Happy Birthday, Baby Dahl...

Seriously, where the heck did this year go???  

Our teeny, tiny, baby is 

O N E !

Ok, now allow me to get all mushy and *mom* on you for just a minute...

You guys, my BAAAYBEE is ONE!  And eating cake and walking around, smashing toy cars on the floor, and being a real boy!  I honestly feel like this year was such a blur.  Thank God for digital photography, and instagram, and blogging, and huuuge memory on hard drives- because without them I wouldn't even believe that a year had passed.  ONE seems so significant- it's almost too much to process.  So I have a secret...  

Wanna know the very first thing I said to this little boy; and to James, and Evelyn too?  Even in the foggy haze of cesarean drugs, and the deep-seeded acknowledgment of a body flayed open, wounded and emptied...  I've managed to wish a "Happy Birthday, Baby" to each of them the first time we met.  So this was really Elliott's second Happy Birthday.  Right?  Sorta?  Kinda? 

Thinking of it that way just makes it all a little less heart wrenching for me and helps me hold it together.   Holding it together kept me from being that mom- blowing out the one year old's candle for them, with tears running down my her face.  

So I thought: it's special, but it's not the MOST significant day he's had yet...  and I kissed his little head for the 10 bazillionth time, and blew out the candle with a smile.  I had fun.  He had fun.  And we had fun watching him have fun.  Obviously, our entire household is obsessed with this boy.  That's what you get with big age gaps and little babies.  He just makes us all ridiculously happy.  

Which brings me to the image below...  you know- an average day, but with chocolate and balloons:

We celebrated at home, just the 5 of us.  6, if you count our friend the chocolate bear cake...

But he didn't last very long.

Elliott had his very first taste of ooey gooey chocolatey goodness.  

Verdict?

SUCCESS!

♥

Oh, Elli... you are the happiest little blessing to your family and such a precious gift to each of us.  

We love you like craisin cakes and we're just so excited to know you, to help you grow, and to see you discover the world.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABY!  

The Graduate...

Today James was promoted from 6th to 7th grade and we are SO very proud of him.  :)

It's so hard to believe that our very little boy is getting so very big.

 He'll be studying at engineering camp this Summer, 

and beginning INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL in the Fall.  WHAT???

Where does the time go?!  

happy...

I'm so in love with this picture that Jeff took about 20 minutes ago.  Balloons are the best.

Stay tuned for the inside-scoop on those balloons later today.  ;)

In the meantime, have you watched Le Ballon Rouge (aka The Red Balloon)?  It's a short film made in Paris in 1956, by Albert Lamorisse.  Guess who has 2 thumbs and an obsession with that film...  

*yes, I really just did that*

It's so incredibly beautiful.  On his way to school, Pascal finds a huge red balloon and soon discovers that the balloon has a mind and will of its own.  Pascal and his balloon form a special bond over the course of a day.  Even with almost no dialog (or perhaps even because of the lack of dialog)- the film is at once moving and profound while maintaining levity and a touch of magic.  I won't spoil the ending for you (in case you've never watched it), but it's fantastical and sweet.  The 34 minute film starred Lamorisse's own children.  His son Pascal, starred as the main character "Pascal", and his daughter Sabine played a supporting role.  It won both an Oscar and a Palme d'Or when it was released.    

Want to know a funny SLOmygosh tidbit?  

Our house bunny, Pascal, is named after the boy in this film.  

When little brother feels sad...

Big sister makes it all better.