Another Birthday Extravaganza: Caleb's 3rd!

We have a final installment of Bissett Birthdays to report, and then we promise we won't bother you with another one for at least six months or so. Our birthday season finishes with Caleb, our sweet new three-year-old! Dallin asked him in the morning if he was "still a little baby or a big boy now?" Caleb replied that he was, "Three! A big boy!" Dallin groaned. He wants Caleb to stay a baby forever and still dotes on him and calls him his "little Caleb baby" and wants to "hold" him, even though Caleb weighs about as much as he does. Mardi can relate to Dallin's feelings, but we're sure happy to have had Caleb a part of our family for three years now. He's our little sunshine with the golden hair!

Caleb and Taylor, our boys with the February birthdays. Caleb was excited for his third birthday to arrive on February 11th, and his brothers were excited for him!

It should be noted that the February birthdays always place somewhat of a strain on Dallin (see face). However, he cheered up, recovered very well, and had a good day doting on Caleb.

Caleb, with his new yellow bucket, and opening his clock puzzle.

The clock puzzle was a big hit!

A new toy tractor!

Caleb had lots of visitors on his birthday. Grandma Bissett and Great Nana Bissett came over and spent the late afternoon and evening with him. Great-Grandpa Regehr, and Grandpa and Grandma Smith came too. Great-Grandma Matkin talked to him on the phone, and he has a date with Great-Grandpa and Grandma Smith for the day after his birthday. What a lucky little boy to have so many wonderful grandparents!

The great Bissett dry ice tradition was continued, though we didn't incorporate it into the cake this time. Caleb decided he wanted a cheetah cake, and we were pretty sure that cheetahs don't breath smoke. So, we just made a big bowl of brew and added some dish soap. Good times ensued.

Dallin and Caleb

Caleb and his cheetah cake. Mardi was relieved to have a much easier cake assignment for this birthday.

The sparkler was so exciting, and Caleb blew out all the candles in one blow!

Caleb has always been a boy who enjoys having his cake and eating it too.

Grandpa Smith and Caleb go through the sea shells that Grandpa and Grandma Smith brought from Hawaii. Caleb had fortunately received his great little bucket as a gift earlier in the day, so he has a perfect place to keep them! Caleb declared that he was going to build a "tidal pool" using his new shells.

Taylor tries out the new conch shell that Grandpa and Grandma Smith brought him from Hawaii for his birthday. Grandpa proved that he's really good at getting a great sound out of it! Taylor is practising.

Surfin' Safari

Do you ever start to get the feeling in about February that you've been cooped up in the house for too long, and that its been winter for too long, and its been too long since you've felt the sun? And then you realize that winter is only half over (maybe) and then you whimper and wish you could be like the bears and hibernate until it's over? I'm getting that vibe around here lately.

The boys keep asking if we can go to a "real beach", and I'm guessing that an ocean is required for that. Last evening, we found Dallin and Taylor doing this, and I admired their attempts to break out of their winter funk. Who among us is brave enough to try this? (I should add that they had put on The Beach Boys for their background music.)

"Catch a wave and you're sitting on top of the world."

Surf's Up

I don't know that even the best surfers in the world are brave enough to do it while holding pointed skewers in their mouths.

Eight is Great!

Taylor was so excited for his eighth birthday! He is always glad to share his special day on February 2nd with the groundhogs of the world.

Waiting to open presents.

A plush black rat that Mom and Dad found at Ikea (that place is so great for finding toy rats!). The rat was immediately added to Taylor's growing rat family and was declared to be "the daddy, who goes off to his dangerous job every day!"

Taylor, opening a box containing two Webkinz. The envy on Dallin's face is palpable.

Taylor happily shows Dallin his new caterpillar and lemon-lime gecko Webkinz. Dallin is not a happy camper. How was I to know that Dallin had long cherished a desire for a lemon-lime gecko? This day was the first I had heard about it. Birthdays can be so sad when they're not yours.

Taylor, with rat, gecko, and caterpillar. Dallin lost it about now.

Taylor and his Great-Grandma Smith, with his new baptism book. He is excited to be baptized on February 27th!

Taylor, with his new 'Guess Who?' game from Grandpa and Grandma Bissett. Dallin had recovered nicely from his disappointment of the morning.

Mardi's culinary skills were once more strained as she attempted to fulfill Taylor's desire for a "yellow, fire and smoke-breathing dragon cake, with wings". Fruit roll-ups did the job for the fire and the wings.

Ever since Dallin's epic volcano cake, the boys feel that every cake should incorporate dry ice in some way. Travis now has a 'dry ice guy' who is more than willing and able to equip him, so we managed to get the dragon to breath smoke. The boys were very impressed, I'm happy to report.

So, since Dallin's birthday last November, we now have a new birthday tradition which involves playing with the rest of the dry ice after the cake has been cut. I think this is their favourite activity for birthdays now. Caleb is already talking about the "smoke" for his birthday coming up next week.

Stirring the brew.

Travis decided to add a drop of dish soap to the dry ice mixture to see what would happen. This gives a general idea of the result.

A Bissett Boys' Christmas

The boys were, of course, very excited to open their presents on Christmas morning. However, nobody woke up to do this until 8:15 am so Mom and Dad got a nice gift right from the start. Anyway, we had a wonderful Christmas together and it was so much fun seeing our boys so excited about everything. They all agreed that it was well worth the wait.

The three boys with their Diego Rescue Packs full of great Lego pieces for making trucks, cars, planes, and submarines. They had all been wishing for propellers and wings to make their cool vehicles.

The big ones are always so exciting!

Caleb's big brothers help him open his new blocks. Baby Leopard will soon have an addition on his house.

The Bissett Boys on Christmas morning.

Checking out the stockings.

Dallin, hard at work building one of the amazing Lego hovercrafts he is famous for.

Caleb, playing with the new Lego crane and backhoe loader.

Official Hot Chocolate Tasters

On December 5th, we woke up to a huge blizzard and six-foot drifts. The boys decided that hot chocolate was the only remedy for being snowed in!

Taylor

Dallin: He's my big-time chocolate loving boy.

Caleb

Caleb is a big fan of marshmallows, even if he has to fish them out by hand.

A Home for Baby Leopard

Caleb has a little baby leopard toy that he likes to carry all over. The trouble is, it's a little bit too little and Caleb is always setting it down and forgetting where he left it. Thus, looking for Baby Leopard is an oft-repeated daily ritual. I wish I could stick some kind of GPS tracking device on him. Anyway, Caleb decided that Baby Leopard needed a home and so he set to work and built quite a magnificent block castle all by himself. Caleb pointed out to me that the yellow blocks inside the house made a "really fancy floor". Nothing but the best for Baby Leopard. Maybe he can live here now and won't go missing quite so often.

Ooooo Yes, It's Pajama Time!

We got out the new pajamas for the boys a little early this year, partly because Dallin and Caleb's are seasonal and so it's more fun to wear them leading up to Christmas. Wearing Santa jammies in March might not be quite as much fun. Also, Taylor is outgrowing all his pajamas like crazy, and so he really needed some that actually come down to his wrists and ankles! The boys were pretty thrilled with their pajamas and wanted to pose by the Christmas tree with them. They were pretty cute!

Group Brothers Hug!

Travis was pretty disappointed not to receive new pajamas too, but he put on a brave face for the camera. Looks like my shopping isn't done after all!