A Happy Birthday

We hosted a birthday party last month for Eleanor and Athanasius; it was so much fun! We started outside playing in the pool and eating lunch.  We did a little face paint, but there was so much going on that some kids weren't that interested.  Quick suggestion: buy face paint and let your kids do it themselves.  They will get very creative and it will keep them busy for awhile.  We broke it back out the other weekend and they had a blast! Anyhow, then we went inside for cake and ice cream.  It was then that I realized our kitchen felt on the smaller side.  It is funny how our house feels just fine when it is just us but then add five extra adults and seven little kids and all of a sudden you are walking side ways everywhere.  







A boy and his cake.  Love this one. 

While Athanasius blew out his candles with super speed Eleanor savored the moment.  There must be something so magical about a birthday cake and candles.  I love the expression of her little friend in the back ground.

Although Clay and I are into photography we are lacking in the documentation area.  There are so many other things I wish we would have gotten pictures of too but at least we have these.  After the cake the kids opened their gifts which took all of 30 seconds.  The older they get the faster they open. :)  Then to keep things moving everyone was exploring the kids room.  While the kids were playing Clay and I were at trying to untangle all the helium balloons that were tied around the deck! We had not realized how windy it was and how tangled they were.  Well, it all worked out.  A friend of ours who is studying to be an engineer thought cutting the strings would be a good idea.  I am amazed how much kids love a balloon.  Already looking forward to next years party!

Super Pearlsteins to the Rescue

A Whole Five Months

It is strange to think that Boaz is already five months old, and at the same time he is only five months. He is beautiful. He is flipping over. He is grabbing whatever he can get a hold of. Laughing, he is laughing now.


Blue, blue, blue. Love those eyes. It is funny how when we are pregnant for all those months waiting to see and know our baby; and then when they are finally here we can not picture them looking any other way.

THE Snow Suit

Does he remind you of the crazy little brother from The Christmas Story?

Summer

These are some pictures from this past summer. I love all the green and warmness of this day. The kids were really into homemade capes then, and now they have real capes that my Mom made!



This was our Zinnia bed! It was so fun to pick flowers from it.







I am so thankful for the bleakness of winter because it makes Spring and Summer so much better. Looking at our house, we had our sweet peppers planted on the left side and the tomatoes on the right. We are hoping to do more this coming season. It is fun having a little garden in the city. :)

Meet Molly

This is our new puppy. Clay took the kids Wednesday morning to a shelter just to look for one. We were trying not to get our hopes up but there she was! :) We are hoping she will be house trained sooner than later...ya know?

First Family Car Ride

This is the "Hey Mom, please hurry and come out of the store face".



But Daddy knows just how to fix the problem. What a good Daddy.



I like the look of apprehension in this picture. It is like he trying to be happy with the situation of being in a car seat AND hungry but he just isn't too sure about it all.