Happy Birthday, Daniel!

April 28th was our Daniel's tenth birthday. It is hard to believe that it has been ten years since he entered our lives. I was just looking at a picture the other day of the kids that was taken in 2004. Daniel was only six in that picture. I would have sworn we took that picture two years ago ; )

We are so proud of how he has grown, especially this past year. He has developed a love for reading and can often be found curled up on the couch or walking up the stairs with his nose in a book. He is still fascinated with airplanes, birds, butterflies, flowers and outer space. We are studying Astronomy in Science right now and he is guilty of stealing my text book and reading ahead ; )

He has such a tender heart, an inquisitive mind and a desire to do things exact. It has been a joy (sometimes frustrating too) to watch him grow and mature. His mind is so creative and analytical that it's hard to keep up!

We declared the day a "national holiday" and asked him to make a list of things he wanted to do.

Here is how the list looked:

special breakfast

bob for apples

play pin the tale on the donkey

play Uno, Skippo & of course chess

and then have lunch (quite a full morning)

movie night

cubed steak, sweet potato casserole, green beans & strawberry shortcake for dinner

Unfortunately, he woke up not feeling well. He didn't finish his special breakfast because he got sick ; ( and ended up spending the morning laying on the couch feeling pretty miserable. But like a trooper, he persevered and felt a bit better later in the day and we were able to accomplish many of his desires. Here are a few highlights...

The birthday boy!

(feeling better)

homemade pin the tale on the donkey

(as requested)

The Artists!

The Action!

The Suspense!

The Drama!

The... wait a minute...

How did that happen?!

and who did that?

Whew! I'm glad I'm not a donkey!

And now, on to something a bit more engaging... Some of you may know Bob as a tomato... we now know Bob as an apple ; )

The birthday boy gives it a shot

with encouragement

he keeps at it

and success!

"Every bit as fun as I thought it would be!"

"Out of the way rookie. Let the old man show you how it's done."

Tah dah! Glad to get this over with before he gets dentures!

Mama takes a turn...

Hey! That's stemming. No fair...

Curses! Foiled again!

Sadie's turn

Are you sure this isn't ring around the rosie?

That was fun. Why do I feel wet?

Tastes good too!

Emilie gives it a try

Is this allowed?

Hey! This is harder than it looks!!!

Can't we just make a pie?

Perseverance...

What in the world!!!???

Our Apple Dumplings!