friday fotos---3 is still a baby, right?

The big event of my week was that my baby (yes--I call all my boys "my babies", but this one actually is the baby) turned 3. James is grand high poobah orator of our house, the most strong-willed of any of my children, the one who eats his sandwiches into the shape of a gun and then shoots monsters (and his brother) with them, the one who crawls into bed with me to snuggle every morning at 6 am, and the one who is convinced that his eyes are brown because he drinks chocolate milk. I love this little guy sooooo much!

Here's how it all went down...

My sister took this picture of James and I. I love it!---not only because she caught us both laughing, but also for the secondary story it is telling...

See how there are boards missing from my decrepit old fence? The neighbors behind me rent the house, and their lilac bush is pushing my fence over. I have tried to talk with them about cutting it, but their response (spoken through a micro-crack in their front door) was: "we're just renting the house. It's not our problem". Unable to get ahold of the property company they rent from, I took to trimming their bush myself by dismantling my fence to get at it. Just call it another adventure in single-life-hood. My methods might not always be the most tactful, but I get the job done!

James unwrapping presents with lots of 'help'...



Another masterpiece, pile-of-cupcakes birthday cake made by me (that's sarcasm, by the way). I did get rid of 3 sticks of butter in the making of those Sprinkles cupcakes with frosting though!....

Happy Birthday little guy! Next week we start potty-training!

~Happy Weekending!~