Micah has been asking Grandma & Poppa Moldy to come over and make sauerkraut at his house ("Grandma, in October, you can bring Poppa and come to my house to make sauerkraut!"). So it was appropriate to combine that with his birthday for the Moldy side of the family last weekend. We started with 63 heads of cabbage (well, actually 62.5 since we decided to make okonomiyaki with half of one last week).
And Micah helped to prepare his birthday cake. It was an ice cream cake, per his request. He chose the candy to go on to (Reese's peanut butter cups) and helped to put the chocolate on the top.
Micah loved helping Poppa use the stomper (this was challenging to get a photo, since he was constantly in motion!).
Even Henry got in on the action - helping Mommy use the stomper to press down the sauerkraut and salt (coarse kosher salt, measured very scientifically, by the handful).
Miss Jan was on hand to learn how to do this as well. She brought her own shredded cabbage and crocks to learn the process (she used to do this when she was a kid - but had to press down the cabbage and salt with her knuckles back then!).
Although he missed the start of the process, Great Poppa Schmidt did make it in time to help out. He is the sauerkraut master and always knows just how to do it right. We filled a 20 gallon and 10 gallon crock (the two in the background) with our 62.5 heads of cabbage. Miss Jan also filled two smaller crocks with her 10 large cabbages. It was a productive day! We were also thankful to see Uncle Randy & Aunt Marilyn (who brought Great Poppa Schmidt down from Bay City). And Uncle Andy came to celebrate with us as well.
After sauerkraut we sat down to a meal chosen by the birthday boy - grilled cheese (with a gourmet version for the adults). And, of course, birthday ice cream cake for dessert. Micah carefully chose the position of the three candles on his cake.
He sat with a big smile while we sang, "Happy Birthday," then got to blow the candles out ("Can I blow them out all by myself?!"). What a happy day! And, perhaps the best part, the presents included three packs of underwear!
Recently, we talked about the difference between a big kid and a little kid. Our collective definition included: wearing big boy underwear, sharing, teaching smaller kids, being able to speak English (instead of baby talk), and being a good helper. Micah is getting lots of practice at being a good helper now that he's three!
And here's a video of the sauerkraut makers in action...
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