Seventeen

Flying through the air with the greatest of ease, that daring young man - it's SUP.ER Pickle!! This is a song I used to sing to Nik while I was pushing him on a swing or 'flying' him on my feet in the living room. He doesn't like it as much now as he used to. But that's because that 'boy' is now 17!! I can't believe he's so *old*. I remember dressing him up as a train engineer for our first Halloween party together and I used mascara to make little cute smudges on his cheeks (for that authentic look), and a little boy at church said, "Why's your face all dirty?" (It was Antonio for those of you who know him.) Nik thought that was so funny;
he tells that story every Halloween.

I thoroughly enjoyed making Nik's cake this year. This was the 2nd outing for my fancy cake decorating supplies. (I might have gone a little overboard.) Decorating for a boy is a bit trickier than for a girl. It has to be fancy without being froofy. And with limited colors. I think it turned out a bit garish but in a fun way.

Nik has soooooo many candles now, it takes two to light them.

The worst part about Nik's birthday this year was that it was on a busy Friday. We couldn't get all the kids together at one time. I made an Italian meal that he requested and *tried* to have it ready before Julia's swim practice, but she had to leave before it was ready and Melanie wasn't home from school yet, so Chuck, Nik, Allison and I sat down together and then Allison left the table after one bite, so poor Nik was stuck with just the old people to eat with. Meanwhile, Melanie came home in time for cake, so he did get some sisterly love on his special day. And look at that *blaze* on his cake! There's ice cream under that - good thing heat rises!

Nik *finally* blew out all the candles and we took the traditional "all the kids gather round the birthday kid" picture. Boy, our numbers have dwindled! Andrea and Chris have moved out, and Julia was at swim practice. Nik doesn't show any signs of missing out, though.
That boy is LOVED!

Poor Nik - he didn't get any Unicorn games on his special day. Maybe next year, Pickle.