Happy Birthday Daddy!

Poor Ben. This year, his birthday fell at an incredibly busy time for me. I had to be in East St. Louis for a meeting on the afternoon of his birthday (Thursday) and had a paper due the day before. Because the meeting was only a couple hours from Dexy's great-grandparents, we decided the whole family would drive with me to my meeting, stay in a hotel, drive the two hours to the great grandparents for a short visit, and come home. I pulled the first (almost) all-nighter in many years Tuesday night, went to class, came home, picked up Dex from school and immediately took him out to pick up birthday gifts for Daddy.

We got a plate that Dex could paint and an ice cream cake for birthday breakfast.







We got Daddy up at the crack of dawn to enjoy some birthday ice cream cake and hit the road for the six hour drive to my meeting. What a way to celebrate Daddy's birthday. 

Transplanting

Dex and I had to transplant some of our seedlings a little early - they were outgrowing their little seedling containers. In the process of digging up holes in the garden for the corn, Dex found a worm.

 He was very excited and wanted me to touch it (I didn't but he gave it plenty of nice pets).

Then Dex watered the transplanted seedlings (and the worm).

Dexy's Perspective on His Creation

The other day, when I told Dex it was time to clean up the "city" he had created on the floor through two rooms in the house, he told me he didn't want to clean it up because he wanted to remember it "forever".

Solution? I gave him the camera and these are a few of the shots he took.  They reminded me of many of my Dad's photos from family vacations. There would be pictures of the family and famous sites and then a series of close up shots of joists, I-beams, cornerstones and keystones.

I think the engineering gene has been passed along to Dex!

Preparing a Refreshing Treat

One of Dexy's favorite shows is Taste Buds, a kid's cooking show. This has fostered his love of helping with food preparation. The other day we picked up a watermelon at the grocery store and Dex helped ball it.

Bunny Ears Eating Bunny Cake

Ben and I had been so busy with school, work, rehearsals, and gigs that we hadn't nailed down the Easter meal.

I was so relieved when Elissa said that she was going to bring her own food (she's been following a special eating plan) and that Ian would love hot dogs. Dex loves hot dogs!

That left Ben and me so I just got a bunch of frozen appetizers for us to munch on.

I was thankful to enjoy a no judgment and no guilt zone with close friends on Easter. No Easter meal but, thanks to Elissa and Ian, delicious Bunny Cake!!!

Role Reversal

After Dex and Ian did their egg hunt, they decided to hide the eggs again for the parents. We had fun searching! Ian found some great hiding spots for the eggs.

Dex took an interest tack with his egg-hiding strategy - it seemed to be based more on aesthetically showcasing the eggs than strategically hiding the eggs from view.

Another Dexter "hide".

Emptying Eggs of Their Goodies

Ian and Dexter emptied out their eggs and surveyed their goodies. Despite the fact that the Easter Bunny was a little swamped this year and most eggs were filled with the same type of chocolate candy, the kids still enjoyed the potential for a surprise in an egg.