Eva's Birthday Party

In the weeks leading up to her birthday, people would often ask Eva what she wanted on her birthday cake. "A lion driving a car!" She would quickly respond.
"So you don't want a Frozen cake, then?" I asked later, as this was her original idea. "No, I want a Frozen birthday," she'd respond. Lather, rinse, repeat.

So needless to say, I didn't exactly purchase anything for the party. The weekend before the party we visited Alex and Amelia (and Uncle Adam and Aunt Molly, too! :) ) and she decided she wanted a Candyland party.

Candyland it is.

We had the party at Grandma and Papa's house this year since they have so much more room than we do. We came over the night before to set up and cook a bit, and as a team effort we put together the cake. Evalee was so excited to see all the candy she didn't know what to do with her hands.

The party was great. It was so great to see everyone again, and Evalee loves each and every one of the gifts people were so thoughtful to choose for her. The day was even nice enough for the kids to play outside for a good portion of the afternoon.

All in all, it was another birthday success!

Gizmo - a girl's best friend/hated enemy

Evalee has been constructing elaborate schemes to catch our cats in their cat carrier. She tells me she wants to catch them and take them to Petco because she saw on their sign that they had dogs and cats and would like to exchange our cats for a dog. I have to remind her that they are family, and you cannot return family members for different ones. She reminds me that they throw up all the time. "Something is wrong with them," she points out.
I know, kid. I know.

And yet, at night Gizmo has started offering a white flag of surrender. Just as we wind down from the collection of books Eva heaps on our laps, Gizmo announces herself loudly as she strolls into the room and joins us on the bed. She allows Eva a few precious minutes of snuggle time. Eva is beyond joyful.

And then she is off to throw up on the stairs or knock things off shelves. And Eva is back to dreaming of ways to fool her into leaving the family.

Warming Up

We've finally been given a few days beautiful, gracious warmth and sun. Warmth in Illinois terms anyway. We took it.