Blaze has been running around the house all weekend yelling “I free!” What he’s really saying is “I’m three!”

I can’t help but smile at how cute his language is. I’ve never seen a little one so excited to no longer be two years old. He tells me he’s much older now, “I not baby any more momma. Can’t call me your baby. I Spidey!” I can’t think of many, if any, thing better than making dinner and having a little Spiderman sneak up on me and pretend to shoot me with his webs so that I’m stuck and have to be kissed by him. (and he hasn’t even seen the movies!)

For his birthday we went to the zoo and then had a big family dinner afterwards.

The craziest thing…I was shocked to find my little brother, Shaun, living at the zoo! (just kidding Shauni :))

Blaze got to pick his own lunch. Without hesitation: ICE CREAM CONE!

Pascaline made a special connection with Joan the Walrus. It was the craziest thing. Joan would swim on her back right to Pascaline’s face and almost try to kiss her!

She couldn’t stop giggling!

We came home, took long naps, and then my parents, brother, and a special surprise of my grandparents! showed up for dinner. But here’s the AMAZING part! My dad came in with all this food prepped for dinner and started making stir fry for everyone! Apron and every thing. Here’s me sneaking a bite while my parents discuss dinner. 🙂

I’m flying out in a few hours, and here I am posting the blog. This is for me more than anyone else. Now I can look at the blog and see the kids when I start missing them. Brian’s staying with them this time, and I know he’s got it under control (plus I have our nanny coming tomorrow and the house keeping coming Wednesday before I get home–smart huh! took 10 years of marriage to figure out how to set that up right! :)).

But even though I know it’s all going to be fine. I can’t help but be missing my family already. As moms, who physically carried our babies during pregnancy, I don’t think we ever stop carrying them inside us. It must be why it feels like I’m tearing my heart apart every time I leave. If you are a mom, you have to buy this book for you and your kids. It’s called “Mama Always Comes Home.” It’s the BEST book b/c it shows mama bird flies away from the nest to find worms, but she always come home, or mama kitty leaving her kittens to drink some milk, but always comes home.

The kids and I read this the night before I leave for a trip, and they love to talk about how all kinds of mamas leave for a little while, whether it’s to go to work, go exercise, have a date with dad, have dinner with a girlfriend, but they always come back.

One more picture I caught this weekend. My two great kids, creating their own teeter-totter with a shovel and fire hydrant outside our house. Just love them!