M's 4th Birthday Party

We had over forty people at our house for M's 4th birthday party.  We don't usually see that kind of crowd unless my husband's family is visiting!  We had a great time.

We started out with a monkey craft, thanks very much to Uncle M's friend M for prepping that craft - it was a huge hit:

Then we began our Dora adventure.  We had to swing through the jungle vines (jump ropes), then cross the river (blue paper), then go through the hoola hoop maze to find our "backpacks"

Friend F, crossing the river.

Fourteen children attended our party and participated in the events!  Wow - I didn't know we knew that many children!  We had great representation from all of the various social groups that Mary has - school, two day cares, random kids of mom and dad's friends, etc.

Swiper the Fox paid the group a visit, trying to swipe our backpacks!  But we told him "Swiper, no swiping!"  Uncle S was a good sport, even though he didn't want to fill this role.  He fulfilled his god-fatherly duty.

C gets his turn to be Swiper The Fox.

Once our backpacks were decorated, we proceeded to collect prizes out of buckets spread out around the yard:

Friend F claims his prize.

Lastly, we topped off our backpacks with the candy from the Dora pinata:

C takes a swing.

We were all exhausted at the end of the night.  But my little girl had a great time:

My little girl is growing up!

~

Fantastic Farm

We went out to Ashmore, IL to celebrate our friend A's 2nd birthday.  The highlight was the pony that A got for her birthday from her grandma.

Me and the kids on an ATV ride!

I'd never seen the smile on C's face so big as it was when he was ridin' on the pony.  The pony's name is Crackerjack.

C loved playing catch with the birthday girl!

We needed some fresh air in the country (after the morning we had!), and the kids had a blast.

~

No Regrets?

After a particularly difficult morning, which included a forty minute power struggle/argument about lids on cups, both my husband and I were pretty fed up.  We continued with our busy Saturday as best we could, getting the kids ready to run some errands.  M carried on about the cups, even stating that if four-year-olds are too big for cup lids, then she "didn't want to be four anymore!"  So there.

Finally, as we loaded the kids into the car, M questioned Daddy, in a how-do-you-like-me-now sort of way:

"Why did you have children!?"

Sometimes I wonder that myself, my dear...

~

Birthday Girl

Four years ago you were born!  My precious little bundle of joy.  You were the prettiest most perfect creation I had ever witnessed - and you still are today, four years later.  I love you, darling. 

Proud Mama in the recovery room.

Meeting Roscoe for the first time.

Daddy snapped this shot when you were less than an hour old.

Also, since last year's birthday was before I started this blog, I wanted to throw in my favorite picture of her 3rd birthday.  Her birthday party is this coming Tuesday, so I'll do a seperate post about that.

 


Happy Birthday, Babers!  ♥

~

Clever Girl

"I want to watch one episode of Sponge Bob..."

Things I never thought I'd year my three-year-old say:

"...on the Xbox!"  (we have Netflix instant streaming)

~

King of the Mountain

Photos of the kids playing on Aunt D and Uncle S's sand pile.  Sand is for their super-secret beach plans.  M learned its a lot easier to get off of the pile than it is to climb up!

Ever wondered what ten tons of sand looks like?

~

First Harvest: Cucumbers!

Since last Saturday, we have picked more than 20 cucumbers already!  There are at least a hundred more flowers too - Yay!  We are loving the garden this year.  We also have some basil, a sunflower, and lots of marigolds growing strong.

~

Boom, Boom, Boom!

My husband has been out of town all weekend to help his brother in Omaha.  While we miss him dearly, it didnt stop us from making the best of our holiday weekend.  Aunt E and Uncle S brought cousin Baby A to town for the holiday, and we had a wonderful visit.

Dressed up for the parade!

C's ready for a hot day of fun!

Lounging in the grass, waiting for the fireworks to start.

M got her nails painted red for the occasion.

C wanders in the grass.

C got hold of the camera and took this picture of Mama.

He also took about fifty pictures that looked like this:

Boom!  Splendid fireworks show.  Both kids loved it.  As soon as it was over, C started asking, "Moe?  Moe?"

~

First Time for Everything: Movie!

Aunt D and Uncle S took M to see her first big-screen movie this weekend: Toy Story 3!

While she may not have enjoyed the movie entirely (the teddy bear was a little "scary"), she did enjoy seeing the familiar characters Woody and Buzz, and she also "liked the princess."

We were afraid she would be scared when the lights went out - but she told me she didn't even notice.  She got popcorn and candy and fruit punch.  And we all went out for ice cream after the show.  Whoo!  Here's to a great movie-going experience!

~

Shopoholics

At our local County Market store, they have some kid's carts at the front of the store.  M always asks to use one, but they only have two, and usually they are both being used.  This time, however, they were both there!  M went straight towards them to grab one, and I could see the look in C's eye that said "I want one too!"

Ready to shop!

Can I carry that in my cart?

Push, push, push.

Happy shoppers!

~

First Harvest: Tomatoes!

M harvested our first five delectible cherry tomatoes from the garden. Yum Yum!

It was great, because our garden is so dense, she was able to squeeze in between the branches to snatch them up - its nice to have an itty bitty agile person around!

~

Sick is no fun - but is sure can be cute

Both kids were sick last week, but mostly my poor sweet C.  He had a high fever most of the week, and was pretty well zonked most of the time.  I had to take him to the doctor twice.

But here a couple of pictures of my sweet little sick baby:

waiting at the doctor's office.

zonked on the couch.
















This was the "I need to be picked up, Mom" picture that K, the day care lady, sent me on Friday morning.

Luckily he is feeling much better, and has been back to his normal self since Saturday.

~

Rain Glasses

"Mommy, these are not sun glasses, these are rain glasses!"  M said sort of randomly in the car.

"Why is that?" I asked in response.

"Because they can't be sun glasses - when I look at the sun I start sneezing!"

~

Blueberries!

Two weeks ago, we travelled to Pontious Farm, a U-Pick berry and herb farm in White Heath, IL.  We had such a great experience, I just had to blog about it.

The kids spent much of their time playing on the playground, and saying hello to the animals - namely cats and llamas.  The llamas were especially fun as M got to walk a llama on a leash, and we all spent time giving the llamas eskimo kisses!

But the best part was picking blueberries!  Both the kids are huge fruit fanatics, especially when it comes to blueberries.  C was hilarious, picking them right off the bush, and stuffing his cheeks full like a squirrel packing it in for winter:

Pick.

Inspect.

Taste.

Repeat!

Yummy.

Pick the berries one-at-a-time.  Eat the berries one-handful-at-a-time!

We joked that we should have weighed him before and after we went berry-picking, so that we could have accurately paid them for what we took home!  The boy had blue poop for two days!

M had fun too - and was at the perfect eye-level to pick the ripe, juicy berries on the bottom of the bush.  She bragged about walking the llama for a week!

~