My July babies

So, yesterday was Jasmine's birthday. She turned 5. I'd bought the stuff to make her cake a few days before. Luckily I bought white frosting because the first thing she said to me when we saw each other yesterday morning was, "Mom, it's my birthday. I'm gonna have a cake, and it's going to be purple with purple flowers on it." So, I put my cake-making skills to the test. It wasn't anything special by my standards, but Jaz was so happy. When she saw her cake, she said, "That's my beautiful cake--my beautiful purple cake with flowers." She continued to repeat that even after Jamie had cut slices off the cake.



Normally I have a party for the kids with decorations, guests, and a big store-bought cake. I enjoy putting a party together for them. I want it to be their special day. But this year I decided not to do parties. Instead, the girls made a trip to Build-a-Bear Workshop. Even though those stuffed animals are over-rated and expensive, in my opinion, it saved me time, energy, and money. So, on the day of their actual birthday, they just got a cake...an uneven, imperfect cake made by mom just for them. And all of them have loved it.


Levi is 4 weeks old today. He's a pretty good baby. It's a little different having a boy after 4 girls. Once you figure out how to avoid getting peed-on during diaper changes, it's pretty much the same. I have to tell you (if you've never changed a girl), girls pee just as much when you open their diaper...the difference is that they can't aim to hit the wall behind them. I have fun dressing this guy. After all the pink dresses and sparkle-shoes, it's nice picking out something blue or brown. My sister, Jessica, sent me a box of clothes for Levi. I was so excited with each piece of clothing that I pulled out. Everything was soooo cute, and exactly what I would have picked out if I'd been at the store. You can't see the whole thing, but he's wearing one of those outfits in this picture.





And I don't want to forget my other July baby...Jamie. He celebrated a birthday on the 19th. I won't post his age, but let's just say he's not too excited about being another year older. My dad was 4o when I was born, and he had 3 more kids following me, so by no means do I think Jamie is old. He's feeling that way, though. He's wanted a motorcycle ever since I met him, but the itch for one is extremely strong this year. I'll give it a few weeks, and he'll stop focusing on his age, and maybe he'll stop dreaming about a motorcycle for a bit, too.