Elena is Three!

Elena turned three today!
We celebrated by taking the afternoon off of work to go to the zoo. It was a busy day at the zoo, but we saw most of the exhibits.

Petting the Sharks Watching the Meerkats Trying to Join the Giant Turtle
With Mom and the Giant Turtle
No visit to the zoo is complete without a train ride!
Elena Waiting in Line (and waiting, and waiting...) Alex Happy to Be on the Train! Elena with the Train Engine Alex Running on the Train Tracks
When we got home, Elena and Mom took a little nap while Jeff made Elena's favorite dinner: pizza and spaghetti.After dinner, the Galvin clan came over for birthday cake.
Elena wanted a princess theme for her party. She carefully picked out a Cinderella cake at the cake store, but insisted that Prince Charming not be allowed on HER cake. We added in a few princess friends so she would not be alone. I love that she already has such a strong opinion about the place of boys in her life!
Blowing Out the Candles
Letting balloons go and making a wish has become a birthday tradition in our family. Elena picked out PINK PINK PINK balloons for our celebration.
A Little After-Dinner Hockey Elena Being Too Tired To Stand Up for BubblesOf course no birthday is complete without a few presents.
Barbie-Okie
Elena liked her mermaid night light from Grandma Sandy, but like the mermaid card even better.
Tinkerbell Butterfly Wings from Grandma Liz
Happy Third Birthday Princess Elena!

Happy Father's Day!

The kids picked out Jeff's Father's Day present on Thursday: a new iPhone! There was NO chance the kids would have been able to keep it a secret, so they gave it to Daddy a little early. Jeff has had a blast playing with it. I am just excited about how easy it will be to keep in contact with him via my iPhone (which I was given by work).

Father's Day morning started out with the kids allowing us to sleep in until amost 9. I got up and made the kids breakfast and turned on some cartoons downstairs before rejoining Jeff in bed. Unfortunately during that little snooze time, Elena and Alex decided the cupcakes we made yesterday would make a better breakfast and proceeded to help themselves. I am sure there is something nutritionally redeeming about pink cupcakes, right?

Uncle Bill hosted the Galvin clan on Sunday afternoon for another one of his delicious feasts. This time, he spent all weekend smoking ribs. This provided a great excuse for us to all gather together to give thanks for all the amazing fathers in our lives.

Alex joining an eating Aunt Melinda and Cousin Ellie for a photo opportunityThe Master Chef and His Lovely Assistant Jonathan Enjoying Some Ribs
Jeff the Messy Eater
Jeff ate until his belly was over-full, but was convinced that the state would pass in time to eat the 10 more ribs he brought home as a late night snack.
Maddy with her Daddy
Maddy decided to pass up on the ribs this year while she waits to get a few more teeth.
I Can't See You!
Elena refused to open her eyes for a photo opportunity with Mom.
Ellie and Her Dog ToyFrog Cake
Melinda made another one of her delicious dessert creations. It looked almost too good to eat, but decided we Elizabeth shouldn't wait any longer.
Elena and Mommy eating the "frog butt" together.
Little did I know, Elena managed to con Grandma Sandy into thinking she hadn't had any cake later on, and finagled another piece. The Galvin Girls
Grandma Sandy holding Ellie, Aunt Melinda holding Maddy and Elizabeth holding Elena
A Little After-Dinner Wii Competition
Jonathan and Alex played Mario Cart together while Jeff and Elena cheered them on.
Guitar Hero
Since our babysitter Julie left us her Guitar Hero game for the summer, Alex has gotten pretty good. He even knows a few fancy moves. Grandma Teaching Ellie a new trick
Grandma Sandy demonstrated the fancy trash can to Ellie, Why pass up an opportunity for education , even in the most mundane tasks? Snuggling on the Couch with Grandma Sandy
The kids love playuing with all of Uncle Bills' fancy toys out in the garage. Today's big hits were the motorcycle and lawnmower.
Elena Thinking About Performing Some Lawn MaintenanceAlex Begging for A Ride on the Cool Motorcycle

Pinkalicious

Elena's love of books continues. I bought her a new publication this week after hearing about it from a few mom-friends: Pinkalicious!

Elena LOVES her newest book, and even dresses just like the title character with her wand, tutu, butterfly wings and pink clothes.

All week she asked if we could have the special pink cupcakes featured in the book. So Saturday morning, she and I marched off to the grocery store to collect the proper ingredients.

Once we arrived home with all the ingredients, Elena was a huge helper in making and decorating the PINK, PINK, PINK cupcakes (with a few sprinkles of other colors).

The best part, however, was getting to eat our pink treats after
dinnertime. Elena tracked her pinkalicious costume down before
sampling the perfect pink cupcakes.

Alex is not a big fan of cake, but loves eating the icing!
Our Little Pinkalicious

"My Kitty"

Elena has never been very interested in our three (now down to two) cats. She talks about them, knows each of their names, questions where they are at various times, but sometimes expresses fear about them. They do not come to her, and she does not seek them out. This relationship contrasts dramatically with that of Alex, who treated Ghengis (our kitty who lives in heaven with God now) like a little brother. Alex still has crying jags about why Ghengis had to go live with God instead of staying to play here on earth with him. It is really sweet and really, really sad. But not the point of this story.

So last week, we noticed Taylor had not come downstairs to eat her dinner for a few days. Taylor is notoriously shy (she once hid in the corner of the closet with her nose against the wall for an entire week when we moved), so this behavior wasn't too unusual. But a very thorough canvasing of the house did not turn her up. Taylor NEVER goes outside, but we searched around the neighborhood, armed with flashlights as it got late, to no avail. I was convinced that she had curled up in a corner of the house to die in piece. She is 11 years old, and has been through a lot, including losing most of her teeth. We kept our eyes open for the next four days, but no Taylor. In the meanwhile, we had two of the worst summer storms ever- one tornado warning, and another with hail so big that Jeff's car sustained $4000 in damage.

I was convinced that my cat, who I had rescued from the pound while in since law school, had probably died out in that awful weather. Imagine my surprise when I came home from work at lunchtime on Thursday to Elena telling me that she had found "my kitty!" Elena grabbed my hand and took me over to the hydrangea bushes in the front yard, and there she was! Taylor was a little worse for the wear, but happy to have me pick her up and bring her back inside the house. She ate constantly for a few days, and now seems back to her old self with one exception: she now LOVES Elena. She curls up next to Elena in bed and tolerates her petting her (which she does for no one else but me). I think Taylor knows Elena saved her life and doesn't mind being claimed as "my kitty" by Elena.

Elena has a new-found interest in cats now, and insisted on wearing this adorable Halloween costume handmade by Aunt Tracy a few years ago. It is a heavy costume, which is usually a great thing in October. However, the hottest day of the year should have been another story. Elena persevered in wearing it all day anyway.