Surprises, Birthdays, and a KittyKat

This past...week? weekend? weekend prior?...was busy. It was full of fun, friends, and a few beers. 

It started with a car trip to the St. Louis area for a surprise (late) birthday party for one of Kyle's aunts, Lisa.

I love her. She's such an amazing person with talent in so many things. She deserved this.

Everyone came, including my sister-in-law and mother-in-law. That was another part of the surprise. Lisa had no idea they were flying in from Washington!

Many props to Liz and Jordan, Lisa's daughters. They arranged the whole thing.

Albeit, the waiting plan changed. Gabe about ruined it with his babbling. We were in the garage for about 20 minutes or so. It was all worth it.

We stayed the night at Liz's house and left the next day to go see my Kia. :)

Kia, being the amazing person that she was, made Selena a birthday cake! How amazing is she?!

Selena was so excited. She had no idea!

The cake was deeeelicious. I could go for another piece. Or 5.

Selena had a great birthday. She didn't know Aunt Amanda and Grandma Barbie were flying in for Lisa's party. It made her birthday all that much better.

I can't believe she's 6 already. Where did the time go?! :(

Oh yeah. That baby?  THAT'S MY KITTYKAT! :D I FINALLY got to see the little gorgeous bundle!

She made her Aunt Rachel go a bit camera happy. All in all, she was a great sport.

I got to snuggle on her and love on her and changed 3 diapers (yeah, bragging about that).

Kyle says no more babies.

Gabey says "Don't want one."

And THAT, my friends, is the blanket that would never be finished. Looks great with her, if I do say so myself.

All in all, it's been a lot of running around. Trying to get back into the swing of things hasn't been all that easy, to say the least. We'll all get there, though.

You're my brown eyed girl.

Hey, where did we go?

Nanu lovins.

Days when the rains came

down in the hallow.

Playin' a new game.

Laughin', and a runnin', hey, hey.

Skippin' and a jumpin'

in the misty morning fog with

our hearts a thumpin' and you,

my brown eyed girl.

You're my brown eyed girl.

My baby girl turns 4 today.

No I don't know how time stole that one from me.

It seems unfair that she was able to get so big, so fast, considering how traumatic everything was after she was born, but it really opened my eyes to just how much you can take things for granted and how quickly life can slip from you.

I love you, teeny T-Dot. More than all the stars in the sky.

Happy 4th birthday, baby girl.

They say it's your birthday.

My bestie, Moonshoes (Kristy), had her birthday on the 26th.

I don't typically mail out gifts. I'm terrible, really. I'll happy birthday on Facebook and all, but this year I've been all about making stuff for other people.

Justifying my spending, maybe.

Well, first, I got this great yarn (Red Heart in Grey Heather). 

Then, I realized they'd make great fingerless mitts.

Then, I realized that Kristy would appreciate them with the avid amount of reading she does. When you read, whether it's a book or on an eReader, you end up losing circulation in your hands. You get cold.

So these were made.

The colors are very Slytherin friendly.

That wasn't intentional.

Stephen King approves.

And I took these photos with a Stephen King book specifically, because Kristy reminded me of a great conversation we had about him back in the day.

About how if book authors were compared to high school, Stephen King would be the girl that always puts out so you can always count on her. Dependable. You go, Stephen King.

I love the colors. So much that I've made a pair for myself. >.<

Along with those, I sent her something else.

A necklace to represent a certain Mr. Legoman/Mario/Harry Potter that has stolen my heart has been in the talks for a while. I had ideas, but then I decided I would just go for it instead of planning.

I made the lego mold, then poured the resin and let it cure.

And then I put the necklace together.

The "L" is clearly for Logan's name.

The puzzle piece represents the piece of the Autism puzzle Logan is.

The lego block, again, is clearly for Legoman. Also, it glows in the dark. This was a tad difficult, since I couldn't find any blue glow paint, but I made it work. Now Kristy can light it up blue for the little man anytime she wants to.

Truth, I'm not really happy with the necklace. I think it could be better. I sent it anyway. It was already late.

She refuses to let me change it.

Hey, if she's happy, who am I to complain?

Also, she has a new book blog you should check out that she runs with Nina. Check it out here.

5 Years. Wow.

5 years. Wow. They went by FAST.

This is how I remember him.

The little boychild that made houses out of cardboard boxes with my Riah.

The little boychild that won my heart over reading stories of mermaids and dolphins.

The little boychild that was once allowed to play in Riah's bed. Yeah, don't know if that'll ever be able to happen again without having to kick Kristy's ass.

The little boychild who is destined to be a rockstar.

The little boychild with such captivating, bold, blue eyes.

The little boychild that loved food. I seem to remember that during one late night Wal-Mart trip with his mommy and me, we passed by a Burger King and he very excitedly exclaimed "YAY!"

This little boychild is 5 years old today. 5. FIVE. And you know what?
He isn't the only thing that has gotten any bigger in those 5 years. The love I have for him in my heart has grown as well.

Happy birthday, Legoman Flowerpants. You may be getting bigger, but you'll always be the little boychild that stole my sweet potatoes.

Aunt Rachel loves you very, VERY much.