Christmas in October

Well....it's getting to be that time of the year...my own personal Christmas in October......my daughter, one of my sons and husbands birthday are all within days of each other starting on the first.....almost as soon as school starts my thoughts turn to their birthdays....gift ideas, party ideas/themes/inivitations/treat bags/cake/menus......I have always loved making them special......not overly extravagant......just Martha Stewart-like.....this is the first year my daughter won't be having a family birthday party....we have a family rule that the cut off age is 12 years.......so Cubby will have the party to himself this year.....and he can't wait!!!......he has already started his birthday wish list with trips up and down the toy aisle at Target and Walmart....he makes sure I write everything down with my black Sharpie marker I always keep in my purse....I try sooo hard not to be a control freak about the whole thing.......and luckily he pretty much has given me free reign this year......I'm also letting my daughter have a party with a few friends from school........she has only had three....with such a big family one party is usually enough....but they are coming over to make jewelry, watch movies and have dinner and cake in the dining room.......she is sooo excited!!.....and so am I!!......I am suprising her with a book that I'm making for her.....all of my wishes for her.....I've chosen several pictures to include in it and it has been very hard emotionally.......going through 12 years of pictures of her growing up.....so many memories......it feels like yesterday that we had the Barbie birthday party!!.....every year on their birthdays I take a picture of them.......Micaela in my jean jacket....Parker in my husbands winter snow boots...his birthday is in January....and Cubby in my husbands big flannel jacket........I really thought is was a great idea when I started it......I just never imagined how sad I would be to see them actually starting to fit in them!!!!