Birthday Bonanza

Saturday was such an incredibly FUN day. Scott’s brother, Cory, and wife, Jennifer, arrived shortly after lunch. The kids were ecstatic…not to see them, but to meet their new cousin, Alex!! (sorry Aunt Jennifer and Uncle Cory) He will be 5 months old tomorrow and I’m afraid we’ve already scared him. Granny Whitaker came with them, and later my parents, brother/sister-in-law and cousin Kymn joined in on the fun.

We set up the pool for the kids to escape the heat – which was fun. We let Uncle Cory do all the heavy lifting with the kids! Will tells us today, “Man Dad, Uncle Cory is so much fun to play with.” Guess Dad has been demoted.

Hanging the birthday banner. What can I say, we’re Aggies. We did it once and now it’s a tradition.

Scott made some out-standing margaritas and Mexican martinis, along with some guacamole, grilled chicken breast sandwiches and burgers. It was quite a spread. Papa even made his famous fruit salad, which, of course, disappeared by the end of the evening.

Oh yes, I decided to try out this “new” contraption that made homemade ice cream sandwiches. I think it’s been in the cabinet like 18 months. But, why break it out sooner than that? Anyhoo, they turned out AWESOME.

Then, we opened presents. And, I say “we” because Clare could’ve cared less about the gifts, she was much more interested in the grass. Her three siblings, however, loved “helping” her.

Certainly, the high point of the evening was watching Clare dig in, and I do mean DIG IN, to her birthday cake. Her first swipe, everybody started laughing and it scared her half to death. But, after we got her calmed down, she dug in like a pro and decided to not only eat, but wear her cake. Thank you Aunt Amanda for bathing her and Nana for cleaning up her seat…and the table…and the floor.

Said freak out.

Comforting…ahhh

After all the hullabaloo died down and I put her to bed, I just stood over the crib watching her sleep for a few moments. I’m so incredibly thankful for the gift of Clare Rose. Everyone (ok not everyone, but alot of you) thought we were crazy when I got pregnant so quickly after my spine surgery. Hey, that wasn’t the plan, but it happened and I haven’t questioned, even for a moment, God’s timing. She is such a gift to our family, a miracle in a sense. And, while I’m incredibly sad that our first year with her is over, I look forward to what God has in store for our littlest Whitaker.

The season of birthdays is over at our house until October. If you see me walking the bakery aisle at Central Market, muttering to myself, don’t worry…I’ll snap out of it soon.

And, I need to give some BIG props to Uncle Daniel. Notice he’s not in any of the pictures?? That’s because he was taking them! Uncle Daniel, next time I’ll grab the camera for a few and get a picture of you…just know this…we appreciate your photographic talents. If it weren’t for you, we would have 3 blurry pictures from the birthday. You are appreciated and loved…very much.