{the cake}

Gerard did get a shot of the cake on the video, so here's a picture I was able to capture. Not too bad, huh?

{birthday party}

We had a busy weekend. Debbie came in on Friday and stayed until Sunday night and my parents came Saturday and left Monday. As usual, Gerard had a ball. He monopolized Aunt Debbie all day Friday and would barely let her sit down. However, she was quickly replaced by Grandpa on Saturday, who gladly took his place as Gerard's slave.

We had Gerard's 4th birthday party on Sunday. It was a "Cars" party, and the kids decorated little wooden cars that they then raced on a track that Gerard built. I think everyone had fun. All my hard work at my cake decorating class paid off, and his "Lightning McQueen" cake looked pretty good. Of course I forgot to take a picture of it, but Gerard thinks he got a good shot of it on the video. Hopefully he's right and I'll be able to show you what it looked like.

In the meantime, here's a glimpse of the party:

Aunt Debbie and Morgan:

The kids decorating their cars:

The race for the "Piston Cup":

The cake:

Grandma and Morgan:

The pinata:

Gerard opening his camera, which he has been BEGGING for:

The gang:

Morgan in her swing from Patti and Dick:

{back to school}

We did it -- we managed to get to school on time today! I even had time to take some pictures before Gerard's first day. I seriously can't believe he'll be 4-years-old in just a few days and then next year he'll be in kindergarten! Where has the time gone?

His new teacher just had surgery so she's going to be out for the first week or so. I thought Gerard might not take that news too well, but his teacher from last year is subbing and he LOVED that! I think it actually made the transition easier.

Here are some pictures I took before we left this morning:

And just as a point of reference, here is Gerard on his first day of school LAST YEAR:

{robyn's LABOR day}

Congratulations to Robyn and Jon on the birth of their son, Spencer! Robyn, I can't wait to hear all about it! I'm glad you're all doing well.

Nothing that exciting here. Gerard is all ready to start preschool tomorrow. His clothes are picked out and his backpack is packed. I just hope we can get out the door by 9am! Hopefully Morgan will cooperate.

Today Gerard thought it would be funny to dress Morgan up like a fireman. Luckily we only have the hat -- not the whole ensemble -- and she tolerated it well. Ah, to be the second child....

{happy labor day!}

We've had a busy weekend so far... You know, one last hurrah before school starts. Yesterday we went to Fred and Amy's for a pool party and picnic. At the last pool party I took Gerard to (in June) he would barely get his feet wet, so I wasn't sure he was going to go in the water this time. Much to our surprise and delight, he went in. This time the problem was getting him out! Morgan went swimming, too. Of course she looked adorable in her little bathing suit, and of course I didn't have my camera. (The first time Gerard went swimming we took about a thousand pictures, so Debbie was right -- the second child NEVER has as many pictures as the first!)

Then today we took Gerard to miniature golf. He had a blast! It had been YEARS since Gerard or I had been to mini golf and my score certainly reflected that:

a picture from my cell phone:

And here are some more random pictures of the kids from the last few days:

G'night all!

{a new look}

I got tired of the old look again. What do you think? Gerard thinks it looks "less feminine" but I like it anyway. Very back-to-school, don't you think?

Anyway, here are a few pictures of Morgan's legs yesterday, the morning after her shots. They didn't seem to bother her at all! What a trooper!

{let them eat cake!}

Thank goodness for homeowners insurance! For those of you who missed it, we had a big storm roll through here last Thursday and we lost power for a few days. It was 85 degrees outside, 80 degrees inside, and about the same inside our refrigerator and freezers. We lost all our food -- not a pleasant sight or smell -- but our insurance will cover the lost food up to $500 per unit with no deductible! We're still adding everything up, but Gerard estimates our outside freezer had about $400 worth of food and I'm still figuring the inside fridge and freezer. I guess it's time to go grocery shopping....

The only thing left in the fridge is beer and coffee, plus the few staples I bought yesterday. Oh, and the cake I made tonight in my last night of cake decorating class. Not perfect but not too bad, eh?

And for those of you who know me well, you may know that I sometimes sleep on my back with my legs crossed. I know it sounds weird, but I've been doing that since I was little. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree -- here's Gerard, fast asleep last night:

Oh, and Morgan had her 4-month check-up today. Everything looks great and her doctor was impressed at how social she is. She's doing everything a 4-month-old should be doing (oh, except sleeping through the night). She's 24.5 inches long (60th percentile), 14 pounds, 6 ounces (60th percentile), and her head is 42 cm (70th percentile). She had 4 shots and one oral vaccine and she was NOT a happy camper. Nothing a little Tylenol, sleep, and TLC can't fix though.