This weekend DeeDee and Bubba came to Richmond for a visit. On Friday night, we celebrated Bubba's birthday. Connor was so excited all week to sing "Happy Booday" and to blow out the birthday candles. In preparation for the big event, we practiced singing the birthday song several times. Connor would get very angry with me when I sang "Happy Birthday to you," and would correct me, "Not Happy Booday to you, Mamma. Happy Booday to Bubba. Not you." Michael was also pretty excited to be included in the festivities. He enjoyed eating spaghetti dinner for the first time (Anna also enjoyed feasting on the pile of pasta under his chair) and he munched on the vanilla cake portion of the cupcake (no chocolate until his first birthday). Here are some photos of the boys and their grandpa blowing out the candles. You can see one of Bubba's big gifts on the table. It's a beer stein that Connor made for him at Color Me Mine, the ceramics store in Shortpump. Connor chose the colors (a masculine combination of aqua and mango), and he signed his work with two blue hand prints. I think my Dad really enjoyed the gift, although he did ask if he could leave it here in Richmond.
Here are some photos of the boys on Easter morning. We were all a little weary from a nearly sleepless night. Poor Michael and Connor both had terrible coughs and stuffy noses. Michael was a little worse and could not sleep the entire the night. Around 3 a.m., Phil and I decided to use the nebulizer on him to open up his airways. The mask made him so angry and he screamed and swatted at it until we stopped. He finally fell asleep around 4:00 a.m., buckled into his carseat on the bed in between me and Phil. I think sleeping upright did the trick and helped clear his head a little. Connor must have gotten the memo that Michael had fallen asleep because he decided to wake up bright and early at 6:15 a.m. Amazingly, I was able to keep him away from the Easter baskets until around 8:15 a.m. so that Mom, Dad and Mimi could have a chance to drink some coffee. Although the Bunny brought Connor blocks, flower pots and seeds, puzzles and crayons, his favorite gift by far was a chocolate bunny ("Cha-cha Bunny") - actually two chocolate bunnies riding a motorcycle. As you can see, an exhausted yet good-spirited Michael really just loved the basket. Connor only had to body slam his little brother
once over ownership to some animal puzzles. He still disputes the fact that they were in Michael's basket. Later in the day, Connor and his Dad went for a bike ride along the river and saw turtles on the rocks. He also had some fun playing with golf balls and buckets of water in the yard. Aunt Mimi made an Easter feast - Turkey, stuffing, and homemade green bean casserole. What started off a little rough turned into a very beautiful day.
