A Pretty Good Birthday

The beginning of June is always going to be pretty crazy for me. My birthday is on the 5th, my wedding anniversary is on the 8th, and now our new little boy will have his birthday on the 9th. It ended up being a pretty good birthday, though.

We went to my mom and stepdad's house for lunch and a delicious chocolate cake. Nick's Gigi and Aunt Mandy were there, too, and everybody gifted me with baking supplies from the Wilton Tent Sale. I got cups with straws (for iced tea), new baking pans, cookie cutters and sprinkles (for cookies, of course), and a pan that will make whoopie pies. I can't wait to try them out. I suppose I'll have to wait a few weeks, though.

Nick got to play in the pool and with the hose. Grandpa Ray sprayed him and Nick asked him to do it again and again.

He was thrilled to be out in the sunshine, and ran around for literally hours.

Nick enjoyed sitting in the pool and dumping out all of the water.

He also chased his daddy around the yard, trying to get him wet. He can't run quite fast enough yet. But soon, very soon, Nick will be able to catch his daddy.

There are a family of robins living in one of my mom's bushes, and the babies flew away for the first time today. Here's one of the babies, sitting on the fence. He wasn't sure what to do, since flying was so new to him.







































You want to know what my birthday surprise was. . .? We went to Barnes and Noble, and Greg bought me a Nook!

It's the 2nd generation one, with something called E-Ink display. I had hesitated to get an Ereader, because I spend so much time looking at screens already. But this one looks just like a book page. I will have to play with it, but so far, I love it. It's small enough to fit in my purse, and I already found a bunch of books for free and for $0.99.

I think it'll be great for when I travel (or go to the hospital), because I won't have to carry a stack of books with me. I am a notoriously fast reader, and I'm always running out of things to read. I love how I can read with one hand--this thing is so light! It weighs less than 8 ounces, apparently.

We were in the store for awhile, so Nick spent his time playing with the trains and moving books from one shelf to another. He got to pick out a new book, too.

I had a great birthday, and now I'm going to go play with my new toy.  :)

Wordless Wednesday



An Exciting 2nd Birthday Party for Nicholas

Last Saturday, Nicholas had his 2nd birthday party, and man, was he excited. Mostly, this was because of all the balloons. I don't think he understood what was happening until everyone arrived. My dad and stepmom brought Nick his own huge rocking bull, and his eyes got really big when he saw it.

Isn't it cool? Besides riding this bull, Nick also likes to pull on his tail and poke him in the horns. But he doesn't bite, so it's okay.

I did a plane theme for his birthday, because planes are just about Nick's favorite thing ever. I designed his invitation to go with the theme. Here's the front of it, below.

The company really invigorated Nick--he ran around with a ton of energy, playing and talking with everyone. We were so glad so many friends and family members could come to help celebrate his birthday. I made Nick's cake myself, and it turned out okay, considering that I'm in no way a cake-baking expert.

I did a half chocolate, half yellow cake, with a homemade buttercream frosting that I dyed blue. You would be really surprised as to how much blue food coloring it takes to get to this sky blue color. Then I made sugar cookies in the shape of airplanes and decorated them to put on top. The clouds are simply white writing gel. The important thing is that it tasted good, and when Nick saw it, he said two things: "Cake!," and, of course, "Airplane!" So he got the point.



Many of Nick's gifts went along with the transportation theme as well. See his airplane and his cool Thomas the Train set? The picture below has a weird angle and lighting, but I wanted to post it because it shows the exact moment when Nick realized that all of the presents were for him. Do you see the look of realization on his face?

The evening only got better from there. I'm hoping that Nick was entertainment enough, because other than the food and chatting, watching him was about all there was to do. But he was eager to please, and he tried to keep the crowd engaged..

In the last few months, Nick has loved singing the Happy Birthday song. I'm pretty sure he understood that we were singing it for him, because he didn't join in. Instead, he just grinned.

Then he ate some cake. Quite a lot of cake, actually.

I think Nick has decided that birthdays are a very good thing. I do hope that my boy isn't getting too spoiled, because he's often the center of attention. We'll work on things like rules more during this third year of his life. It is so amazing to see him growing and changing all the time. I am constantly astounded by the things my son notices, does, and says. All of his family and friends helped to make this a wonderful birthday. :)





A Moon! My Hand! Moon!

On Saturday, we went to Sycamore for a birthday party. One of the highlights of the party was a face painter. Well, Nick was not cool with the idea of getting his face painted, but we knew he'd love getting a moon painted on. The artist asked if she could paint on his hand, and Nick gave permission.

















He knew right away what she was painting. Lately, Nick has been fascinated with the moon. I think he didn't ever see it in the summertime, because he never went to bed after dark. Now that the days are shorter, he sees it each night before bed and says hello and goodbye to it. Nick likes to color the moon and he looks for it during the daytime, too. So he kept saying, "Moon! My Hand!" (As he gets closer to two, Nick uses the words my and mine more often. Typical.) Here he is showing off his moon.

As you can expect, it didn't last long, because he kept touching it. But that's okay. It was fun while it lasted. Plus, cake makes everything better.   : )

Would you believe that while he got a bunch on his face and hands, Nick didn't get one bite of cake on his shirt? He ate it all! Then he stole some of mine.

By the time we got home, Nick woke up from his car nap and was mad that his moon was gone. "Where moon? Want moon!" We colored one later, on paper, and he was satisfied.

Madame Linda's Birthday Dinner Party: Part Two

Today I'm going to finish telling about the french-themed birthday dinner we had for my mom few weeks ago. I believe I left off just before dinner. We set the table for six, and our dinner was coq au vin with gruyere potatoes and haricots vert (french green beans).

Nick was very eager to eat. Can you see him reaching for the green beans? Patience is not his strong suit.  He loved the coq au vin, though. Was that his French heritage coming through? Perhaps.

Dinner was divine, and oh so French, even down to the wine selections. Here is what our plates looked like, thanks to Monsieur Greg, the chef. Those are pearl onions and baby bella mushrooms in the coq au vin. (Mmmm.)

After dinner, we had to have dessert. For a birthday dinner, of course there must be a birthday cake. I chose the most complicated, most delicious-looking chocolate cake I could find. My mother had specifically requested chocolate, and that is what she got. Behold the glory of the gateau chocolat, and click on the links if you want the recipes and have seven hours to kill. This was a chocolate mousse layer cake, served with a creme anglaise. Perhaps one day I will do a post on how to make such a complicated dessert. It was an advanced level recipe, but also one of the most delicious things I think I've ever made. Sometimes it's fun to embrace a challenge.  :)

In my family, it is a tradition to always try to get a picture of the birthday girl (or boy) blowing out the candles. Yup. I did get that picture. Nick was trying to help blow out the candles, too.

It was a delicious dinner and a great evening. Most importantly, I think my mom had a great birthday. Perhaps next year we'll do a spanish theme. . .

A Splashy Afternoon

For my dad's birthday, I took Nick up to Rosemont to visit the Splashpad. We tried to go last year, but it was far too cold the day we went. This year it was, if anything, too hot, but hey, that's what the water is for. Can you tell that he was having a ball? Nick just kept running through the water, again and again.  All of us got really wet, and my sister, who just wore her regular clothes, got her phone wet and it wouldn't work for awhile. Nick has been playing with hoses and in the shower a lot lately, so he's not afraid of water squirting him. Can you tell that he was loving the spray?

The fountains at the Splashpad are on a timer, so not all of them go off at one time. Instead, they start and stop, seemingly randomly. In the video above, Nick was busy trying to figure out where the water went. He kept saying, "Uh-oh."

After a few hours of running around in the water, Nick took a little rest and cuddled with his Auntie Mandy.

Then we ate pizza. Nick loves his pizza with veggies. He ate three slices!

There was cake for my dad's birthday--chocolate cake. Nick did NOT want to wait for us to
sing. He wanted cake NOW!

Happy Birthday Grandpa Mike!

A Pool, a Party, and a New Puppy (Part Two)

Okay, the party is next. I'm going to tell you about how my family celebrates birthdays, and I even looked up some information on birthday traditions. See, I'm a teacher, and I have an uncontrollable urge to research.

Anyway, Nick got to sit on the laps of both birthday girls during the whole candle/cake/singing thing. He's still trying to figure out the concept of blowing out the candles. Here, you can see Nick sitting with his Great-Grandma Dorothy, (GG) during the singing. I think he looks somewhat bewildered as to why the cake is on fire. I suppose many of our customs may seem weird to him. You know, it is kind of weird that we put lit candles on a cake. Happy Birthday GG!

I actually looked it up, because I was curious. It seems that the practice of putting candles on cakes comes from the Ancient Greeks, who used to bring cakes to the temple for the goddess of the moon. I guess they'd put the candles on so that the cake would glow, just as the moon does. Then, later, Germans put one candle on a cake in honor of the light of life. I do believe Nick was just wondering why nobody cared that the cake was on fire. He sure looks like he's trying to figure the whole thing out. Happy Birthday Auntie Mandy!

Above you can see Nick wondering why we set the cake on fire a second time. We do something strange during birthdays, on my mother's side of the family. When we sing the birthday song, we sing 3 verses of the song. We've done this as long as I can remember, and I never knew why. In fact, I can remember being surprised when I'd go to my friends' birthday parties and they'd only sing one verse. When new people come to birthday parties in my family, it always confuses them, because they think the song is over, and then we keep singing.

I had to research where the other verses came from, and I think I've figured it out. "May the Dear Lord Bless You," comes from a Catholic version of the Happy Birthday song, which makes sense since my family has Catholic roots. "May You Live A Hundred Years" is a translation from the Polish version of the song, "Sto Lat." That makes sense, too, since we come from Polish roots.

Now Nick, he doesn't care about any of this. At least not yet. But you know what he does care about?

Yup. Ice cream. He cares a whole lot about ice cream. Nick is doing much better with a spoon, too, although he makes quite a mess while eating it. Yes, that is a towel wrapped around his neck.

I suppose I'll have to show the puppy pictures tomorrow for Wordless Wednesday. My grandmother just bought this adorable puppy named Lucy, and she weighs only 2 pounds. She is a Yorkie, and the cutest doggie ever. When I saw her, I said, "That's not a dog, it's a hamster!" Seriously, I've actually seen rats larger than this dog, when I worked in Cicero. But the dog was definitely cuter. I'll show lots of pictures tomorrow. Oh, and photo credits go to my sister, Amanda Wiatr.

Two Years Already?

Today is our 2nd Wedding Anniversary. It's hard to believe that it's already been two years. It seems like it was just yesterday that Greg and I were nervously standing at the altar, dressed in expensive and incredibly uncomfortable clothing, praying that the rain would hold off until the ceremony was over. (It did, but just barely.) Two years later, I spent much of the evening cleaning up the spaghetti that Nick threw five feet across the kitchen.

So what are we going to do for our anniversary? Nothing, tonight. We decided to hold off on celebrating until Greg takes his vacation in a few weeks. I believe he's planning a nice trip downtown, and a stay in a hotel. For tonight, I cleaned up the spaghetti projectiles, and Greg did the dishes. I will say that I was dressed more comfortably than I was two years ago. . . I spent the evening in my comfy pajamas. Then, when it was time for The Daily Show, we shared a plate of homemade s'mores that Greg made in the microwave. I suppose any dessert is a celebration.  : )  The s'mores were pretty good, but not so good as our delicious chocolate ganache wedding cake.

Actually, that cake was one of the best parts of the wedding. If we could afford it, I think we would celebrate each anniversary with a cake like that. Not that I didn't like the s'mores.

Greg's Birthday Celebration

Today was Greg's 36th Birthday. It was a great day. We started out by having brunch at Meson Sabika this morning with Greg's dad and stepmom. It's funny how families have different birthday traditions. In Greg's family, there are cards but no actual presents, just a very nice meal. I like that tradition, especially when it involves tapas. Ever since I stayed in Spain for a month back in 2004, I've jumped at any chance to eat my favorite foods, like gambas al ajillo, and calamari a ala plancha, and champinones. (shrimp with garlic, grilled calamari, and stuffed mushrooms). We ate until we burst, and everything was delicious. Nick especially loved the fresh fruit, the shrimp, and the rice pudding. Oh, and he got a real kick out of the cup they gave him with the straw.

Ever since Nick was born, I've been using pictures of him to make my own cards for people. Basically, I take a picture of Nick and stick a hat and some props on him. It only takes a few minutes, and my family and friends really seem to appreciate a personalized card with a special message from Nick. There will come a point when he's old enough to forbid me to use his pictures in such a way. Not yet, though.  :)

Nick and I got Greg some new jeans, several very nice bottles of wine (A nice Pinot Noir and a few bottles of Australian Chardonnay), a new watch, and an ice cream cake. Can you see the excitement on both of their faces when they saw the ice cream cake?

I think Greg ended up with a pretty good birthday weekend. Friday, we went out with his mom and sister to Hugo's Frog Bar in Naperville. The food was superb, but they didn't seat us until 7:30 for a 7 pm reservation. Also, they didn't have a changing table. Of course, Nick had a dirty diaper. That's just Murphy's Law. Nick's Aunt Sarah and I were going to walk down to the Border's to change him, but Greg grabbed Nick and said he'd take care of it. I'm not sure what kind of miracle he finagled, but Nick got a clean diaper.

I think the funniest part of the day was when Nick got to demolish the ice cream cake. It was only a tiny piece, but boy, did he make a mess. Then daddy gave Nick a nice bubble bath, to get the chocolate out of his ears. Nice way to end a birthday celebration.

A First Birthday Party for Nicholas!

Nick's first birthday party was a success, all things considered. I always get nervous planning these things; I think I worry too much about what other people think. My sister took all of these great photographs, and I'm so glad she did. My pictures never turn out this well. I know that my son enjoyed his first birthday party, despite being sick. Tylenol, hugs, and presents (in conjunction) can work wonders. In the above photo you can see him grasping a balloon with one hand and trying to tear off his birthday hat with the other.

Planning a birthday party is no small feat; I have a tiny house, so I had to put limits on the number of guests. Then there were invitations and decorations and cake and candles and, whoops, the baby grabbed the lighter. I can't take my eye off of the boy for even one second. I like this picture because he's holding the lighter so protectively.

Nick was lucky enough to have three grandmas and two grandpas at his party. (Greg's dad and stepmom celebrated with us last weekend.) So needless to say, he had a turn in every lap. Can you tell that this child was running a fever over 102 degrees at one point? Grandma Linda held him and cheered him right up. They are always saying that "Nick is so well behaved." Yup. Sure. When other people are around. The gremlin in him only comes out when Greg and I are alone with him. Like today, when he whined (under his binky) for ninety minutes straight. But of course tomorrow, when it's Thanksgiving, I'm sure he'll be a perfect angel. Sigh. Back to the party. . .

The adorable hat and book were a gift from Nick's Aunt Sarah, and he immediately tried to rip the hat off. He'll change his mind when it is ten below and his little ears are cold--the hat is not only the cutest thing ever, it is also inordinately soft and has a strap so it won't fall off.

It was great how many people came to wish Nick happy birthday. We ended up with 15 guests, not included Greg and I. I'm glad I bought so many appetizer and drinks. Nick received a ton of wonderful presents, but the real gift was getting to see his family members. We don't get to see some of them often, and Nicholas always loves to have company.

Here's Nick sitting on his Grandpa Ray's lap. Sitting on laps occupied much of Nick's afternoon. This is a baby used to being the center of attention. That's what happens whne you're the first grandchild. He soon destroyed that 1st birthday onesie with blue frosting. . .

Nick was a little perturbed and unsure when the lights went out and we all started singing so loudly. On my mother's side of the family, we sing all 3 verses of "Happy Birthday." Not sure why. That is a long time for a little man to have to wait. Then, he was crabby and didn't want to try the cake. But I put a tiny bit on my finger, and Nick's daddy tasted some to show how good it was. Then. . .

Yup. Frosting from head to toe. This is the face of an elated baby on a sugar high. With a balloon. Check out the blue frosting in his hair. Someone spiked it into a mohawk. Had to give him a bath after this experience. But isn't that what a first birthday is for?
Nick and his Grandpa Mike (my dad) were making faces at one another and playing with one of the balloons. Then Grandma Patty brought in his present. . .

See the joy on his face? Can you imagine a neater present for a toddler? It is a life size, ride on bear. He's soft and huggable and sturdy enough for either riding or using to stand. I would've loved one when I was a little girl. Maybe it'll stop him from wanting to sit on the cats. Or not.

Perhaps the best part of having a party was the fact that it forced us to rearrange furniture, arrange Nick's room, and give a thorough cleaning to the whole house. If we didn't have company, when would we ever do that? I know Nick won't remember this first party, but he sure enjoyed it while it lasted. Plus, he's been enjoying the leftover cake all this week.