A birthday celebration...

My dad turns 64 today and we had a little get-together to celebrate it yesterday.  I don't think I know a single adult who enjoys their birthday as much as my dad, Jon.  I guess it's from his illnesses, that he realises that each year is one more to celebrate and we're all happy to indulge him.  The kids love it and Jake was really thrilled to see Corky for dinner, especially during exam time.  The two of them sat chatting away on the front stoep for ages.
  It's lovely how well they get on these days...

 Stinky Binky was there too - the little rose amongst all the thorns.  She's too cute for words and apparently told Jo last night after they'd left that Sue was her girlfriend, friend and twin - she suddenly clicked that we share a birthday.  Very cute, but the best role I have is being her auntie...

 I had a canvas print done for my parents a while ago of the grandchildren.  Bi was probably only 7 months old and she's got hardly any hair and of course, Rylee wasn't around yet.  I had hoped to catch a snap to update it for my mom for Christmas, but my gogga (Rylee) was tired and between Jake, Corky and Stinky Binky, it's quite difficult to get them all to look at me without pulling funny faces and I've since realised that the sunny wall in the background just wasn't great...

 Corky was probably the cutest yesterday, I have to say.  He insisted on wearing his shirt and tie, with black pants and looked too cute for words.  He spent a lot of time thinking about what he could give Pa for his birthday and came up with lots of great ideas - like a wig, since my dad doesn't have much hair left.  He eventually, very thoughtfully, settled on a Mecano set, which he'll have to help Pa build, because Pa's eyes aren't very good...

 

 Yep, definitely a good choice... birthday presents for me on your birthday too.  Smart boy...

 Pa was very touched...

 Despite having a house full of visitors, Pa took time to enjoy his grandchildren too...

 Bi wasn't too happy about having to share her swing (myyyy swing), because she wanted to go HIGH...

 Another attempt to get all 4 kids looking great, now I'm just not sure about the boring wall behind them...

 Jake's pretty much learned the drill... look at me and smile.  Don't move...

But Auntie Rosie was trying so hard to get Rylee to smile, it was very distracting...

Despite the fact that half of them aren't looking at me, this is probably my favourite...

 or this... any comments?  

 Bibi waiting for Pa to blow out the candles, so that she can have some pudding...

 Hahaha - Corky's very funny with the camera at the moment... he's always pulling faces...

 Cake time...

 Rylee helping Pa blow out the candles...

 Nini with Gogga and Stinky Binky...

 Oh gosh... four kids and a granny, to get them all to just keep their eyes open was a challenge...

 Like I said, my dad likes a party.  He likes to have the stage and be able to have his say for 5 minutes (or 10)...

the kids all sat very quietly...

 And then surprise surprise, Jon whipped out his guitar and sang a couple of numbers...

 Rylee is loving having his hair cut at the moment.  I'm not sure how many of you know that my mom is a hairdresser...  she has worked from home for years, from this bathroom.  At the moment, Rylee gets his hair cut about 4 times a day.  This was already his second cut for the evening...

 He's so good and has such gorgeous hair...

 Of course, Nini indulges him the whole way... she loves it as much as he does...

 Big blue eyes...

And when he realises that we're all watching him and telling him how good he is, that's when he's really happy...

Just before we left, one snap of Pa with the kids... Gogga was already sound asleep... 

 Happy birthday, Dad!  Here's to many more!  Looking forward to my leftovers for supper tonight!

Love, Sue XXX