Liezel's Bit of Earth: Birthdays, etc.

Saturday, September 12, 2015

Birthdays, etc.

We had a busy week. Labor Day family BBQ and Grandpa John's birthday, first day of Ezra preschool, Ezra's fourth birthday, second day of Ezra preschool, and a marathon doctor appointment day for the kids. In my spare time I painted the garage door, the front entrance/porch area of the house, and painted more kitchen cabinets (the unfinished part from six months ago).

I am so pleased to report that Ezra had a glowing first impression from his new preschool. As he bounded out the door after his first day, with a big smile on his face he said, "Mom, my teacher is nice, and the kids aren't scary!" Hallelujah! My Ezra-boy seems scared of his own shadow some days, so meeting--and liking seven new strangers is a BIG deal for him. His second day was equally positive, in fact, he asked me twice on Friday when he got to go back to preschool. It is hard to fathom that he can be so contented after the knock-out-drag-out fight we had last year with his very informal preschool friends group, but, obviously, he has found his good fit.

Maren had her #2 birthday a few weeks ago, and Ezra had his this week. It is birthday season here at our house, so I will share their birthday celebrations together. When I was growing up, my mom made a special request dinner on our birthday; I decided to continue that tradition in our family. Maren and Ezra requested the very same thing this year: homemade macaroni and cheese and a fruit bowl.

Maren isn't much of a cake eater, so we put two candles in a bucket of strawberry ice cream, and she was tickled. Ezra had a very specific request for a very special birthday cake. He is enamored with ocean life right now, so he asked for a chocolate cake with an iceberg, icy ocean waters, and lots of cold-water sharks and whales, and if possible a narwhal. I had fun creating his request, and aside from the narwhal, I nailed it.