December Birthdays

We have 2 birthdays to celebrate in December. First, Craig had his bday. We went to Chili's for dinner and I made him a homemade apple pie for dessert. Yummy! In the past, I would always secretly call his Store Manager on his bday and they would do something special at work. Well, I had to think of something different for this year since Craig is THE Store Manager. As soon as he left for work, I called his Customer Service Dept. and talked to them. They said they would take care of it. Sure enough, they did. Craig said when he walked in, there was a bouquet of balloons, a cake, and all the employees yelling 'Happy Birthday'! Great job Kroger employees!!!

One employee decided to get Craig a present-this gigantic box of chocolates. Nomnomnom!


One of the gifts we gave Craig was a mug customized with the kids pictures on it. He loves it. Craig can now drink his hot chocolate (he doesn't drink coffee) and see some cute pics at the same time.

Then, it was Kaitlyn's bday. She turned 8 years old!!!! Where did the time go? Since we already had a joint bday party for her and Preston in the fall, we just did something very low key. She took cupcakes to share with her class. In our district, treats have to be store bought and the ingredients must be on the package. This rule is in place because of allergies. I miss the days of different homemade treats. That was always so much fun!

Every day during announcements, the school office lets the birthday kids say their names over the PA and they get a birthday pencil. Side note: Kaitlyn has on pajamas and pigtails. Her bday fell on the day of her Winter Party (Polar Express theme-another blog to follow) and that is what they got to wear for the day.

Craig took the day off so we took the birthday girl, and her brother, some lunch. She says she has a tater tot tongue in this pic.

After school, Granna and Granddad (Craig's parents) came over and we went to dinner. Kaitlyn chose Pizza Inn. We filled our tummies with pizza and salad and then came back home for a cupcake cake.

Finally, it was time to open gifts. This is a nice card from her great-grandparents in Arizona.

They also wrote her the sweetest letter that she read out loud to us. It's definitely going into the keepsake box. Though Kaitlyn and Preston have never met their great-grandparents, they know all about them and always love the cards, letters, and magazines that they send.

Here is a present from Aunt Kim and Uncle Doug in California. They know Kaitlyn loves Littlest Pet Shop.

She got many other gifts from us and other family members. Kaitlyn loves the Lalalooopsy doll from Wana and Papa (my parents, and yes, I know their nicknames sound different). Her big gift from us was a touch MP3 player. She was super excited and can't wait to download all sorts of music onto it.

The birthdays were great and we enjoyed the low-key celebrations. With Christmas and our anniversary coming up, it seems as if December is full of presents, cake, and treats. However, those are just a few of our activities. Stay tuned for many more blogs to come!