June 18 Celebrating Erin's 7th

Wednesday:  This precious girl has been wanting to turn SEVEN since her last birthday--and today it happened! I purchased her gifts many weeks ago and wrapped them up last night. I didn't want Erin to be here for several hours today with the present right out in front of her dear face, knowing we couldn't open it until this evening when we were home again with her folks; so I hid it in the clothes dryer. She never guessed it was there--and believe me, she looked and looked around my house trying to find it.

At Cal's request, Brendan was teaching little Cal how to play CHESS--but since Cal has only just turned FIVE, this was quite a challenge and a little bit frustrating for Brendan; mostly because Cal would NOT follow instructions!

Aidan really really REALLY played in the spare bedroom. I could hardly believe how many toys were out in such a short time--but he seemed to enjoy himself with all of them. Here is he building a race track for the little cars.

I'm not exactly sure why Erin has a rather "miffed" face in this picture. Look at her darling little face! She was very pleased with her brand new sunglasses. Brendan played with and built this marble run.

Erin made her very own I-PAD from some spare cardboard I had in the playroom.

Little Cal was still contemplating CHESS ... he challenged me to a game but got quickly frustrated with the various moves each piece was allowed to make or not make. So ... we moved on to other things.

Brendan found the KerPlunk game on the back shelves, set the whole thing up and he and I played a game. We tied! THEN Aidan wanted to play, so we did; and then Erin joined us for a third game. They truly enjoyed playing this. I also taught them how to play "Pick up Sticks" which Brendan played with me, and then Aidan too.

After our lunch, we brought out Erin's tiny cake and lit the SEVEN candles ...

This picture of Erin ... her eyes ... her loving little heart ... mmm.

Erin did a great job blowing out her candles ... look at her enthusiasm!

Good job, Erin Lucia!

We also played my TetraTower game -- it's been a long time since we played this. I forgot how fun it is and how good these kids are at playing it!

I love their patience and their concentration. They still struggle with losing a game ... which is normal for kids of this age who are as competitive as they are. 

Aidan refuses to lose ... he just somehow rigs a game so that he always conveniently wins ... but we are working on this! 

Brendan and I played a game of chess ... or at least we tried to!

I was in the middle of cleaning up the kitchen and the kiddos were running wild, so I turned on "Tom and Jerry" to amuse them while I was working on kitchen stuff. Brendan and I started a game, but then he got very distracted by the cartoons--so I quietly walked away and finished cleaning up.

I took the kiddos back to their place by about 3:00. Brendan and Cal were going to go birthday shopping with Kelly to chose a present for Erin to open up once Dylan was home from work. More pictures to follow ...