Erica and Brad made it up last night and we went out together to celebrate at Red Robin. it is so fun to sit and enjoy a real meal together with the kids enjoying their time together. This morning I went out for a run before the guys went on their run, then we settled in to enjoy the day together. Erica and I went out for supplies while the guys entertained the troops for us. By afternoon, it was time to get our party started...but I was pretty relaxed about the whole thing, including not setting a time for the whole thing to start or how it would all come together. I think the highlight of the afternoon was the super Indiana Jones cake, complete with jungle color, and Indiana action figure and a mountain with a ball rolling towards Indiana. Pretty cool cake in my opinion. Tommy loved opening his presents and received such wonderful gifts. The themes for this birthday were Indiana Jones, Webkinz and Star Wars legos.
Dear Tommy,
Mommy is so very blessed to call you my son. I can't believe you are five years old today! You are the sweetest, most precious boy, and I love you with all my heart. I love how you laugh at the most silly things, I love how your face lights up with such joy. I love how you wrap your arms around me and tell me how much you love me..."more than my house!" Honey, I love YOU more than anything in this world, and I always will. Five years ago your Mom and Dad were blessed with a miracle neither of us could have ever imagined.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Tommy's 5th Birthday begins early!
Today we celebrated Tommy's 5th birthday with his preschool friends at Fun Zone in Bellingham. John and I had debated about where to have it and how much we were willing to spend, but after watching all the kids bounce and run themselves into exhaustion for almost two hours, we realized that it was so worth the price we paid to have our party there. In the morning I was preschool helper, listening to the kids give extra attention to the birthday boy, watching him have the extra classroom duties like counting numbers for the calendar and being line leader, and then having the kids sing to him at snack time. It was so wonderful to see the little smile on his face throughout the morning. By late that afternoon, as I rushed off for an evening of training at work, both the boys were exhausted from all the activity..and it's only Wednesday!
Thursday!
Today, Tommy took his first playdate....to Carson Neff's house. Michelle and I have been trying to make this work for what seems like forever now, but this week was even more tricky due to my crazy training schedule this week. Between work scheduling and the babysitters that we have coming and going, it was difficult to organize. But we finally managed it, and when John went to pick him up, he was holding a Wii controller in his hand and asking to stay longer. I'd say that was a successful first playdate for him...
Friday night!
Today, Brad, Erica, Emma and Grace rolled into town, and we started the weekend party with a trip to Red Robin! Fun times with them all!
Thursday!
Today, Tommy took his first playdate....to Carson Neff's house. Michelle and I have been trying to make this work for what seems like forever now, but this week was even more tricky due to my crazy training schedule this week. Between work scheduling and the babysitters that we have coming and going, it was difficult to organize. But we finally managed it, and when John went to pick him up, he was holding a Wii controller in his hand and asking to stay longer. I'd say that was a successful first playdate for him...
Friday night!
Today, Brad, Erica, Emma and Grace rolled into town, and we started the weekend party with a trip to Red Robin! Fun times with them all!
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Maybe No Easter Bunny
Tonight, while cuddling in bed, Tommy said to me, "Mom, the Easter Bunny is just a big man in a costume, right?"
"What?" I asked, clearly buying for time, trying to figure out the "correct" thing to say to my almost five year old who is starting to figure it all out, and way too soon.
"He's not real, Mom, he's just in a costume, right?"
"Nah, baby. He's a big bunny that delivers Easter baskets full of chocolate, right?"
He didn't answer me, but just smiled. How is it ending already?
"What?" I asked, clearly buying for time, trying to figure out the "correct" thing to say to my almost five year old who is starting to figure it all out, and way too soon.
"He's not real, Mom, he's just in a costume, right?"
"Nah, baby. He's a big bunny that delivers Easter baskets full of chocolate, right?"
He didn't answer me, but just smiled. How is it ending already?
Sunday, March 08, 2009
Feeding Time
I have had many conversations about the eating habits of my boys. Thomas will eat just about anything, making it extremely easy to feed him whenever and wherever we may be. He's even tried sushi and like it..once. Now he's not so sure, but we recently got him hooked on Pho, a bit on the spicy but not too much red sauce. He prefers grandma's mashed potatoes and gravy, or just about anything else she'll whip up for him. He'll ask for salad and veggies with dip, and he goes through a ton of apples when grandpa's munching with him. He's into Mexican, Chinese and Thai. He'll ask for Red Robin many nights a week, and we have to ration him on Clucks n' Fries...now with a side of Buzz sauce. I didn't know almost 5 year olds could even stomach Buzz sauce!
Cooper..well, I was warned that things could be drastically different with a second. Cooper's main staple is Dairy Queen "anna", or Dilly Bar. He wakes up asking for "anna", and gets quite vocal if we tell him not yet. When we mention going somewhere in the car, he's quick to yell, "Elmo"? and "Anna"? at the top of his lungs. Then he starts to bounce. Yes, bounce around, just like Tigger on a pogo stick. If we tell him anything other than this, he'll start to howl...and Lil can hear him hear him carrying on upstairs. Aside from Dairy Queen, we are very limited. He'll eat pancakes, waffles and French toast. Sometimes he'll eat grandma's eggs. He'll eat things he can dip in ketchup, like hot dogs, french fries chichen nuggets and anything else that's fried. He'll eat sausage and spagetti. He'll eat junk food like chips, puffs and ice cream. He won't touch dressings, salsas or dips. He won't touch a vegetable or a fruit. He'll eat JUST the tips of popsicles, and will go through a whole box of "tips" if you let him, then howl when you cut him off. He drinks a ton of water, both hot and cold, both clean and water from the bathtub and outside puddles. He maybe will drink hot chocolate when Tommy gets it, but a lot of it ends up tipped into his lap. Today I filled his cup with chocolate milk, then turned my back to see what he would do. He seemed to get a lot of it down. I would love it if he would add this drink to his diet...it's part milk, right? The other day he tried a bite of cheeseburger..then flung it over the seat and into my lap...as I was trying to navigate through the snowstorm on the pass. I guess he hasn't acquired that taste just yet!
He seems to be growing, so I run from worried on some days to not caring on others.
Cooper..well, I was warned that things could be drastically different with a second. Cooper's main staple is Dairy Queen "anna", or Dilly Bar. He wakes up asking for "anna", and gets quite vocal if we tell him not yet. When we mention going somewhere in the car, he's quick to yell, "Elmo"? and "Anna"? at the top of his lungs. Then he starts to bounce. Yes, bounce around, just like Tigger on a pogo stick. If we tell him anything other than this, he'll start to howl...and Lil can hear him hear him carrying on upstairs. Aside from Dairy Queen, we are very limited. He'll eat pancakes, waffles and French toast. Sometimes he'll eat grandma's eggs. He'll eat things he can dip in ketchup, like hot dogs, french fries chichen nuggets and anything else that's fried. He'll eat sausage and spagetti. He'll eat junk food like chips, puffs and ice cream. He won't touch dressings, salsas or dips. He won't touch a vegetable or a fruit. He'll eat JUST the tips of popsicles, and will go through a whole box of "tips" if you let him, then howl when you cut him off. He drinks a ton of water, both hot and cold, both clean and water from the bathtub and outside puddles. He maybe will drink hot chocolate when Tommy gets it, but a lot of it ends up tipped into his lap. Today I filled his cup with chocolate milk, then turned my back to see what he would do. He seemed to get a lot of it down. I would love it if he would add this drink to his diet...it's part milk, right? The other day he tried a bite of cheeseburger..then flung it over the seat and into my lap...as I was trying to navigate through the snowstorm on the pass. I guess he hasn't acquired that taste just yet!
He seems to be growing, so I run from worried on some days to not caring on others.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Washing and Painting the Sailboat
The boys were eager to head down to the boatyard early today to watch the men pull the boat out of the water. Grandpa has a big job ahead, preparing the boat for spring sailing. Trips down to see the boat cleaned up and painted will be a lot of fun!
Monday, March 02, 2009
Tommy Registers For Kindergarten!
And his Mother almost forgot!
Despite numerous reminders from Jenny, on this morning I raced around my house getting ready for work, dashed out to the car, and hastily made my way out of the neighborhood-without a thought about kindergarten registration. I got so far as to gas up the tank down at Lafeen's, before taking a call from John out near Whatcom Falls. John usually doesn't check in with me quite so early, so I wondered what it could be this early. Had Tommy come out of his room to find me gone? Was he upset? Did he need to talk to me? Was something else wrong?
"Cynthia, Jenny just called. Today is we need to register Tommy for kindergarten."
Oh....oops.....
how could I have possibly forgotten my first baby's first registration for kindergarten (well, let's hope I don't have to register him a second time...remember....we have college dreams for him and a repeat of kindergarten is not in our plans!)
I raced back home to get the birth certificate that John had pulled out, then raced up the street for the Geneva Elementary school office, most certain that I would have to walk the line of shame past other mothers who'd gotten there early and now had already labeled me the "loser mom who almost forgot".
No, not a line in sight! No line of shame, and the secretary didn't even blink an eye. In fact, there were only a few other names on the list....hmmmm...maybe not so much a horrible parent after all. I started to relax a little, although my hands shook as I tried to fill out the stack of paperwork in front of me. You'd think I was entering him into college for all the paperwork they gave me.
Or maybe it was reality hitting me...I was signing my first baby up for the wonderful world of kindergarten. My baby.....our surprise....
I look forward to the wonderful journey that will begin, holding onto every "I love you, mama" and schmooches that I can!
Despite numerous reminders from Jenny, on this morning I raced around my house getting ready for work, dashed out to the car, and hastily made my way out of the neighborhood-without a thought about kindergarten registration. I got so far as to gas up the tank down at Lafeen's, before taking a call from John out near Whatcom Falls. John usually doesn't check in with me quite so early, so I wondered what it could be this early. Had Tommy come out of his room to find me gone? Was he upset? Did he need to talk to me? Was something else wrong?
"Cynthia, Jenny just called. Today is we need to register Tommy for kindergarten."
Oh....oops.....
how could I have possibly forgotten my first baby's first registration for kindergarten (well, let's hope I don't have to register him a second time...remember....we have college dreams for him and a repeat of kindergarten is not in our plans!)
I raced back home to get the birth certificate that John had pulled out, then raced up the street for the Geneva Elementary school office, most certain that I would have to walk the line of shame past other mothers who'd gotten there early and now had already labeled me the "loser mom who almost forgot".
No, not a line in sight! No line of shame, and the secretary didn't even blink an eye. In fact, there were only a few other names on the list....hmmmm...maybe not so much a horrible parent after all. I started to relax a little, although my hands shook as I tried to fill out the stack of paperwork in front of me. You'd think I was entering him into college for all the paperwork they gave me.
Or maybe it was reality hitting me...I was signing my first baby up for the wonderful world of kindergarten. My baby.....our surprise....
I look forward to the wonderful journey that will begin, holding onto every "I love you, mama" and schmooches that I can!
Sunday, March 01, 2009
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