July 23

I'm going to be honest here. Our house looks like a toy factory exploded, raining down bits and pieces of fun and colorful debris all over our living room. Just thinking about cleaning it up makes me feel exhausted, so I think I'll leave the mess for tomorrow. Luckily, our week of mayhem is almost over, and then we can get back to life as normal.

Except for Chris' 30th birthday.

And our anniversary.

And then we want to try listing our home for sale on Craigslist.

It never ends, does it? At least we're having fun along the way.

This morning, Caleb finished opening the gifts from his birthday party.

Among them was this gift from us: a stuffed Fredbird doll. Caleb was instantly in love.

Fredbird helped him open the rest of his gifts.

(See his hand tearing open the package?)

Fredbird joined him for storytime with Daddy and Daisy.

(See his little legs underneath the book?)

Fredbird watched through the window while Caleb played outside, then joined Caleb for naptime. Luckily, Caleb was willing to leave Fredbird at home while we celebrated our third birthday party in three days. This time, the celebration was for Princess Mary!

Mary turned three today, and chose to celebrate with an ice cream social.

Good choice, Mary!

Caleb joined Mary's little brother, Michael, on the piano, where they played some lovely duets. (Caleb may have been taking the lead on the vocals here.)

Princess Mary is now also Doctor Mary. She thoughtfully checked her Mommy's blood pressure. If her Mommy is anything like me, hosting a birthday party sent it sky-high!

Then she checked her own.

(These toys literally haven't changed since I was a child. Unless they have, and this is the "retro" set. In that case, I am officially old.)

Mary's big sister, Catherine, was so excited to hold Daisy. You can tell she's an experienced big sister, becasue she did a great job with the baby!

After the festivities were over, we headed home for dinner. Caleb was feeling especially kind tonight, and made sure Daisy had a sandwich from his new wooden sandwich-making kit. What infant wouldn't be excited to eat a nice, big sandwich? Too bad it's made of wood. Sorry, Daisy. Maybe tomorrow.

And then it was bedtime, and Caleb's faithful friend joined him for bedtime stories and snuggles.

Good night, Fredbird.