Big Birthday Weekend

The Big Weekend of Birthday Fun lived up to its name!  I'll let the pictures do most of the storytelling.  You can use your imagination for some of it, too...the wilder, the better.

Things kicked off on Friday morning with Ms. Jen and the Kindergarten class.  Miles was busy working at one of the writing centers in his class room when I arrived.  He had to label some Thanksgiving-themed pictures.  He debated how to label the pilgrim's footwear... Are they shoes?  Boots?  Is there a fancy word for pilgrim footwear that we don't know?  We went with boots.  I think that's a safe bet.

Next it was time to pop bubbles as the class sang a beautiful rendition of Happy Birthday.

Then Miles gloved up so he could serve puppy chow (not the REAL kind, as all 15 kindergartners took turns explaining) to his friends as a special birthday treat.  I think wearing the gloves was secretly the highlight of his morning....

At Miles' request, we went to Newt's in Rochester for supper on Friday night.  Newt's is known for their burgers and fries.  As far as Miles and Weston are concerned, the place is known for their popcorn, lemonade, and mac & cheese.  Add to it a birthday sundae!  And a dollar bill from some grandparents sitting near us who were clearly lonely for their grandchildren and were obviously fooled by Miles and Westy's mostly appropriate behavior during supper!  It was a fun night on the town.

Finally Saturday arrived, which meant official present opening day.  Miles didn't miss a beat.

Weston did, however.  He was quite upset over the fact that he couldn't tear into packages and bags himself. A tough reality check for this 3 year old.  He angrily threw tissue paper around the room until he decided he'd gotten enough attention.

Ethan, Owen, Uncle Charlie, Grandma Jill, and Grandpappy spent much of the day celebrating with us in Otown.  It doesn't look like any adults were around based on these pictures, but I promise there were...

After lunch the boys insisted on playing outside in the frigid November air.  It was ~10 degrees, but under 0 with the wind.  Brrrrr.

If you do a head count, you'll notice one boy is missing.  Ethan decided it was too cold for his own good and went inside.  He proceeded to take off his pants to warm up.  No pictures of that, but it must have worked because a couple other boys followed suit (or lack thereof) and immediately stopped complaining about being cold.  Hmmmmm.

On to Sunday.  We bundled up and went to St. Peter to continue celebrating Packer style at Grandpa Dave and Grandma Doreen's house.

Uncle Will and Auntie Anne were taking care of Kobe for the weekend, which meant the boys had another playmate for the day.  Miles loved helping with all of the dog-related chores, and Weston (who is usually terrified of dogs) got a kick out of playing fetch with Kobe.  Kobe is very sweet and tolerated the boys very well....and that takes a very special kind of dog.

After a little (or big) cookie cake --

Miles decided that being 6 means he can sit on the counter at Grandma's house.  When he was 3, he was quick to tell Grandpa Dave that sitting up there was a "sad choice".  My, how times change.

The NC cousins helped us celebrated Miles' birthday, too, with a very cute birthday video message.  Here's a shot from their performance....

We missed having them around for the excitement, but do appreciate their e-participation.  And their attempt to make us feel better about the cold weather -- nothing like wearing winter hats and summer dresses (with little cardigans, of course)!

Happy birthday, Miles Jay Grimmius.  We love you all the way to Z and are so glad you were born!*

*On a side note:  As I was snuggling Miles in bed on his big birthday night, I spent a minute reminding him how much I love him and how the last 6 years have been so awesome - he brings so much joy to our family and makes us so proud.  I didn't think I was over-doing it, but apparently I went on a little too long about my deep, unconditional love for that boy... He smiled and giggled, then leaned over the railing on his top bunk bed so he could see Weston and said, "Hey Westy, have you ever watched a dog go up or down stairs?  It's really funny because they have four legs.  I'll have Kobe show you tomorrow!"  I got the hint, smooched the boys good night, and let them get back to other important dog related topics.  Sigh.