Feeding the Cat

For their birthday dinner the boys (and the rest of us) got pizza. And afterwards we learned something interesting: Mickey likes pizza crust.

Shared Birthday Cake

The days of the number-shaped cakes are behind us — arranging to make two such cakes on a work day is just too much — so once again Cam and Ian shared a cake with no objections whatsoever. Ingles again did a fine job, though I’m not sure what the yellow puffy stuff near Lightning McQueen is — smoke from his tires? (Not that anyone seemed to complain about extra frosting, regardless of what it looked like.)

Four Cousins

What I like best about this photo is not Ian’s unadulterated joy in playing with a new toy, or Elena’s befuddled look into the camera lens, or even Libby’s quiet gnawing on her own fingers. It’s Cam’s sense of composure, calmly and responsibly holding his youngest cousin while waiting for his little brother to settle down so the adults can take a picture. “Children,” he thinks, with his Lego Star Wars t-shirt and his Darth Vader watch, “will they ever grow up?”

Ian and Judy

Ian was very happy to show off the sheriff’s badge, cowboy belt, and Woody (from Toy Story) toy his Auntie Judy brought him. Why he’s holding up Cam’s new Garfield is a bit of a mystery, though.

The Holy Grail of Pokémon

Is it just me, or does Cam seem to be holding this game up like some long-lost mystic relic. (Maybe it just the Harry Potter outfit.) One neat feature of the game: It comes with a sort of Poké-pedometer that counts your steps — the more you walk (in real life, not in the game), the more Pokémon you catch “in the wild” and can port back into the video game. A cool add-on or a cynical attempt to increase sales while pretending to care about fighting childhood obesity? You decide.

Opening Presents

This afternoon, Nana and Auntie Judy came over with Auntie Karen, Uncle Arthur, Elena, and Libby to celebrate the boys’ birthday. (Pappy came over later after he got off work.) Here, Cam starts in on a new Garfield book while Ian smiles at a new Lego set.

Birthday Breakfast

Ian seemed to really enjoy the special strawberry muffins that he and Cam got for breakfast this morning.

Eight-Year-Old Wizard

Cam woke up well before Ian on their shared birthday and got to open one present before going to school. He opened a Harry Potter outfit (robe, wand, and glasses) from Grammie and Grampa. We refused to draw the scar on his forehead until he got home from school.

Judy Visits

Judy arrived yesterday afternoon for a two week visit. This afternoon we all got together to visit and to have dinner.