paaar-ty time

months ago I had decided that I wanted miles to have a curious george party.  he loves george - the books, tv show, movie.  I had envisioned the invites, cake, food, and games.  but when I asked miles what kind of party he wanted, he said, "I want a pirate party mom!"  I admit that I selfishly convinced him that he should go with the george theme.  after all, I am pretty sure that this is the last year I will be able to even help him choose a theme.  he's discovering all sorts of big boy things and I wanted to enjoy one more "little boy" party theme.

I couldn't do it.  he lights up when he plays pirates.  he grabs his sword and shouts "avast, me hearty?"  I had to give up my vision of a sweet little monkey and go all out on a piratey celebration fit for a crew of sea dogs.

he sat on my sister's living room floor and helped me make up names for the food and put stickers on the labels. the rest was a secret. the look on his face when we started putting everything together that sunday morning was priceless.  my camera, of course, was safely tucked into the case so I missed the initial reaction. this "oh brother, take the picture mom!" photo will have to suffice.

oh wait, here's a little smile.

the weather was holding out for us. not too terribly hot, but certainly warm enough. we began with every little boy's obsession: tattoos. I have no idea what it is with those things, but I've never had a few dollars bring hours days of utter excitement to their faces. they love to tell everyone they meet about their tattoos, explaining each one in great detail. and really? what is a pirate without at least a couple of good tattoos, right?

we have stuck to family only parties so far. I figure that there will be years and years of crazy parties with at least a dozen little friends arriving with a present and expecting nothing less than a three day sugar high in return. for now, this means that GAME TIME is limited. miles is the oldest and a toddler can only do so much. but we love games here, so we went all out. it didn't really matter if everyone understood the game, they just have fun participating. first on the agenda was a good ol' game of "pin the eye patch on the pirate."

poor miles wasn't familiar with the concept and had a meltdown of sorts when he discovered that he had to be blindfolded and his patch wasn't perfectly placed on the pirate. he's definitely our child. sorry little buddy.

henry and josiah thought it was great, note to self: I certainly didn't need to offer anyone more than just one go at it. that was plenty.

everyone who completed the eye patch game received his (or her) very own eye patch. or if you were under the age of four, you were a lucky winner. low expectations here, folks. ARRGH!

we sent them all over to walk the plank and earn their hook. this went over swimmingly; we didn't end up with even one wet sandal. success!

what would a pirate party be without a treasure hunt? we outfitted all of them with compass and treasure map. kuddos to my awesome hubby for making each little pirate his very own map. love him.

I will let the photos tell the story of this one. pay attention to the finding of the treasure. what a sweet birthday boy.

the booty? pirate daggers for the three big boys, infant/toddler snacks for the little ones, and a bandana, sword, and stickers for everyone. contrary to the look on callan's face, they all seemed pretty jazzed about their loot.

a special thank you to my wonderful family members who volunteered to make some of the food.

the boys and I had just moved home less than two days before the party. I had purchased/planned most of the details before reece was even born; anticipating party planning with a newborn. I did not, however, anticipate it being quite this stressful. needless to say, I forced myself to let go of a few details...namely the cake and the invitation.  I am happy to report that the modified cake actually turned out better than my original plan.

the lack of an invitation is still a thorn in my side. I just love making them and it killed me not to send one out. I'm sure miles will never notice and in the grand scheme of things, it's not that big of a deal. it's about the memories, right?

opening presents is always touch and go with our little man. he doesn't like to feel like he's being laughed at and he's not a huge fan of having the spotlight on him.

we eventually had to move the presents and the birthday boy inside to avoid the impending rain. all that movement for a few little sprinkles. oh well, better safe than sorry. after all, we can't let his new wad of cash get wet now, can we?

our families are so generous. miles was showered with some really fun new things. a bike, books, bubbles, games, costumes, baseball game tickets, sporting gear, and a bunch of other toys. lucky little guy. he sure is loved.

celebrating our sweet boy with those who love him the most is such a blessing. we love having everyone so close and this annual cousins birthday shot makes it all worthwhile.

happy birthday mr. miles. you are a special little boy. we are proud to call you ours!

sunny much?
***

remember those costumes I mentioned?

four

my firstborn is four.

how did this happen? each year seems to go by faster than the one before.

the events of his birthday captured every facet of his personality.

EXHIBIT A: birthday breakfast

miles is sensitive.  he's shy and easily embarrassed.  he doesn't have the confidence (yet) to go in front of a large group of people.  he doesn't like to be laughed at and will cover his ears when he feels uncomfortable. he cries easily and gets frustrated when things don't go as he had planned.  but, he can snap out of his "funk" pretty quickly.  he is quick to admit that he's changed his mind and has decided he does like whatever he just despised. (thank you Sam I Am for that little life lesson)

EXHIBIT B: baby brother

miles is gentle and sweet. he loves to hug his baby brother, not kiss him, just hug him. he ever-so-gently puts his head against reece's and closes his eyes. he likes to talk to him in a little tiny voice, "hi little reecey!" and explain to reece what he's holding/doing/etc, "I'm your biggest brother. this is my super why reecey!" it melts my heart.

EXHIBIT C: the cake

miles likes things to go a certain way. I'm not sure what exactly sparked this little meltdown, but I'm pretty positive it had something to do with the timing of the cake eating/candle blowing. he had probably planned on doing something else at that moment. this exhibit also mimics exhibit A quite closely.

EXHIBIT D: the hat

miles is funny. he loves to be silly. he makes up stories and words. he loves to tell jokes (the same three knock knock ones over and over and over and...). he has the most infectious giggle.

EXHIBIT E: the gift

a quick demo by daddy

miles is cautious. he is deliberate and likes to feel safe while trying something new. he works hard, but needs encouragement to continue trying something he isn't so good at. when he figures it out, he excels at it and is, in turn, encouraging to others.

EXHIBIT F: books [not pictured]
miles is a quick learner. he has always loved books and we knew at an early age that he was incredibly good with letters, phonics, and numbers. in the last few months his ability to read grew like wildfire.  he can sit down and read a mercer mayer book like he's in first grade. his daycare mom reported to us one day that he had read 72 sight words that day.  he would've done more, she said, but they needed to eat lunch. I'd love to pat my own back and say that my teacher skills are super human.  but I cannot. this kid was born to read. we truly believe it's a gift. as a teacher, I can say, it's a wonderful gift to have.  the downside?  no more skipping sentences in those crazy long bedtime stories.  shucks.

we feel incredibly blessed to call him ours.

welcome home reecey

our first couple of weeks with mr. reece have been smooth sailing...well as smooth as the introduction of a third baby can be into a family.

let's just say that we are grateful to have nana so close and even more lucky that she thinks it's fun to sleep on the couch and snuggle a tiny baby during the wee hours of morning. THANK YOU!

*****
we ventured out to celebrate my parents' wedding anniversary during reece's first weekend home.

have pants, will travel with gown

the little guy was loved up on...

...and the big boys got to run and play with cousins.

perhaps miles needs a larger swing? I'm just sayin'
*****
just as it was when henry entered our family, I am most looking forward to watching the special bond form between the three little brothers. they are smitten with baby reece.

their "I want to hold him" sessions total maybe 30 seconds, but that doesn't mean that every time they catch a glimpse of the little one they don't come running to hug or kiss him.

check out the paci hold


they have a lot to teach their tiny little brother. I find it most funny that they ask him things like "do you want to see my spy phone reecey?" and "can you say backyardigans reecey?"


*****
we celebrated kyle's birthday on the 30th. isn't it funny how low key birthdays get as the number of candles grows? however, I can't imagine a more perfect birthday present than these three:

*****
here are a few more favorites of the wee one. you know, just in case you need to satisfy your baby fix.

*****
yes, my children are playing in a giant dumpster. you see, we are all set to do some roofing and siding at our house. and by we, I mean kyle.