Picture Board

Eden's party was a blast. The kids were wild, the parents were chill. Just the way any Saturday morning should be! One of the fun parts of the party was seeing the kids poke their heads through the photo board. They would run in circles and then stop what they were doing and head over to be Ariel or Flounder. Some of them cared who's face they got to become, but others just wanted to peek through. I tried to catch people as they peeked through, but didn't catch nearly as many as I should have!

Under The Sea

How did that beauty turn FOUR?!?!? We got to celebrate with her friends this weekend. Eden chose to have a Little Mermaid party, so we went all out. Everything was "under the sea" themed.

I tried to scour the internet for food ideas that were ocean related. We had "Shark's teeth" {cheese triangles}, "Under the Sea Shrimp" {most awesome shrimp that my aunt makes}, "P-nut Butter and Jellyfish Sandwiches" {pre made, right out of the freezers at costco!}, and "Sea Cucumbers" with hummus. Of course we couldn't have a party with out goldfish and some sweets. My favorite was the cookies that we had. The pearls were made by a friend of mine from Virginia {Fat Girl Cakes} after I realized I didn't want to have to learn how to make them. I was so excited to get the pearls because she made them with a pearl dusting - mine would have been just plain white!

For the goodie bags for our friends we did sand castle buckets with treasures inside. They got some goldfish, bubbles, a necklace, and a chocolate coin. I always try to make the goodie bags filled with things that can be used, and not so many trinkets that break and/or don't get used. Since we live near the beach the sand buckets seemed like the perfect choice! To decorate the table we used a picture that Eden drew. She had traced her Ariel doll and colored it in. As soon as I saw how awesome she did, I decided to use it somehow during her party.

 I didn't have any organized activities for Eden's party, but we did have an area with treasures for the kids to find.

 For the most part, the kids just wandered around and played in the back yard. As parents hung out, the kids ran around and had a good time. People were free to eat whenever they wanted to and it was just an easy-going party.

 After some running around we paused the fun for some singing and celebrating the birthday girl.

 We didn't open presents while friends were there {because it can get out of control with so many people around}. It was peaceful and nice to open gifts at a slow pace. Eden was able to soak in what she was getting. We were able to talk about what was in the bags and boxes. My favorite is that she's got a memory like a steel trap and she remembers who gave her what.

And don't worry! I got plenty of pictures of kids at the picture board! It was a hit for sure.

Motherhood Is...{10}

Check out all these pictures! I guess I just couldn't help myself.

 Eden and Hunter have been getting along so well recently {when they're not fighting}. I loved looking at them at the end of the party to find them sitting together in the sand treasure. He loved watching her open her presents. He was so interested to see what was going on! While Mimi and Pop have been here they've taken full advantage of the extra attention and cuddles! The middle picture on the right is of the kids playing at the USO when we picked Mimi and Pop up from the airport. It was the coolest place ever! They had food and drinks and they had a family room with toys for the kids.

Eden and Hunter have been sleeping in Eden's room together while Mimi and Pop are here. Hunter is on the floor under Eden's bed and she's up on her bed {like usual}. I went to check on them at nap time one day and Hunter had climbed up to the top of the bed. After a lot of giggles and no napping I moved him down to his space - only to find Eden down there later. Our back yard is becoming more and more glorious. Parker and Sara sent them money and the kids got their lounge chairs. As you can tell from the picture of them blowing bubbles, they LOVE being outside! Blowing bubbles is one of their favorite activities. I had to recently get them a spill-proof bubble holder.

The Food!

The food at Hunter's party was my favorite. I found a bunch of Toy Story food names and rolled with it. The party was a "Woody Party" but we included all of the other characters where we could.

I had a table with sweets. We had all kinds of goodies to make sure the kids all went home with a sugar-high!

Mr. Potato Head's Mustaches

Alien cupcakes

Haystacks

I even found themed names for the drinks. I didn't offer too many choices, but everything was kid-friendly {except the beer that was in the fridge!} I loved the blue mason jars with the cow fabric on them. I had some on the "sweets table" with red and yellow twislers, but the drink table had the red and yellow straws.

Bullseye's Watering Hole

Jessies' Juice

  The party was at lunch time, so we had lunch items for everyone.

Mrs. Potato Head Chips

Slinky Weiner Dogs - the empty plate was for hotdogs in addition to the pigs in a blankets. 

Dear Eden

Dear Eden,

You are a sassy, yet kind-hearted, little girl. We often joke that you're 3 going on 16, but luckily for us you're only 4! Just this week when we were out to lunch you thought our waitress was "beautiful" and you wanted to tell her. You said that if you told her it would make her happy. I love knowing that you want to be kind to others and that you want to make other people feel good.

You love to dress up like a princess and you always accessorize accordingly. You can be found at the grocery store wearing a princess dress and a tiara. People often comment on your attire and you love it!

You try to be a mother to your brother and I find that I'm constantly telling you to let me be the mommy and you just worry about you. You try your best to take great care of Hunter. The 2 of you can be found playing together inside and outside. A lot of the time if you're playing a game outside you're playing "Mommy and Daddy" together. Sometimes you talk him into being the cat and he crawls around meowing while you are his mommy. Most of the time you enjoy including him in your games, but there are times that you play "Hunter Monster" with him. I'm convinced that you play that with him in order to get away from him, but he loves the game and feels included.

You started taking dance class this year and you love it! You are a star in class and you love the dance shows even more than the class. Ms. Jackie is good to you and you love having her as your teacher. Hunter loves her too because she gives you guys stickers after class.

You've almost given up naps completely. Mommy misses your naps! You still take a quiet time every day. If you get to have rest time instead of a nap you typically watch a movie on the couch. That way Mommy still gets a minute or 2 of quiet time. You'll nap every couple of days in order to keep from getting too grumpy.

At bed time you insist on hugs and kisses along with blowing a kiss and making sure I catch yours! This is one of my favorite things you do. It reminds me of your innocence that I hope you never lose.

Just remember, I told you that you're only allowed to have birthdays if you promise to always be my baby!

We love you Heaps, Scoops, and Gobs!

Mommy and Daddy

Hunter's Party

When we decided to do the kids' parties we figured we'd have them at home and have them in the back yard. The weather in San Diego is supposed to be perfect year round but this weekend for Hunter's party the weather decided to throw us for a loop! The party was move indoors and we made the most of it! The kids had fun and that's what counts.

I was excited about the decor for the party. The Pin the tail on Bullseye game, the banners, and the chalk board {which was a present to Eden and Hunter from Mommy and Daddy.}

Lane wised up and turned on the movies for some background noise. He put one of the movies on the big tv in the living room, and another one on in the toy room. My favorite thing about the party had to be the food! It was fantastic...so I'm going to give it it's own post!

Motherhood Is...{9}

My princess and my cowboy. These kids love to dress up! {Granted, Hunter is technically in his "birthday hat" gearing up for his party, but they love dress up} Eden can constantly be found wearing anything princess. She likes to go out and about in her princess outfits. Hunter can be found wearing his pirate costume and pointing his sword at things saying "argh" like a pirate. He has started venturing out to other costumes because he got quite a few new things for his birthday! I love that they can play with each other as well as alongside of each other when they play with costumes. To hear their imagination run wild is so much fun!

Dear Hunter

Hunter,

How is it possible that you're 2 already? I can't believe how quickly time has gone by. I feel like it was just yesterday that I was watching American Idol as my contractions were starting to get more intense. Now you're running around, climbing everything, jumping off of everything you climb, and talking up a storm! My goodness do you talk...and you speak your mind {I think you get that from your sister!} You generally have good manners. You say please and thank you on your own. When meals are over you often times remember to ask to be excused. One of the newest things you've started saying is, "bess oooo" when someone sneezes.

You're starting to become a picky eater and you love anything sweet. Today you heard me say "sugar" and you're now running around the house saying it over and over again! If you don't get the sweets that you want, you're not afraid of letting us know that you aren't happy about it. You don't like noodles which came as a surprise to me! I thought all kids were in love with things like spaghetti. French fries are your all time favorite food right now.

You are loving to play with your sister and you guys have your fair share of sibling fights. You enjoy taking toys away from her that she's playing with because you know that she's going to get mad and be really angry about it. As soon as I can talk her down and she asks for the toy back quietly, you hand it over. You play dress up with Eden, too. You usually wear your pirate costume and use the sword. Sometimes you can be found wearing princess shoes though. If any toy has wheels or wings you will find it and you will want it!

You're mastering the art of throwing tantrums and telling us "no" now that you've hit 2! You're proving that you might be more stubborn than your sister {which I didn't think was possible!} Your tantrums are textbook and you're very good at them. They're full on running and throwing yourself on the floor before crying and screaming. So far Mommy and Daddy have held strong through most of the tantrums and just let them run their course and ignored them while you've been in the process of being angry. I know this is just a phase, but it's one of the ones that I'm hoping passes quickly!

As you continue to grow up and become more and more of a little boy, and no longer a baby or a toddler, I can only hope that you continue to be a kind and loving person.

Love,
Mommy