Daddy and Alana

Alana wanted to help Daddy make cupcakes for Caleb's birthday, but didn't get the chance, so Larry bought another box of mix and they baked together Saturday afternoon.

Taste of Syracuse

Once the weather cooled off, we headed downtown to have dinner at this terrific event. First stop was the Texas Roadhouse booth, where several people got their "fall of the bone" ribs. I went in search of Spanish food at Las Delicias (it was yummy) and we also had spring rolls from one of the Thai restaurants, mini cheeseburgers (sliders) from Applebees, and California rolls from our favorite Japanese restaurant - Sakana Ya. It was still hot, but we took our food into a shady spot on the grass and it wasn't too bad. One the way out we got candies from one booth and cupcakes from another.

Despite all the gluttony the only photo I took was Alana climbing around on a public art sculpture.

Another perfect spelling test

Turtle rescue

I was driving up the road between our development and the park this morning after dropping Alana at daycare, and I saw a small turtle making his way across the street. We had just learned at the zoo that being hit by cars is by far the greatest hazard in the average turtle's life, so I stopped, thinking I would pick him up and move him to safety. No need, as it turns out, because as soon as he saw me, he turned around and ran (as fast as a turtle can run on those tiny legs) back into the woods. My only regret is that I didn't snap a picture of the little cutie.

Birthday dinner

We went to Friendly's for dinner tonight - Caleb's choice. He was so adorable about it - he really wanted to go to McDonald's, but he chose Friendly's b/c it's a "real restaurant" (my term) and has stuff that I will like. I have complained in the past about always going for fast food, so I thought that was very gracious of him to make a choice that accomodates me. In this photo, he's just gotten his Build a Sundae dessert (Phillip came with us).

Happy Birthday Caleb!

At this exact moment 8 years ago, Caleb Daniel Jacowitz came into the world!

Larry is dropping off cupcakes at Caleb's school later - they do BD celebrations at the very end of the day. Larry actually baked the cupcakes last night, while I was at a marathon Sisterhood meeting. After some discussion with Caleb, he made yellow cupcakes with mini chocolate chips inside. I did the frosting (chocolate!) and sprinkles when I got home b/c Larry didn't think he could do that part (!)

The big party is Saturday. The weather is going to suck - hot, humid and a chance of rain. But it was perfect last year, and you can't get that lucky every year. It'll be fun, though. Grandma Bobbie and Grandpa Burt are coming up, and some neighborhood friends, school friends, and synagogue friends will be there. We've got hotdogs and hamburgers, watermelon, and I'm making potato salad, and we're having an ice cream sundae bar for dessert.

Girls Day Out

Caleb and Matt went with friends to see the new Indiana Jones movie (Matt definitely didn't like the alien spaceship, thought it didn't fit with Indy), and Alana and I had mommy-daughter day, which is extremely rare. We didn't do anything extraordinary, but it was really nice. First, we did some artwork, making flowers with stickers. Then we had mac and cheese (which she helped make) and apples with peanut butter for lunch. Then I painted her nails and we took Roxy to the park. Then we went out for ice cream - she couldn't decide on a flavor, but finally chose blueberry with chocolate sprinkles. Later she said she didn't like the sprinkles (she's copying Caleb, who's going through a very picky food phase and frequently finds fault with some part of the meal) and thought it was totally hilarious when I said not liking chocolate sprinkles was unamerican. Then we went to the grocery store and she helped me shop. The whole afternoon was so comfortable and fun, but also so poignant - because Caleb and I had that kind of focused time together, lots of it, before she was born, but she and I really don't get it much. I'll have to see what I can do to arrange for this a bit more often. (Like an idiot, I didn't take a single photo, but it's etched on my mind's eye forever.)