Birthday gift that keeps on giving

Want to know what Frankie's been doing all day, every day for the past week?

Looks a little uncomfortable, but hey, it's the style that matters right?

Rainbow Loom! Thanks Aunt Natalie. You provided a wonderful way for her to wile away the hours. Everyone can be expecting personalized bracelets, necklaces and rings. Teresa has asked for one for her birthday, too :)

Story of a bird

A few weeks ago we discovered a mother cardinal had laid eggs in one of our rose bushes. This rose is right next to our back porch, literally touching the screening, so you can imagine what an awesome view we had of the little cardinal abode! We all relished checking in on her and the eggs (no doubt to her dismay) to see if any had hatched. Rose even spoke in a hushed voice when going on the back porch: "I see the birdie! Quiet!"

Well, a few mornings ago I came out onto the porch to find the nest tipped on its side and empty. Rose stems were bent in half. Little feathers were scattered here and there. What a tragedy! I went out and inspected the area around the bush, only to find the three eggs scattered around its base. With the mother out of sight, I figured she had met her end. I took the eggs, put them back in their nest and brought them inside. What to do with them? Were they dead? Possibly: online, I found that eggs die very quickly if they're not kept at 100 degrees. Who knew how long they had been without their mama?

The poor eggs.

Then, I heard her. Her chirp is quite notable to our ear since she's been around so long. I rushed outside to find her inspecting the empty rosebush! I quickly put the reassembled nest back in its place and hoped she'd come back. She did!

Baby cardinal, hatched the day after the nest was restored.

Daddy cardinal feeding Mama, who feeds the baby.

My own little birdie, tormenting Mama sitting on the nest a few feet away.

Mama sitting on baby (who doesn't mind?)


The happy ending isn't without some sorrow: two of the eggs remain unhatched. They must have gotten too cold when the nest was tipped. My theory is a squirrel was trying to get to the bird-feeder, and climbed the rose bush, tipping over the nest and breaking branches. Needless to say we didn't refill the bird feeder.

What a beautiful little miracle to have observed as a family!

Birthday Girl

Frankie enthusiastically helped bake, frost and decorate her cake. I expect in two years she'll be doing everyone's cakes ...(wishful thinking?) :)

Can you tell these girls are related?

Frankie is the manang of the house. In Filipino culture, the manang is the oldest sister, and I get the sense that when manang says to do something, the younger siblings better obey; she's the alpha-dog. She's also blessed to have been born at a time of year when flowers are blooming, temperatures are warming up, and everyone is in the mood for a barbecue. We had a lovely afternoon of games, a piñata, group karaoke (to Frozen of course), pin the tale on Bonnie, and good food. Jackson even got a haircut from Uncle Dave.  What a gift to have grandparents, aunts, and cousins (and a nice neighbor friend) so close by to celebrate- thanks everyone! Her real birthday is on Wednesday, so we'll try to extend the birthday party energy til then, which won't be hard with balloons and decorations around the house. Happy birthday manang!