Happy Birthday Uncle Thomas!!

Rounding out our Family Clumping Birthday Syndrome for us is our newest family member. Tom, we hope you enjoy your birthday and let Vancouver treat you to a wonderful day! We miss you!

Happy Birthday Auntie Jessi!!

We miss you lots and hope you are partying it up, Nova Scotia style! We love you!

Paternal Presence

Max to Mama: Well, Mama, I think I am going to paint my bike black.
Mama: Really? Why?
Max: I like my bike to be black all over. I need to work on the metals, too. And the gears and things?
Mama: Hmm.
Max: Me and Daddy talked about that. And all the things that Daddy is doing, I am going to do. Because I like all of Daddy's plans. I really do.
Mama: I like Daddy, too.
Max: He is not your dad, though.
Mama: That's true.
Max: That would be really weird.
Mama: Yeah.

Cuatro

Before Max was born, there was a part of me, even in my happiest moments, that was always sad. And now, even in my saddest moments, that part of me is always happy. Always. I am happy that Max is happy. I am grateful that he is healthy.What I am proudest of, however, is that Max is kind, and sensitive to the thoughts and feelings of others. He is remarkable, and four years has not been nearly long enough for me to lose my awe of the miracle that is him, or my wonder at my good fortune in getting to watch him grow. Happy Birthday, Max.

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Happy Birthday Aunt Carol!

We love you and hope to see you soon. If nothing else, we need more current pictures for birthday blog posts!

Happy Birthday Auntie Jill!!!

We hope your day -- well, all your days, really -- are filled with glee. We love you ever so much.

In Which More Humorous Dialogue Is Transcribed

Max to Maggie: Hey, Maggie!
Maggie: Yes, my treasure?
Max: I am not your treasure, Maggie. I am your brother. You are wrong.
Maggie: No! I not! I not wrong!
Max: You are wrong. I am not a treasure. I am not gold coins.
Maggie: Ha! Gold coins!
Max: Ah ha ha ha ha! Mama, Maggie is funny!
Mama: She's not the only one.

Better

I just couldn't let that woebegone picture of my poor little bun sit there any longer than absolutely necessary. Last night was kind of rough -- Max went to bed early, by his own request, with an all-time high fever of 103.4, a dose of tylenol, and a yellow pillow from Ikea that he loves for some reason. He slept more or less through the night, and his fever never went up quite so high again, but he was restless and kept crying in his sleep and saying those inexplicable and somehow creepy things that people say when they talk in their sleep: "Get them all off me!" "What is that red thing? What are all those colored things right there?!" "That big guy is bothering me a lot!" I alternated between testing his forehead for fever, soothing his anxieties, and scanning the shadowy corners to make sure that there weren't really any colored things or big guys in the vicinity.
This morning Max woke up, fever-free, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, cheerfully demanding all the treats he was offered yesterday but passed up because he was too sick to enjoy them. He thanked me for taking care of him, and thanked his dad for finding his favorite pair of stripy underpants. In other words, his sunny self seems to be back in action and to have suffered no permanent effects.

Wanna See Something Unbearably Tragic? Of Course You Do!

Yesterday Max tripped at preschool and totally ate floor with his face, which explains his piebald nose. And then this morning he puked all over the place and now he has a fever. And the sweatiness and the effort of puking keep making his scraped nose hurt afresh. I feel so desperately sorry for him that I almost feel like puking. Plus, Maggie is in this phase where everything Max does, says, has, or wants she has to do, say, have, or want at the exact same time. So if I give Max tylenol, I've got Maggie nipping at my heels saying, "I need med-cine! In my mouth! In my mouth!" If Max barfs, Maggie lets out a woeful wail and immediately feels that she needs to barf, as well. If Max gets his temperature taken, it is with Maggie running small concentric circles around his sickbed, absolutely certain that her temperature is also highly suspect and must be tested. I am often quite fond of Maggie's admiration for and imitation of her big brother, but I must admit that the charm is wearing somewhat thin right this second.

All Video Games Are Officially Banned From This House Forever

Maggie to Max: I need that! That's Maggie's! It's MY TURN!
Max: If you want this box, first you must meet me in battle.
Maggie: Okay, sure!
[giggling and wrestling sounds from the site of the battle (aka the playroom)]
Mama: !!!

Happy Birthday, Grandpa Phil and Grandma Kay!!

I've met a lot of families that have Birthday Clumping Syndrome -- you know, that thing where three quarters of the family seems to have a birthday within a two week span? Our Birthday Clumping Syndrome takes place in September, so sit back and get ready for a bushel of birthday well wishing blog posts.

My lovely grandma celebrates her 93rd birthday today. And she's still cheeky!

Phil is more than likely celebrating his birthday by quietly not celebrating, but this is as good a day as any to reflect on how much we like Phil, right? Right.