Happy Belated Birthdays

Tasha and Bobby both celebrated their birthdays in November. This is a little late, but I finally got the pictures off my camera.

For Bobby's birthday, we got Philly cheesesteaks at a new place near St. Joseph's University we'd never been to before (going to lunch at a new place has become a birthday tradition). We took our lunch to go and ate them during our walk along the Wissahickon. Luckily, there were still some fall colors left on the trees.


Instead of a traditional birthday cake, I made Bobby (as requested) a pumpkin roll. It didn't turn out too bad for my first try. I promised him a second one, which I haven't made yet (but he's been bugging me for it!). Our neighbor-friends made a cookie message that said "Happy B-day Bobby." The letters got kind of fat and illegible after they baked, but they were still good to eat and they held the candles very well. :)


Later in the day, Lillian helped Daddy do push-ups on the new push-up bars he got from Mommy! (Now, every time Bobby says he's going to do push-ups, Lillian runs into the living room and gets the bars for him. Then she gets on the floor and does her own version of baby push-ups!)




For Tasha's birthday we decorated the whole living room and dining room with balloons and hung up some banners.

Lillian helps us decorate for Tasha's birthday

I made her pancakes for breakfast and she only had a half day at school! A friend brought over lunch when she got home and she opened all of her presents. Then she and a friend from school hung out until dinner (which was a special request for McDonald's...that girl is obsessed!)

Tasha's new, bright pink comforter (it's obviously keeping her warm!)

Tasha went to Young Women's that night, but I brought them birthday cake and ice cream at the end and we all sang Happy Birthday to her. I hope she had as much fun as I did!

Happy Birthday!

Ornament Party

Have you ever been to a Christmas tree ornament party? They're so much fun!

My dear friend Alena, who I met when we lived in Delaware for 2 years, introduced me to the Christmas tradition. I've continued the tradition here in Philly for the past 2 years and I plan on doing it for many years to come.

Here's how it works: You invite people (obviously). Everyone brings one new, wrapped Christmas tree ornament. Then everyone draws a number to see who goes first. The first person picks a wrapped ornament and opens it. The second person can steal the first person's ornament or open a new one. If a person's ornament is stolen, they can either steal someone else's ornament, or they can open a wrapped one. This continues until everyone has taken their turn and all the ornaments are gone. An ornament can only be stolen twice, then it's "safe" with the lucky owner to has it (this rule is debatable. some people have no stealing, others change the number of times it can be stolen, or have no limit at all- it's up to the hostess). It's lots of fun and everyone goes home with a new ornament!

This year I didn't do a very good job of planning, so it was a bit last minute. Next year I'll definitely plan it for earlier in the month before everyone starts packing and leaving for the holiday break.

Thanks, Alena, for introducing me to ornament parties! If anyone else has fun Christmas traditions that you like to do, please share them with me! I'm in the market for some good traditions to start incorporating into our family.

My New Year's Resolution

I usually don't like New Year's resolutions, mostly because I can never think of a good one. But this year I already know exactly what it should be. In 2009 my New Year's resolution will be (drum roll, please) to be a better blogger! (and also to avoid the dollar bins at Target- they always suck me in!- but that's just a secondary resolution) :)

As for blogging, I need to be more dedicated so that friends and family can stay updated on what's going on in our crazy lives. It's also a good way to document our experiences so later on in life we can go back and read it and say, "wow, we had crazy lives." :)

I like blogging, so I'm going to try really, really hard to be better at it. In fact, I've been thinking for some time about starting a blog about teaching my Primary class. I taught the 4 and 5 year-olds this year, and I have lots of funny stories and good teaching ideas (at least I think they're good). Next year I'll teach with wee-little sunbeams (3 and 4 year-olds), which I'm sure will be a unique experience all of its own.

So there you go. My best ever New Year's resolution. Be a better blogger, including starting a Primary blog. And look at me- I'm already starting my resolution! Go me.