If you don't have anything nice to say....

Recent conversation between me and the almost 5 year old:

Leah: Mom, is Bowser *stupid*?

Mom: I don't know, honey. I don't like to use words like that.

Leah: Yes, Mom, Bowser *is* stupid.

{30 seconds of intense DS playing commences}

Leah: Ha! Gotcha!... I was right, Bowser *is* stupid.

Mom's most recent attempt to influence the children for good is once again refuted by logic.

I'm digging 4.5!

A day in the life of our 4.5 year old:

1) Name change, again. From "Leah" to "Ally." We have the preschool teacher to thank for helping to orchestrate this. Yay fabulous preschool teacher!

2) Walked up to Julia's entire field hockey team (never seen them before), and announces, "Everyone!" Of course, all the girls looked up, to which Ally emoted: "I *love* you!" and ran away. The girls were ecstatic, proclaiming her the cutest thing ever.

3) After a brief rain shower, the seesaw seats were wet. No matter to a 4.5 year old. "I dried it off with my big. fat. BOOMBY!" she announced.

Playing with our food

Sharon got Allison a super cool plate for her birthday. We've had fun with it,
and it has inspired other creations. Following are the things caught on film

(well, sort of; more like 'caught on gigabytes').

Thanks, Sharon, for inspiring creativity!

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.

Mmm.... cake!

Remember the thick frosting I mentioned in the previous post? Well take a look at this! The frosting on the side should only be consumed by a professional, as it is a serious choking hazard. But oh so delicious. Thank you, Allison, for having a birthday. Thank you, Mama Doris, for your delicious fabulous chocolate cake recipe!

Birthday fun!

Oh how great it is to be four!!
Feeling so much older, lovin' the celebration, and excited for whatever the day brings.
Allison turned four in January.
All the kids had the day off so we decided to really party.
Allison's favorite people are her brothers and sisters and the Goodsons,
so everyone was there to make a sweet girl feel *awesome!*
Of course, a sparkle shirt and sparkly, twirly skirt are *essential* for the birthday girl.
Nik and Julia gave me some cake decorating tools for Christmas, and this was my first opportunity to try them out. I used as many different tips as I could. This poor cake really needed some 'dressing up' as the frosting was just wacky and wouldn't stick to the cake. The result, though, was voted a positive by everybody. The frosting didn't *look* good, but because it wouldn't stick, it went on really really thick. Everyone thought the super thick frosting was alllllllll right.

No Hawley celebration is complete without some cheese....

We had a horse and unicorn theme. Unicorn party items are difficult to find so we had to be creative. We made horns for everyone and the girls colored big sparkly pictures.

Pin the Horn on the Unicorn was super fun.
Allison thought pin the horn on Allison sounded like fun, too.

Not everyone had very good aim...

And of course, the annual beating of a defenseless animal was enjoyed by all. Partying in January has it's challenges; we had to make some impromtu rules for taller people in order to preserve household fixtures, thus Julia on her knees.

And big brothers seem to avoid leaving evidence that they played Unicorn games with girls and had fun. While there's no Nik in these pictures, we know the truth!

Mmmm.....chocolate!

I *love* helping Mom get ready for my birthday!!