Awesome April

This month isn't even over yet, and it's already been amazing! My goddaughters and I have birthdays that all fall within two weeks over each other, soooo that pretty much means two weeks of none-stop birthday party celebrations and fun!

My friends at work surprised me with this cake. That clown was delicious.

Later, we had an evening BBQ/pool party at our building, and Kev created another one of his mean grill masterpieces.

This was definitely not for vegetarians (or anyone watching their cholesterol).

Sandra even baked a delicious cake for me and the keikis.

Brenna wanted to spend part of her birthday at the beach. Good choice!

And then there was more cake... and more keikis to help eat it.

This is my favorite shot of her that day. She's got such an awesome laugh, and it's very contagious.

Cisco even got in on the cake action by vacuuming up anything with frosting that hit the ground. That's why he's smiling :)

For sure, the undeniable party favorite was the trampoline.

The kids were having a blast even when they weren't jumping.

And then a few days later, we celebrated with Lucy. She actually chose to go on a hike to a waterfall for her birthday, but since I went camera-free I don't have any shots of it. Good times!

You know what she does to paparazzi? She runs them over!

Max was loving the kid-sized Jeep, and they spent the rest of the day racing and driving around the house.

Everyone walked away with big smiles and a bunch of great new memories.

Finally, congrats to the newest member of the Awesome April Birthday club, Swayzee! Welcome to the world, princess.

"What's that on her face?"

So, today Max saw a woman on TV and asked me, "Dad, um, what's that on her face?" He pointed to her cheeks with a determined child's curiosity and clarified, "See, those things! What are those?" He was talking about her freckles, and when I explained that some people just have them, he declared in a tone that would break any parent's heart, "I wish I had freckles, too." *light bulb*

So, I grabbed one of Sandra's eyeliner pencils and gave Max freckles. He loved them, and actually looked pretty cute :)

Then my little awesome decided to turn the pencil on me so I could have freckles, too!

However, mine didn't come out quite as nice. I guess some people just have a better face for 'em.

Still, it was a fun moment, and now it's a great memory.

179

I'm just like every other guy on the planet. Skinny guys wanna be big, and big guys wanna be skinny (unless you're a marathon runner or a world's strongest man competitor... those guys are happy). Since I'm a skinny guy, naturally, I want to look like Arnold Schwartenhoweveryouspellhisname looked in his prime. My personal goal is to hit 200 lbs of solid, my-dad-really-can-beat-up-your-dad muscle. My previous high-point was 189.

So, now I'm 32, and surprisingly I feel more in control of my body than ever before, though I'm not in the best shape of my life. I used to do over 20 pull-ups at a time easy, and on my birthday two days ago I struggled to get to 15. You can see my pain in the iPhone photo above (thanks Nicole Orta).

My starting point today is 179 lbs, and I feel confident I can reach that elusive deuce before my next birthday. I'll update again when the scale shows me 180 (I only check my weight in the morning before breakfast), and I'll continue to update every pound gained after that. Good times!

Birthday Bloggin'

I decided about a week ago that I would make another attempt a blogging starting on my birthday... which is today, April 8. I turned 32 at around 7:30'ish this morning, and I already feel the wisdom and maturity filling my mind with wise and mature things. *ahem* right...

When Cisco heard it was my birthday, he was especially excited. Not because he wanted to read my blog, though. He just wants some of my cake.

Maxim, for the first time, remembered all on his own to wish me a Happy Birthday when he woke up this morning! This was very special to me because, well, he's my little awesome! Turns out he really wanted some of my cake, too.

Now it's bedtime, and I can honestly say I had a fantastic birthday. I got calls and messages from my parents and siblings, serenaded over the phone by the Catoes, a ton of Facebook messages, birthday surprises from friends at work, and most importantly, I spent time with my wife and son (which, truth be told, is all I ever want, anyways). Thanks to everyone for making today feel special. I loved it!