Birthdays!

It seems like we had to wait forever.  Between school deadlines and sickness, we had to continually delay celebrating Essie's and Benjamin's birthdays.  But finally last weekend rolled around, and we all gathered together to enjoy a fun evening of birthday cheer.

When it came to the decorating, we had to be very careful not to have too much pink in the color scheme for the birthday boy.  Yellow seemed to be a good compromise.  But the pink gerber daisies still proved to be the perfect accent.

Upon their arrival, we had the kids help us add the finishing touches to the table.  One can't have too much fun with stickers!

The unanimous choice of desserts for the celebration was "Jenny's box brownies."  So Pillsbury won yet again!  Oh well.  Maybe next year I can try a homemade cake...

As usual, everyone had to help put on the candles.

I love the expressions captured in this picture! 

Here is one eagerly awaiting her slice of the chocolate sweetness.

The birthday bunch waiting to open presents...

I was pleased to finally give Rachael the family photo book I compiled of last year's events.  

Essie received the entire Grandma's Attic series, and Benjamin became the recipient of his own Lincoln logs set!

While everyone else was fully engaged in the gift-opening, Grace happily played in a little corner all by herself, seeming to be completely unaware of all the fun taking place around her.  It made us all wonder what she would think of her own birthday celebration.  I guess we'll find out in a month's time! :)