Abdiel! 6!

As Cicero is reported to have said a few days after the Ides of March, "What a week!" But we say that most weeks around here.

On Monday I took everyone save Lia and Elinor up to Park City where we swam and ate pizza with cousins.

Tuesday was, as Abdiel's sixth birthday, the highlight of the week. For breakfast, we feasted on Chocolate Chex (Abdiel's request), which required a special trip to Wal-Mart. For lunch we had chocolate muffins and for dinner we had quesadillas, sadly breaking our chocolate streak. Between meals we opened presents, watched Return of the Jedi, and swam at the Provo Rec Center, happily keeping our swimming streak alive.

Abdiel is one cool cat. The other day he said something that provoked Katharine into an exasperated sigh. "Abdiel," she groaned. "You are so ridiculous." Without blinking an eyelash, Abdiel deadpanned, "You think so?" Then tossed down a nonchalant quaff of . . . well, nothing. His cup, as it happened, was empty, but he has apparently picked up from somewhere the (accurate) notion that nothing tops an unruffled rejoinder quite like the simulation of drink.

We are very grateful to have Abdiel in our family. He is a consummate friend to everyone, a thoughtful and sensitive little gentleman, and an inexhaustible fount of energy and fun. He is our only son--but what a son!

On Thursday, Julia and Elisabeth went to the Provo Temple with their cousins, Jacob and Emi. Just one of the many blessings of proximity to both cousins and temples.

On Saturday afternoon we split up so that Lia could take Julia, Elisabeth, Katharine, and Elinor to shop for school clothes, and I took Abdiel and Gwyn to the Museum of Natural Curiosity at Thanksgiving Point.

Today marks Elinor's one-month day--one month older, as they say, and wiser too. In any case, much chubbier. We love this little lady. It's hard to believe that we trudged along for years without her.

Gwyn had a better Sunday than usual today, mostly thanks to Elisabeth who spent the afternoon drawing and coloring "mini-Gwynies" with her. (Mini-Gwynies, as the uninitiated might like to know, are little, cartoonish pictures of Gwyn in various poses and under various identities.)

I was up early on Tuesday morning, tending to Elinor so Lia could snatch a well-earned nap. (Q: Can sleep before dawn ever qualify as a nap?) Elinor fell asleep after a while, and I lay down carefully on the couch with Elinor asleep on my chest and a good book in my right hand. I was in that posture when Gwyn and Abdiel emerged from their bedrooms to announce the new day--a very special birthday. I thought of these precious little ones, and their big sisters, and was suffused with happiness. It was a special moment. These are special kids. We are grateful for each precious one.