*full of cake*

For those who have forgotton despite my yearly reminders, we are in the midst of Barlow birthday season. Mia turned 2 on the 17th of January, Sammy turned 4 on February 6, I turned 28 on the 9th, and Jared turned 30 on the 15 of February. We have been throwing parties up the wazoo and the kids are thrilled. It's really fun to watch them get so excited. I have had to bake a cake for every birthday-- Sam is insistant on it. I have officially had enough cake to last me until 2027.

Jared is feeling this birthday a lot-- I can tell. He has started calculating how old we will be when the kids move out, how out of shape he is, how he can afford a red mini-cooper with a swiss flag on top, etc. I am about to go out and buy him some wrinkle cream and a work-out video. We are doing our best to be supportive of his pain-- I will be there in 2 short years. Thirty is still young, Jared!!! Ask anyone older than you-- they will agree :)

With my birthday came my Swiss driver's license-- as soon as I looked at it I had a good laugh. They put my birthdate as Feb. 9, 1972. So not only am I seven years older, but my mom had a teenage pregnancy she didn't know about! Contrary to their claims, the Swiss do make mistakes sometimes. And now I have a fake ID! I have always wanted one. Hmmm... what can I use it for these days? hmm.... that's disappointing- I guess I don't need one anymore. I am getting old too!
I'll have to say my best present was from Sam. We were at the market buying food and he says, "Umm, mom? I need to buy some flowers for someone's birthday present, but it's a surprise so I can't tell you who. Can we go buy some flowers?" So we went into the flower section (I was very curious to see what flowers he would choose.) When he saw some purple and pink tulips he exclaimed "There they are!! Those are the flowers!" So I gave him the money to give the lady. He was very pleased with himself. When we got home he took them out of the bag and said, "They are for you, mom. Happy Birthday!" I was VERY surprised.


Sam just turned four and he really seems older to me. Suddenly he is more independent and more helpful. It has been really fun so far-- I like four. I especially like how he gets things for himself, turns on his own movies, plays outside for hours, helps me with chores and cooking, and helps Mia with things too. I finally feel like I have a kid and not a baby or toddler. It feels pretty good. This picture was taken at Sam's "Spielgruppe" or Swiss pre-school. I laugh so hard everytime I look at it. I can just imagine the photographer and teacher telling him what to do in German and him thinking "what the heck are these people doing to me?" I love the ratty teddy bear they gave him to hold... and I especially enjoy the look on his face.


Mia has definately ramped up her "two-ish-ness". She has transitioned to one of the big kids and now "counts" as a playmate. I love to watch her mimic the older kids and try to fit in. She has really taken to teasing her older brother which really confuses me. It was always the other way around when I was growing up- but hey, I guess these are the days of woman's rights. She has started saying things like "Oh my gosh ("goss")" and "what the heck?" I know, so telling about the mother. She still loves to see how pretty she looks in the mirror and wear pretty things. It surprises me how observant she is. Sometimes she will say, "oooh, I like your earrings, mom." Or notice if I do my hair differently she will say "I like your hair, mom!" I think she is a 16 year old trapped in a 2 year old's body.

So we are all one year older, one year wiser, and one year away from any crumb of cake entering this household again.