Birthday Part II

Here are some pics from Caroline's big day.

Breakfast with the birthday girl

She was SO excited.

Her dinner: pancakes, eggs, and bacon.

Funny face

Make a wish

In her Toy Story PJs from Nana and Yoinkie

Happy and smiling

Happy birthday, Sweet Caroline!

Happy birthday, Caroline!

We celebrated Caroline's fourth birthday yesterday. This is the first year that she really understood that her birthday was coming. I knew this because everyone she interacted with in the past five days has been greeted with, "My birthday is in ___ days!"

You have to love a four year old's simple requests. Her birthday dinner: pancakes and eggs. Her "party" will be a playdate tomorrow with a friend from school that will include cupcakes. She still has presents to open, and she has totally forgotten about them. She was just excited to have her day and bring muffins to her friends at school to celebrate.

One of the funniest parts of the day was seeing Lucy's interaction with Caroline. What was expected was Lucy's initial reaction to be jealous of the attention that Caroline was getting, but her genuine excitement for Caroline was incredibly sweet. She made Caroline two homemade presents while at school (a picture and a mask that Caroline wore the entire drive home) and helped Caroline to put together a few of her presents.

It's hard to believe that four years have passed since this moment:

Hours old

And now to fast forward four years and see this little person:

Happy birthday, Sweet Caroline. It's hard to describe you at this moment: you are crazy and happy and full of life. But most of all, Caroline, you have a kind heart. That is what I love most about you.

Eeek!

It has been over a month since I last posted anything. Yikes! Life has just hummed right along with the return to school, a basketball season in full swing for both me and Lucy, exams, etc. It has been a full month. As I collect some pictures from the month, I will leave you with these pictures from Caroline's school (she is the one standing up):

Duck

Duck

Goose!

Happy New Year!

Our New Year's Eve was far from exciting, but we spent it at home with these two crazy children in front of the fire.

2013 was a good year for us. We became homeowners - and have since learned all sorts of things, like how to reglaze windows, when to prune hydrangeas, how to keep bamboo from spreading, etc. The girls continue to be healthy and happy. And while the year has seen its low spots, like the passing of my grandfather and other health concerns in the family, we have so much to be thankful for.

I have no resolution. I think my only goal is that everyday I want to look around at some point and say, "Holy crap, I've got it pretty good."

So, Happy New Year from the Sodens. We hope 2014 is a great year for everyone!

Hello, Santa

The weekend before Christmas we headed to Marion to see Cookie and Grumps. On the day that we we left we were lucky enough to meet up with our friends, the Courtneys. We met at Edaville on a cold and rainy night, but were treated to a train ride to see the holiday lights and a visit to see Santa:

Without any fear, Caroline hopped on Santa's
lap and let him know that she wanted a Barbie plane.

They look so sweet in this picture. They
may have fooled Santa.

We warmed ourselves with some hot chocolate and then said goodbye to our buddies Pierce and Fitz. As we headed out, however, the girls very nicely asked us to ride the merry go round. It was covered from the rain and it seemed harmless, though it made me painfully aware of how quickly I become nauseous on even the tamest of rides.

Christmas 2013

We had a fantastic day today. We didn't get out of our PJs, we enjoyed each present that was opened (a process that lasted until 3 pm), and we are finishing the day with a great meal.

Below are some pictures from the gift opening process. I find it very difficult to enjoy a moment and simultaneously record it with a camera. Therefore, I chose to forgo an excessive number of shots and instead snap a few at the beginning and then sit back with my cup of coffee and enjoy.

I hope all of you (all four of you) that are reading this had a great holiday. We certainly did!

Checking out the Barbie "Glam Jet" that Santa left for her

Thanks, Santa! We now have every Barbie accessory known to man.

Putting together her Lego sets

Attempting to lose as many pieces as possible
while I try to put together her Lego set

I want to squeeze her cheeks in this picture!
She thanked me tonight for giving her the best
Christmas ever. She got me with that one ... she
should have asked for a pony right after. I
probably would have said yes!

Merry Christmas!

We're ready for Santa!