I took Lydia to the doctor yesterday to check out a rash that has been forming on the right side of her chest. It started about a month or two ago - it just looked like flesh-colored bumps (maybe 4 bumps) just below her right shoulder. It didn't seem to bother her, so I wasn't worried. Then, about two weeks ago, more flesh-colored bumps appeared. Then, the bumps turned red. Then it started spreading down her chest! That's when I started getting worried. I had to know what type of rash it was and what I can do for it.

Despite the fact that the rash doesn't appear to bother Lydia, I wanted to make sure it wasn't something horrible (or contagious or fungal). So, to the doctor we went. After paying a huge fee to see the doctor (crazy expensive health care plan - at least well-baby visits and shots are free), we met with our doctor. Have I mentioned before that I really like our doctor? Lydia has even started liking him! He's so understanding and calm and takes his time. He's worth the long wait in the waiting room.

Anyway, after a quick look at Lydia (she now weighs 23 pounds!) to make sure everything else is fine, he looked at the rash. By shining his light on her skin (the light he uses to look at her eyes and in her mouth), we could see that the bumps actually wrapped around her neck, down her shoulder and onto her chest. The bumps on her neck are (still) flesh-colored. He diagnosed the rash as Lichen Striatus. Unfortunately, this is a not very well researched rash. Doctors don't know where it comes from or why people get it. They also don't know how to cure it.

After reassuring me that there are no bad side affects of the rash and that it's not fungal and that Lydia will be fine, our doctor told us we'd have to go to a dermatologist if we wanted some kind of treatment. I asked if the dermatologist would give her a medicine that would get rid of the rash. He said he didn't know! Brian and I researched Lichen Striatus online (you can find pictures and brief descriptions). There really isn't that much information on this type of rash. And there is no known cure.

The thing with this rash is that it spreads in a linear fashion down the body. So, Lydia's rash could gradually spread all the way down her stomach! Some people have it spread all the way down their leg or arm! A dermatologist may or may not be able to give the patient something to get rid of the rash. Using Cortizone cream is known to help stop the rash sooner than leaving it be. It did say that the rash would eventually go away on it's own - after 6 months to a year! And, the rash can discolor the skin for awhile, too! Crazy!

We are going to start putting Cortizone cream on her rash twice a day and see if that works. I will mark the beginning and end of the rash with a permanent marker to track whether it's still spreading or not. If it does start spreading more, I will take her to the dermatologist. I would hate to have a rash (even it it's not itchy or painful) all the way down my stomach!

In other news....next week is the beginning of the school year! Brian is at his school all this week for in-service. It's hard having him gone ALL DAY and not have help with Lydia in the mornings. But, I did it last year, I can do it this year!

I have my piano lesson schedule finalized and am excited to start with my 13 students! I can't believe that my small private piano lesson business has gone from 9 students to 13 in a year! I love being able to contribute money to our household finances AND be able to stay at home! I have 8 students on Monday (10:00-11:30 and then 3:30-6:30) and 5 on Tuesday (3:30-6:00). Lydia will be going to Aunt Rekeisha's house on Monday afternoons and Aunt Leah's house on Tuesday afternoons. I'm hoping she'll do okay Monday mornings, since it's only for an hour and a half. 

Lydia is still not as well behaved during piano lessons as I had hoped she would be by now. She wants my attention and doesn't want to share it - even if she had been ignoring me right beforehand. I just had one of my students this morning and Lydia bugged us for the first half of the lesson. I had her set up in the living room with a snack, milk and Yo Gabba Gabba. But, she still wanted to sit on my lap, talk to me, and see what I was doing. I'm sure she'll get to the point where she'll be like "Whatever, mom's doing lessons. I'll entertain myself." Until then, she gets to spend an hour or two with her cousins and aunts, which is also fun for her.

I've been making activity schedules for August. I want to keep Lydia busy and not just in front of the TV watching her shows. I was really good at doing art activities, etc., with her last year and I want to start that again. We're also going to try story time at the library, again, this year - two times a week. We'll see how she does.

When All You Care About is Here, This is a Good Place to Be

Summer is almost over, so we're trying to have as much fun as a family as we can before it's off to work.

I can't wait for the weather to get a bit cooler so we can spend more time outside. Lydia constantly wants to go outside and I have to keep saying that it's too hot. If she finally convinces me to take her out, her face immediately turns red and then she wants me to carry her because it's so hot. So, I have started being creative about ways to entertain her inside the house. When she has Adah or Abram over, she's perfectly happy to stay inside. But, when it's just boring old mom and dad, she needs lots of entertaining!

So, here are some ideas I came up with this week.

Body Painting

Adah joined in with us on this one. I put a huge piece of paper (thanks to extra school supplies via Brian) on the ground and taped it on the floor with masking tape. I put small globs of different colored paint all around the paper. Once Lydia and Adah were finished snacking, I took off their clothes and put them in the paint.

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Lydia loved the paint right away, but Adah was a bit more hesitant. I put Adah right in the paint and then she started getting more interested in it.

Music Time

Adah joined us for this one, too. I put out the music instruments I have: a drum, small piano, and a xylophone. Lydia immediately picked up the drum and started playing. She played the drum for like 10 minutes! Adah thought the drum was cool, too, but Lydia had the claim on it. So, Adah played the piano and xylophone. Lydia liked it when I sang songs while she played the drums.

Baking

Lydia really wanted to go outside today, but it was just too hot. So, I asked her what else she wanted to do. She went into her bathroom and started dragging out her step stool, wanting to take it to the kitchen. So, I asked her if she wanted to bake something and she said, "Yeah!" I got out my recipe book and found a recipe for Banana Cake - and we had all the ingredients!

Lydia loves to bake and she's actually really good at pouring and stirring. I love how she always wants to help.

No Substitutions, Exchanges, or Refunds

I have a lot to be excited about. Here are some upcoming events that I'm looking forward to (in order):

Musikgarten Training in Dallas: 

I am going to be the new music teacher at the preschool this year! I am so excited, but nervous and worried. Will I be a good teacher? Will the kiddos like me? Will I be able to control a classroom of preschoolers? Will I be able to teach them what I have planned?

The best thing about teaching music at the preschool is that I only have to teach once a week - on Wednesdays! That means I get to spend more time at home with Lydia and can start expanded my piano lessons business by taking on more kids (although it'd be great it I still only had lessons on Mondays and Tuesdays...). The next best thing about teaching music is that I get to do two of my favorite things at the same time - teach kids and teach music! Perfect!

Anyway, the preschool uses the Musikgarten curriculum, and, since this is my first year, I am really relieved that there is an actual curriculum! AND that there is training for this curriculum! The training is in Dallas from Wednesday through Friday. The preschool is paying for my training and for my hotel! It's like a mini vacation...except most of the time will be spent sitting and learning. Brian is able to get off work so that we can both go up to Dallas. Lydia is staying with my parents.

The only down side to our "vacation" in Dallas? The pools (indoor and outdoor) are under renovation! 

Flash Back! July 2011 - playing the piano with Lydia!

My 26th Birthday!

I turn 26 on July 30th! I'm not really that excited about be 26, but I just love birthdays! And I love celebrating them with my family. Leah and I are having our birthday dinner (which will include Jessie, since his birthday is in July, too) Sunday the 29th. We'll hang out at my parent's house, swimming and playing games. Then, my mom makes us whatever we want for dinner and then we get to have cake! Leah is having home made ice cream as her "cake" and I'm having home made ice cream cookies (home made cookies and store bought ice cream). Jessie hasn't decided what he's having yet.

Brian has been hinting at my presents for my birthday and I'm excited. He always gives the best presents! My Lorie Line tickets were supposed to be my birthday present, but he just can't help himself. I wish I were as good at giving gifts as he is.

Flash Back! Our 21st Birthday!

Twins Days Festival!

A few days after our birthday, we're heading off to Twinsburg, Ohio for the Twins Festival! We haven't been since 2008 and I am so excited. My mom and Nellie are coming along with us. We're leaving the boys and babies at home. Jessie and Adah will be in Austin with Jessie's parents and Lydia gets to spend time with her Austin grandparents, since Brian will have work (and he can have a mini break). 

We started going to the Twins Festival back in 2003, when we were 16. We loved it from the start. It's just amazing seeing all these people who look just alike! Everyone stares at everyone. There's a talent show, yummy food, local crafts, and the research area (where we get paid to let them experiment on us!). It is so much fun.

We decided to not take the husbands this year. We figured they'd be bored and wouldn't have any fun. We stay at the festival ALL day! We also didn't want to take the babies, since they'd have a hard time staying out in the sun all day long. We decided to have Nellie come so all the Dunlap girls can enjoy a vacation together.

Leah and I just finished picking out our 4 matching outfits for the festival. It took us two days and several stores to find everything! We have a special, home made outfit for the plane ride. Then we need an outfit for the Friday Hot Dog Picnic. Saturday is the parade and hanging out at the festival (we have two possible outfits for this day). Sunday we spend part of the day at the festival and then we're heading home.

Our last time in Twinsburg, Ohio! 2008!

After these three events, it's almost time for Brian to start setting up his classroom. His older sister, Tamara, will also be in a brand new classroom this year, so they're going to help each other set up their classes. I will spend at least one day at Brian's new school helping. August 20th is Brian's first day back at the school for teachers. And August 27th is the first day of school!

I will be heading for two training/meeting days for the preschool on the 20th and 27th and then meet the teacher day is the 31st. We don't start the preschool until after Labor Day. It's getting closer and closer!

In other news, Lydia is officially (basically) 100% potty trained! She usually wakes up from nap and bed with her diaper completely dry, unless she pooped in it. While at Six Flags the other day, I put her in a swim diaper (just in case). She asked to use the potty twice while wearing her swim diaper! I put her in her diaper and pajamas before we headed off to get Brian from work the other night and she asked to use the potty instead of just going in the diaper! She woke up at 2:00 last night, so I took her potty and she went right away. She woke up at about 7:15 and then just hung out in bed until 8:45 (probably slept at some point) and was still completely dry!

She was so amazingly easy to potty train, I hope my future children are just as easy! But, she was SO READY! It made it a whole lot easier that she enjoyed walking around naked, but never wanted to wet herself. She is so good at going potty before we leave, or when we get somewhere. She's also really good at holding it! Now our challenge is to get her to poop in the potty and not in her diaper during nap. I'm thinking of getting rid of diapers during nap and having her sleep in her panties....maybe that will solve the problem...we'll see.

And I leave you with a super cute picture of Lydia:

Wonderful! Magnificent! Glorious!....Punctual!

A lot has happened since early June.

1. Lydia is Potty-Trained! Lydia did amazing the first week of potty-training and has only gotten better. It's gotten to the point where we don't have to ask her as often if she needs to go potty - she tells us when she needs to go. We do put her on the potty before we head off somewhere, when we drop her off at Sunday School, or if we notice she hasn't gone in awhile. I also continually ask her if she needs to go when she's playing with her friends. Over the past month that she's been potty-training, she has only had a handful of accidents - most of these happen when she is playing with friends. She has had a few poopy accidents in her underwear. She has only managed to poop once in the potty. The other times, she was playing with friends and ended up pooping in her pants. This will be the long process....but we'll get there. At least she's not wetting herself!

2. First Month of Summer Piano Lessons Completed! I have really enjoyed seeing my students over the summer. Of course, I rarely have all nine of them the two days I teach. One or two are off on vacation most weeks. I've only experienced about 2 Mondays where I'm teaching the whole time. This is definitely a blessing...teaching all day was tiring, but worth it. I enjoy getting my lessons "out of the way" on Monday and Tuesday and having the rest of the week free. I love that my two students who started with me in September are totally blossoming! They can sight read their pieces now - we don't have to break it down into sections each time, which is amazing. This month we're studying Ludwig van Beethoven, and these two girls get to play a simplified version of "Ode to Joy" and they love it! I am really enjoying my lessons with the student who is doing the Edna Mae Burnam books. I really like these books. From now on, any student who is 8 and older, will learn from these books. She takes it slow and it makes sense and my student is doing great! So far, none of my students have accomplished the One Minute Challenge (naming and playing 21 notes on the staff). I was worried that maybe it was impossible to do it in a minute....nope....I can do it in 24 seconds! My oldest student is only 17 seconds away from getting to a minute. All of them are making progress each week, which is great.

3. Brian is Working at the Movie Theater! At first, he didn't want to go to work each time. But, I know that he enjoys it. It is hard not having him at home in the evenings or during the day, since I just got used to having him around all the time. But, I'm sure he enjoys the break from home and socializing with people. Last week, we had the grandparents babysit the girls overnight and we (Leah, Jessie, Brian and I) watched Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. It was really good! We then went out to eat at Red Robin. Jessie went home and we watched Brave (not as good as I thought it would be). Brian working at the theater definitely has it's perks.

4. Month One Down of Exercising Each Morning! Leah and I have been very good at getting up before 7:00 and exercising. We used Jillian Michael's 30-Day Shred for the first 4 weeks. We didn't seem to get any results and it the exercises weren't challenging (but the Level 2 exercises were too challenging). So, we decided to do different exercises. On Pinterest I found a good one that is intense and gets us moving. I'm a little sore from it today, so hopefully it will do the trick. After working out, we go on a 2 mile walk with the babies. It's nice being active. Hopefully we'll lose our goal weight of 10 pounds each. I also started a 1200 calorie a day diet which will hopefully work as well. I'm hungry, but it's interesting realizing how many calories are in my favorite foods. I've been good this whole past month with not snacking throughout the day or eating after dinner, so the 1200 isn't too difficult.

5. We Cut Down the Tree! On Monday morning, my dad, my uncle and Brian started cutting down the tree in our front yard. Last summer, several woodpeckers pecked so many holes in the tree, it started to rot. We were worried it would fall - and we didn't want it falling on our house. So, we cut it down. Our neighbor across the street (who always has a very well-kept yard) saw the guys working, brought over his chainsaw, and cut most of the tree down for us! What a great neighbor! We just have the stump in the ground. There is a large stump sitting in the yard because we found baby birds in a hole. We will wait until they are grown or die before removing that tree.

6. It's Independence Day!  Yeah for July 4th! One of my favorite holidays! We get to spend time with family and friends, eat home made ice cream, swim in the pool, and watch fireworks! 

7. It's Almost Grandy's 90th Birthday Extravaganza! This weekend all our cousins are coming in to celebrate Grandy turning 90. My mom and dad have a ton of things planned. Already my Aunt and Uncle (who live in Saudi Arabia) are here. My oldest brother is coming in today. And everyone else arrives Friday. I'm excited!

Forgive Me, Madam, For Taking Up So Much of Your Time

Another potty training update.

It is currently Day 7 of potty training and Lydia is doing amazing! She will actually catch herself and ask to go potty (tinkles a bit in her undies). We no longer sit her on the potty every hour. We let her decide when she wants to go, since she's good at telling us. We do ask her - a lot - if she needs to go, but her answer is usually "no". Before we go outside or on an outing, she must go potty, though. She has come to realize this. Today, when she asked to go outside, I told her she had to go potty first. She willingly sat on the potty and went right away. We immediately went outside!

She has yet to attempt to poop in the potty, but this will eventually come. I don't know when I'll be ready to get rid of the diaper at nap time. Probably when she starts waking up with a dry diaper pretty consistently. The bedtime diaper won't be for a long while - I think 2 is too young to expect her to stay dry all night long.

Tomorrow we are going to Sea World...her second long outing while potty training. She went to Fiesta Farm on Monday with Brian, Grandma, Leah and Adah. She had no accidents! Brain brought the portable potty with him and Lydia used it well. Friday she's going to the Kiddie Park with my parents, which will be so much fun for her! And Saturday we're going to the Snake Farm. It'll be a fun week!

We've had a fun summer so far. Yesterday was a great no-make-up day for me and we stayed in comfy clothes all day long! I made up a weekly chore chart for both Brian and me and we've done well keeping up with our chores. Yesterday, Brian took Lydia to Wal-Mart so I could get the kitchen clean. Today, I had the bathrooms, dark clothes to wash and the front of the house to vacuum. 

Yesterday, Lydia and I did several fun activities. I use Jean Warren's website to find cute ideas for Lydia to do. I printed out a muffin shape and had Lydia draw on it with colored pencils. Then she added blueberries - cut out blue dots from construction paper. Then, we made blueberry muffins. She loves pouring in ingredients and stirring. She also enjoyed tasting the muffin mix. Afterwards, we painted each other's nails. She loves getting her nails painted and this was the first time I let her paint her own and mine. We had so much fun!

Oh My Goodness. Everybody Behave Naturally.

Today was Day 4 of potty training Lydia! So far, it's been pretty good...not too many accidents and she seems to be understanding what we expect from her. Here's a breakdown (so that I can remember the process later).

Day 1: Tuesday

We started on a Tuesday since I taught piano all day Monday and didn't want Brian to have to deal with her all by himself.

Surprisingly, there were no accidents this day and she pretty much peed every time we put her on the potty. There were no diapers except at nap time and bedtime....the rest of the time, she spent with nothing on her bottom (just a t-shirt on). I put her on the potty at 8:30 (after exercising and a walk) for 10 minutes, and she didn't pee. I put her on the potty at 9:30 for 10 minutes, and she didn't pee. I decided that when I put her on the potty at 10:30, she'd have to sit there until she peed. Surprisingly, at about 10:25, she was doing the "potty dance" and when I asked her if she needed to go potty, she said yes. As soon as she sat down, she peed! She then made the motions to go at 11:00 and then again at 11:30. She didn't say "potty", she would just move her hands and grunt.

When she woke up from nap, she wasn't too wet, but didn't pee when we put her on the potty. The rest of the day, she pretty much peed each time we put her on the potty. Before bed, I had her sit on the potty....we sat there for TWO HOURS before she finally peed! She understood what we wanted during the day, but decided to not pee before bed. We're trying to train her that before we go outside, go in the car, or go to bed, she has to pee in the potty. She fell asleep on the potty for about 10 minutes, but I woke her up and she finally peed right before 10:00! We were pretty frustrated by about 9:30!

Day 2: Wednesday

She woke up with poop and a full diaper. I have decided that we'll first get her trained with peeing in the potty pretty regularly, before getting her to poop in the potty. Her typical schedule for pooping was in the morning or during nap....so this will be quite a feat for us.

After our walk, she sat on the potty, but didn't pee. About an hour later, she sat and peed. She did a great job going potty each time we asked her. We bought her some cute panties, but she didn't like wearing them. I don't mind that she goes around the house with a bare bottom, but I do want her to get used to wearing undies. There were no accidents on Wednesday and no problems...she peed before bed right away.

Day 3: Thursday

After our morning walk, she said she didn't need to go potty, and since the past two days she didn't pee until about an hour after our walk, I didn't have her sit on the potty....my bad. When Brian came out of the room, he asked her if she needed to go potty, she said no and then said "uh oh"....she peed a bit in her panties. Her first accident.

We decided to try an outing - to McDonald's! I had her pee right before we went out and she did a good job. We got to McDonald's and went to the play area. She was running around playing for a bit and then all of a sudden said, "poo poo". I picked her up and rushed her to the bathroom. She tinkled a tiny bit in her panties, but stopped herself. She peed in the public toilet! Yeah!

We went to Leah and Jessie's house for dinner. She was playing and having fun right before we ate, and ended up having an accident. But, she did pee in the potty right after dinner. When we got home, she was busy playing with Abram and had another accident. She, of course, has a hard time stopping what she's doing to go potty - a typical toddler trait. Three accidents on Day 3.

I found that we were getting a little lazy with making her sit on the potty every hour, since she had done such a great job the day before. I told Brian we needed to be more firm about sitting on the potty every hour, even if she doesn't pee.

Day 4: Friday

Today started off rough for Lydia. She didn't like sitting on the potty in the morning and would only pee a tiny bit each time. I think she may have needed to poop, but is too afraid to do so on the potty. When she woke up from nap, she had poop.

The afternoon went much smoother! There were several times where Lydia went off into the bathroom, sat on the potty and peed, and then called for Brian to help her wash her hands! Amazing! She did end up having an accident this evening while we were playing hide and seek with her. We constantly asked her if she needed to pee, but she didn't want to stop playing. Next time, we will stop during play to sit her on the potty so she won't have an accident. 

We ended up finding a blanket and a pillow with pee on them in the living room. We have no idea when this happened! She went most of the day with no undies on....so who knows when she did this. Oh well.

Tomorrow we're going to try another outing with her. I really think potty training is going well. She seems to understand what we expect and doesn't like having accidents. When she does have one, she always says "uh oh" or "poo poo". At least she lets us know that she had an accident. She's not afraid of the potty. She still sits on the portable potty - she's not too sure of the big one yet. This is on the fourth day and I think she's doing amazing!

It's Been Pretty Busy Around Here

It has definitely been busy around here! And I love it!

Friday was the last day of work for both Brian and me! We are so excited to start our very first summer off together since 2008! Brian is planning on working at the movie theater he used to be assistant manager at - just this time as a part time employee. And I will have 9 piano students throughout the summer. We'll be busy, but still be able to enjoy time together and with Lydia - and with our family. 

Monday was Memorial Day. We spent the day at my parent's house, swimming, playing games and visiting. My friend, Brandy and her son Noah came over to swim, as did another couple from our Sunday School class and their two little girls. Lydia looks super cute in her swimsuit and loves being in the pool (although she still loves the swings best - I asked her "Do you want to go in the pool?" and she said "No, swing").

Today is Lydia's 2nd birthday! I cannot believe she is now two years old! Where did the time go?! She is so big now! 

Her verbal skills have taken off recently. Really only Brian and I usually understand her - you really have to concentrate on the context of what she's talking about. But, she's pretty clear and can get her message across. She has recently started talking in sentences, which is awesome! Today, she pointed at an Elmo ball in the store and said "Ball, please". I love asking her what she dreamt about in the morning - yesterday she said, "Mimi a dada" - her mimi (pacifier) and her daddy. Super cute!

This morning she woke up at 7:30 (which was super nice). I went off to the preschool to help the teachers clean up. Brian took Lydia to Home Depot to get plants for the front yard. She "helped" him plant in the front yard, went on a walk, ate lunch and went down for a nap. I got home around 1:00 and Lydia woke up from her nap at 2:00. We cleaned the house and then headed off to Party City. Brian bought a DJ Lance Rock hat to match the T-shirt I made him, and we bought a bubble machine for Lydia's birthday party, and a few Gabba decorations. I can't wait for her party on Saturday!

Lydia was in such a goofy mood all afternoon. We stopped off at Culver's to visit with Nellie and to get Lydia some cheese curds. It was not very busy, so she got to dance and run around for a bit. Super cute. When we got home, she got to facetime with her grandparents in Austin - she loves doing that and had fun talking with them.

There is so much joy and happiness when I think of Lydia. Despite the circumstances before her birth - which are hard to forget - she brings me more joy and I am constantly thankful for her.

Only When You're There to Catch Me

I had my second piano recital on Saturday and Brian celebrated his 26th birthday on Sunday. Here's a breakdown.

On Saturday, the house was cleaned and readied. Al and Karla Pfeiffer arrived around 2:00 to help me get ready for my recital. I only had 5 out of my 10 kiddos for the recital, which was actually good, since it was a bit crowded! I had the chairs set up in the front room, facing the piano. My kiddos started arrived right before 3:00 and we were able to get started just about on time!

All my kiddos did great! For three of them, it was their very first piano recital ever! I made my two "veterans" go first and they did great! My newbies did awesome, too! I just love watching them play and show off their skills. It always amazes me that it was ME who taught them to do that! How did I manage that?! They're all such hard workers and really enjoy showing off.

My game didn't go too well, but we still had fun!

Sunday started off great, since Brian let me sleep in to 8:15! We got ready and headed off to church for the 9:45 service. When we got home, Lydia had a quick lunch and then went down for a nap. We ate small lunches and started preparing for Brian's party. We had chicken thighs, bacon-wrapped chicken, bratwursts and corn on the cob to prepare. Nellie brought Culver's onion rings and cheese curds. We had queso and chips. Fruit salad (in the shape of the American flag), watermelon and carrot cake. We had a TON of food! Loved it! And most of it was eaten!

We had 17 people over at the house and we had a blast. Everyone showed up around 3:00 and started eating and chatting. The kiddos had a good time playing together in the yard. Lydia surprised me and chowed down on the cheese curds! Sara and Michael gave Brian some yard games and we started playing it. I have no idea what it's called, but it's a ton of fun. When I tried (I'm not very good - no surprise there), I have the funniest look on my face!

Leah, of course, was a pro immediately. Everyone had a blast playing and Brian and I enjoy playing on our own, too. I need to practice to work up my skills!

Brian got lots of good presents and had a blast. He received a dehydrator to make his own beef jerky from his parents (they tried it out Sunday morning). The American flag-shaped fruit platter was from my mom, plus a pineapple, peaches, and more beef jerky. Lydia and I gave him two new cups to take to school (one with Super Dad written on it). Leah and Jessie gave him a shirt that says "Bacon Makes Everything Better" - so funny!

My favorite thing about birthdays is that it is a chance for everyone to get together and show how much they love Brian. The birthday boy (or girl) should be surrounded by people who love them! And Brian definitely seemed loved!

Tomorrow is my last day of work until September! Brian's last day of school is tomorrow, too! We can't wait for summer! It's our first summer off together! Leah and I plan on losing 10 pounds each (will keep you updated on that), we plan on purging/deep cleaning our house (and perhaps having a garage sale), and just relaxing and hanging out as a family.

More pictures: