty.

So thankful for all these dear friends!

Chloe and the older kids chowing down.

I was extremely proud of my free-handing of Big Bird.  Though I realized later I forgot to give the big yellow guy any arms.  Guess I'm not cut-out for the world of illustration after all. 

Happy birthday to me! (and an exercise in estimation)

Happy birthday to me!  We celebrated my 34th birthday this weekend and though I didn't get to sleep in and I didn't wake up 10 lbs. lighter, it was a good day regardless.

I woke up to sweet and thoughtful gifts from my Matt.  New and improved travel coffee mug -- yes!  Then I got most of the morning to myself (HEAVEN), took Chloe to lunch and out shopping to spend some birthday cash.  Then I cooked up EXACTLY what I wanted for dinner.  Steak with mushrooms, homemade wheat bread, oven-baked potatoes topped with plain yogurt and cheddar cheese, pear/cranberry/walnut/blue cheese salad and peach cobbler for dessert.  And while I LOVED partaking in last year's dark chocolate and cherry pavlova I didn't feel like putting forth that much effort this year.  (If you've never attempted a pavlova, I highly recommend it!  Read about my pavlova journey here.)

It's good to be 34!  I don't even care that I'm seriously close to the 30's midpoint.  Whatever.  I could care less.  My life is stuffed to the gills with blessings; the biggest being that all my sins are forgiven.  What can top that?!?  If my life had a theme song, Psalm 32 would be it!

So, on to the exercise in estimation.  During my birthday shopping spree I happened upon a Payless that was going out of business and liquidating their inventory.  I almost didn't stop.  I was seriously disappointed with Borders' so-called liquidating sale and was skeptical that the Payless sale would yield any actual bargains.  It's tough to impress this super-cheap-coupon-clipping-bargain hunter.  But the sale was indeed worthy of my time.  8 pairs later I was one happy cheapskate!

What do you think I paid for these puppies?  Closest guess to my actual total will win . . . . something.  Really, I promise to put together some kind of fun mystery prize for the winning estimator.  I won't divulge the percent off I netted here but I'll give you a tiny clue.  Think more than 50% off.  Put on your estimating caps and give it a go!

Solomon was very excited about the new pile of footwear.  He spent a good 20 minutes (which is nigh an eternity for my busy boy) trying on shoes and stomping around the house in them.  Cuteness!

Happy Birthday, dear Chloe!

Chloe turns six today.  SIX!

I can't talk about it I'll just tear up and get my keyboard all wet with my mushy gushiness.

How did she go from this sleeping cheeky peanut to this sweet little young lady so fast?

Praying that God preserves my Chloe's sweetness as she grows another year older and that He roots her sweetness in His love.  I pray that she will learn to love the Lord with all her heart, soul and mind and then give that love away to others.

Super happy birthday to my dear baby girl!   And let the birthday festivities begin!  

The new 6 year old will wear a made-for-her fancy dress to church today (thanks, Abuelita!), receive gifts from family, eat a special dinner (Chloe requested shrimp, pesto noodles, and fried zucchini), and welcome grandma and nana for a week long birthday visit.  This girl sure is blessed (read: spoiled).  :) 

Happy First Birthday, dear Solomon!

My baby Solomon turned one last month!  ONE. 

Did someone push the fast-forward button on life lately?   Seriously, it's ridiculous.  Every time I look at Solomon it seems he's sprouted taller, interacting more and getting into fresh mischief. And he's getting too big to snuggle up and fall asleep on me!  That's the saddest aspect of baby growth in my mind. 

So, what's Solomon like?  He's the BUSIEST boy I've ever seen.  He's generally very laidback and unflappable.  Predictably, Solly follows closely on his older brother's and sister's heels to try and be a part of whatever they're doing.  His motor skills are amazing for his age.  He attempts to put his own shoes on, he thrives on picking up tiny items from the carpeting, he can throw a ball towards you (better to his brother and sister most times), and he's a whiz at the shape sorter toy.  

Since reaching the one year milestone, Solly has come alive!  He's interacting a lot more and starting to use sign language.  He loves board books -- especially any tactile or tab books.  He's also very keen on music.  Solly's got his own little bopping dance he does when he hears a peppy tune. 

In spirit, Solomon is definitely a happy guy.  Not like he's laughing bubbling-ly all day long but he's a contented quite happy.  Lately he's been doing a funny squished up kind of grin when he's extra pleased with himself.  And that's usually after he's caused destruction somewhere.  He excels at creating massive entropy (Definition: Entropy is the quantitative measure of disorder in a system.)

I'm so thankful God brought Solly into our family. He completes us.  He's a true joy and blessing to our home.  

We love you, Solomon Asher Horn!  Here's hoping the next year doesn't go by quite so fast as the first one did!

Happy Birthday to me!

Friday I celebrated my 33rd year of life.  And a VERY happy birthday it was!

Surprisingly, this double-digit milestone doesn't make me feel old.  Now that I'm well into the thirties, it's not so bad!  In fact, I often find myself wishing I was older.  The older moms that I know are so much wiser, patient and more experienced than I am.

As is the custom in my family, we commemorated the day of my birth with scrum-diddly-umptious food.  I made steak, twice baked potatoes, spinach salad with crumbled blue cheese, olive cheese bread and chocolate cherry pavlova for dessert.  YUM.  Everything turned out really well and even though I spent most of the afternoon cooking, it was NOT a chore.  Somehow the toil just added to the overall anticipation and enjoyment of the delightful meal.  The boys napped beautifully and I enlisted Chloe's help in the kitchen (she proudly pointed out to Matt that she was the one who scrubbed and pierced the potatoes). 

The crowning creation of my birthday dinner was by far the dessert -- the pavlova.  Pavlova is a traditional New Zealand dessert consisting of a meringue crust, whipped cream and fruit. Using Nigella Lawson's recipe for chocolate raspberry pavlova, I set out on my task to bake a memorable birthday dessert.  It was daunting. Especially so since I usually hold quite loosely to recipes and measurements.  But even I, novice baker that I am, know that you don't MESS with meringue. 

After reading the recipe reviews, I felt confident I could do this pavlova thing.  While it was a teensy bit more time-consuming than I hoped, the process itself was easy.  And the end product was DIVINE.  I never imagined a meringue could be chewy, rich and filling.  But this one sure was!  Topped with homemade whipped cream and chopped cherries, the pavlova was EXACTLY what I wanted in a birthday dessert.

My dear hubby surprised me with a lovely and unusual bouquet of flowers and I had a fun low-key day with the kids.  After dinner and putting the kids to bed, Matt and I watched a movie together.  All in all a superb birthday! 

How do you like to celebrate your birthday?

Happy birthday, my love!

Today we are celebrating my dear husband, Matt. Today he turns 36 and though he has to teach from 11 - 5 we still hope to make it a special day for him.

Of course, the ONLY way I know how to celebrate involves food. Is there any other way?

• Donuts for breakfast (Matt's fave which I never allow because I'm a pseudo-health-food nazi)
• Brown bag lunch with a payday candy bar tucked inside (Again, Matt's fave that I don't usually buy)
• Marco's pizza for dinner, veggies, applesauce and apple pie for birthday dessert
  

I LOVE cooking for my hubby and making him feel special so I asked him last week for his birthday dinner request. I was hoping he'd pick something rather easy since Thursdays he gets home near 6 and as such I have no kid-assistance during dinner prep. To my delight, and I hope not to diss my cooking, he requested take-out pizza! YAY for me! I made a frozen apple pie filling this past weekend with our excess apples (instructions here) so the pie shouldn't be too labor-intensive either.

We made cards and have a fun bag of gifts to give to Dr. Daddy in the morning. I'm hopeful that we can watch a movie together after we get the kids to bed. We'll see how much energy we both have by that time of the day! Usually we do our computer work, school work and housework like mad fools until we collapse.

I brag on my husband a lot and for good reason. He is a committed husband, the most loving and fun daddy I've ever seen, and my heart's counterpart. He's a superb listener (believe me, it takes serious skill to listen to my ramblings), a deep thinker, and a creative tinkerer. I love all the facets that make him up. He's my sweetheart and my heart is full for him.

Happy birthday, dear Matt!

Happy Birthday, Dear Clive-y!

Two years ago today we welcomed Clive Simeon Horn into our little family. We had no idea how God would use our joyful little guy to change the dynamic of our family!

Clive has been a pure joy and I can't imagine our family without him. God has used Clive in many ways in each of our lives. Clive, in his overt happiness and ready smiliness, spreads joy easily.

But for me Clive's smile is intensely personal. Since he was just a teensy weensy peanut I've felt a tight unique bond with my boy. Before having Clive, I had no clue how it would be possible for me to love any child as much as I already loved Chloe. However trite it may sound, I truly love both Chloe and Clive in full yet different ways.

In his first weeks I acutely recall holding Clive close and dancing with him to Paul Baloche's You have been so good to me in an effort to console him back to sleep. In those moments my heart sang the words to that simple song and I thought to myself, "How am I ever going to give this little boy up if he gets married?"

As I reflect on Clive's 2nd birthday today the words to Paul Baloche's song ring in my brain . . .
(couldn't find it as an mp3 so here it is via youtube)





Here are some of my favorite pictures of my favorite little guy!