Happy Birthday John!

OK, it's a couple of days early, but I won't be able to blog on the actual big day so... Consider this post a free pass to eat a disgusting amount of chocolate, and oh! Perhaps some prepared foods if we can put our hands on something worthy (that's his thing, prepared foods; as he describes it, it comes from growing up "with a deli tradition." I...don't have a response.) And def some kill frites with a glass of red wine (we share a love for that combo, ha). Good Things! For a Good Man. He deserves every single one of them and more.

(He's laughing with his brother Tom, above, while snarfing Blue Sky Creamery ice cream - not an unusual sight when these two get together. Hey, Happy Birthday Tom - April 20th - as well! And Happy Birthday to my aunt Marge, sandwiched between the Levy brothers on April 19th - hope you loved Jersey Boys!)

Oh, a fabulously restorative dose of Cooper Cuteness this weekend, Mr. Busy himself, in a constant state of motion-giggle-chat. John, Nathan, my dad, and I settled into my sister Stacey's (check out her new website!) lovely home this evening for an early Summer Sunday Dinner. Stace and I put the low-maintenance menu together via email and it worked out beautifully. I brought a salad, full of as many veggie-share veggies as I could cram in there, ha - mixed greens topped with roasted green beans and tomatoes, fresh dill, thinly sliced kohlrabi, sauteed corn, chopped onion and green pepper, and a crumble of feta cheese. Pretty and tasty. Stace made Cucumber-Mint Raita, I brought garlic bread, and we borrowed a genius page from my in-laws, Dot and John, by purchasing deli fried chicken (in this case, the Kowalski's version, delicious) earlier in the day and then grilling it for a few minutes just before serving, to re-crisp and warm it...works like a charm. Stuffed, we somehow made room for brownies topped with Blue Sky Creamery Double Chocolate ice cream (incredible stuff). Yeah. Uff.

After a a bit of digestif swinging on the picture-perfect, front-porch swing, Cooper was ready to run again, wearing his Birthday Party Hat, no less, for maximum cuteness. And then...when his (and Nathan's) running reached the edge of almost-frantic-silliness, we took our exit cue. (Why is it that the more tired children grow, the more energy they expel? So not fair...) After clear-as-a-bell "bu-bye" and "nigh nigh" wishes, we moseyed on home and left Coop to his soft jammies and cozy crib and a Good. Night's. Sleep.