Buggy Bouncy Birthday Boy

It's a good thing Noble is in the high-maintenance toddler stage right now, or I'd be totally distraught at the fact that my "Original Baby" is a whole seven years old already!

Ahh, yes...when Micah doubled as Nicholas from Eight is Enough.

Look at those clothes! Micah's now wearing Taylor's clothes and Noble wears that yellow jacket!

Yeah, I know, it happens. My job requires that I get sentimental about it.

But he's the same-ole Micah in most ways. Less teeth, maybe.

And now.....one...two...three...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU....

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR MICAHHH.....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOOOO YOUUUUUU!!!

 Okay, okay...I know this looks like something out of CakeWrecks,

but it's exactly what Micah asked for and even I couldn't believe the approval I got from the kids on this one.

 I am horrible at frosting cakes anyway (I was awesome at Baskin Robbins back in the day, but non-frozen cake decorating eludes me entirely), and the rest of it is seriously just a pile of candy rocks and gummy worms. But dirt and bugs, that's what he wanted. Seems about right for my rough-and-tumble boy!

 SO stoked to get some video game action, since Noble chewed up all our other games.

Even though it doesn't follow my "it has to make you exercise" rule for Wii games, I'm pretty stoked, too. Let's just say chores are getting done much quicker thanks to the "Mario Motivator".

 Micah loves to play/watch video games with his big brother, but most of the time he's making up imaginary stories and games with Morgen and they love these dolls. Morgen was so excited to give this one to Micah. Even Noble has a "dolly" like this and sometimes they all play together...it's the cutest thing. It's funny to me because the older two weren't really into dolls.
(Please ignore any and all reality in the background.)

Often the different dynamics of our family get lost in the crowd, so to speak. Sometimes I capture a picture or notice a moment that isolates one of these dynamics, and I realize that we have three boys --boy howdy!-- and that they have each other for brothers. This is crazy and wonderful all at the same time.

THEN...I was so glad I bought a Groupon for J.J.Jump last summer. This was the perfect place to take Micah and a friend for a birthday treat. Afterwards we went to Baskin Robbins for a realy special treat!

Micah invited one of his best school friends to come jump with us!

Micah was so brave to try this bungee thingy. They hook you up....

....then you get pulled up to a high point....

...you pull the chord and ZOOOOOOMMMM!

"Look ma, no hands!"

 Then Micah got all Project Bandaloop on us.

 Taylor tried this thing where you strap in, run as fast as you can to put a beanbag through the hoop. You have to jump up and forward to do it, then the bungee snaps you back. It's pretty hilarious.

What you can't tell from those bungee photos is that this room is totally lit with blacklight and neon grafitti. Morgen liked being all glow-y.

Noble had a little...accident...as soon as we got there (of course) and the only thing I had in the car was a cloth diaper cover and some socks. In this black-lit room, it was easy to keep track of him going up and down a big blow-up slide, socks and undies glowing bright!

Fun times!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MY MICAH!

Noble Turns FREE!

It's kinda funny to me how parenting has changed over the years. I really could care less about having the most crafty kid's party to blog about anymore (although I enjoy the eye candy in a good Martha Stewart magazine once in a while). I just love this jibber-jabbering little squirt and think he should have whatever he wants for a couple of hours, one day of the year (more than that would kill him, I'm sure). So a bunch of colorful cupcakes, all the friends he talks about, a fun game starring "Woody", and his favorite movie... simply made this happy little guy's day.

I can't believe it's been three whole years since his speedy arrival! It feels like he just jumped into this family and started running with the crowd, like he was just meant to be. We still kinda look at him like the "new guy" but he doesn't know any different. He's obsessed with Star Wars along with his brothers, he knows all the rules and the daily schedule. He's pretty flexible, but won't stand for not being communicated with: "Where we going, mama? Who is dat [on the phone]? Is dis guten-free, mama? Is it?" He's full of inquiries and pleases and thank-yous. And if all that high-pitched verbosity isn't enough, his soft, pudgy little body is still killin' us with cuteness.

THREE. Three is always more challenging for the Vondermom than Two ever was. But I know that Three is also So. Dang. Precious. And not to be missed...as it's zooming by so quickly...to disappear into the schoolyears. We shout it from the rooftops, over the Vonder-din:

"I LOVE YOU, NOBLE!"

He's not asking if he can have one, he's just reiterating what and who they are for.

One, two, THREE!

Noble LOVES Woody from Toy Story.

Korah drew this picture and created a "Pin-the-Hat on Woody" game!

Noble proudly displays her artwork above his bed now.

NO PEEKING!!

Look at all this help from his sisters and brothers.

This is the luckiest kid to be loved so much, I'd say.

Way to go, Micah! Right on target!

All of Noble's little friends: he loves them, he prays for them, he remembers them often.

It's so sweet that friendships are important to such a young person, whose life is already so full of people.

I am also so glad that Noble has such awesome big buddies in his life.

He really loves his sibling's friends, too!

If I'm going to get materialistic and consumeristic at all it's going to be about this: I wish I could've gotten him a "real" Woody, with a pull-string and everything, but this squeezy version will have to do for now. Noble loves repeating Woody's little sayings, like, "You've got a date with justice, one-eyed Bart!"

Noble's favorite gift of the day was given to him by his siblings, who pooled their allowance money to get him this Toy Story birthday card that sings, "You've Got a Friend in Me!"

He walked around dancing and singing along with those two lines until that card was in shreds.

Open-close-open-close....

(The inevitable crowd of "helpers)

I just think this is funny: all these zombie-kids staring at the boob-tube, eating cupcakes and pizza like a bunch of teenagers, when we're supposed to be media-deprived, organics-only Portlandians. (Yeah, right.) Well, all Noble ever wants is to watch a movie, and it was so fun to let him sit down with all his friends, his special gluten-free birthday foods and watch the much-asked-for Toy Story 3.
What a treat!

Thank you to all of Noble's friends and their parents for loving him and helping us celebrate such a fun and wonderful little guy.

Eight, By the Sea

Once upon a time, there was a little girl who wanted to see the ocean for her eighth birthday. So she got on a bus with her friends, paid the fare (one sand dollar) and took off.

 BEEP! BEEP! "Next stop: Oysterville," said the bus driver.

Unfortunately, the bus couldn't take them all the way to the water. "Schools of fish are always trying to get on for a field trip," the bus driver explained, "and they are far too soggy.

So the friends had to walk the rest of the way to the beach.

"But where IS it? We must explore!"

Finally, through the tall grass, they saw some seagulls and heard the crashing of waves.

"There it is!" cried Taylor. "The OCEAN!"

 Morgen was delighted!

 She immediately waded into the ocean's shore...

...only to find it FREEZING cold, so she jumped right out and into the air!

 Micah was still trying to find his way through the tall grass....

(...he thought it tickled his nose...)

 ...until Taylor found him and showed him the way out!

Feeling the cold water, Micah exclaimed, "I'm going to be BRAVE!" He hiked up his shorts and ran straight into the oncoming surf. What a brave little boy, indeed!

 Their big sister apprehensively watched from up in the tall grass. She wasn't sure she wanted to venture into that cold, cold water with her siblings.

 But the salty ocean air, the sound of seagulls and the water crashing onto the sand exhilarated her senses until she couldn't help but to come out of hiding.

She paused momentarily, as if to unknowingly reflect the Birth of Venus itself...

 ...and lept for joy into the frigid surf!

Korah was very pleased to be at the ocean's edge.

 Back and forth, back and forth, they ran with the tide....

...until it was time to line up and travel back from whence they came.

It was time for some birthday cake!

HAPPY 8TH BIRTHDAY, MORGEN!

(Editor's note: it's amazing to me that I can lay down the strangest-looking cakes, so far from my cake-decorating fantasies, and all the children ooo and ahhh, salivating with forks poised at the ready. Maybe it's because cake is such a novely around here, or maybe it's because children have simple, joyful hearts and I ought to take a lesson. Either way... they heal my perfectionist spirit with their cheerful ones.)

 Two things to notice here: one, that Noble is apparently trying to put cake directly into his stomach, thereby fitting his entire fist into his mouth. And secondly, notice the little friend in the foreground. Morgen and her school pal she brought along, found these fuzzy little guys and invited them to the party!

"We're here!"

Hmph. Party crashers.

 Taylor always writes the funniest cards.

Then... how do you burn off a sugar high when it's dark and rainy outside and you're stuck inside a beach house? STAIR SURFING!

 This is where mommy turns a blind eye. It looks like someone's ankle is about to break here.

 This is a laughing face, believe it or not.

They've never had so much fun smooshing into each other!

 One last family photo around the birthday girl before we leave.

You are so loved, Morgen-girl! May God bless you big, this ninth year of life!