Goodbyes, Birthdays, and Black & Orange Birds

Friday was the last day of school as well as Ben's 6th birthday. William and I delivered the end-of-the-year class gift to Sam's 2nd grade teacher Ms. Lough (for whom I was the class parent this year). Ms. Lough is known for being really strict and for demanding a lot from her students, but also for helping her students progress by leaps and bounds, which has definitely been true. She has been absolutely wonderful for Sam! Here's a terrible photo I took of Sam's class photo--I really need to get my tripod fixed or get a scanner.

Next, William and I brought cupcakes to Ben's Kindergarten class for his birthday. Here's Ben with his wonderful teacher Mrs. Zimmerman who was quite emotional having to say goodbye to all her little children. She is known for being gentle, patient, and very loving, which was just perfect for Benjamin in his first year of school.

When we broke out the cupcakes the kids automatically started singing "Bonne fete a toi" because Mrs. Zimmerman has taught them a ton of French songs and phrases, which we adore! Even though Steven speaks German to our kids, I admit that French is really my favorite language. We'll have to sneak more French into our lives as long as it doesn't confuse everyone too much.

These Kindergarteners are so cute! Their main discipline problem is that they hug and kiss each other too much. : ) In fact, if Ben (or any other child) walks in late or has been absent, all the other kids get up, swarm around him, and give him a big hug one at a time. We feel really blessed to have found this great school.

Ben will tell you how excited he was to get Pokemon cards from Grossmama and Grosspapa. He carries them everywhere he goes.

That night both the elementary school and our church organized an Orioles night, so we took the light rail to Camden Yards and were very impressed. Although we missed the ambiance and quality of play at Fenway Park (no offense, Orioles), I admit that sitting in comfortable seats with plenty of leg room and an excellent view all for only $6 was quite dreamy. The downtown backdrop was spectacular.

We hoped our fellow church ward member Jeremy Guthrie would be pitching that night, but the schedule didn't work out. Oh well.

William's best friend Jairus brought his parents to the game.

And David Grow (from church and also Steven's lab) came with Josh and Esther. We also saw the Gwilliams, Parkers, and Hardys as well as all the missionaries from the Baltimore, Maryland mission.

What a great birthday!

Bonus: Ben just lost his first tooth and was delighted to discover he could eat a lollipop while keeping his teeth closed!

We forgot to take pictures of the Holbrook family and all our elementary school friends, but trust us that they all had a great time, too.

Oh, and for those who were asking for some pregnancy shots, here you go. If you were lucky enough to witness the endless pregnancies of 2003 or 2007 (endless in time and in girth with the resulting almost-11-lb babies), then you can attest to how small I am this time around. No really. This is small for me!

I've been feeling great and measuring somewhat in the normal range, so maybe I'll have a tiny little 9-lb baby this time around! Keep your fingers crossed. (Due date June 23.)