Thursday, December 05, 2013

reed turns five

 he looks pretty shocked that i'm posting on the blog on the same day that these pictures were taken. our little reed turned 5 today. max put this crown together for him to wear while we ate breakfast. it says "Happy Birthday Reed" with a 5 in each corner.
 yes, he's eating out of a tiny cereal box. i never buy those variety packs of sugar cereal, but i thought it would be fun for his birthday. everyone else agreed. :)


 reed was pleased with the bike we got for him. he was prepared, too--he's been riding a strider bike for a couple years, so he doesn't even know the bike came with training wheels. balance is no problem!


 that envelope he's holding contained a couple of lollipops and a card from my mom and dad. we tried to set them aside, because it was before school, but not quickly enough for brynn. she was pretty focused on their location for the rest of the present-opening. but for now, thanks, grandma and grandpa mcmillan!
next was the robot from troy's parents. the hit of the day. reed's squeals of delight once the robot was out of the package and the batteries were in and we found the right button made this whole parenting gig really worth it. thank you, grandma and grandpa walker!
 side note: the light you see is coming in from the window in our kitchen. i mention it because the change in light (because the path of the sun doesn't take it very high in the sky through the day) is one of the only reliable indications of winter in southern california. also, i'm trying to excuse my awesome photos with really high contrast because i didn't insist that we move the present opening to a more suitable spot.

 remember the lollipops? we kept saying no to brynn and she would not have it! impressive indignation for such a little body.
we weren't dealing with breakdowns of this magnitude all day, which is a mercy. luckily the constant wail during robot preparation didn't deter the boys, and once the robot started moving, brynn forgot about the lollipops.
 okay back to the robot.

 it walks...oh, and makes LOTS of noises (thanks walker grandparents!)
 it also, according to the directions in the box, "sends frisbees," which we think meant "shoots discs" at some point in the translation process. i'm not sure if max was trying to avoid getting hit or trying to get hit, but it was a riot to watch. sadly, i didn't get any pictures of reed dancing along with the robot (it has a dance function too!). perhaps in the future i can get a video. it will be worth its own post.


 later, after preschool, a bunch of reed's preschool friends joined our regular parkday friends (from church) for a fairly low-stress birthday party (sans hats, pinatas, games, goody bags, and presents except from a couple of rogue friends who brought a little something for the birthday boy). i sent a couple emails, made cupcakes and brought a few snacks to the park and voila! party!


thanks to my impromptu photographer, emily, in whose arms the camera battery died--but not before she got pictures of the joyous cupcake portion of the party.
this is when we were singing to the birthday boy. he really enjoys being the center of attention, that reed.


 and here we are after dinner, setting fire to a cupcake. see that crown? it was a gift from one of the preschool dads! isn't it cute?


 here's dean. i'm sure he would approve the mention of his horrible sickness this week. thankfully the vomiting part is over, but he's had a fever since monday and been out of school all week. today is the first day he's eaten like a fairly normal kid. except he only ate a quarter of a cupcake.
yay for cupcakes! max was a super sweet brother today. he tied reed's shoes for him this morning before breakfast, and used his free choice time at school to make minecraft-themed presents for his little brother.





happy birthday reed! five years ago you entered the world, cord around your neck, inside a tiny stress-test room with no windows. you were blue! but you pinked up and we took you home, and then you were a dream baby who learned how to sleep through the night, or close to it, very quickly. and you cried only when you needed food, diaper change, burp or sleep. that's all we asked of you then. :) and now, you are a delightful little man with your own dance moves and unique ability to push your brothers' buttons. you love your little sister (even when she pushes your buttons) and you love going to preschool because you are a big kid too. you love to make books and draw pictures, and you can already sound out words! you started piano lessons with your brothers at the beginning of the school year and you love to play. you charm everyone you meet, and you talk to just about everyone you see. 

we love you! happy birthday!

Saturday, August 24, 2013

first day of school! first day of school!

the first day of school finally arrived. it was met with varying emotions.

dean was fairly indifferent. ho-hum, another year of school.
max was excited to go back--he got the same teacher as last year (whom he loved) with the same classmates!
but reed, as you can see, was ecstatic! i'm going to school! with my big brothers!

 brynn doesn't understand what's happening, really. why are you making me sit in this chair? where's mom?


the dropoff went well. no tears from any parties. we had to wait in line to sign reed in and drop him off, but once he was in, he was done with us. :) dean disappeared once he figured out what room he was in--we had to track him down to say good-bye. max found his kindergarten teacher--now his first grade teacher--and lined up with his familiar classmates and followed them to their classroom. and then we walked home, brynn on my back. troy and i even held hands!
 this is brynn, queen of the house, after the dropoff at school and daddy left for work.
yep, it's all about me now!
...until 11:30 am, anyway. now, if only mommy could figure out exactly how much time we really have between dropoff and pickups so we're not late!

Saturday, August 10, 2013

choochoos and tutus


 i have a friend, star, who had a baby about six weeks after me, and those babies are now two! they are very good friends, and so we had a birthday party for the two of them at our house today.  


but before we get to the festivities, i need to take a moment for the cake. behold it. love it.
 i would like you to note the use of two extra colors of frosting on this cake and the obvious use of piping bags with two different tips. not to mention the special pan with all the different train cars, which worked perfectly with this recipe (and a lot of pam spray) but cut in half. yum.

 so that was the choochoo part.
 and here are the tutus! made by arwen's mom, star! cutest thing ever! way to go!
 arwen gives us a twirl. :)
 are our friends here yet?? once everyone arrived, we headed outside for swings and snacks.
 pink fluff on the swings outside while daddies push.




 pink fluff while we snack from a highchair,
 and pose with big brother dean.
 and now, time to light the candles and eat those choochoos! star is in purple behind arwen, and arwen's grandpa (pop pop) is behind star, holding arwen's baby sister.

 arwen was so excited about blowing out the candles! yay cake!

 arwen's friend, cage, awaiting his train car. nice teeth, max.

 she started out so civilized, asking for a fork before she would touch her cake...


 trying on hats...
i think the cake was a hit. :)
we had a grand old time. i love parties for toddlers--we blew up some balloons to bat around, played outside, ate some snacks and cake. done. oh, and twirled with tutus.

 yay for brynn and arwen, "fake twins" and partners in crime. and running and screaming. we love you!