Build A Bearthday Party (Heehee)

Soren's friends met us at Build-a-Bear to help celebrate the momentous occasion. 

We got there a little early. 

Soren was anxious for the doors to open.

It was lots of fun to watch everyone make a new little buddy and the party leader did a great job of shepherding everyone through the process.  

You know how they have those little cloth hearts that you make a wish on and stuff inside before they sew up your stuffed animal? When we got to that part, each guest got a small heart to make a special wish for Soren. Rick and I gave a little kiss to our small hearts.  Then the party leader put all the small hearts inside a heart-shaped pouch to put inside the Minion Soren made. 

That was a very sweet touch I thought. 

We moved out onto the Easton patio to open gifts

and share cupcakes.  

Because Sour Patch Kids are Soren's favorite candy, I was so excited to find the recipe for Sour Patch cupcakes on Pinterest. They turned out so pretty. 

But the taste elicited reactions like this 

and this.

But Will's friend, Drew, saved the day when he said, 

"Don't worry, my mom makes worse cupcakes." 

Thanks, Drew.

We rounded out the rich, full day with a screening of the Minion Movie in 3D. 

Phew! So much fun!

Caught in the Act

August 1st was a beautiful day filled with many surprises.

Soren and Will caught in the act of snuggling

(I wouldn't have believed if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes)

Soren caught in the act of pumping his legs on the swing 

(I honestly thought he still needed me to push him- 

mom is a sucker)

Soren caught in the act of being good for a haircut

(he's come along way)

Soren caught in the act of turning 6!

Happy Birthday to our sweet, sweet boy!

We love you, you little stinker!

Operation Pink Flamingo

Rick turned 57 this year so I knew we had to celebrate in a big way.  

I will be eternally grateful to my friend, Angie, and her family who let me deliver 57 pink flamingos to their house

which they then assembled

packed them up in the trunk of their car

and delivered to our house under the cover of darkness so that Rick could awaken to a crazy pink surprise!  

He was tickled pink (heehee) and all the flamingoes are still in the yard

It looks like a regular Queen of Hearts Garden Party around here.

What?!

Yes, William turned 9.

We celebrated on Christmas Eve with cake and presents.

I have always maintained that Will is an old soul.  He frequently wears a pocket watch. When we go out to eat, he orders chicken breast with a vegetable and water.  He has gotten in the habit of drinking a cup of herbal tea before bed.

Now picture Will on the beach wearing socks and sandals and a floppy sun hat searching for lost treasure with his new metal detector.

He also got a new tea infuser for his herbal tea and a tried and true classic game.

Happy Birthday, old man!

We love you!

Blogger Catch Up- Soren is 5!

While we were distracted, Soren managed to somehow get another year older.  How could he possibly be 5 already?  He'll tell you himself it's true.

We celebrated the day by living it up at Zoombeezi Bay.  

They just happened to be showing Soren's all time favorite movie that night at the 'Dive-In Theater', so we stayed to watch the Lego Movie.

Then it was home for presents 

(many of them Lego oriented)

and (what else) Lego cake!

Happy Birthday, Sweet Soren Bird! 

Please don't grow up so fast!

Blogger Catch Up- First Communion

Will and his second grade classmates made their First Communion.  It was a very special day.  Will carried an olive wood rosary that had been blessed by Pope John Paul II which my mother had given to Rick when he became a Catholic and he wore a pin that my brother had worn when he made his First Communion.

I love that my children go to catholic school.  I love the small, nurturing community and I love that they are a part of the same traditions that I grew up with.  

The memories I have of my First Communion are that my mother made my dress and that when they handed me the chalice of wine there was only a tiny little bit of wine in the bottom so I had to tip the cup way up to get a sip and it looked like I was guzzling all the communion wine at the tender age of 8.  

Thankfully nobody guzzled the wine at this year's St Mary School First Communion.

Holiday Mix Up

Grandma and Grandpa arrived for Christmas with prefab gingerbread house components and a big bag of candy.  We got our holiday going with a quasi-Amish style barn raising (in the form of a gingerbread house) and seemingly all day flurry of eating candy and sticking some on the gingerbread house and eating more candy. What fun!

Thanks once again to the Hagerstown Police Department, Uncle Ed was able to come to Columbus for Christmas but had to leave early Christmas morning to get back for work.  So we called in a favor from Santa who delightfully agreed to bring presents Christmas Eve morning (truthfully he was probably happy to have one fewer house to visit that night).  

I have to admit this arrangement worked out pretty well.  The Smiley Family Wrapping Paper Ripping Extravaganza lasted most of Christmas Eve day.  We went to the Christmas Eve Children's Mass at St. Mary's (where we had a reserved front row pew thanks to a couple of glasses of wine and my awesome bidding skills at the school fundraising silent auction last winter).  We came home and had a lovely Christmas Dinner.

Our Christmas Day started out with birthday pie (we were too stuffed after Christmas dinner to eat dessert) and birthday presents. 

 Will got an antique adding machine from Grandma and Grandpa that was really cool and gave him the chance to quiz everyone on their math skills for the rest of the day.

Then we waved goodbye to Uncle Ed and spent a tranquil day playing with our new toys and celebrating the fact that 

WILL IS 8!

Happy Birthday, My Sweet Boy!

 

Mmmmmm Men Fry Turkey

My brother, Ed, is a police officer in Maryland and he had to work on Thanksgiving Day.  

So, while other people were tazing each other in the aisles of WalMart on Black Friday, we were having our Thanksgiving.  Ed had his heart set on frying a turkey so the men of the family pretty much handled the main course of our Thanksgiving feast.  

They seemed to enjoy bonding over beers and boiling oil in the backyard.

I'm going to call fried turkey a success.  It smelled like potato chips and tasted (to quote Soren) 
Too Licious!

Random Pumpkin Love

Some random pictures from our Halloween season

It's a Bird! It's a Plane!

Will's half birthday was followed quickly by Soren's actual birthday.  For this celebration we opted for a more traditional cookout party at the very lovely Homestead Park.  It was supposed to be a rainy day so I had packed up tons of art and activity supplies in case we were trapped under the pavilion, but it turned out to be a lovely day so kids could be turned loose to run around the playground.  Yay!

At a silent auction back in January, I won the services of a children's party entertainer called Mackee.  I was a little put off by our communications before the party, but I have to say that he showed up and was absolutely brilliant.  He performed a very funny magic/comedy act with his bunny assistant, Puffer

and capped it off with balloon animals for each child.

We reserved the pavilion for the whole day, so even after the guests went home we stayed and enjoyed the beautiful day, explored the park and amused ourselves with some of the rainy day craft supplies.

Happy 4th Birthday, Darling SorenBird!

  

Christmas in July

Christmas in July has become a destination event.  

I'm a big fan of parties where you can show up, turn kids loose to have fun, and let someone else serve refreshments and clean up.  

This year it was Sky Zone, an indoor trampoline park that initially sounded to me like a recipe for arm casts and trips to the emergency dental clinic, but in reality turned out to be a pretty fun place where kids jumped 

and jumped 

and jumped.

And refueled with pizza and red & green cupcakes and.. 

candy! 

(oh well, maybe that is a recipe for a trip to the emergency dental clinic after all, but you're only 7 1/2 once)

Crafting Skills Save the Day

My beautiful friend, Eleni, got married over Memorial Day weekend.  It was literally a big, fat, Greek wedding.  She asked me to be one of her 13 (yes, 13!) bridesmaids.  

We were gathered at the church helping her get ready and herding the flower girls and hunting up the programs that had supposedly been delivered to the church earlier that day, when Eleni's mom came out of the dressing room and said that there was a bow on the back of Eleni's dress and who could tie the perfect little bow?

I have only Mary Elliott to thank for teaching me how to tie the perfect little bow.  

Crafting skills to the rescue!