He's 13 now!

Here's a new pic of my sons. One of them is 13 a week ago.
Wonderful blessing to have them.

Today is My Girl’s 13th Birthday

Each year on your birthday,
I think about how thankful and fortunate I am
To have you in my life.

I always have a place reserved
Just for you in my heart
I want you to know
You're really very special
And each year my feelings
Continue to grow

Warm wishes and love
I'm sending to you on your 13th birthday
I wish all your dreams will come true
Just like the way you imagined it,
Or better.

Never give up on your dreams
I'm sure being such a daughter like you
That is generous, kind, loving and true
make you always be as bright as the stars
That shines above

No Birthday Present?

Yesterday we (my 2 big kids and I) had an interesting conversation with Ian.
Mom : “What do you want for your birthday present, Ian?”
Ian : (no response, still thinking)
Mom : “2 more days, on this Thursday you’re going to be 5.”
Ian : “No, I don’t want.”
Mom : (still confused) "You don’t want a birthday present? A new toy ?"

His 2 siblings open widen their eyes. I knew their eyes told me like this…Come on Ian, this is a very rare opportunity mom asked you about TOYS!!

Ian : “I just don’t want!”
His brother: “Lego, still don’t want?!” (I knew he want to take profit from this situation ;-) )
Ian : “I just don’t want any thing, I’ve already had one new toy.”
His sister: “The one that Dad bought last Sunday?”
Ian : “Yes!!”
Mom : "What about a birthday cake?" (feeling guilty)
Ian: “Ok, I want a birthday cake with a picture on top that I could eat it’”
Mom : ??
His sister: “Maybe a cake with an edible photo image at the top.”

After a while my daughter was looking for ads about it and found the phone number of a woman who receives orders edible photo prints. She’s the only one in our city and it’s a pity she’s on vacation till next week. No order then. Every cake shops here usually give their edible photo prints orders to her. I’ve plan formerly to bake a birthday cake for Ian and just put the edible photo of him on the top. ;-(

Think, think…mom! Get a new idea…

Then finally I make up my mind; still bake a birthday cake for him but he could make the decoration on top by himself. I just prepare the butter cream in many colors and let him squeeze it from a paper bag to make anything he wants. That will be his “present”.
What do you think of this idea? I just want him feel happy on his special day.

Ian Keeps Asking About His Birthday Party

Yes,it has been starting from last month (Ian is going to be 5 next month). My hubby and I never made a birthday party at school or someplace where we could invited many kids. No, that's not the tradition of the family. We always celebrate birthday in private, just 5 of us. It could be at home or restaurant or somewhere else, but we still keep in private and like to do it all the years. My 2 other big kids never asked a birthday party before. They never complained about it. But now, it seemed quite different with their little brother. Ian keeps asking about his birthday party every time he received a birthday invitation card from his friend at school. And..it happens almost every week! I also imagine how many kids there had celebrated his birthday at school. Maybe that's why he keeps on asking.

I had explained to him (every time he asked!)that his birthday is on early July, it'll be school holiday and we can't celebrate his birthday on the other day, 3 weeks after, when everybody come to school again. Otherwise every people has their own special way in celebrating birthday. Party doesn't always mean he's 'real happy' with his special day (although most of them did, hehe..). the important thing is people should be thankful/grateful for his birthday, blah, blah....etc.
But till yesterday he seemed not understand about all I said. Finally I have "his point of view" in this matter, he just be happy to has many birthday presents from friends, like the way he saw his friends had at school on their b'day party. I don't want him feel that way, but I know...he's only a little kid.

Wow..what should I do? Is there any simple explanation for him about 'timing' since he doesn't care at all if his birthday on July will be the same time with school holiday?
Do you have any suggestion for me to say about this to him?
I think I almost give up. It always be easier to explain this to other kids than to mine.

The BLUE Cake

Just a moments ago, I opened the refrigerator trying to find something to eat for my breakfast. Hehe.. actually it was almost 10 am, I was busy blogging and forget to eat until my stomach made a "rumble" sound. Usually I don't have 'real' breakfast, just a huge glass of fruit juice every morning. No,no..not for diet, only trying a more healthy habit in eating.

Ok, back to what I found in the fridge...
Cheese, chocolate, butter on the first rack. Oranges on the second rack...uh, nothing was interesting to fulfill my appetite. Aha.. on the corner, I found a small round BLUE icing sugar coated cake! I remembered that yesterday was Kyra's birthday, one of Ian's friend at school and he came back home with that small BLUE cake.
I took out the cake and sit in front of my PC again, ready for eating while writing (I've never been allowed this manner to my kids, hussh...don't tell them).
As I turned to look at the color of the cake, I became worried. Was the coloring food safe to little kids? Did the bakery really care about it? Why was Kyra's mom chosed the BLUE one? Actually the soft color of blue made the cake looked cute! Every little girl would love it.

Finally, I removed the BLUE cuttie coated and ate just the chocolate cake inside. I didn't dare enough to taste the BLUE icing sugar. Maybe I'm a kind of old fashioned mom that only love the real chocolate cakes or if I has to choose another color of cakes for my kids, I turned to nature yellow color, I mean a butter cake or a cheese cake. That's all. Sometimes I chosed fruit top coated pastry as long as I think the fruits was real, not fancy fruits made of sugar. I still think the food coloring doesn't good enough to my kids health.

What about you ? It would be great to hear other moms' point of view about the coloring food.