Picture Day, put on your fancy pants!!

Today is picture day at school!  Originally, I had a sweater picked out for Jake that coordinated with the colors in Liam's button down shirt that I planned for him to wear.  Those plans went out the window when Jake saw them and said, "Oh no, mommy...that's not going to work.  For picture day at school, I have to wear something really fancy!"  What qualifies as fancy to my 5 year old?  A clip-on tie (that was too small) and a button down shirt (that was too big)  :-)  How could I say no?? 

He requested that Liam wear a tie as well, but Liam's tie was green and they get their picture taken together, so I didn't want them to look like they were posing for a Christmas card.  I can't wait to see how these turn out!

Gwacie, bwankie.

Gracie was snoozing away in her bed this morning (she's on a schedule where she is awake for approximately 15 minutes, then needs to settle in for her first morning nap); Liam noticed her there and said, "awww....Gwacie!  Seep (sleep).  Bwankie?" and looked at me.  I told him to go ahead and put the blanket on her; he proceeded to take about 2 minutes to spread it out juuuuuuuuust so.  I told him that was very nice and I'd like to take a picture:

After I took the picture, Liam came running over and said "Yeee-am (Liam), Gwacie, pee-chore" and plopped himself down in the next shot :)

I'm ready for kindergarten!

Jake came home from school with this book:

*GULP*

He may be ready, but I'm certainly not.

Our registration appointment is in early April; there's a good chance I'm going to need a valium and smelling salts by the time I'm done with the whole ordeal.

Hold me.

Sneaky Feet

I'll set the scene for you: I'm in the kitchen, stirring something on the stove, when all of a sudden I hear the shuffle of itty, bitty feet behind me.  I spin around and catch Liam headed right for the pantry, trying to steal snacks; I say his name, he squeals with delight, knowing he just got busted for something he knows he shouldn't be doing. 

What's that shuffle sound, you ask?  it's the sound of sneaky feet.  He uses them often, in situations just like I've described above, or for nearly anything else where he's getting into something he shouldn't be.  Here is a demo:

Ninja-like stealth, right? ;)

A day late, but Happy Valentine's Day!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!  We never do too much for Valentine's Day (especially when it falls on a weekday), but it was a nice day nonetheless.

Well, I wasn't able to sleep in, but I did get the next best thing from Brian---Reeses Cups and a bottle of my new favorite wine, pink moscato.  He knows the way to my heart is through a good combo of peanut butter and chocolate.


The kids were super excited for their party at school, which involved pizza, jello and strawberry milk.  When they woke up in the morning, they found their gifts from Brian & I on the kitchen table; Liam got a Little Einsteins book and Jake got a box of Cars chocolate.

Conversation with Jake on the way home from school yesterday:

Jake: Mommy, I have to tell you something...I'm sorry to say that you are not my valentine anymore.

Me: Oh yeah?  Who's the lucky girl who's taken my place??

Jake: It's Maddie.  She's my valentine.  At least, I think she is.

Last week's conversation about Maddie included this gem from Jake: "Mommy, I think Maddie might be my girlfriend.  Or maybe we're just friends.  I'm not actually sure what is happening!"

Young love.

Since the beginning of February, I had been doing a Pinterest inspired project; the original post called it a Heart Attack, and basically, you cover their bedroom door with hearts and write on each one a different reason why you love them.  I found the template for the hearts here and just printed the hearts on colored paper.  Every night, we taped a different heart to each door---the boys LOVED it!  Even Liam, who didn't really get it, was just excited to see new hearts every morning.  It was fun, we'll definitely do it again next year. 

The boys made us valentines at school that are adorable, but I forgot to snap a picture last night, so I'll be sure to post those soon.  Happy Friday!!!

Little again

Conversation in the car the other day: 

Jake: You know what guys?  I wish I was little.  I wish I was still a baby.

Me: Why is that?  Then you wouldn't be able to do fun big boy things!
 
Jake: Because if I were little like Liam, then I could be his best friend.  

*insert heart melting into a puddle here*  

Of course, we explained to Jake that they can certainly still be best friends, even if they aren't the same age.  And we would obviously love for that to be the case for them.  I can see them in the stands, cheering for each other on the field, or the stage, or wherever life takes them....then being each others best man in their weddings.  Silly to think so far ahead?  Probably.  But it's definitely on my mommy wish list.  

Book Review: The Baker's Daughter (Sarah McCoy)

The Baker's Daughter by Sarah McCoy

Quick description from Amazon: In 1945, Elsie Schmidt is a naive teenager, as eager for her first sip of champagne as she is for her first kiss. She and her family have been protected from the worst of the terror and desperation overtaking her country by a high-ranking Nazi who wishes to marry her. So when an escaped Jewish boy arrives on Elsie’s doorstep on Christmas Eve, Elsie understands that opening the door would put all she loves in danger.

Sixty years later, in El Paso, Texas, Reba Adams is trying to file a feel-good Christmas piece for the local magazine, and she sits down with the owner of Elsie's German Bakery for what she expects will be an easy interview. But Reba finds herself returning to the bakery again and again, anxious to find the heart of the story--a story that resonates with her own turbulent past. For Elsie, Reba’s questions are a stinging reminder of that last bleak year of WWII. As the two women's lives become intertwined, both are forced to confront the uncomfortable truths of the past and seek out the courage to forgive.

My review: loved this book!  I really enjoyed it, especially Elsie's half of the story.  It was a very fast read, and one that I didn't want to put down.  I would definitely recommend it!!

Up next: Starstruck by Lauren Conrad (yes, LC from The Hills.  Don't judge-I needed something fluffly after this last book!)  

School progress reports

Every few months, daycare sends home a progress report of sorts, detailing information about the kids development and what they've been working on in school.  I figured I'd share some quotes from the most recent reports for each of the kiddos:

Jake

Jake loves to play outside and in the playroom.  He can run, hop, kick a ball, and throw a ball very well.  He can walk around the balance beam completely unassisted.  He is able to manipulate scissors, pencils, and crayons well. 

Jake can write his name, recognize letters of the alphabet, and count past 20.  He is able to distinguish between letters and numbers, and can match numbers 1-10 to their corresponding sets.  He is a very hands-on learner, and understands concepts the most when he is actively engaged.

He is very social and loves to tell stories.  He is receptive to new people and situations.  He is a good friend to others, and is able to listen quietly when others are speaking.  He speaks in complete sentences and uses a variety of vocabulary words.  He's interested in new words and learning reading concepts, and he's beginning to be able to read small sight words.  He is an active listener to stories, and can then answer comprehension questions orally. 

Liam

Liam is able to go up and down stairs unassisted.  He is starting to walk and run with increased coordination, speed, and balance. He drives a push car by moving his feet.  Feeds himself with no problems.

He is able to wash his hands with adult help and completes other short tasks with assistance. Completes familiar puzzles on his own.  He enjoys music and uses body movements to respond.  Liam has a strong interest in art projects.  He is able to build a small tower with blocks and can imitate simple actions, gestures, and words.

Liam is very social, and plays very well with his peers for his age.  He smiles a lot and is very content.  He is able to make simple choices when presented with the opportunity, and actively responds to requests for action, such as clapping in songs.

Proud of my little guys!! :)
 

Recipe: Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti Casserole

I made this recipe for the 2nd time for Super Bowl Sunday, and it was a crowd-pleaser yet again!  The boys each gobbled up their first helping, and asked for more.   Recipe originally found on Pinterest, from the Plain Chicken blog.

Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti Casserole

12 oz spaghetti
1 (28 ounce) jars prepared spaghetti sauce
1 lb lean ground beef
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 clove garlic, minced
8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

• Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.

• In a skillet, brown the ground beef until cooked through; drain fat and stir in spaghetti sauce.  Set aside.

• Cook spaghetti according to directions on packet.  Drain and place cooked spaghetti in bowl.  Add cream cheese, Italian Seasoning and minced garlic.  Stir until cream cheese is melted and the spaghetti is thoroughly coated.

• Lightly grease a 9x13" pan.  Spread a small amount of meat sauce in the bottom of the dish.  Put spaghetti on top of sauce and top with remaining meat sauce.  Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top.

• Bake for 30 minutes, until bubbly.

Image courtesy of the Plain Chicken Blog

Jake's 5 year stats & checkup

Jake had his 5 year well visit shortly after his birthday, and all was well (bonus for him-no shots this time!) 

Height: 42.25 inches (35th percentile)
Weight: 39 pounds (37th percentile)

I think this is the first time ever that his weight has been a higher percentile than his height!  There for awhile, his weight was always near that percentile but his height was up in the 60-70th percentiles.  Maybe his growth will even out now, and his pants won't become flood water pants within just a few short months :)

Everything at the appointment looked great, he's right on track physically and developmentally.  We were able to get all of the forms he needs for kindergarten registration (GULP).  That process actually starts today; I have to call in this afternoon to get an appointment to then register him in person in April.  My eyes fill up with tears nearly every time I pass a school bus with little kids on it, so this process should go well. 

I leave you with a picture of my handsome little buddy!

Superhero room remodel ideas

When Jake transitioned out of his crib 2 years ago, we gave him an animal themed room (which you can see here); and even though I specifically chose decorations that weren't too "babyish" so that the room could grow with him, the room has looked babyish to me in recent months.  The best laid plans, right?  I don't feel too bad about having to change the room so soon, because whenever Liam moves to a big boy bed, he'll inherit all of my hard work on the animal theme :) 

I'm going to go with a superhero theme because I think (hope!) that might stick with him for a little while before he outgrows it.  And my plan is to just find a solid color comforter that we can just continue to use once he's moved on to other ideas. 

Here are some of the ideas I've been thinking about; his walls are yellow, and he has a red Pottery Barn anywhere chair, so I feel like just doing a general superhero theme with lots of primary colors will be easy to blend into the room. 

I only have a few things so far, including these metal, vintage-looking signs that I picked up while in NYC a few weeks ago (gotta love bargains from street vendors!):

I also scored this Spiderman trash can from Target the other day, marked down to $4!!

 Other items I'm considering:

I did these free printables for Jake's bday party and had them on the front door; I'm thinking they might look cute if I printed them out as 8x10's and framed them in white frames?? (just one of each, obviously, not 12!)

This vinyl decal from VinylKrazy is a must ($10!), I love this phrase and it's so perfect for him (I'd probably order in red or blue):

Bedding options:

Mainstays Bed-in-a-Bag ($30, walmart):

Mainstays reversible comforter set-comes in blue and red ($24, walmart):

Another birthday post...last one, I promise!

I just wanted to share a few pictures of Jake on his actual birthday....mainly because he wanted to wear his Batman shirt that included a cape to school that day.  He also wanted to Liam to wear his-have I ever mentioned how much I love the fact that he is into wearing matching clothes with his brother??  Oh, I've mentioned it multiple times on here?  Oh well.  I am.  Because I know it's short-lived, so for now, I embrace it. 

Work it, Batman.

 

Jake's feedback on his birthday was that it was "so much fun" and he loved sharing cookies with his friends at school that day, and loved getting to stand on a chair while they sang happy birthday to him.

the gift he wanted most...Flo's Cafe from the movie, Cars

Superhero Party Details

Superhero Training Academy Party 

As I mentioned in my last post, I might have gone a bit overboard with the theme.  Actually, overboard might be a strong word...but I ended up doing more than I had originally planned to do, let's just put it that way.  But, I'm really happy with how it all turned out!

As usual, Pinterest was the main reason for creating more work for myself.  So many good ideas out there for this theme!!  Let's start with the decorations.

I had these on the front door, which were FREE printables from the Simply Designing blog:

Here is our living room, which is where most of the party took place:

Batman Tablecloth: Walmart
Batman birthday banner: Walmart
Big Happy Birthday sign with Batman: Party City
Pin the bag signal on Batman: Party City

*I lucked out a few weeks before the party, Party City was having an online sale with free shipping and all of the Batman stuff was marked way down. Score!

Cake and Table Settings

Buckets for utensils: Target Dollar bins, marked down to .30 each!!
Cake: Sam's Club

Favor Bags

Bags: Walmart
Fruit Snacks: Walmart
Batman markers, erasers, crayons: again, another Target dollar bin find!  Marked down to .30 per pack (there were 12 markers in each pack and 6 erasers)
They also got to take home the superhero mask they made at the beginning of the party (see next entry!) 

Superhero Mask Station

 
I found these awesome kits from Hobby Lobby, and the kids were each able to make their own masks!  The site has them for $5.99, I got them for $4.99 with a free shipping code.

Obstacle Course

The original idea came from this Design Mom blog, which had kids jumping over small boxes.  I saw other ideas on other blogs that expanded into a whole obstacle course, but most of those were outside, so I had to modify a bit.  We had them go through a tunnel (which we already had), punch a punching bag (we already had), jump over fake bricks (those kind that are toy blocks-already had), then knock down this building to save spiderman.  The boxes were generously supplied by my dad (thanks!) and Brian spray-painted them black, then I cut out the windows from cardstock paper.  Viola!

And, to wrap up the party this week, I found these superhero themed thank you cards at Target:

  

I did the invitation on evite (they had a superhero theme), and encouraged all of the kids to sport their superhero attire on the invitation (and almost everyone did, it was super cute!).  

Welcome to Superhero Training Academy!!

On Saturday, we celebrated Jake's 5th birthday with a Superhero Training Academy!  Jake was SO excited for the party, I don't know how he made it through the day, anxiously awaiting the arrival of all of the superheroes!

We had decided a few months ago that we would just do the party at home; and of course, like anything with me, something that started as a simple idea spiraled into a theme (Batman), and then an even more elaborate theme (training academy), and then I blacked out while on Pinterest and found myself with a can of spray paint, boxes, and glitter foam stickers. But I'll do a separate post with all of the party details and projects.

The superheroes started arriving, and the first activity was making superhero masks to wear during training!

After that, it was time for an obstacle course.  The premise was that a villain had tied Spiderman up on top of a skyscraper with his own web, so the superheroes had to go through a tunnel, hit a punching bag, jump over some rubble from the building (fake bricks), then knock the building down so that Spiderman could escape from the top.  The kids loved it!!

Jake gets Spiderman down on the first try!

Next up, time to put the bat signal on Batman! (aka-Pin the tail on the donkey)

After that, the superheroes had to refuel with some food:

Next up was presents, and I love how excited other kids get when watching others open gifts :)  It was like Jake became a celebrity, they were all crowding in, and ooohing and aahhhing over stuff.  He got a lot of great stuff!

I love Liam photobombing while collecting tissue paper to shred.

checking out a stickerbook with Jaden

Cake time!!

Here is a video of the big candle moment:

Overall, a fantastic party, if I do say so myself.  Everyone seemed to have a good time, no one was severely injured, and my house is still standing.  I was a little overwhelmed during some portions of the party (mainly the ones that involved children running while emitting ear-piercing shrieks), but I guess that's all part of the experience.  Here is a video, to demonstrate what I mean....this was in between some games, when the kids were entertaining themselves:

Every superhero needs a dog sidekick in a cape!!!  (right?)

Me & my mom, striking superhero poses

And no matter what kind of anxiety I felt, or how much work I put into it, it was all worth it, because the next morning, Jake came over to me and gave me a big hug and said, "Thank you so much for my party, mommy...I loved it".  A-ma-zing.  I'd do the party again 100 times for that kid.