The big one is older today

The first thing Abigail wants to do in the morning is get dressed; and she's not just putting on clothes, but a persona as well.  She chooses who she wants to be for the day (or the hour, since she usually changes at least 5 times in the day), dons the best approximation of what that character or person wears, and then feels comfortable being awake.  Once she is up and ready to greet the day, she assigns the rest of us our requisite roles.  If she is Sister Bear, I may be Lizzy Bruin or Mama Bear, Jake is Papa bear, and Elijah is, of course, Brother Bear.  If she chooses to be Ariel then I'm most likely Vanessa, but I could be Ursula, while Jake is either Prince Eric or King Triton, and Elijah is Flounder.  The list goes on and on.  We have come to know and assume our roles with ease.  Jake's favorite aspect of this charade is that when she assigns us our roles we are referred to as "the big one",  "the medium one" (or "you", since she's usually talking to me), and "the small one".  Hence the title….this past weekend was ALL about "the big one" and his big day.

We started out on Saturday with a little Wiener/Moely family party.  Charity made an amazing meal of  corned beef and cabbage for the whole gang and we had a lovely time chatting and spending time together.  

I love Jerry's face in this photo….he looks delighted

We topped off the evening with Jake's traditional childhood birthday cake--a lemon/chocolate doberge. This was my second time making this cake with the two flavor variation, and it's no small feat.  It requires eight layers of torte, two fillings, and four different kinds of frosting.  But trust me when I say, it's worth it.

Sunday was beach day, and the only thing that could be more perfect about it is if there was football as well.  Jake and Abigail left the house a little before 10 am and didn't return until almost 6 pm, which for most people is beach overkill, but not my ocean-loving man.  Elijah and I met them there with lunch after his first nap and left 2.5 hours later so he could have a second nap.  I was tired from my time in the sun, so I was not at all surprised by the tan little girl with blood shot eyes who happily greeted me at the door upon returning home.  It was a good day.

Happy campers

Elijah crawled straight into the ocean.  Onlookers were gawking at this tiny baby who didn't care about temperature or waves.  He was all in.

Jake and Abigail spent their hours at the beach going into the ocean for stretches of time and then coming out to warm up.  This was a special treat for Jake, as Abigail has boycotted the ocean since seeing a young lady freak out last summer upon being struck by a sting ray.  

Abigail warming up

Sandy, covered in sunscreen, and eating my leftover sandwich as an early dinner

 Upon awakening on Monday morning, Abigail's first words were "It's Da da's birthday!".  She was so excited that she wanted to greet him and bestow gifts before getting dressed.  Amazing.

"Helping" Jake open his presents

Being the amazingly sweet father that he is, Jake chose Disneyland as his birthday activity.  I know that his enjoyment of the happiest place on earth is strongly rooted in Abigail's sweet smile and the pure bliss she clearly feels for the entire day of fun.  I hoped that Monday would be a little less crowded than usual, even if it was St. Patrick's day, but it wasn't.  Still, we always have a great time.

The boy teacup

Meeting princesses is on our must-do list

We arrived home in time to feed the kids some dinner and sing to the birthday boy on his special day.  Here's our little messy-haired Aurora -- clearly excited about cake (as always).

Abigail made the mini cake that is placed to the right of the king cake, so that's the candle she was blowing out

Then, believe it or not, we put the kids to bed and walked to a new restaurant in town to spend a couple of hours together while a sitter was at the house.  I'm always sad when I don't document a moment, and our dates seem to top that list.  I should work on my selfie skills and at least take one with my cell phone.

It was a weekend to remember, and there's no person more deserving than my love.  He spends his days working hard and his evenings and weekends focused on his family with every fiber of his being.  I love his contagious positive energy and his overflowing joy, especially since I see the latter in our daughter every time she laughs.  It's such a gift to have in my life.  

I love you, darling.  Happy Birthday.