OurLittleMcFamily.com

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NIKKI!27 February 2010

Out of all the cake molds she had to choose from, she went with a “cake” because it had “pretty colors!” Adam made the cake per his usual talent. :)Oh, and she named her little stuffed dog “Princess Doggy!”

Juan P. got to make pizza for his birthday. He is a little obsessed with pizza right now, and he rarely gets it. So we thought it would be a fun birthday treat. Aunt Jaime made him a fruit pizza for his cake. Well, Aunt Val helped him decorate it, so it was a joint venture. Regardless, it was the yummiest birthday “cake” I have had in a long time. :)

Womps got the standard birthday hiking poles from us. And his Tios McCracken continued the Build-A-Bear tradition, which is ever so gracious. He LOVES his Girl Rainbow Bear that he picked out. She comes complete with a pink hat and rainbow skateboard. All because he thought she was beautiful, and because his tias are adorable push-overs! He named her Banana Baby. Yeah, I know!

Ezzy’s birthday was on 17 May…I know, I am a little behind. Her tias, tio, and grandma picked her up in the afternoon to go to Build-a-Bear for her present. It was so nice of them to treat her. I think she made an excellent choice in choosing her Panda. Look at how grown up she is. After her afternoon escapade, we–mom and dad–treated her to dinner at Claim Jumper. Grandma graciously watched the other three children so we could have a special Ezzy date.

She helped scarf down the ever popular pretzels with cheese sauce. She also helped daddy devour the chocolate chip calzone. It was so nice to have some one-on-one with Ez. It is really nice to actually be able to communicate with her a little more too. She is definitely the jokester of the family. She has the most infectious goofy/dorky/uninhibited laugh. We love to tease her. She is by nature good-spirited and joyful. We are so proud of our newest eight year old. Our family would not be the same without her.

31 reasons I love being married to you:

1. you are loyal.

2. you are kind.

3. you are honorable.

4. you play with our kids.

5. you take our kids wherever you go, whenever you can, because you want to.

6. you scratch my back every night.

7. you download my shows even though you have little interest in them.

8. you are handsome.

9. you never complain when I cut your hair a little crooked.

10. you do your duty.

11. you love try very hard to follow the Savior in word and deed.

12. you get all giddy about Scouting!

13. you are tenacious, but not uptight.

14. you allow me to see you vulnerable.

15. you do not like to watch ESPN.

16. you push me to do things that I think I can’t.

17. you never say a word about my scrapbooking piles.

18. you kept your buckets of legos for your future boys.

19. you love to travel.

20. you love me despite my failed attempts at producing offspring.

21. you are the quintessential “phone-a-friend.”

22. you talk to people when I don’t want to.

23. you don’t take my ice cream anymore.

24. you let me have your extra fries.

25. you don’t have a lazy bone in your body.

26. you are a really great best friend.

27. you can see both sides of an argument.

28. you are fair and honest.

29. you keep this house technologically sound.

30. you are a friend to everyone.

31. you just love me!

YUMMY peanut butter cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory.  My mom and dad were in town on business during the week of my birthday so Adam and I were lucky enough to spend the evening out with both sets of our parents. I had the Luau salad, as usual. And we ordered the Factory Nachos as a starter. Does food get any better? Thanks again, mom and dad, for treating us. And Thank You–Angelina and Emily–for watching the kids–and for the scrumptious cupcakes. They were so cute, I didn’t want to eat them.

So becoming a mother is the only goal I wasn’t able to reach in my 25-30 five year plan. Instead of one healthy baby, I mourned three losses. Somehow, even at 33, I am still insanely jealous of those who reach that same goal. I think it is simply because I am used to doing whatever I say I am going to do. In that respect, not bearing children has been a completely humbling experience for me. And yet, I am still jealous. I guess I have a ways to go in the perfection department.

There were some momentous positives to my before 30 plan. I got married, traveled to five more countries, and finished my masters degree. All things I am extremely proud of, and grateful for. So at 33 I am left wondering, why didn’t I make a new five year plan at 30? I am all about goal-making and attaining. I think fertility and adoption took over my life for awhile, and it was difficult to focus on anything else. I am now resolved to have a two year plan. I will post the results when I am finished contemplating.

A simple card….

“Once there was this guy. A nice guy, really. And he met this girl. An incredible girl-truly amazing. So naturally the guy falls head over heels in love with her, and pretty soon they’re picking out china patterns and rings and there’s a wedding and the starry-eyed couple rides off into what will surely be a rosy future.

Okay, so now some time has passed and the guy is living in that future. He’s still married to this girl, but now their life includes a lot of stuff–appliances and bills and loads of laundry and home repair projects. But between all the to-dos and have-tos, there are these moments when the guy stops for a minute and looks around him.

He looks at his wife, who is still truly amazing, he looks at their life together, all the ways and different directions it’s grown, he looks at all the responsibilities he’s got, and he thinks to himself, so, this is my life.

And then he thinks, I am one helluva lucky guy.”

A perfect reminder.

The juxtaposition of the Barbie cake, tea set, and hiking poles is a crack up. But look how happy our little seven year old is! We had a low-key, at-home celebration. What was on the menu, you ask? Awww, yes. Pasta con queso con chachichas, sin ketchup. Yeah, mac-n-cheese and hotdogs!!!!!!!!!! Gross, right? At least, it was the cheapest birthday dinner ever requested. :) We spent the evening playing the Wii and eating yummy chocolate cake. Nikki’s best friend, Erica, also joined us. That is who gave Nikki the tea set. It is currently the favorite toy in the house. Thank you Stewart family. The kids absolutely adore Erica…she is a wonderful friend.

On a serious note, Nikki’s birthday brought tears to my eyes. It is the first birthday party she has ever had. It is the first time anyone has sung “happy birthday” just to her. It is the first birthday cake ever made in her honor. It is the first time, that she remembers, getting any birthday gifts. Pretty amazing. And we get to do it three more times this year!

Since Nikki’s bday was on a Friday, we took her new hiking poles out for a spin on Saturday. We had a blast finding the Anniversary Narrows out at Lake Mead. It was a pretty easy hike, and the kids had a great time. After walking down a wash for awhile, we entered a slot canyon that was really cool to traverse with the ninos. They did well. You’ll notice the backpacks loaded down–we are still training them for this spring. We can’t wait to do some overnighters.

After that, Aunt Marisa picked Nikki up to take her to Build-A-Bear for her gift from her tios. She hasn’t let go of the bear yet! We ended the weekend of celebration with a February Birthday Party at the McCracken’s home. Zoe and grandpa both had birthdays this month too. I think that Nikki was sufficiently spoiled, and the other children were sufficiently jealous. :) Isn’t that the way it is supposed to be?