Happy 4th Birthday and 2nd Year Anniversary, Frankie!!

Sunday was Frankie's 4th birthday AND his second anniversary of coming home. My how fast the time goes by! Seems just like yesterday that we brought this fat, bald little two year old feller home.

He ain't so bald and fat now let me tell yah! My Frankie is a four year old stocky bundle of hair and, um, er, muscle? Okay, maybe that's a stretch but he's lost some of his baby fat and is growing like a weed! And he does like to show people his muscles. It must be a Y chromosome thing...

A boy and his cat are a beautiful thing

The day started out with scrambled eggs and a little "candle practice" in preparation for the Big Cake later on in the day.

Yes, candles in scrambled eggs makes this boy happy!

Let 'er blow my man, let 'er blow! And he did!

Aw yes, the boy and his cake, complete with the backwards 4 on it. I can't even use dyslexia as an excuse!

The simple frosting on this cake took me an HOUR to make and plaster upon it. Ella helped by placing the candy around the edges (her idea!) but no, a six year old did not decorate the entire thing. As you can see though, Frankie has no great and lofty expectations - he was just happy to have a cake with a couple of horses and his name on it!

Because cooking gas has been harder than hens teeth to find around here and we were almost out, I had to make a special trip on my day off and cook this sucker at the office. But that happy little face made it well worth it!!

Like all good birthday boys worth their salt, Frankie had help take care of the left over frosting

Okay, we had a very special birthday celebration this year, for two reasons. One was that it was my Frankie's fourth birthday and the second year anniversary of bringing him home, and Two, was that our friend Harriet had just brought her baby boy home one week before!! So we got together and celebrated our baby boys together!!

My four year old Frankie and Harriet's eight month old Jason!

Now Harriet has been planning and waiting to bring a baby home for a very long time so to finally see her with a baby of her own was indeed special! Harriet has taken care of countless babies, but always for other people - none of her own!

Jason and his obviously loving big sister Jackie

Oh my, what a SMILER little Jason is! He'd been home for one week and acted like he'd always lived there!

Okay, there were some "interesting," rather "unusual" elements of the party ( to say the very least!), like when Harriet's friend whipped out an accordion and started honking away on it. Yes, you read that right, and accordion.

This was Frank's face when the accordion got started. This look really said it all. Um, Frankie? Your GRANNY plays the accordion my boy, so we'd better work on a little accordion appreciation!

While the other children danced to the, um, accordion, the Birthday Boy laid on the couch and entertained himself by catching his balloon with his feet.

And finally!! The moment he'd been waiting for, for weeks!!! THE BIRTHDAY CAKE!!!

He'd matter of factly stated that morning while he was watching me struggle to frost it, "I'm not four until I eat that birthday cake."

This was the only batch of children that I've met where even the baby and the two year old liked wearing their party hats and didn't try to eat them!

Brothers! This is such a sweet picture of Jacob and his baby brother, Jason

And best of all - FIREWORKS on the cake!!! It does NOT get much more cool than that folks! And it didn't even catch any ones hair or party hat on fire!

In true Ugandan birthday party style, the birthday boy gets to cut the cake. It's usually done with a huge butcher knife but we settled for a smaller one this time. This picture accurately depicts my careful little Frankie. Look at his concentration!

We saved the birthday gifts for when we got home. He received a pair of scissors as a gift which he proceeded to carefully cut open each and every one of his gifts :)

AND, to make a good day even better, we found a cylinder of COOKING GAS on our way home!

Aw Frankie, I love you! You make me want to tear my hair out at times, not because you're naughty but because you're too darn smart and I can't figure out WHAT is going on inside your fuzzy, sensitive little head!

You are a funny little boy too - not the comical, goofy funny that your sister is, but the "WHAT did he just say?" funny. Articulate and straight forward, you matter of factly state the obvious. But you're kind too! Like when we were discussing racial differences and you told me, "Your skin looks bad. But I still like it!" Thank you my kind, straightforward, thoughtful little boy!