Mr. Nick turns 31

We weren't around last year when Mr. Nick turned 30, which was a pretty big deal as far as birthdays go, and it was a shame not to celebrate it properly. So we decided to make up for it this year with a big barbeque party to celebrate number 31. The way I see it, he's firmly entrenched in his thirties now—there's no going back ...

Our friends Katharine and Ben came and brought their camera—I love the shots that Katharine took (except she's not in them!). Thank you Katharine!

Mr. Nick, grillmaster (the grill was his birthday present)

Our semi-American Gothic

Some serious grilling went on

Good friends 

The kids' "table"

It's actually rare to see so many of them sitting down at once; they mostly ran, non-stop, up and down the stairs and pathways in the backyard, for the entire party

We affectionately dubbed this one the "Napoleon Dynamite" cake

The chocolate almond cake (recipe from the Cake Doctor) was a big hit

Lucy supervised the main event

He earned her approval

Firestation

Playgroup this week consisted of a tour of the local fire station. It was a big hit—the firefighters were great with the kids, and it was really interesting to learn about all of the extra training firefighters in this area receive. (I mean, where else do you have wildfire training and hazmat training and top-secret clearance required all together?) I also really liked how they had one of them suit up in all his gear and then let the kids come up and give him a hug so that they could see what a firefighter coming to help them in a fire would look like and that he wasn't scary.

"Driving" the fire truck was Miss Lu's favorite part. She was so funny talking to the fireman while she was up there—asking him what the computer was for (they store schematics and emergency plans for all the lab and county buildings so while they're en route the chief can pull up the already-in-place plan), why they had a big book on the dashboard (maps), why one of the lights was red (to use at night), and then suddenly exclaiming "I know why you have fans in here—because it gets hot!" 

They also got to tour the deluxe ambulance and crawl all around in the back. And then they ran the lights on both the fire truck and the ambulance. Lucy was literally jumping up and down at that one.

As we pulled into the driveway, she put her fireman's hat back on (they gave all the kids a hat and goody bag) and said "Hey Mom, can we put all my dolls out by the couch and pretend the couch is the truck and I'm driving and coming to rescue them?" Sure :) 

Possibly indecent

Lucy's very interested in bodies at the moment. And she's started noticing differences between hers and mine. So conversations like the following are becoming more and more common.

Lucy: "Hey Mom, why do you have hair in your pits?"

Me: "Well, remember when you get older how you'll grow breasts? You'll grow hair in your pits at the same time."

Lucy (now totally redirected to breasts): "Your breasts are big!"

Me: "Uh huh."

Lucy (looking down her shirt): "But Mom! Mine are only as big as chocolate chips! They'll never grow bigger!" (breaks down into tears)

Me (trying not to laugh): "Oh, don't worry honey, they will ..."

The chocolate chips part cracked me up.

Living here

I think living here in this particular corner of New Mexico, with its emphasis on science and all that, is starting to rub off on my family. Consider the conversation I had with Miss Lucy yesterday:

Lucy: "Mom, how does the baby grow bigger?"

Me: "Well, he gets some of the healthy food Mommy eats and uses it to grow."

Lucy: "So when we eat healthy food we grow bigger?"

Me: (momentarily distracted and thus not responding ...)

Lucy: "Mom? Did I make a good hypothesis?"

Me: " ... Um, yes. Yes you did."

Her Dad was so proud.

(My two favorite scientifically-minded people, camping out in the backyard for Memorial Day 2010)

How I woke up this morning

With Lucy crawling into bed beside me, then ducking down under the covers and calling loudly into my belly button "Hello Baby Brother! Can you hear me?" repeatedly. After each attempt, she'd pop her head back out of the covers and say "Did he hear me? Did he kick?"

She's so excited to meet the baby. Every day it's "I wonder what he'll look like?" and "Can he walk yet?" and "I know! I can read him stories when he's crying!"

Yesterday she drew a picture while in the car: her, baby brother, and the words "I love you." When she showed it to me, she said "Hey Mom, you know what all those spots and lines are on my face? They're tears of joy!"

Yep. Tears of joy. Let's hope this holds out through the baby's arrival and then some. He'll be a lucky kid with a big sister like that.

Preschool Graduation

Ok, so I'm a month behind posting this, but the pics from Miss Lu's preschool graduation party are just too cute not to get up here at some point.

We hosted the final day of preschool, complete with a balloon dance party, crown-making activity, and, of course, cupcake baking and decorating. I've done a fair amount of cooking with the girls over the year, and they always seem to love it. The cupcakes were no exception.

And, of course, we had certificates. My friend came up with the cute idea of having them trace their letters and numbers around the certificate to form a border—I love how they came out!

This has been such a fun group of girls to do preschool with. On to Kindergarten!

Bike of my dreams: Part II

Ok, a while back I posted the Mobii bike by Velorbis, appropriately drooling over its beauty. But the price ... the price was a bit daunting.

And then just a short while later I stumbled across Madsen's beautiful Urban Utility Bicycles. And I'm drooling again. But these are somewhat more reasonable price-wise, making them a possible part of my future life. I figure I have about a year to save up until I'm really in prime biking mode again. Better start saving :)

I think I like the bucket ones the best.

Webbs = Winners

So. As the Activities Committee, Mr. Nick and I (with help from our honorary committee member Miss Lu) hosted a ward 5K run/walk in conjunction with a healthy breakfast and a massive clothing swap. There was awesomeness to spare. Behold:

Mr. Nick "winning" the race (ok, just posing after we set up the ribbon)

Miss Lu winning the kids' race. Really. She definitely does not get this from my side.

Mr. Nick handing out the awards to the winners with Miss Lu accepting. 

This all seems to indicate that the entire event was just the Webbs running around and having fun, but there were other people there, and other winners too. But this is a family blog. So it's about one family. One winning family :)

And just to prove I was involved, here's the poster I designed (really quickly) for the event:

Nick was making fun of the guy with the little red box around him, but I assured him it was a design element. I liked it, at least.

The Force

In honor of the rapidly approaching Father's Day, a few items that may or may not be on Mr. Nick's wish list. (Ok, probably not. But he's as good an excuse as any for a Star Wars-themed post.)

1. Cleansing Carbonite Soap (the link has a link for the how-to on this one)

(via Craft)

2. The Vader Project: artists interpret Vader's bust for an exhibit at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh

(via Fubiz)

3. And finally, my favorite option: vintage-y minimalist Star Wars tourism posters designed by Justin Van Genderen of Chicago

(via LA Weekly)

Oh boy ...

We went to have our 20-week ultrasound today. Nick came to keep Lucy under control. She was still concerned that the baby was going to "come out black and white." And when the tech confirmed that the baby was still a boy, Lucy piped up "You can tell he's a boy because he doesn't have any hair!" (Just like Daddy ... :) That had the tech laughing (and Nick and I too).

Here are the pictures!

(profile)

(gender confirmed—looking up from beneath)

(3-D, with his arm by his ear)

(3-D, same shot from a different angle)

(3-D, with both arms up by his mouth. His nose is just above his right arm)

(3-D, where he's in the middle of rolling around; the "string" going left is the umbilical cord)

I love you more than ...

... fishes love water.

... glasses love noses.

... teeth love mouths.

(All said to me last night by Miss Lu as I was tucking her into bed.)