Uncle Mike and Amanda

Uncle Mike has celebrity status at or house (at least in the eyes of Sophie and Jack!). We were lucky to have him and Amanda join us for the weekend of his birthday, which coincided with his audition with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

It also gave me an excuse to make the infamous chocolate cake we've dubbed "salmonella cake" that our Mom made when we were growing up. It's the best chocolate cake you'll ever eat, and it's nickname is derived from the raw eggs in the icing. Not something that I would normally endorse as a dietitian. But, manipulating the recipe to make it meet food safety standards has proven to be unsuccessful. It just doesn't taste the same without the raw eggs. So I'll take my chances because it's just that good.

Mike usually has to ramp up on his sleep before AND after visits with us, as his bachelorhood doesn't require the same kind of energy that being an Uncle of 2 preschoolers does. I must admit to feeling envious when he typically goes down for a nap right around the same times as Jack. It was nice for Sophie (and me!) to have a companion while the boys napped each day. Amanda was always up for a craft or a game with Sophie - it was sweet to watch Sophie respond to her so nicely.


While it took Sophie no time at all to warm up to Amanda, Jack was a little more timid. The first day of the visit he awoke from his nap in a grumpy mood. He took one look at Amanda and burst out crying. Fortunately she took it in stride and by Day 2, it was game on.

The weather was beautiful all weekend which allowed us to be outside much of the time. Uncle Mike pitched a lot of balls and blew a lot of bubbles, and the kids were delighted to be with him as always.


We even enjoyed a fun double date consisting of dinner and an ASO concert, which was an added bonus for me and Eric, who don't seem to get out as often as we'd like.

Happy 5th Birthday Sweet Sophie!

The week after the birthday party and leading up to Sophie's actual birthday was a bit of a downer. She came down with a stomach bug that seemed to linger all week. This unfortunately put a damper on my plans for "Parent of the Week" in her classroom as she missed school most of the week. The most challenging part for me was defending my position on her need to follow a BRAT diet even though she had a good appetite and was growing bored of the limited fare I was offering.

All was well just in time for her birthday, which she chose to spend by inviting Kiki over for a play date followed by a birthday dinner at our house with The Dekels, complete with pizza and ice cream cake.

Kiki surprised Sophie with a gymnastics leotard so the girls would match on their first day of class. Cynthia surprised them both with matching photo albums that capture some of the memories the girls have shared since their friendship began infancy. Sophie flips through her album on a daily basis.



It's hard to believe our baby is already 5! Her sweetness and joy are like little beams of sunshine that continue to warm my heart every day.