More Birthday Celebrations

October 10th found us on the way to a bowling birthday party in Sioux Falls with the Stoops family. We all went bowling! We met lots of relatives and had a wonderful time sharing David with them. The bowling alley had a neat wood thing for the little kids that helped them send the ball down the lane. One time David thought he could do without the little contraption and he set the ball on the floor and pushed. I bet it took 2 minutes for the ball to reach the pins! Grandma Pam and Grandpa Mike planned ahead and had cake and ice cream for snacks. This time Nate had to help David with the candles. Allen and I bowled against each other in two different games with each of us winning one. The big thing for me was that I broke 100! Kassy bowled with other relatives who bowled much better than we did, so hopefully she took notes.

Grandma Pam helped David bowl.

 

After bowling we went back to Grandpa and Grandma's house for another birthday present. Nate had been shopping and found a sweet black and white police car--a 2-seater--complete with gas pedel, CB and siren! It's wonderful that there's room for 2--Kassy gets to ride too!   David is still working on his hand-eye-foot coordination, but we're making progress. This car will last the kids forever! It won't take long and David will be pulling Kassy over on her bicycle for speeding or some other infraction. Boy, I'm not ready for that!!!!!! It's wonderful how thoughtful Nate is towards David and Kassy too. We love to see how much Nate loves David through his actions and inclusion of Kassy.

Nate introduced David to his first car.

Grandma shares some love with Kassy.

Our next birthday celebration was October 16 for the Pickard side of the family. Cousin Conrad turned 3 on October 7th and it was fun to celebrate together. We began the celebration with a train ride to a pumpkin patch at Prairie Village in Madison. We waited a long time to get on the train but it was worth it! There was entertainment for the kids while we waited and even entertainment on the train. David picked a nice pumpkin, and hopefully we will be able to carve it before October's over.

Aunt Christine entertains her daughter Johanna and Kassy

Conrad and David practice "pumpkin standing"

If the boys can stand, Kassy will sit

Johanna had her face painted while we waited for the train.

David and his pumpkin.

Kurt and Conrad, Allen and David

After the train ride we went back to Aunt Christine and Uncle Kurt's house for supper, ice cream cake, and presents, not to mention the relatives who came to celebrate.

The final birthday party (number 7, did you lose count?) was October 17th at Grandma Linda and Grandpa Doug's. We spent the afternoon visiting Grandpa's new shop, jumping on the neighbor's trampoline, eating cookies and playing with the kids. It is wonderful to see just how many people love our kids! We had yummy burritos and my favorite cabbage salad and hot dogs for the kids. We learned that Kassy likes burrito beans and apparently they like her!

Grandma Linda and David jumped on the trampoline.

Aunt Teresa and David had fun playing together.

Grandpa Doug and David try to figure out David's new view finder.

Thank you so much to all of our family members for helping us celebrate the life of our son. He is very precious to us and we are very grateful for the love you all have for him too!