All Grown Up

Where did the time go? This past weekend I was reminded of just how grown up our nieces and nephews are. Leo and I spent Saturday evening with Xavier, now 15 and Alexander, 12.

We took the boys to Red Robin for a late dinner. It was surprisingly empty - which I was secretly hoping for. (I am not a big fan of loud restaurants) Xavier shared with us all of the background information on his favorite books, movies and characters. Mind you, he spoke in a deeper voice than I am still not used to hearing. We were seated at a booth near the kitchen so Alex was happy as a clam watching all of the not so behind the scenes. I literally sat there thinking, "When did they both grow up?" To top off the evening, when we got into the car to head home, Xavier very politely thanked us both for dinner. (it was so cute!)

On Sunday we headed to Bonelli Park in San Dimas, CA. My niece Jennifer, now 20 year old was throwing her very first birthday party for her son, Jonathan, who was turning 4. A few weeks prior, she sent us the cutest cowboy themed invite that she made herself. The cowboy theme was carried into the entire party - the tablecloths, the napkins, the cake and even Jonathan's outfit for the day. (A girl after my own heart!) Her boyfriend Chris and his Dad man'd the barbeque proudly. It was also the first time we got to spend some time with his family.

Jennifer made potato salad (just like the Mejia's make it) and a yummy pasta salad complete with tomatoes, bacon and asparagus. (my personal favorite) She also offered grilled pineapple to top our burgers! I took turns holding and playing with Atom, my niece Jesica's little boy - who will be 1 in October and Marley - my little sister's baby girl who turned 1 this past April. We got to watch as Jonathan successfully flew his very first kite and I managed to capture his facial expression when he got to open his eyes to see his brand new motorized truck.

I was so happy to be there - to be able to share this special moment with my niece - her little boy's 4th birthday and her very first successful party. Me and my sisters were just like proud mother hens, exclaiming every few minutes how good everything was. It was fun to see the kids all laughing and playing together like we did as kids but the best moment by far was watching Jennifer hugging Jonathan at the close of the party. She asked him, "Did you have a good birthday?" and he exclaimed with so much excitement, "YES, Mommy!"