Road Trip : Idaho

We stopped and had a quick lunch with Uncle Ben on our way. We had our usual stop at Grandma Irene's for dinner and some playing with toys.Nora got to show her the empty space in her mouth from her missing tooth. The weather there ended up being just right. There was snow on the ground, but none on the roads. The children got to play in the snow at the house on two days and go sledding at a local park with aunts, uncle, and cousins on Saturday. There was lots of playing with cousins and reading.We were able to attend story time at the library and visit the fish. We were there to celebrate Tony's birthday. Rachel used a "no hands" technique for her cupcake. Everyone enjoyed the treat. We had a quick ice cream date with friends. It was a fun visit!

Opening presents at Grandma's house

Mark's mom often makes gifts for the kids and since our visit was so close to Helena's birthday we were able to open them in Idaho with her.
Funny cat puppet. A purse filled with books. Thank you Grandma for all of the lovely gifts!

Helena : Two years

Her language skills have improved a lot lately and it is so fun to hear her little voice. A favorite of phrase of ours is "Oh, yeah. Right." She is a determined little person who knows How Things Ought to Be. She loves to be a part of whatever the older kids are doing.We all enjoy her so much!

A Birthday Dinner for Helena

For the past few days Helena has been singing "Happy Birthday" to herself.

Nora and Henry helped decorate the cupcakes this afternoon.
Tonight we opened a few presents and had a celebratory dinner of chili, chips, and coleslaw with cupcakes afterward.Helena was given a smaller blanket just like her favorites and she immediately popped her fingers in her mouth.Her older siblings helped her open her gifts. She watched closely.

Celebrating

Helena got an early start on celebrating her birthday on Wednesday. We made cupcakes for our friends at playgroup. After an initial bite Helena picked all the sprinkles off the cake, then ate the frosting, and then finished the cake. More treats to come for this birthday.