birthday festivities - she's SIX!

My baby is 6.  It doesn't get any more "believable" the older they get, does it?  So I won't whine about how I don't know where the time went, nor comment that it seems like only yesterday.... I'll just note that our six-year-old Libby is as precious as the day she was born, and she's growing into a delightful young lady.  There is so much to love about you, Libby Lou, and we had a great time celebrating you on your birthday weekend!

Friday, you got to provide treats at school, and listen to your friends sing in your honor.  Your first "school" birthday!  What fun!

here you are with Mrs. A...

and with grammy!

On Saturday morning, we "surprised" you with balloons in your room.  (It has become our tradition that the kids wake to balloons in their rooms on their bday, though I have to admit, this day I almost forgot.)  As you went to bed on birthday eve you mentioned that you knew you'd wake up to balloons, and daddy make a late-night run to the grocery store to fulfill your expectations.  You're worth it.  :)  

here you are with your loot.  we had a lot of fun watching you open everything, slowly and thoroughly inspecting everything, everything, everything before moving on to the next gift.  :)  it is possible that some growling tummies were ready for breakfast long before you were ready to be finished enjoying your moment. :)

after a birthday breakfast of champions (donuts) we headed to the bowling alley, only to find that the lanes were allllll filled up (at 10 on a saturday morning!!) and there was an hour+ wait.  we decided to try back later, but on the way out the door grandad spotted an old lammers family favorite:  go carts.  we cannot pass them by.  (needless to say, we haven't been to this particular bowling alley before, and it was much more than we imagined.)

this was daddy's first time driving, xander's first time riding.  it's old hat for grandad...but it was grammy and libby who showed the boys how it's done...

grandad tries to pass daddy and xander, but another little girl blocks his route

the girls have the lead! and they do it in style!

xander found this to be very amusing.  see his hair blow in the wind.  love that.

grandad tries again to take the young men.  but in the end, the victory goes to the birthday girl and her grammy!

sooner than expected, our lane was open and we were bowling!  yipee!

grandad with phoebs

we tried varying methods to help xander get his ball down the lane.

i love her satisfied smile.  :)  her ball is still halfway up the lane.  (down the lane?)  she never cared to watch it go, she just bowled it and headed back to her seat.  which amused me.  :)

this is so xander.  he wasn't so into bowling, and the reason was simply that he recently had a touch of the flu and he had not yet gotten his energy back.  :(  he was so tired and weak that morning he didn't want to do much more than cuddle.  and enjoy the breeze.  still, in true xander fashion, he recently told me it was the most fun when we went bowling for libby's birthday.  :)

we had some stylin kicks.  x's were best of all, but he's not one to boast.

thank you grammy and grandad!
and would you believe libb and kit didn't even plan this?!

for dinner, we had a special treat - a Japanese Steakhouse called Genji.  The kids were slightly intimidated, yet fascinated by our chef and his juggling, flame throwing, and chopping tricks. 

what a great pic!

okay, so have you been there (or Kobe?) before?  the chefs throw flames to the ceiling, and it looks and feels just like this.  the kids were not sure what to think.

but...

once he had warmed up a bit, Xander felt comfortable requesting more fire.  SO, his request was honored via the onion volcano.  First flames...

then smoke.  this small and controlled fire was a hit.

the meal is always ended by a shrimp toss.  sadly, the kids abstained from the fun.  their excuse?  they don't like shrimp.  hmm.  good thing they like popcorn, because we've been practicing with that.  :)

bang the gong, there's a birthday in the house!

and so this is a picture of a picture...but here we are!  happy birthday my love!

Thank you grammy and grandad for the fun night, and thank you Aunt Sarah for babysitting Phoebs!  Most of all, happy birthday sweet six!  We love you with all that we are.