Drew's Birthday Party

"Uhhh. Uhhh. Uhhh, Mom? When I gonna have my birthday party?"

Me: Drew, you just had your birthday?

Drew: But when am I gonna have my birthday party?

Me: (I was going to try and get out of it for another year if possible) In a few weeks dude.

And so it began - my plans for Drew's birthday party. The poor kid had a 1st birthday party, but hasn't really had once since then. After minutes of discussion with Drew it was decided he would invite "only boys and Izzy" and have a Superhero party.

Great. I certainly can whip one of those up, right? I spend my nights googling away superhero parties and games only to decide in the end that the kids would be fine just playing outside as boys like to do.

...probably really should have planned some more games. After seeing the majority of these boys hang out together I really thought a 2 hour party would be no big deal. It wasn't hard, just busy! Not to mention I had one parent who stayed behind and that added to my nerves as a hostess.

When all was said and done, Drew had a great day and told Pete that "my party was AWESOME!"

We borrowed a bounce house from our friends to use


We used the tire swing next door to "fly like Superman"


The boys did "boy stuff" like look at dirt, sand, tree roots, bugs




Look at my assistants for the party - they also doubled as the villains :-)


We used silly string like Spiderman and attacked Pete


Of course there was cake (and presents) ...and I just love how Drew concentrates so hard when blowing out candles


...can't forget about the pinata


And I made these most fabulous capes for the boys (7) as party favors.

Drew's 4th Birthday Celebration at School

How cute is this face? One day after his fourth birthday, he was able to celebrate with his preschool class.


When I see this picture I get a lump in my throat which reminds me that my "baby" is 4. He looks so big to me in this picture...and it makes me sad - I really don't have a baby in my house anymore. Uh, Pete?

Pete and I surprised Drew by showing up for his school celebration. He was very excited to see us!



Before the birthday snack the kids say the blessing - Drew with his prayer hands :-)



For his birthday snack Drew wanted to take Batman cupcakes. I also added pretzels to counteract some of the sugar, hopefully.





...so nearly one month after Drew's birthday we are FINALLY going to have a birthday party this weekend!

I am keeping my anxiety at bay by dubbing it a "glorified play date". All I know is that Drew is very excited to have some of his best boy buddies over for a superhero birthday celebration this weekend. I have my fingers crossed for decent weather...and boys who have a great time celebrating Drew's 4th! ...details coming soon!

Special Plate Night X2

I was making dinner this evening and Izzy reminded me, "Mom, don't forget the special plate!" She was eating off it because of the great feedback we got from her teacher at her conference yesterday.

As I was putting the food on the plates, Drew noticed the special plate for Izzy and said, "I want to eat off the Special Plate too." I asked what he did that was so special :-) to which he replied, "I scored a goal today." Touche.

I told Drew that was certainly special plate worthy and Pete quick shot me a look and asked, "Do we have two special plates?" Of course we do!

Random Stuff

The post just below this one made reference to Izzy and her first crush. I mentioned how after Drew's game she snaked over towards the field he was playing on. I forgot that I snapped this picture. I wonder what a body language expert would gather from this?



Look what Drew made at school...why did I never make these at home?


See how happy he looks wearing them?

And look who wore these same ears two years ago when she had the same teachers! Holy cuteness! How cute is Izzy in all her baby chub (she was still 3.5 when this was taken vs. Drew just turning 4)...and look at her pleated skirt and knee socks!


Today Drew and I went to school to have lunch with Izzy. I have been a couple of times before, but had never taken Drew. I wasn't sure if he was "allowed" or if he would behave? Turns out he is most welcome and is very good when told the rules of the lunchroom. I see many more lunch dates in our future.



And just for the record, Drew and Izzy still sleep together...but only on the weekends. Now that Izzy has started school, I wake her at 6:15. A good day doesn't have Drew up before 7:15. So, on the nights during the week when Pete is gone, both kids "camp out" on their air mattresses in my room. I have one mattress on each side of my bed. Then on the weekends they get to sleep together in the guest room. Until Pete started travelling I was not a fan of kids in our bedroom. Well, Izzy soon became my bed buddy...and once Drew smarted up to our plan, he wanted in too. Since all three of us don't sleep well in the bed (the kids move around a lot!), I put them on the floor. I actually really like having all of us in the same room. Weird, huh?

Here they are a couple weekends ago


And while they may share the bed, they both insist on separate blankets. They don't even sleep under the comforter on the bed, nor use their own comforters. Somehow each one has adopted a random blanket from the house and insists on using it every night they sleep together. Yup...love those two wackos!

Izzy's First Crush

The girl's got good taste! Her crush is on an older man (he's in first grade), athletic, and a blond haired, blue eyed hottie like her daddy :-)

I first noticed that Izzy took an interest in Bryce a couple weekends ago. It was after her soccer game that I noticed a boy and his friend were kicking the ball around with Izzy. While Izzy is certainly more "present" in the game this year, she is in no way a great soccer player. The guys couldn't have been hoping to better their skills by kicking the ball around with her. I'm not sure if this boy came over to say hi to her initially or if she somehow "enticed" him over? Regardless, she watched him as he and his friend took shots on goal. Let me just say that Bryce can shoot! If she had to pick one, she might as well pick one that's got game!

Fast forward to a week later. Izzy has finished her game and we are now watching Drew's game. I noticed Izzy studying the field on the other side of Drew's...she is studying it with an eye that says, "I think that's him"...followed by eyes that said, "yep that's him!" You know the one, a puzzled look followed by a small grin of recognition victory. Yup, I saw the whole thing and knew EXACTLY what she saw! It was at that point she told me, "Hey Mom, that's Bryce's team over there!" Giddy, giddy, giddy Izzy!

At the conclusion of Drew's game as snacks were being handed out, Izzy snaked away and positioned herself halfway between Drew's field and the field Bryce was playing on. ...and there she watched. Oh, and not only did she watch, but she studied that boy! She even announced, "Mom, there he is...he's up next!" as the team was running drills.

Now I am sure Pete would say it wasn't nearly as intense as I am making it out to be, or maybe he would claim it was even worse? Who knows? All I know is that while in pre-school Izzy pretended to get married and have babies - this is different.

This is her first crush :-) ....and :-(

...oh, and did I mention he rides her bus? School directories are out tomorrow and you can bet I am gonna find out his address and do a drive-by!

Fab Fotos 2010

I need to interrupt Drew's birthday celebration (post below this one) to bring you some fantastic pictures of the kids.

As a biased mom, I think my kids are pretty darn cute. One of the things I love most about them is the relationship they share with one another. I can't help but get that warm mushy feeling inside when I see them getting along and loving on one another. For example, over the weekend Pete made a big leaf pile for the kids to jump in. I heard Drew begin to cry and as I looked out the kitchen window I noticed Izzy brushing the leaves off his clothing and then lean in to give him a kiss. I mean really, come on, how sweet is that????

While obviously I think my kids are cute, I must give credit where credit (and we are talking major credit) is due...our photographer ROCKS!!!! She is just one of those honest to goodness, kid loving, I will work my a$$ off to get you a great picture, kind of person. I feel blessed to have met her, and honored to be able to call her my friend. Check out the latest and greatest pics she took of Izzy and Drew!

Be jealous...be very very jealous ;-)

http://alishaschwanke.blogspot.com/2010/10/izzy-and-drew.html