Happy Birthday Peter!

It doesn't seem possible that it has already been a year since little Pete joined our family.

How did it happen so fast that this little serious baby...

grew into this happy, chubby, grinning, drooling, crawling baby...

and then became this clapping, walking, sword-wielding,

corn-chomping,

nose-scrunching-smiling

melt-your-heart cuddling doll ?

Happy Birthday, baby! I love you!

Joel's Birthday Week--Part 1

For those Mietus family aficionados, you know that Joel's birthday was May 2. And, since it was the big 4-0 for him, I really wanted it to be a lot of fun and filled with surprises. The first part of his pre-birthday weekend actually held a surprise for me as well. For Joel's birthday, my family had come into town from Austin (and Keller) and not only purchased plants from our landscape plan, but also generously donated back-breaking labor to help us turn our weed-filled, neglected front beds into, well, you'll have to see for yourself. I wish I had a true before picture of the beds so all the effort could be truly appreciated, but you'll just have to take my word for it. Thanks to Kasey, Michael, Matt, Melinda, Mom, and Autumn for a birthday present for Joel that is really for our whole family!

This first picture is after the beds had been weeded and before the tilling.

Far right side view after weeding
How many guys does it take to work a roto-tiller?

Cousins hard at work making and jumping in puddles

Everyone took turns with baby duty

Are we having fun yet?

A work in progress
Can you tell which side we had already done? Note the pile of dead branches we'd also cleared--we had 2 other piles as well!

Isn't it beautiful?
We plan on putting a bench at the end of the flagstone path so we can enjoy all the hard work and newfound curb appeal.

Left side after picture

Right side after picture

Happy Birthday Owen!

Whether in looking up to his big brother,

helping out his little brother,

showing his muscles,

or showing off his weaponry skills,
Owen is a FUN boy to have in our family!

Our little crazy man is now 3. It's hard to believe that he is now potty trained, working on his letters and singing primary songs and yet can still be found climbing in precarious positions, swinging swords while yelling at the top of his lungs, or "wrestling" his baby brother, who, according to Owen, "likes it, mommy!" Owen always has a mischievous grin on his face and is the most rough-and-tumble boy I know. He is also quick to cuddle and give loves and usually has a quick "sorry, sorry, sorry" if his play ends in pain for someone else. We love you Owen and are so happy you bring us so much excitement every day.

Happy Birthday Luke!

Five years ago we brought home this darling baby boy.

A couple years later, he loved the new addition to our family.

And he has loved being a big brother again!

We have been so lucky to have Luke as our eldest child. He is so much fun to be around. His adorable little face, whether showing a mischievous grin or pure joy, always brings a smile. He is very sensitive and caring as well as imaginative and silly. He always has new "moves" to show us with his light sabers. Luke loves preschool right now and enjoys reading and drawing. He often wants to "call someone on the phone" and has lots of friends. He is also a great friend to his little brother Owen(when not fighting), who copies EVERYTHING Luke does. He is also a great helper to little Pete who I'm sure will one day adore his big brother too. Happy Birthday, baby boy. I can't believe it's been five years since you joined our family. I love you!

Luke's first day of preschool

Ok, so I know this happened a month ago--but hey, I'm now only a month behind! Luke started preschool September 2 and has been loving it!

First day and ready to go (Owen thinks he's going too)

"No, Mom, I'm not tired, I just want to read."

"What I did this Summer"

Some favorite summer activities, by LukeT-ball with my number one fan, trips to the zoo, picnics in the backyard and making up cool costumes while getting really dirty

Thanks to Gustav

Could Luke look any happier?

I know that hurricanes usually don't bring anything good with them. However, Hurricane Gustav required that my sister Autumn evacuate New Orleans-- so she and her friend Rhonda came up to Dallas for a few days. Autumn taught us how to make the Mardi Gras staple of King Cake and played endless hours of Old Maid, Duck, Duck, Goose, Candyland, baseball, basketball, Hide and Go Seek, etc, etc with Luke and Owen. We love Aunt Autumn time! So, thanks, Gustav for this one thing, but please keep away with all your Hurricane friends from now on.

Coloring the sugar for the topping

Just out of the oven

The finished king cake