Happy Birthday Cousin Isak!

Dear Cousin Isak,

Kai told me today that we wouldn't be able to make it to celebrate your 1st birthday.

 Needless to say, I was SO sad.

 So, SO sad.

So we came up with an idea. Since we are pros at first birthdays, we thought we would help you celebrate even though we can't be there today. So, here is our birthday wish for you:

We hope your day will be sweet like us like the chocolate cupcakes we baked for your special day. If we were there, we'd even let you help us lick the spatulas (pre egg of course).

The recipe says that it should make 2 dozen cupcakes...we may have licked a few short (um...we only had 14 but don't tell daddy that was the reason we were up until the wee hours of the night) but we decorated them just for you. I was very careful and precise with mine. I wanted it to be perfect for you.

 

Kai decided instead of decorating, he would rather just eat the frosting. He told me that he was making sure it was safe for a 1 year old to eat. (See, he's looking out for you!)

 Not to worry, I decorated this one just for you.

 And Kai, well, let's just say he also wanted to make sure it tasted good enough for you.

 It did.

We would even let you blow out the birthday candles, though it will be hard for us--we may need to stand close by to supervise and help if you need it. And we told mommy we would promise (or at least try our hardest) to keep our itchy fingers away from your presents so you could open them yourself.

We figured there weren't many pants in the hand-me-down clothes we sent you since we've worn the knees out, so we thought you might enjoy some new ones.

We hope your day will be filled with the hugs and kisses we're sending your way.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

We're sure your day will be filled with hot air since Papa will be there singing your happy birthday song  since we bought you this balloon.

\

And we wanted to let you in on a secret...today marks a transition. It's the transition of you being our "baby" cousin to you becoming a toddler cousin. The age gap between us is shortening...our difference in years will not seem so large anymore. Any day now you'll begin to walk, your language will develop further and you'll begin to talk...you will be just like us (though something tells me not as loud). We have great plans for all the forts we will build together and the bugs we'll catch. Tell your mommy and daddy not too worry too much about your cute clothes...we'll show you how to roll play in dirt. We're so excited!

And sweet cousin Isak, today brings your mommy and daddy special memories of a year ago...after all, never again will a birth-day be thought of in the same way. So, today we celebrate YOU. Your birth, your special day, the way you entered the world in a special way.

Happy First Birthday Isak!

We wish we could be there!! LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

Your Cousins,

Kadyn and Kai
(and your Aunt and Uncle too!)

God answers prayers...

Kadyn has been experiencing a lot of bad dreams lately so every night he asks that when we pray, we pray for God to take away his bad dreams and give him good dreams. We repeat this prayer again if he wakes up in the middle of the night with a bad dream, allowing him to fall back to sleep.

One of the nights Kai wanted me to say the same prayer to him too. Which I did. However, Kadyn was upset that I said the exact same prayer. So, later that night when he woke up screaming he told me "KAI STOLE MY GOOD DREAMS!"

However, this morning Kadyn told me: "Mommy, God answered my prayer last night." Oh yea buddy, how is that? "He gave me sweet dreams about us going back to Hawaii with Grammy and Pops. And you were there, and daddy, and Kai. It was a really nice dream mommy."

Until May I can only imagine and hope his dreams look something like this...

Butterflies

The High Desert Museum has a new exhibit: Butterflies! Grammy took us there this past weekend and we love it. LOVE IT. Mommy's camera was running out of batteries so some of the pictures aren't the best quality, but they still show how excited we were...and how gentle we both were!

We're so excited to go back again on Thursday.

Riding the train Daddy in tow

Have we mentioned yet how much we love fall?

One stylin dude

Pumpkin Carver for Hire

If you need a professional pumpkin carver...I am your man.  This is my original pumpkin that I found in the pumpkin patch with my friends. I was so excited to carve it, it didn't last more than 12 hrs before I just had to dig my hand in to it.

Kai was in awe of all that was pumpkin.

He got the hang of it pretty quick...but there is only one professional around here.

Behold...my masterpiece. 

I taught Daddy my skills so he could help Kai.

Not bad for a beginner Kai.

I decided to invite all my friends over to teach them how to carve pumpkins too. (8 adults, 8 kids, lots of sharp knives...it's no wonder they needed a professional)

Not bad huh?

Everyone did such a great job I invited them to stay for a potluck dinner. 

 

After pumpkin carving we headed outside (it's hard to keep 8 adults and 8 rambunctious kids in 1100 sq ft.) It's a good thing it was 80 degrees in the middle of October. Dirty was an understatement. For more pictures and funny commentary go to my friend Canyon's blog... here

I think I did a great job of teaching my friends how to carve pumpkins. It was a successful fall party!! And I am so excited to have a winter party, and a spring party, and a summer party, and a birthday party, and a... well, you get the idea. ;)