Uncle Steve, The Flag, and a Birthday!

Uncle Steve came to visit yesterday and was able to spend a little time with the kids. Jack loved sitting with Uncle Steve while reading Curious George stories. He was pretty enthusiastic about his time with Uncle Steve. 

Callie refused to talk in front of Uncle Steve for the most part. She was being especially shy around him. She has been introduced to a lot of unfamiliar people lately and she doesn't always know what to do about it!  

We're very glad Uncle Steve was able to visit, even if it was for a brief time. We managed to squeeze in a quick trip to Costco and Jack learned how to do the "wheel barrow" walk (when someone holds your legs while you walk on your hands across the room.) Callie is being especially cheesy in this picture. We're not sure why...

We also have to make note of an important tradition that got started with Grandpa and Jack. Most mornings, if Jack is around before Grandpa goes to work, he helps Grandpa put the flag out on the post. Then in the evening when it gets dark, they go out again and bring it back inside. Jack always gets to ride on Grandpa's shoulders. 

After the flag is safely in it's appropriate location (either inside or out), Jack has to play the wind chimes for a little while. 

Then they come inside and Jack gets to look out the peephole to see the front porch. It is important to Jack that all of these steps be followed, and in the correct order. 

While we've been visiting Washington, he has been even more prone than usual to starting up "routines" that must be followed to get certain things done. Another example is his new bedtime routine, where he insists we read the exact same books, sing the same songs, and he says the same phrases with the same responses from Mom ("One more story." "No, just two today." "Okay. I'll turn off the light and turn on the noises.") It must be a coping mechanism to deal with the changes of a new environment!

And one more important item of business: celebrating Aunt Miriam's birthday! One of the reasons for our trip out to Washington (aside from just having fun visiting family) was to celebrate Miriam's 17th birthday. It was in September, but that's okay. We're here now!

One of Miriam's birthday gifts was a cake pan made to bake this cupcake-shaped cake! It seemed appropriate since Mim loves to bake and decorate cupcakes (see: previous post about TV dinner cupcakes!) It turns out, only pound cake recipes can be used with the cake mold since it's kind of a delicate shape. The cake was pretty dense! But it was good! We also had Costco pizza for lunch and McDonald's for dinner! Happy Belated Birthday, Auntie Mim!