Friday, August 15, 2008

Rachel's 4th Birthday

Rachel turned four a few weeks ago, on July 30th - the same day that Henry was born. Luckily we were able to have a full day of fun for her before I left for the hospital.


Opening presents in the morning - she was very happy about her new princess toothbrush


Ready to go with her new shoes and stroller


Rachel tends to take things really seriously, including taking her ducky for a ride in the new stroller.


She kept going outside to see if there was a chance it would rain so she could use her new umbrella - she'd stand there in the driveway and wait and wait, just in case, but she had no such luck.


Rachel requested a picnic for her birthday lunch, so we packed up and headed to the pool with our friends the Bates. She was very specific about what she wanted to eat at the picnic: peanut-butter and jam sandwiches with no peanut-butter, Cheetohs (I have never bought those in my life because I can't stand them, but I think Rachel had them at a birthday party once, and now thinks they are the ultimate birthday snack) and lots and lots of fruit, with lemonade to drink. She kept saying it was her best lunch ever.


Oliver with William and Cassia Bates, enjoying the picnic


The brave four-year old jumping in



Eight kids on a lane line. This picture makes me a little bit sad, because it was our last time swimming with the Bates before they moved to Utah. We will miss them!


This was also my last time swimming with only four kids. I did do a lot of jumping around and even swam a few laps, so I'm thinking that might have been what sent me into labor, because I started having contractions as soon as we got home from the pool.



Rachel's dinosaur/volcano cake. When I made one for Oliver last year, Rachel decided she wanted one for her next birthday - I thought for sure she'd change her mind, but she was pretty set on it, and planned for it all year. She's lucky she got it - I was having contractions every 5 minutes during the making of this cake.


Tristan and Oliver helping her blow out the candles.


The birthday girl with me right before I left for the hospital. After we did Rachel's cake and ice-cream celebration, we cleaned up and got everyone ready for bed, and then my friend Karen came over to watch the kids, and Daniel and I left. Henry was born at 8:38 that night - an extra surprise present for Rachel.

Rachel is such a good girl, and we feel so lucky we get to have her in our family. I think she and Henry will always have fun celebrating their birthday together.

6 comments:

Diane said...

Your first mistake was making such a cool cake to begin with. Your second mistake was having it available for your other children to see, then later request. Your final mistake was preserving it in a photo for even further requests - or worse yet, what if one of my grandkids sees it and asks me to make it???? I could never do that!
You are indeed a great mom.

Jennifer M said...

that cake is a.m.a.z.i.n.g--especially considering your laborious state!

Jesse said...

I still can't believe you did all that the day you had Henry. What a great day for Rachel. Pretty fabulous cake!

Joanne said...

Thanks, guys - I can't take credit for the cake idea, though. Oliver had been asking for a volcano cake last year, and I had no idea how to make one, so my friend Poppy sent me pictures of a dinosaur/volcano cake she had made for her son, and that's how the whole thing got started. So, thank you for your creativity, Poppy!

Eliza said...

I agree with Diane- what if one of my kids sees it? And they will because I"ll probably show them tomorrow. I couldn't even copy it, so yes you can take the credit (or most of it). Rachel is so cute. Is she a little bit into princesses?

Glory Watts said...

A baby is the best birthday present ever! The cake you made is amazing! How did you make it? I would love to try that one of these years. Rachel is such a cute girl and is growing so fast!