Paw Patrol is on a Roll: Liam's 4th Birthday Party!

This birthday was a big one for Liam...his first friend birthday!  The advantage of having a May birthday is that I will have a bit more flexibility in terms of where to have his parties (as opposed to the poor winter birthday boy, Jake) so I figured since the guest list was pretty small we would be brave and have it outside at our house.  Liam made a very firm decision quite some time ago that he wanted a Paw Patrol birthday party....so we made it happen!! 

invitation (details removed for privacy)

There's always a risk when planning an outdoor party that the weather may not cooperate, and that was definitely a fear that day, as everything was soaked from rain the night before and some showers that morning...dark clouds kept coming and going and finally going back and forth (and maybe having a small anxiety attack over the whole thing), we made the executive decision to have it outside (thanks to my mom and dad for dealing with my craziness and helping us relocate the entire party to the patio...and thanks to my friend Marissa for donating some of her Paw Patrol supplies to me!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, that is how I marked the bathroom door.

After all of the kids arrived, we herded them back to the table to make their craft/favor; they were each "adopting" a stuffed dog and coloring it with fabric markers.  To be honest, I wasn't sure how this would go....I didn't know if they would be interested at all, or if they would lose interest after just a few minutes....but they all loved it!  It held their attention for quite some time, and then I came around with adoption certificates so that they could officially name their new dog. It ended up being super cute!  Stuffed dogs available from Discount School Supply ($21.99 for 12 dogs)

 

Adoption Certificate:

After that, the kids ran around for awhile longer then we called them back again to play "Pin the Badge on Marshall" before the pizza came.  They weren't quite as into this activity, but quite a few did play.  The game can be found as a free printable on the Nick Jr. site!

 

After making an attempt to have the kids eat pizza (this was not really successful) we decided it was time to stuff them with cupcakes!!  These ended up being some of my favorite pictures of the day...I love the look on his face in both of them:

"Are you seriously telling me I can't eat this yet??"

THAT SMILE.  

 

 

Then it was time for more playing, followed by present opening.  I love how no matter what the age, present opening time at parties always results in a mob-like situation with the party-goers. 

As the party was winding down, Brian was pushing some of the kids on the swing and one started yelling "THIS IS THE BEST PARTY EVER!", so it's always good to hear positive feedback from your target audience :)

After the guests left, GG and Pappy stuck around for a bit and Liam enjoyed opening his gifts from them:

While typing all of this out and adding pictures, I've realized I did not get a single family picture the entire day!  *sadface*  However, even more gratifying than a family picture was the conversation I had with Liam when putting him to bed that night.  We were chatting about the party, and saying how nice it was that all of his friends came, and he wrapped his little hands around my neck, gave me a big squeeze and said, "Mommy, thank you for my Paw Patrol party...it was the best ever". 

You are welcome, little man.  You are so welcome. 

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Click on the names below for all of the FREE printables!

Paw Patrol Cupcake Toppers
Paw Patrol Food Labels
Paw Patrol Adoption Certificate 

Other Supplies:

Dog food bowls: Dollar Tree
Polka Dot Straws: Target
Paw Patrol Napkins: Target
Stuffed Dogs: discountschoolsupply.com
Pin the Badge on Marshall: nickjr.com

Happy 4th Birthday, Liam!

Dear Liam,

4 years and 1 day ago, you were still in my belly as I sat holding your daddy's hand, listening to a doctor explain to us that even though it was over 3 weeks early, having you was the best option at that point.  We were scared and excited, all at the same time.  It turns out, we had nothing to be afraid of, as you came into this world just fine...perfect just the way you were at that moment. We were amazed by how...well, how ready you seemed to be there with us.

Now, here we are, 4 years later, and we are still amazed by you!  You have grown into such a kind and caring child.  You may be stubborn and frustrating at times (as all preschoolers tend to be) but you also have a heart of gold, and would give a hug to everyone you come across if you could.  I often have other moms stop me at preschool to tell me that it makes their day when they drop their own child off in the classroom in the morning, and see you them coming and go running over to pass out hugs (you are an equal opportunist, too, you hug both the kids and the moms!)

You are thriving in school; you can write you name, you know your ABCs, all of your shapes, identify nearly all of the letters, and you can count to 20.  You have one more year of preschool, and I know you will be more than ready for kindergarten when the time comes (even if I'm not!)

You love to play outside, but you also really love art projects and coloring.  Your favorite shows right now are Paw Patrol, anything on Disney Jr, and you love to watch some of your big brother's shows, like Ninjago :)

Speaking of your big brother, the two of you are inseparable sometimes, and even though you may fight and argue at times, you really are the best of friends.

Liam-3 days old, Jake - 3.5 years old

Liam-11 months old, Jake-4 years old

Liam-15 months old, Jake-4 years old

Liam-18 months old, Jake-4 years old

Liam-2 years old, Jake-5 years old

Liam - 2 years old, Jake - 5 years old

Liam- 3 years old, Jake- 6 years old

Liam- 3.5 years old, Jake- almost 7

Liam, it's been so much fun to watch you grow into your own person.....I know 4 is going to be a great year for you, and we are so excited see you grow even more! 

 

just a few hours old :)

6 months old

1 year old

18 months old

2 years old

2.5 years old

3 years old

3.5 years old

allllllllmost 4 years old :)

Happy birthday, Liam Joseph!  We love you very much!! 

Summer Bucket List/Goals/Hopes

image courtesy of  iloveitallwithmonikawright.com

Ahhh.....summer.  We aren't quite in that season yet, but it's close enough that I'm starting to think about how to make the most of it.  I'm sure everyone feels like this, but sometimes it's frustrating that summer gets filled up with so many obligations and chores that we run short on time for the fun stuff.  I thought maybe writing it all out would be helpful this year.  Here we go!!

1.  Go to Kennywood.  

This is non-negotiable.  It's shameful that my kids are 'burghers and have never been to this classic park!  The rides, the food, the atmosphere (the, um...people watching.  Ahem.) it's all so great and I have no idea why we haven't made this a priority yet.  We went to Idlewild for the first time 2 years ago and they absolutely loved it, so I feel like they're definitely ready to "graduate" to Kennywood.  It should be slightly easier this year, too...while Liam still needs a nap most of the time, he's a bit more flexible having to go without it....which means that we could potentially stay at the park into the evening, which is my absolute favorite time to be there.

2.  Finish the treehouse.

It's coming along quite nicely, and I'm sure Brian will be working on it when he can over the upcoming weekend.  The kids are so excited to use it, and I'm so excited to see the look on their faces when it's finally complete.  They're really hoping for a sleepover out there in the summer, so we'll see how that goes!

3.  Enjoy our space with friends more.

This isn't exactly something to work towards, but I'd just love to have people over more often.  Nothing formal, even if it's just last minute, ordering pizza and letting the kids run around.  Again, with Liam being more flexible with his sleep schedule (lately he's actually been doing that crazy thing where, if we let him stay up later, he actually sleeps in later the next day....BLISS!!!) it makes it easier to do things in the evening. Up until recently, if we let him stay up later, he would somehow manage to wake up even earlier than usual the next morning--I'm talking like 5am!  Needless to say, he was a bear the next morning, so it was not fun to let him stay up late!  Do you know that my kids have never caught lightning bugs?  That must be remedied. Nothing says summer like good friends having some drinks and enjoying the night on the patio!!  (it would also give me an excuse to try some of the delicious looking drink recipes I've been pinning lately!)

4.  Summer Reading

This goes for both me and the kiddos.  Our local library has a summer reading program, so I definitely want to get both of the kids signed up for that. I'll be the first to admit that last year we didn't do a great job of making sure he was consistently reading over the summer, so I want to do better this year.  Maybe he'll want to read in his treehouse once that's done? :)  Here are some books on my summer wish list (I'm a sucker for anything that relates to the beach May-August):

5.  Go to a drive in movie

This one may be ambitious, considering the fact that I have trouble staying awake through one movie in my own house, but we'll see.  There are a few cute kids movies coming out over the next few months, so maybe we can make a night of it and try to see at least one under the stars!  The Minions and Inside Out are definitely on our must-see list:

6.  Pirates Game
 I still haven't figured out if Liam is ready to sit through a full game yet (I'm not, but I guess I could suck it up for the sake of the family), so if not all of us, then Brian and Jake will definitely go to at least a game or two over the summer.  They always have such a great time there!

June 2014

 7.  Water Stairs on the North Shore 
Again, another very Pittsburgh thing that my kids haven't experienced. The water steps are part of the North Shore Riverfront Park, the area near Heinz Field and PNC Park. They loved the fountain at Point Park when the giant ducky was here a few years ago, so I'd love to head back there again, too.

Water Steps - North Shore Riverfront Park

Point State Park - October 2013

8.  Go to the Blue Slide Park
Again, another Pittsburgh thing we've not yet done!  The Blue Slide Park is part of Frick Park (which we've been to before, we just never managed to hit up this particular part of it); most of the playground is just your standard playground equipment, but then...there's this:

image courtesy of playpittsburgh.com

image courtesy of playpittsburgh.com

It doesn't look like much and it requires a piece of cardboard, but everyone who has taken their kids there has raved about it. All images above courtesy of playpittsburgh.com and a full review of the Blue Slide Park (and MANY other Pittsburgh parks and playgrounds!) can be found here: http://playpittsburgh.com/playgrounds/#.VVYCGvCVEYU


What am I missing?  What's on your summer bucket list?