36 Ways I Love You...Happy 36th Birthday

Let me count the ways...in no particular order:

I Love:

1. your silly faces that you make when I make you take pictures with me! Usually it takes 3 to 4 shots before I can get you to crack a normal smile! I might complain and get annoyed at you and question why while I am trying to get a picture, but the silly faces are classic and so you!

2. how habitual you are in your morning quiet time.

3. the way you don't fully wake up until you have a workout.

4. the way you roll around, tickle, and play with our girls.

5. how much you love and fear the Lord!

6. that you also love to get in bed and read a good book when it's still light outside.

7. that you have a passion for hunting, fishing, and cycling and you want to share those passions with me.

8. that you are such a great listener.

9. that you are so easy to please at mealtimes and will eat pretty much anything!

10. your honesty.

11. that you take real family pictures once a year and don't complain that we all have to coordinate.

12. that you admit you have a horrible sense of style and you are so comfortable with it.

13. that you let me lay out your "outfits" before we are heading out in public.

14. that you are so patient, especially with me.

15. that you are so romantic and are always looking for ways to love me.

16. that family is so important to you and you love spending time with both sides of our family.

17. that you surprise me with flowers every now and then.

18. that you work so hard for our family to provide and take care of us.

19. your muscles.

20. that you can fix pretty much anything even though your time estimates are always WAY off.

21. that you are almost as much of a perfectionist as I am.

22. that you will skip a bike ride to go walk/run with me and the girls at Town Lake.

23. that even though you think fashion is silly and there are trends you despise you still let me wear what I like....like when you bought me my UGGS in New York.

24. that you are so simple in so many ways, but so HM in others, like with all your specific dairy products we have to buy and the way you order your meals at restaurants.

25. that you'll occasionally sit down with me and watch Project Runway or Curb Appeal.

26. that being a good Daddy is so important to you and you are so hands-on with our girls.

27. that you are so comfortable with who you are and how God made you.

28. that you are so extroverted and can have a conversation with a shoe which helps to balance me out.

29. that you leave me notes around the house when you go out of town.

30. that you occasionally write me romantic poems.

31. the way you like to shave your head 6 months out of the year but will grow it back because I'm tired of your bald head for the next 6 months.

32. when you give me back rubs.

33. that you don't get mad at me when I fall asleep while watching movies, 9 out of 10 times this happens.

34. that you have turned into "that daddy" that pulls out his phone to show his friends and colleagues...and strangers...photos of our girls.

35. that Friday date nights are important to you.

36. that you enjoy bathing, reading to, praying with, and kissing the girls every night.

Cooking Like a Pro

This morning we made a brownie cake for Mark for his birthday. Isabella had fun stirring, crushing egg shells into the batter and of course licking the bowl.

A Perfect Birthday...jewelry, chocolate, and family

"Hurry and blow out the candles Mommy, so I can have some of my cake!"





Enjoying dinner at very spicy La Condesa.

The Most Beautiful Cake

My sweet Isabella made me the most beautiful cake for my birthday! No store-bought cake or expensive bakery cake could ever compare! How perfect....and yummy! Thank you Isabella and Mimi!

First day of MDO

Well, this morning was a bit sad. I had to keep telling myself that it would only be a couple of hours and then I could go get her. If she doesn’t like it, we can forget the whole thing all together and we can get back to our normal routine. But things went better than expected. Mark dropped Isabella off this morning and he was hoping for maybe a tear or two, but Isabella hardly looked back. A hug and “I wub you” at the classroom door was enough for her, and then she was off to play with the baby dolls and rice table leaving Daddy a bit snubbed. When Victoria and I picked her up two hours later, I was expecting a look of relief on Isabella’s face, but she seemed to have an extra skip in her step on the way to the car as she recalled what she had done with her new friends. She said, “snack...goldfish” and then during the ride home she shared how she had colored an Elmo coloring page with “colors, crayons, Elmo” and then during lunch she continued to share about her playground time with “outside, slide, bucket, and shovel” and oh yes, her favorite....“storytime”. So there you have it....a morning full of fun! Let’s see her emotions on Thursday morning when Daddy drops her off again....hmmmm.

Girls' Birthday Party Video

You're 2!

Happy birthday Isabella Mia! What a joy that past two years have been! This past year you have grown so much!

- You love to run everywhere you go.
- You talk constantly from the moment you get up until the moment your eyes close at night, even though 80% if what you say is in another language.
- You love books! You love to look at them on your own and you love to be read to.
- You love to sleep with Baby right next to you.
- You are a milk lover and gulp it down as if it were going out of style.
- You highly dislike being dirty, from your hands to your toes.
- You always wake up in a good mood...you are definitely a morning person like your daddy.
- You are finally taking baths in the tub like a big girl...no more baby bathtub...phew! That was a battle!
- You like to sing songs while we go for walks in the morning.
- You love to suck your thumb in the car and in your crib.
- You love snack time!
- You're not too sure about swimming pools, but you finally went down the toddler water slide all by yourself! We were so proud of you!
- Your favorite shows are Sesame Street and Dora.
- You are such a good eater and will do anything for a piece of bread.
- You don't like avocados or hot dogs....again, just like your daddy.
- You love music (music class, music in the car, music in the playroom, books that play music) and you love to dance and get dizzy to it.

Words that I will miss you pronouncing as you grow up:

• music = "seek-in" ....don't know where that one came from
• milk = "me-yoke"
• good morning = "ha morning"
• Victoria = "Toria"
• banana = "nana"
• school bus = "scuba"
• thank you = "ta-choo"
• please = "peas"
• blanket = "banky"

You are growing up so fast Sweet Pea, so I cherish every moment with you! I love you, Mommy.