Sterling is 3 as of 1.24.11!!!!

birthday morning...

We had a delightful day together!!! I can't believe I have a 3 year old!!! It's truly amazing how time flies!!!
It was very interesting to observe Sterling's reaction to having a birthday especially as this was the first one of which was truly aware. More than once he denied that it was his birthday and claimed that he was 2, not 3!!! Also, he pretended that he was a baby for a good chunk of the morning - something he has never done. It fascinates me to ponder what might have been going on in that little head of his!!! Childhood development never ceases to intrigue me!

Love these close-up's!!!

These next 3 just tickle my heart!!!

I don't even know how to begin to describe how much joy Liv brings to Sterling!!

Whenever he gets his hands on her he just smiles from ear to ear!!!

...midday....

We took a picnic lunch to the playground. It was an absolutely perfect day!!!

...talking to Tim during his lunch break...

I love this one of Thorin!!...

...and this one of the two of them!!!

They love running down this hill on our way home!!!

Love this face!!!!

...the afternoon/evening...

This is what Tim came home to...all of us making the birthday cake (notice Liv laying on the counter)! Oh what a grand mess we made!!! Sterling was so excited!!! At one point he exclaimed, "Mama, thank you so much for making this cake for me!!!" I'm not a big cake person but of all the options I gave Sterling for his special birthday dessert - chocolate pie, cinnamon rolls, cake, etc...- he chose cake. And I dare say it was one of the best I've had!!
The 24th fell on a Monday this year so we decided to keep it simple that day then to have a party on the weekend. Our friends (L to R) Leah, Hannu and Hazel joined us for dinner. I made a Moroccan chicken dish and served it with rice, bread and steamed broccoli.

The boys never can get enough of roughhousing with Tim!!!! I love how Liv is so still in this shot that she's actually in focus compared to the full motion the boys are in!

You'll have to scroll down past the next post to see the cake...

Riding a camel in Egypt...

Humor me by going to the Amazon link below before watching this video. Once at Amazon, click the option to LOOK INSIDE (left side of the page, above the picture of the book) then there will be the option to look at the first page under 'book sections', again, on the left hand side. We read this book quite a bit over the summer while at my mom's house. It provided great context in which to explain to Sterling where we would be going for Christmas. Hope you enjoy it! Oh, by the way, this video was totally candid; we didn't prompt him at all.

http://www.amazon.com/Olivia-Missing-Toy/dp/0689852916/sr=1-1/qid=1157721970/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-1537899-0939354?ie=UTF8&s=books

...the cake...

I love all these faces...

Liv

Our girl is growing up so fast!!! These are a few from our time in Egypt.

This is along the Nile; it's crazy to see cultivated patches between the buildings!

She's here and she's a SHE!!

Lavinia Sofia - we call her Liv

(means mother of wisdom or pure wisdom)

10.1.10 at 1:03 pm

7 lb 6 oz & 20 inches

I absolutely love these of Sterling checkin' out his new sister...

...as much as he had anticipated her arrival I think he wasn't quite sure what to make of the little creature once he beheld her...

our nieces, Alexia and Naiya, had much more nurturing responses to their new cousin...

Yes, she's a redhead so far... Lord have mercy!!!

Father's Day!!

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BUBBLES!!!

Blowing bubbles is one of the favorite pastimes around here!! Sterling loves it and could do it for hours!!!

Tim got involved in the action one day with all the neighborhood kids. You should've seen him!!! It was so cute - he kept coming in the house looking for bigger and better things to make bubbles with!!! : )