Aug.2 Kiefer and Caleb had their 5th birthday.

It was a great day going to the pool, having their special meals, and seeing them play with their gifts.

Kiefer and Caleb told everyone that it was their birthday and they were turning 5.

Kiefer was born 2 minutes before Caleb, so he usually gets to blow out his candles first. Kiefer is such a little goober. I don't think he can walk across a room without doing something goofy. He keeps us laughing. One thing I love about Kiefer is his sweetness. If I'm ever sitting or laying down Kiefer will start playing with my hair. He will run and get a brush then send me into moments of heaven by brushing my hair. He has mastered this art.
He loves having his back rubbed. In the middle of the day he will come to me and ask me to rub his back and he will cuddle me for some time. I love this.

Kiefer loves riding his bike, swimming, going to church and school, and he loves to color. He also loves rubbing his bellybutton. It is so funny to see. He also loves Caleb. He loves being with Caleb. They either help eachother make good choices or they are in crime together.

Caleb, my "youngest", is a sweetheart. Caleb can sit at the table and write his letters for a very long time. He loves to swim, write, build blocks, go to church, school,...really he likes going anywhere. The thing I love about Caleb is his manlyness. He loves putting on his tennis shoes and showing us how fast he can run around. He is my little helper. If I come home from walmart, he is there to help bring in the bags of food. He wants me to see how srong he is. Even with all his manhood at such a young age, he is very sensitive. He is kind to others and is very helpful with other kids.
He loves playing with Kiefer at bedtime. This is the time when Caleb becomes a bit of a teaser.
I love hearing them talk and laugh at bedtime. Sometimes they talk and laugh for a couple of hours. I can never stop them. It is such a neat thing to witness.

Kiefer and Caleb both bring me so much JOY. They brighten my days. I love my twin boys. It was really hard those first several years, but they have the gift of bringing so much love and happiness wherever they are. I am so blessed to have them as my little boys...my babies.

I prayed that Marcelo would recieve all the love and excitement for him on his Birthday. This is his first birthday with us and I wanted him to feel loved and special.

Since, we were on our way back from vacation we were in a hotel the morning of his birthday. I decorated a poster for him and the girls blew up balloons for him. (Rich and I had to get two rooms for our family) In the morning we girls went to the boys room and threw balloons up and sang happy birthday to him.

We got home in time to fix his cake. He wanted yellow cake with chocolate icing. We fixed chicken, rice(which did not turn out), and french fries. His favorites.

While we ate I told him it is a family tradition to tell how the birthday person came into our family. I told of how Heavenly Father guided us to him and then I told how Rich and I came on a plane, we were so excited to see and meet him. I told of the first day we got to see him and all the things we did........and how we all

felt.

As I told the story, so many of the emotions came back from that time. It was such a high and low of feelings. I felt a rush of emotions, but I was able to hold it in while I told the story.

My little Marcelo has been with us for 8 months. It is hard to imagine how far we have come. He is such a different boy and I am a different kind of Mom.

Marcelo is such a good boy. His heart is kind. He is funny. He is smart. He notices so many things even small things. He asks so many questions of what I am doing and why I'm doing it, where am I going and why,......He loves music, loves to be sang to, loves food, loves swimming, loves playing with cars and loves his new leapster. He doesn't like getting his picture takin when he is the center of the attention, he doesn't like quiet time, and he doesn't really like watching tv.

All in all I think he had a great birthday. I love my little Marceo.