Happy Birthday!

My dear husband is celebrating a birthday tomorrow, April 5th. In the few years that I've known him, Gabe has always felt a wee bit sad around his birthday, as he's convinced that he's getting old. I can't imagine that anyone who knows Gabriel would think of him as old; his boss, on at least a few occasions, has simply shaken his head in disbelief at Gabriel's youth. This year, in an effort to stave off the birthday blues, I decided that a party was in order. We've found that one of the benefits of living on the north side of Chicago is that our friends are all nearby and willing to come hang out, and so we had a houseful. The party was a combination saint's day party (the Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel, March 26th, which is also Gabe's sister's birthday -- Happy Birthday, Angela!) and birthday party. The party is by now a couple weeks old, but: Happy Birthday, Gabriel!

Jonah and I started baking bright and early. Though Jonah has logged more time in the kitchen with me, he has gotten progressively less helpful. This is only because his enthusiasm for, say, stirring, far outweighs his skill at stirring, though he is convinced that he can do it all by himself (and throws a fit when I won't let him). See all that flour on the table? There's at least an equal amount on the floor. Oh, well. Nothing like a little company in the kitchen. At the party, Jonah convinced Miriam to draw a bus for him. That's a great bus, Miriam. How did you get that door looking so good? You know, though, don't you, that you're only setting Jonah up for disappointment, as my bus doors are atrocious? Maybe I can distract him with a drawing of a fuel truck (which, yes, Jonah does ask for by name).
Here's Brian and Brian's Clone, a.k.a. Miles. We're pretty sure that Miles and Brian share the exact same DNA. If it weren't for the height difference (okay, maybe the facial hair, too), we wouldn't be able to tell these two apart.
Chris demonstrates one of Gabe's many youth-retaining techniques. Work it, Chris.
Katie, with James and Isaac, is a good sport about staying on kid-duty all night. Another reason we love Katie.

Christine and Lynn made sure to keep themselves and their buns in the oven close to the cake. They know that chocolate makes a baby sweeter. How do you think that I got such a great couple of kids?

The man of the hour and his son. Do you see Jonah's sort of pouty face? This is what he pulled when I told him to look at the camera. Yes, sometimes he borders on having too much personality. Glad you asked.

I got in on the 3/4 family pic. Poor Manny. You were here, son. You can't help it that you're a baby and that you sleep at all the wrong times.
Jonah enjoyed the cake and berries immensely. I make it a point to say this because this is the same buttermilk layer cake with chocolate frosting that Jonah rejected at his 1st birthday party. 9 months older = much, much wiser.
Brian and Kendra gave Miriam a run for her money in the race to be Jonah's favorite friend(s). Two people giving him attention! Two people reading him a truck book! It was so great, I thought that Jonah's head might explode.
It's not a party without a discussion about the Orthodox faith! Here adults and children alike give a listen to some Orthodox chant. We know how to have fun, people. Seriously. Oh no. OH. NO. I hope it was worth it, Gabe. I hope. It was. Worth it. (Yes, it was, even though it took us about three days to clean this up.)
Happy Saint's Day, and Happy Birthday, Gabriel. You're a wonderful husband and a great father. Love love from the three of us.