Happy Birthday Kaister!!!

I can't believe that my Kai is six years old!

This cake was incredible (thank you Candy Haven in Denton!)  Red velvet cake with cream cheese icing -- needless to say, the leftovers didn't last.  Why one of the photos below looks great and the others look blurry, I have no idea (maybe it has something to do with swiping them off of Facebook??)  All photos courtesy of Kimiya Rahebi -- thanks Kim!  (Whose b-day is April 2nd, btw).....

Clockwise from left: Sarah P., Sarah C., Kai, and Eli.  How did it work out that all of them are smiling nicely AND looking in the same direction?

My sweet Kai -- you are and always will be my first baby.  I love you like you'll probably not know until you grow up and have little ones of your own, but I try to make you know it every day.  I am so stinkin' proud of you and what you are becoming, I just can't stand it.  Happy birthday, my sweet boy.

The bathing beauties (in more ways than one)....

The boys were all very excited for spring break.  Why?  Because they get to go to Metroplex Gymnastics Spring Break Camp!  They have a half-day camp where the little beasts can run, jump, play, tumble, and probably nearly break their necks, followed by a half hour swim lesson.  You can't put a price on that.  Ok, I guess you can, but it's worth every penny.

One of the exciting features of the swim lesson is the gear involved.  Swimsuits and swim caps!!  I wasn't sure if Eli or Ian would wear their swim caps, but apparently the answer was "Yes!"

I don't believe that there is a child on this Earth who loves taking baths more than my Elliot.  I mean, yes, he calls it "table" instead of "tubby", but man oh man, it's pure joy for this kid.

In the boys' bathroom, I have a framed picture each of Kai and Ian having fun in the bathtub.  I thought it was the perfect place to hang those pictures.  So, I need to do one of Eli as well.  This pic has my vote -- what do you think?

And speaking of cute things that Eli does, here's a few of his adventures in English:

Zebra = zee-bull-ah (And he can actually make the sound that a zebra makes!  I don't know how he does it.  Oh wait, he did spend all of his little life in Africa, didn't he?  Duh.
Frog = fl-og
And what does a frog say?  Why, "rabbit, rabbit" of course!
What does a pig say?  Answer:  "honk honk!"  Apparently, "oink" is a hard sound to say.
What does a donkey say?  Answer: "Yee haw!"  I think he's confused, since we do live in Texas, y'all.

Then and now.... Kai!

As promised....

The little burrito.

Oh, the legs!

Nana put him there, not me.

Fun with water & a jumper!  The thighs kill me.

In his Halloween jammies.

Like Kilroy, but way cuter!

He IS going to resent this one day, right?

The hair speaks for itself.

Daddy's car washing helper.

Up to no good with the hose.

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's.....

Lovin' his big boy bed!

Cool tricks, cool tricks!!  I admit it, I can't do this.

Playing with Daddy in NYC.

Is it Kai or the construction worker from The Village People?  A question for the ages.

Hanging out with his buddy Talia at school.

I can't believe my Kaister is almost 6!  You continue to amaze me, and I love you more than you'll ever know.

Then and now.... Ian!

Ok, the "Then and now" post below got me all nostalgic, so here you go! Here is Ian, in pictures:

It's a boy!!

Michael bringing me my new baby.

Daddy getting footprints on his scrubs!

The newly expanded Briola family.

I could just eat him.

In San Diego with my best friend, Mark.

On a hayride with Ian's bff, Petra.

First sit!

Catching a ride on Daddy.

Finally!  He learned to say "Cheese" for the camera.

Learning that the pediatrician's office isn't a whole lot of fun.  But check out those quads!  He's ripped!

Bald is beautiful!

My Ian.  'Nuff said.  Kai to follow, so stay tuned....

Then and now....

Ian at 4 months old. I like that he looks drunk on what I can only imagine was "toe jam".

Ian at 4 years old.

Some things never change, and that's a good thing!

On the day we met....

There is so much more to write about the day that we finally got to hold our boy in our arms, but these pictures will suffice for now.....


First time seeing Eli.


Eli meeting his Daddy.


First time holding Eli.


"It's really you!"


Eli happy on Mommy's lap.