On March 3, Dorien celebrated his 6th birthday!

In keeping with our tradition, it was an all-day family birthday event.

He chose all his meals, his special birthday dessert and our activities.

Downstairs was a Fossil Museum! Although the whole place took a very evolutionary world view, it was possible to just admire the fossils and bones and skim over the attached narratives. 

The place was so well designed, there was no space left un-styled. 

Is there anything more charming than bins of candy lined up on the wall?

We did not partake of the mind-blowing candy selection, but it was definitely mind-blowing.

Afterwards, we headed back home, ate lunch (yes, we switched things up a bit) and the kids played outside. For Dorien's dessert, he requested a Ding-Dong Cake, like the one we used to get at Two Sister's Cafe in Arkansas. I had no idea how they made theirs, but I perused the internet and found a recipe that sounded promising. It turned out to be totally amazing!

Two layers of rich, moist chocolate cake with a layer of a buttercream/whipped cream frosting in between.

Then coated with chocolate ganache.

It was amazing. Not too rich, not too anything. Just perfect.

A great day was had by all, and I am so proud of my six year old!

A few weeks ago, a nearby church had a vacation Bible school that I thought might be fun for the kids. I didn't realize that Dorien was too young to go, which just about fit his summer experiences up to that point. Poor kid. His cousin, and also our neighbor, Tagg, was having the same kind of summer. So on the last day of VBS, Aunt Anna did something extremely nice and took Tagg and Dorien to the zoo. Just the boys. They had a blast.

Tagg is a few months younger than Dorien, and they have begun to really enjoy hanging out over the past few months. It's been a process, because for so long, Tagg attached himself to the "older kids", Brooklyn and August, and didn't see Dorien as a playmate. That seems to be changing.

The two of them are in the same class at church, too, and I have seen them becoming more like buddies this summer.

Good times and photo opps abound at the Little Rock Zoo!

When it came time to choose positions for this photo, Dorien informed Tagg that "he could be the woman." Tagg agreed, and they make a hilarious pair!

Meanwhile, as animals were being seen by Dorien and Tagg, I was overseeing the VBS wrap-up festivities that involved a whole auditorium of screaming kids and a chicken. It also involved one of the more chaotic "pick-ups" I've ever seen...I'm sure there will be no shortage of parents suggesting a different format next year. 

We managed to safely exit with all the right kids - including cousin Avery. And we pulled in a friend for a picture. Ah, VBS. The smell of church hallways, animal crackers, juice boxes and sweaty kids. Some memories never fade.

Last week, Dorien underwent a much needed procedure to put tubes in his ears and remove his adenoids. Apparently, so far, August and Dorien inherited my adenoids. Which does not appear to be a good thing.  It means they're too large, and they impair drainage from their ears which results in hearing issues. I had mine removed at Dorien's age, and August had his removed about the same age as well.  The result? Instant hearing improvement!

When they put the tubes in, they also suck out whatever fluid is backed up in the ear canal, and according to Dorien's ENT, there was a lot of nasty thick gunk.  Kyle and I knew there were definite hearing issues, but I'm sure it was a bit of a shock to Dorien once all that fluid was gone and the volume was cranked way up!

Even though we've been through this process 4 times now (once with Brooklyn, twice with August and now D), it never gets easier to see your baby struggling out of the anesthesia haze. They're so confused and groggy and miserable - just whimper crying until it finally wears off.  In Dorien's case, it took a good 24 hours for him to bounce back. He just wasn't himself the rest of the day. He woke up the morning after and said, "I'm all better now, Momma!" Praise God for that!  As much as he can drive me crazy, I don't know what I'd do without my special little man with all his enthusiasm and grins and hugs. I love him so much!

Reagan monkeys around while Dorien adopts his "cheeser" pose.

I got to rest for the first time in weeks and just enjoy holding my baby.

Wyeth smiles at Nan over Daddy's shoulder.

The kids played lots of Twister, and somehow August always ended up in the craziest contortions...

See?

Nan and Beth had all the kids contribute a handprint (and Noah's footprint) to make some very hilarious reindeer for this banner.

The reindeer versions of Dorien and Reagan.

And if you ever wondered what it looks like to put on the whole armor of God, as referenced in Ephesians 6 - this is what that looks like. 

And the annual "in front of the tree on Christmas Eve" pictures - me and Wyeth!

Dorien - age 2 years, 9 months

August - age 5 years, 5 months.

Brooklyn - age 7 years, 10 months

Rene - home from college - age 22?

Our whole family (minus Rene who is behind the camera!)

Christmas Eve 2013

Wyeth awake at the moment!

Rene and a new sweater and tie!

Stinkin' adorable Dorien in a brand new hat knit by me!

I also knit a hat for Rene...

And August modeled a new cardigan and some cozy sweatpants that he'll continue to grow in. 

Have you ever seen a more beautiful boy?

Mommy doles out the stockings to the crew...

August reaches in deep to make absolutely sure he got everything. 

The funny thing about this is that he pulled out a Reese's cup that he missed from last year!

(we threw it away)

Both Brooklyn and August got new kicks! They have been in major growth spurts lately and got lots of clothes they desperately needed. August also got the shirt he's wearing.

And my mom got Brooklyn the world's most enormous Barbie plane. It's more like a Barbie C-130. Interestingly, Brooklyn named it "Airplane Olivia" and refers to it as such.  Airplane Olivia deserves her own blog post in the future. She is a multi-faceted creature who lives in our attic playroom when Brooklyn isn't playing with her. For a few days, Brooklyn was using the Ghost chairs as her hangar, until I vetoed it. Seeing a huge pink Barbie plane poking out from under the chair was a little alarming. Like Airplane Olivia was spying on me.

And to conclude today's picture montage, here is Dorien giving a big thumbs up to one of his very favorite foods - the humble tomato.