Abby wrapped up three weekends of birthday fun. She had a huge time making crafts at The Painted Pig with about 20 of her friends from the three schools she’s attended so far.
She followed up the next weekend with an outdoor cupcake party with Nana and Gramps.
Her Mimi and Papa came the next weekend but I somehow failed to shoot any photos of those festivities. That’s a first for me. Sorry guys.
Abby hosted a beach-themed birthday party in celebration of completing her 6th year of life. She and Gina put together a fun-filled afternoon of beach-type activities.
We just wrapped up three birthday celebrations over the last two weeks. The other day I said to her “I wish you were 1-year-old again” and she replied, “Daddy, I’m 5. I’ll never be 1 again.”
Abby and I went up to Kansas to my parents’ place over the weekend for my Grandma’s 95th birthday party. I wanted to take advantage of the clear skies away from the big-city lights to try some astrophotography. I needed to find something interesting for the foreground of a star trails photo and the gas well on their back 40 seemed as good as anything. I’d already done a few similar shots in the past using hay bales, a nearby church and an old grain silo. I made this photo by combining 19 photos each with a four-minute exposure using a cheap intervalometer I got off eBay. I lit the pump with a blast from an external flash during one of the exposures.
We finally got around to having a proper birthday celebration for Abby. We had a little thing at the Jump Zone for her friends from school and then we had another little thing at home for all her grandparents and aunts. It looked like a birthday bomb went off in the living room.
We gathered at Funland in Burns Park to celebrate Abby’s 3rd birthday on Saturday. No drama like last year. Abby announced that there would be no traditional singing of Happy Birthday. I didn’t get very many decent pictures. I was too busy jacking around with the video camera and other tasks.
Gina’s birthday was on Saturday. (She’s doing pretty well for only being 25.) Because we went out of town for the weekend, we didn’t get to do the cake thing. And Abby loves the cake thing. On Monday, Abby and I went out and got one of those half-size birthday cakes and a bunch of candles. Abby helped Gina blow them out.
After the candles were out, Abby went to town on the cake. Well, she went to town on the icing. A little while later she said her tummy hurt and she didn’t want anymore cake.
Most people think of 9/11 as a day of infamy. Well, it is, but it’s also my birthday. I get a lot more “Happy Birthdays” since those planes flew into those big buildings because it turned out to be a fabulous mnemonic device to remember my big day.
Gina and Abby baked me a cake and gave me a couple of presents. It was great. Abby cried when Gina brought the cake out for me to blow out the candles. She doesn’t like the fire. Gina’s going to take me out to eat tomorrow night.
Abby had a little trouble coping with all the festivities going on for her birthday last weekend.