Birthdays 2010

Birthday week always seems like a blur around this house.  Between eating cake for an entire week, making all the school treats and swimming treats, and squeezing Thanksgiving in between the two special days, when it is all said and done, it is a whirlwind filled with good time and memories. 

The girls were thrilled to be turning six although I had done my best to convince them to stay five, they would have none of it!  They all agreed on spaghetti for dinner and got dolls and doll accessories for gifts.  Later in the week, we took a friend of theirs to all go and see "Tangled" as an extended celebration. 

Jamahl turned nine six days later.  He and Paul took a friend of his to see a movie that afternoon and he had requested spaghetti pie for dinner.  His gifts revolved around swimming and Star Wars...big surprise huh?  The boy LOVES to swim and is an expert at Star Wars!

I have a hard time believing that we now have children who are six and nine years old!  Things are changing at our house and change is hard for this mommy.  The kids are becoming more independent, more vocal about their concerns and wishes, and more thoughtful and introspective.  While I have a hard time, it is fun to watch them become little people.  They have dreams, desires, feelings, and fears.  While not always fun to deal with, it means they are thinking and paying attention to the world around them.  While the statement, "bigger kids equals bigger problems" is definitely true, I don't want to miss the steps of the journey that get us all through those times.  I know we are only on the cusp of school dilemmas, friend problems, boyfriends and girlfriends, realizing that the world isn't a fair and just place, and just plain growing up, but all of that stuff encompasses this thing we call life.  We were all so grateful to have Keyan home this year for the birthdays...last year she was in the hospital.  Those tough times are molding and shaping our family for life.  As the kids get older, I realize more and more than it is not about the end result, but rather the process of getting there!  Enjoy the pictures!