Today Calder is 3 years old! Hooray for my darling boy! Here’s his little birthday survey that I conducted this morning while he was taking a bath:

Favorite Food: Bamanas (that’s Calder-speak for bananas) and cheese tortillas and cheese sandwiches

Favorite Show: Curious George

Favorite Movie: Peter Pan

Favorite Thing to Do: Take a bath (a lot of his answers were very in-the-moment)

What He Wants to Be When He Grows Up: A Fireman

Favorite Color: Orange (and has been since day one it seems)

Grin! This is actually pretty subdued for this energetic boy.

That's more like it! He gets a kick out of almost everything. And really really wanted to play in the water rather than pose for pictures.

See what I mean? Life is full of joy for this little guy--I need to take my cue from him more often. And those rocks behind him? They went up really (really) high and he was up and down the wall many (many) times.

Love this boy!

So, Happy Birthday, my friend! Thank you for your curiosity, your enthusiasm, your joy, and your playfulness. We love you!

Today is Amelie’s 5th birthday! This morning, I sat down with her to conduct one of those little birthday surveys that I’ve seen on other people’s blogs. Here are the results:

Favorite Food: Cereal, bananas, grapes, olives, and strawberries and blueberries, lemonade, and orange juice.

Favorite T.V. Show: Imagination Movers.

Favorite Movie: Rango. (That made me laugh.)

Favorite Game: Starfall. (This is a website with lots of fun reading games.)

What she wants to be when she grows up: A doctor.

And that’s all I got. She got tired of it much quicker than I thought she would. So, on to the pictures! Once again, my friend Marcie did a simply amazing job. I was blown away by her ability to make every shot count. She knew how to get their attention, get them to smile a real smile (usually by doing something silly to make them laugh), and get a great picture. Thank you for sharing your talent with us, Marcie!

Oh, and make sure you let me know which one you’d like me to print for you, grandmas!

My sweet little girl.

Shy smile.

Big hugs.

What a sweetheart.

Smile!

I am so tremendously grateful to have Amelie is my life and to be her mother. Her excitement over the little things, her joy in giving hugs and kisses, her tender spirit, and her endless curiosity have brought so much happiness into my life. Watching her grow from baby to toddler to little lady has been wonderful. Happy birthday, my little one!