First day of school

A couple of days before the Mister's first day of school EVER (except for preschool) he came down with a fever.  He said he didn't feel sick but he sat on the couch all day and didn't eat much so I knew he was sick.  Plus, well, the thermometer doesn't lie.  I prayed and prayed that his fever would break in time that he could go to school, but it didn't.  So, the night before I had to e-mail his teacher and tell her he wouldn't be there and break the news to him that I thought he needed to stay home for one more day.  His fever broke over night.  He woke up the next morning and promptly threw-up (probably from not eating anything but popsicles for 36 hours) and then was fine the rest of the day.  I tried to pull-off some sort of half baked homeschool scenario, but mostly we spent the day cuddling and playing and I was happy to have my baby all to myself for one last day. He grew up way too fast.

The next day, the real second day of school, but his first day, we met our neighbors in front of the school like we were supposed to on the real first day and then the whole family walked him to class carrying all kinds of school supplies that everyone else had already brought because they didn't miss the first day. And we even made him pose for first day of school pictures.  It was only a little awkward but his teachers were nice and very understanding, and we tried to get out of there as quickly as possible.

Racing

We signed the kids up for the Splash n' Dash again this year.  They actually held three separate events this summer and the one closest to our house was one day after Baby Sister's third birthday so she got to participate too.

Both kids got a medal when they finished.  It was a lot of fun for all of us until the end when we made the decision to stay for the award ceremony. You see, additional medals were given out for each age group. There were only two three year olds that participated, so naturally, Baby Sister got another medal (she was the youngest contestant). Well, that made the Mister pretty upset and he cried all the way to the car.  Can you say sore loser?  The whole thing was that he just wanted her medal, he didn't really care if he won the race or not - actually he thinks he won anyway.

Here are some non-crying pictures :)

 



 

My big, little babies...

...or little big babies, whichever seems most fitting.

We had a fun birthday season this year.  The Mister turned five and Baby Sister (not a baby anymore but I still like the nickname) turned three.  They were both old enough to anticipate and get excited about their birthdays and their birthday party.


Some thoughts on being FIVE:

 

When the Mister grows up he wants to be a spy, and go to spy college, obviously.

His favorite color is blue...and red.

His favorite superheroes are Superman and Sonic the Hedgehog (if he is actually a superhero)

His favorite thing to do inside is build a fort.

Favorite thing to do outside is play Frisbee (but I really think it is swimming)

His best friends are Dallin, Myah, Benjamin, Nate, and Jackson.

The best thing about being five is riding his new (two wheel) scooter.

He is really looking forward to kindergarten, especially lego club but he is sad he can't ride the bus.

Something the Mister can do now that he is five that he couldn't do before is sit on the rings on the swingset and do tricks.

I love watching the Mister grow and make new friends and get excited for school and make more new friends there.  He is learning so much all the time and usually takes his responsibilities very seriously.  He likes to do things the right way and gets frustrated when he can't or when it takes longer than he thinks it should - like when he's writing or sounding out a new word.  He is becoming such a good helper to me and Baby Sister.  I love that he wakes up right now and pretty much gets himself ready for school.  One day I got him a new Transformer backpack.  He was so excited he slept with it that night.  The next morning he met me in the dark hallway as I was going to get him up for school.  Eyes half-closed I told him he needed to get dressed for school.  He told me he already was and when I opened my eyes I realize that he was already dressed and had his backpack on ready to go.  He had even helped Baby Sister get dressed too :)


Some thoughts on being THREE:

When Baby Sister grows up she wants to be a "space police gorilla".  I think she meant girl.

Her favorite colors are pink and purple, obviously.

Her favorite show is Blues Clues.

Her favorite thing to do inside is play hide and seek (which is awesome because she just hides under a blanket right next to me every time.  She doesn't even care if she is completely covered as long as she can't see me she thinks she is hidden).

Her favorite thing to do outside is play hopscotch - even though she doesn't follow the rules AT. ALL.

Her best friends are Grayson and Hunter (ps Hunter is ten and sooo cute with her).

The best thing about being three is "balance beaming by myself".

Something Baby Sister can do now that she is three that she couldn't do before is ride on the zipline.  There was a zipline at the campsite we went to (see future post).  Mister really, really wanted to try it and so we let him. Then Sister got brave and wanted to try it too.  Well, it went way to fast and was too high for me to feel comfortable letting her go by herself so she rode on my lap. She LOVED it.  My cute, brave, little girl :)

Baby Sister is giving me a run for my money.  She can go from happy to sad in a split second.  When she is happy she is sooo happy, and her tantrums can be truly epic.  I guess this is what they call the terrible twos, and even more terrible threes.  Luckily, almost all of my friends with little girls can relate and we get together to commiserate. We are in trouble when she is a teenager.  I suppose the hardest part is not knowing what might set her off.  Lately, well actually not lately, for the last year and a half she has been pretty keen on dressing herself.  I guess it's only lately that I have really let her take full responsibility for it.  This is a blessing and a curse (like each milestone a child reaches - I couldn't wait for the Mister to talk so I would know what he wanted and he has not stopped since).  It is a blessing because it is one less chore that I have to worry about and a curse because she has a mind of her own and will not listen to reason, or the weatherman, if you try to change her mind.  And if I tell her that it is too cold to wear a sleeveless shirt she will just put another sleeveless shirt on top of it so that "she can be warm".  Some days she will want to wear the exact same outfit as the previous day.  And some days she will change five times.  Baby Sister has always been really good at pronunciation but my favorite thing is when she uses the wrong word.  Such as "monsters" for lobsters - or even better - mobsters.  Once she kept asking me for her "slicey".  It took me awhile to realize she meant her Sonic slushy.  And when she gallops across the room she says "gallon".

Under the Big Top

This year I did a joint birthday party for the kids.  It's one of the advantages of them having a birthday within one week of each other.  Last year, I found some circus themed party decorations on clearance at Target.  I decided then what the theme would be for this year.  I don't think that decision saved me any time or money because it took quite a bit of convincing (mostly Little Mister) that the theme would be fun and that it was ok for them to have it together.  In the end I think they both really liked it but I also had a separate play date for each of them and the Mister insisted on cupcakes with the theme of his choosing - which was really Ninja Turtles but we settled on Toy Story because that is what we found.  My days of choosing what kind of birthday parties to throw are quickly coming to an end :(

It ended up being quite a big party.  Being in the middle of summer and with vacations and all I figured maybe a little more than half of the invited guests would be able to attend.  Well, it turned out that all but a few made it.  And I'm really glad that so many people could come but it was a little stressful.  Luckily I had planned an outdoor sprinkler party that wasn't all circus related but it was fun, and easy and the decorations were circus so that was good enough.

I used a pinterest idea and used plastic tablecloths to fashion a "big top tent" under our deck.  Everyone got a clown nose to take home in addition to their goody bag.  Here are a few pictures of the event:

 

Decorations wise, this may have been my favorite party so far.  (The super-hero party from last year was probably my all time favorite because it was small and personal, and let's face it, adorable).  But somehow I think I over-do it and under-do it at the same time.  I'm not sure how that is possible, except that it is.  Had I been a better planner I would have had some games - but with 25 kids of varying ages it seemed nearly impossible to organize games that everyone would want to play and it seemed like a lot of work.  Or maybe a balloon artist.  And I probably went overboard on the food...we had popcorn and popsicles and candy and nachos for snacks, then sandwiches and wraps and fruit and veggies for lunch.  We had way too many leftovers. Anyway, I think the kids had a good time and really, that is all that matters. 

 

I love birthdays and making them a big deal.  And I love throwing birthday parties, both big ones and little ones, to let my babies know how special I think they are.