Happy Birthday Janie Jane!

We can't believe our little baby is ONE! It seems like just yesterday she joined our family. Her actual birthday celebration was pretty low key. Poor Number Three - they get the short end of the stick sometimes. We met all the aunties and cousins at Candlelight Park for sack lunches and cupcakes. Jane seemed to somehow know it was her special day. She liked being sung to and loved the tissue paper out of her gifts. Grammy was the belle of the ball with the pony cart. Every little kid in the park was swarming around her and the pony. It was so cute to watch Grammy giving the kiddies rides with a little crowd of park kids chasing behind her. Jane took to the pony cart like a regular cowgirl. It was the perfect way to celebrate since she loves being outside and is fascinated with animals.

Sunday we had dinner with the Bodines and did the whole cake-in-the-face thing. I wasn't feeling like icing so I made a pineapple upside-down cake which actually didn't work too well for the "cake-in-the-face" routine. Oh well. She got a little sugar and lots of attention. The perfect gift.

Here are a few funny things about Jane...
1. She is the monarch, runs the house and bosses us all around even though she can't talk.
2. She's a great eater as long as she can feed herself.
3. Jane is very cuddly and loves to play "love a baby" by snuggling on my shoulder.
4. She sleeps like a true Bodine (long and hard) thanks to her two favorite fingers.
5. Jane's favorite time of day is bath time when she creates a splash zone in our bathroom.
6. She loves the girls' room and especially playing on their bed. Let's hope she doesn't learn how to climb the bunk bed ladder any time soon.
7. She doesn't handle change well and can't be stretched too much out of her routine.
8. She's got the cutest chub.
9. Jane adores her sisters and being in the center of their action.

WE LOVE OUR JANE!

Five on the Fifth

Hooray for our five year-old! Sage is a wonderful little girl and we were all so excited to celebrate her. She has been especially anxious for birthday gifts this year. A few weeks ago, she kept quizzing me to make sure I had memorized all the things she wanted for her birthday. If you know Sage, she always has a plan...and her plan was to get everything she wanted for her birthday. When I couldn't remember every item, I helped her write out a list. Little did she know that I bought Sleeping Beauty on DVD and that was the only gift from Mom and Dad. Nevertheless, we've had the list on the fridge for a month.
Somehow, when Sage makes a plan everything works out. Much to my surprise she received every item on her list. Aunt Kasey helped her paint a piggy bank, Grandma gave her the Polly Pocket and Nana brought over a doll. Sage also got a beautiful, silver plated tea set. Grandad found it at the farm and brought home. Grammy cleaned up the rust and dirt and Sage is now the owner of a real-life tea set. I think it's hilarious that something so valuable came from the farm and was given to a five year-old! Thanks Grammy and Grandad!


Thanks to Mrs. McClure, Sage got the ideal birthday party for a future firefighter. Her pre-school class had a field trip to the fire station so I brought Faith and 4 dozen cupcakes - wall-la! A birthday party I didn't have to plan or host! She had a great time with all of her friends and she loved every minute with the Mesa firefighters. This is Sage with her favorite teacher and three of her cousins who are also in Aunt Gail's class. Faith is Mrs. McClure's future student so she gets to be in the picture, too. Sage was answering all the questions and was so enthusiastic about everything. At one point one of the firemen said that she should give the tour. Here's what happened to Sage and Faith after their big morning. It only took two minutes for them to both pass out.That night we did like we always do - we went to Organ Stop Pizza. Marci and Eric joined us. We couldn't end the day without the man who inspired Sage's future firefighting career! They even got her a pink "Future Firefighter" shirt. They've both been so excited to give it to her. And Sage was very excited to receive it. In fact, she wanted to wear it to bed but I had to convince her that it was a special day-time shirt.

Halloween '08

After months of anticipation, Halloween finally arrived - and Sage and Faith were the luckiest girls on the block! Our friend, Marian Chase, lent us two beautiful Sleeping Beauty costumes she sewed for her own girls last year. They were dresses fit for a princess. But a true princess needs more than a dress; she also needs a prince. Being the only guy in our household, Bert was cast as the prince. Prince Phillip from Sleeping Beauty, to be exact. I made his costume out of some velveteen that's been in my mom's collection for 20 years. And before that, it was in Grandma Bodine's collection for who-knows how long! It was time to put it to good use and it looked great on our prince. Two other pieces that also looked great on our prince were the sword (a replica we picked up in Spain) and the tights (size 2X from Target). Don't they look great?

The other theme in our family was taken straight from Wonderland. I was Alice and Jane was the white rabbit. Too bad it was a very hot evening and Jane spent most of it with her costume off her arms hanging around her waist. I think my ensemble worked out pretty well considering I went "shopping" at my mom's house and borrowed the Mary Jane's from Whitney.

Speaking of Whitney, doesn't she make a stunning Cinderella? I really think she could work at Disneyland. She and I were obnoxiously excited about our costumes this year.Here's another set of siblings who were overly excited about their costumes. Man, I'm so proud of my meager sewing skills. Bert's tunic and cape look just like the movie. He is such a handsome prince.