So, when the morning of James' party rolled around, I was concerned that we would get our 26th straight day of rain. Considering that the evening before we had a torrential thunderstorm, 20 minutes of golf-ball sized hail and lost power right in the middle of my food preparations (homemade potato salad, coleslaw and the dinosaur cake) it wouldn't have been crazy to expect rain.
But--we were lucky and the sun came out in full force to shine down on James' special day.
We picked up a ton of balloons right before the party and James was very excited to hold a bunch of them--I think he thought he was going to float off into the sky!
Here is my beautiful Ella with my handsome hubby.
Our big gift to James this year? A bouncy house! Check out his tongue--HYSTERICAL!
Here is his little friend Colin--he was such a sweetie and the boys played ALL AFTERNOON. Look at James' feet on the right of the pic above--another funny one! Gotta love that sport shot setting on my camera!
We set up a pack and play in the shade next to the bouncy house so that Ella could see all of the fun--I think she really wanted to play with the big kids!
James had such a blast in the bouncy house--I love his huge smile in this photo.
Colin was funny--he would dive into the bouncy house, jump around, and them come hurling out of it and down the slide, and then run to Baby Ella and kiss her, or touch her face or hold her hands. It was a little game they were playing!
The bean bag toss is always a hit! An old friend of Chris' came down with his son for the party. I hadn't seen them in YEARS and it was so fun to reconnect!
A dinosaur must have visited during the party when no one was looking, because these huge tracks led all the way down the sidewalk right up to the door!
We let a couple of balloons go for the kids (crossing our fingers that no birds would be harmed) and I snapped this shot of my sister-in-law and her son Matthew. Adorable!
Here are my friends Tara (on the left) and Stacey (on the right). I met Tara in 1994 when we were both working in regional theatre and she has been a steadfast friend ever since. She flew out to Vegas to help me back with the kiddos! And Stacey and I worked together when I got my first "corporate" job ten years ago. I missed them terribly when I moved to Vegas--and when we moved back it was like the five years had never happened and we fell right into our old ways again. It has been such a pleasure to know them--authentic, honest, sweet and funny--I love them both dearly.
Cake? Did somebody say cake? Yes, I made this dinosaur cake. You can get the instructional video here. For a good laugh, you should watch it--the cake decorator ices it in about 30 seconds. IT TOOK ME AN HOUR. Seriously. Next time I will leave the cake making to the experts, like my friend Katie, who made James' first birthday cake!
What a great day. Thanks to our friends and the weather--James' party was PERFECT.
Monday, June 29, 2009
A Great Day for a Birthday Party
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Happy 3rd Birthday James!
My, how time flies.
* * * * * *
Dear James,
You are enchanted with the outdoors, and all things boy--
playing in the dirt, riding your "motorcyle"
watching caterpillars and chasing dragonflys.
Your favorite things to eat are anything
from Shady Glen or Fat Boys or Augie and Rays--
(and let's not forget the doughnuts!)
You love books and our storytime together,
learning new words and phrases,
What boy your age says "Certainly so!"
You may stomp at her for playing with your toys,
but as you say it,
"Baby Sister Ella is my BEST friend."
Your Dad is your hero, teaching you about tools,
and hard work, and inspiring in you a love of old cars.
I watch you look at him with such a look of
adoration that it melts my heart.
Every night no matter what
we have our special time together, reading books
and taking an adventure (or two, or three) before bedtime.
I get to cuddle you every word along the way,
just like I did when you were a baby.
You have a glow about you that turns any gray day sunny.
We are so lucky to know you, and love you,
and share you with the world.
We love you,
Mommy, Daddy & Baby Sister Ella
Happy Birthday James!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Dinosaur ROAR!
So, we are doing all things dinosaur this week for crafts.
Today we made two crafty dinosaurs that we will be hanging as decorations for the party.
I downloaded a template for the first dinosaur from the All Kids Network here.
Next he applied little pom poms to the spots.
We added a googly eye and then started the next one!
(I guess I have been staring at a lot of dinosaurs lately, since James is so obsessed!)
Next he colored it in,
Then we added another googly eye.
(Something about these eyes makes him laugh like crazy!)
After they dry we will cut them out and hang them as decorations
for our little birthday party!
Monday, June 22, 2009
Father's Day Weekend in Maine
We headed to Maine to spend Father's Day Weekend with my Dad. It was GREAT. Chris suggested that when I post the photos I ask James to narrate. His comments are in italics.
Grandpa and Jamesy picking strawberries!
We picked 11 strawberries.
I am holding a really big strawberry! I ate it and vanilla ice ream.
Here are honking geese that are eating bushes!
That's Jamesy with flowers and holding a nectarine. (I don't see a nectarine in this picture, but O.K.!)
Some flowers from around the house:
Strawberries! (As you can see, there are more than 11 here.) We ate them over Gifford's vanilla ice cream. James even had seconds!
Playing baseball and then going to the tractors. (Don't you love the goose in the background, getting right in on the game?)
More flowers. I think Dad said the Daisies are Buckeyes? I'll have to check.
Here is Dad on Saturday evening before we headed to the hotel, bringing Gaby the Goose right into the car to say goodbye to James! (Is that a riot, or what!! I LOVE MY DAD.)
Daddy and Baby Sister! I really love this photo--there was a very, very light misty rain coming down and the little droplets were collecting in Ella's eyelashes. She was blinking ever so sweetly.
Jamesy riding a tractor! The tractor was out of the barn getting worked on. It seemed much larger than before!
You feed a horse with your hand out. Dad was showing James how to hold his hand out flat. That will be a lesson that could stand some repeating!
Jamesy riding on Flash like a cowboy! Yes, here he is riding alone. My heart was in my throat, but Flash is a very good and patient boy. Dad showed James how to hold on to Flash's mane and he did great!
Aw it's Grandpa and Mommy.
Flash! Isn't he gorgeous? Sonny Boy is getting older, and was a little camera shy.
Baby Sister and Daddy! Chris was asking her if there was butter on her chin. LOVE THAT!
I am riding in Grandpa's car like a big boy! Mmmmm . . . yup. Its a tradition when we go see the horses--they are a little ways down the road and since it was raining we drove.
I hope everyone had a great weekend!
Friday, June 12, 2009
A is for Alligator
We did the letter A yesterday.
Materials:
scissors
markers
card stock
cardboard
colored or scrapbooking paper
googly eye
gluestick
tape
When we craft I try to reuse materials so that my out-of-pocket expenses are minimal.
James' grandpaw sent him a book in the mail the other day and
the cardboard that he packaged it in was perfect for this idea.
First I drew an A about 5" high on bright yellow cardstock and cut it out. I asked James if he thought the alligator should be eating the A and he said yes and got very excited.
Next I free handed an alligator shape on the cardboard.
I let James go to town on the alligator with a glue stick.
Next, he placed little triangles that I had cut out of scrapbook paper all over the alligator.
Then he glued on a googley eye, and pasted the A in the alligator's mouth.
A few final artistic flourishes,
and VOILA!
Hmmm . . what shall the B be for?
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
More Like Chris? Or More Like Me--You Decide!
I have been wanting to get Ella a toy that James had when he was her age--a Leapfrog Musical table, because as you can tell from the previous post, she is at the stage where she is pulling up and standing. I bought one for her today, brought it home, put it together, and within seconds she was standing at it, having a grand old time.
I snapped some pics and then somewhere, waaaaaaaay back in my mind I remembered taking similar pics of James.
Hmmm, I wondered, how old was he when I took those photos, and where are they? Well, thanks to a VERY organized husband, within minutes I found the pictures I had been thinking of. The picture of James was taken in March, 2007--so they were both about 9 months old when they started to pull to stand.
Now, I can absolutely, emphatically say what I have been thinking for months: These two don't look ANYTHING alike! Maybe the hair, maybe the noses, but not much else. So here is the question. Which child looks more like Chris, and which looks more like me? (You can click on the photo collage to make it bigger.)
I realize that many of my readers haven't met either Chris or I in person so maybe this is all for naught, but I am curious to know what you all think.
Whatever the result of this unofficial voting result may be, can I just say--these kids are SOOOOOOOO CUTE!
