More Birthdays & Father's day

For my 32nd birthday, I decided I would not cook.  And would primarily eat for free!  I love all the new free deals I am finding.  The kids and I had a leisurely morning.  I worked out and then we went to have a late brunch at Denny's.  (Free Grand Slam on your B'day!)  I got a kid's meal for Alaina and Ky, but Alaina did not hardly touch her food.  However, I enjoyed watching Ky devour his meal--and enjoyed the older couple next us admiring my beautiful children.  Ahh..yes a good birthday it was.  It was also Playgroup day so we met our playgroup at the park where Ky got his face painted like spiderman.  (Exciting times!)  Rob then met me there and brought ice cream.  He had class that night, so this was our best opportunity to have some time together.  From there we were off to the Y for work.  And finally dinner came--Red Robin.  Yes a free meal from them!  YUM!  This time I learned my lesson though--I did not order Alaina a meal.  I shared my meal with her and that was just fine.  Kylan especially enjoyed the day and for the next several days asked at every meal if we could eat out :)  Ahhh..there is just something nice about not cooking for a day. 

I almost forgot the kids got balloons at Red Robin and it was so much fun watching them play with their balloons.  It was a GREAT birthday! (Of course the video below doesn't do the balloon "fun" justice.) Why is it that once you pull out the video camera the kids just stop doing what they were doing?

That weekend Nana & G'ma Jan came and we picked strawberries together.  It was the end of strawberry season and I didn't want to miss out on filling my freezer.  The picking was also my first experience with stinging nettle.  (EEKS!)  I was crouched down picking some berries and I felt something jabbing my skin.  I figured it was just a weed so I ignored it.  A few minutes later I felt a burning sensation.  I got up and I saw blisters appearing on my arm and legs where I had been in contact with the weed.  What a nasty weed!  After a while ( a lot of burning), the area turned numb so it really didn't bother me anymore.  But YUCK!  Now I know...and I will stay away from it.  It is so funny to think that people actually make tea from this nasty weed!
After picking Mom & Jan treated us out for a yummy lunch at a cafe.  Good food and happy children all around!  After that I spent my time cleaning strawberries and freezing them.  I have learned that coring them and putting them on a cookie sheet is the best way to freeze them.  (DON'T SLICE).  After they freeze 2-3 hours on the cookie sheet then transfer them to your freezer bags and Voila--wonderful whole strawberries that aren't all frozen together!  And, so perfect for pulling out for blender drinks! or toppings, or baking....mmmm...

The next day was Father's day and the kids had fun giving daddy a father's day song and gifts.  I made Rob a collage with the kiddos and entitled it "Daddy's Tax Credits".  (A term Rob came up with himself!)  He loved it.  From there is was church and then off to Pop's and Debi's for more birthday/father's day fun.  We celebrated Devan's birthday and mine.  It was a good time with good food.  Alaina decided to try an onion--mmm...yeah...got that on camera. 

So I really haven't done much for milestones so here is my effort...Ky is officially 40 lbs now and 31 3/4" tall.  After every meal he stands up and says, "See how much bigger I have gotten?"  He is currently in T-ball and just finished Karate camp--which he loved!  We are planning to get him more karate classes in the future.  He talks alot--and right now he is in a phase of asking ridiculous, drive you nuts question.  (i.e.  "Where is that car going?"  "I dont' know"  Why don't you know?"  Because I don't know that person?"  Why don't you know them?"  etc...  or one of my favorites in the car..."Can we follow that car?"  "NO"  "Why not?"  "Because we are going somewhere else"  "Why?"  Etc....)

Alaina is talking in sentences.  She loves her nuk, but we have tried to reduce her down to just having one at nap and night time.  She still pushes down babies smaller than her and pulls hair.  And yes I discipline her every time.  She will occasionally go on the potty, but more often than not she will sit to go and then stand up and pee right in front of the potty.  She LOVES to annoy Kylan and get him to scream.  She is still into purses and shoes.  She climbs EVERYTHING!  She is Miss Independent, but still LOVES to be held. And right now is a mommy's girl. 

That's all for now...gotta get to bed! 

Alaina sings ABC's

So PROUD!

Happy Birthday Videos

Alaina really did well learning to sing Happy Birthday to Kylan for his birthday--however when my birthday came around she had some real issues trading Ky's name for mine. Here are some videos of her working on it.

Sibling love

A few short videos of the kids together. SO CUTE! Be sure to watch the second one--Nothing makes you happier than listening to kids laughter!

Beans & Cheese

So if you haven't figured it out yet--watching Alaina eat is HILARIOUS! I love it. Her new thing is stealing food off of other people's plates (I have to get that on video.)

These videos are from another ENDLESS meal. She was just SHOVELING it in with no stop. Of course, we only got a bit on camera. Definitely not a dainty girl....

Happy Birthday Ky Pt. 2

On Monday (Ky's actual b'day) he had a playdate with his good friends Mae & Daniel.  We started the morning by building a fort!  (WHAT FUN!)  When they grew tired of that we moved outside to the newly finished swingset with deck & slide that hooks up to the clubhouse above the shed!  (I finished it, YEAH!--but forgot to take any pics!)  The kids had a good time playing outside in the clubhouse and playing with water guns--and especially eating leftover birthday cake!  (Who wouldn't?) 

That night when Rob got home we pulled out our present to him.  We had bought him a bike.  He had a pink bike that the neighbor had given us and he LOVED it.  However, he needed something a little more age and gender appropriate (we were well aware that soon some kids would be making comments about his "girly bike".)

Ky was ecstatic.  We brought it out and he hopped on it so quickly.  I was unable to get any good pics of him on it.  He didn't want to get off--even to eat dinner.  However, we bribed him with a walk around the neighborhood (he could ride his bike) if he came in for dinner.  That did the trick.  After dinner we were off for a ride.  He did really well.  He fell 3-4 times, but didn't cry and just got back up on his bike. 

He told us his bike was named "Rocket because it is REALLY fast!".  We even let him do some loops in the cul de sac.  And now, he asking for us to take his training wheels off so he can ride on two wheels.  (though for now we are going to wait on this since his feet don't quite touch the ground. 

On Thursday we had a birthday party for Ky's playgroup friends. Of course it was "Cars" themed.  we had some games including "Don't wake the tractor"  (where Daddy played the sleeping tractor), as well as a game to see who could build their road the fastest.  And of course they played Red light Green light!  It was a fun time (and a lot of work.)  Ky had picked out kazoos as a party favor, we handed them out and they didn't work--turns out they didn't come with the little paper inside that makes them work!  I tried quickly cutting out various papers for them, but none of them worked!  ARGH!  At least the kids were too young to really know any better. 

I am sure that Ky will tell you the best part was the cake and the song.  And what kid doesn't love cake!?

I will tell you that this was a bit of a stressful party with the neighbors deciding THAT day was the day to put up their new fence.  This meant I had to keep all the kids out of the backyard and confined to the front.  It was a bit crowded, but I think it worked out well. 

Ahhhh...I am just happy that the birthday stuff is over....now to begin thinking about Alaina's--oh no, did I say that out loud?!  ARGH! I can't believe my baby will be turning 2 in a few months.  *Sigh*  They sure do grow up quick!

Oh--before I forget, I just have to add, that Alaina is really into stealing other people's food. Poor Daniel who sat next to her during "cake time" had much of his cake stolen....(Please keep this in mind if you sit next to her during any meal times in the future.)

Happy Birthday KY! (Pt. 1)

Yes, there are multiple parts to this blog because this boy had 2 parties...Yes 2.  We had a "friends" party on top of the family party.  And let me say, I am exhausted thinking about it--but the result was one VERY happy boy.

Before I get into all the details of cake making and the family party, I have to say that Kylan was a very confused boy.  He did not understand how we were having a birthday party for him that was not on his birthday.  We had to keep explaining to him that since his birthday was on Monday it was harder for people to come and celebrate, so we were celebrating the weekend before.  Then he was convinced on Saturday that it was his birthday, and once again we had to burst his little bubble.  Poor kid!  So confusing...

This year we asked Ky what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday.  He has a lot of different interests now, and nothing that he really favors, so I needed his input.  "I want a Lightning McQueen Cake.  I want a chocolate cake with pink frosting on the bottom and marshmallows on top.  And I want oreos."  Hmmm...interesting...Well, ironically (not intentionally planned) he actually sort of got that.  But we will get to that later. 

Thus I began the search for a Lightning McQueen Cake.  Don't you love the internet?  I found this site below that gave step by step instructions on how to make your own McQueen cake. 

http://www.make-fabulous-cakes.com/car-cake.html

So we planned from there.  However, there was ONE problem.  Rob and I had never made or decorated a fondant cake before.  (Fondant is that frosting that you actually roll out with a rolling pin and then place over the cake, it's kind of like a shell on the cake.)  So continued the internet search.  There are a LOT of sites out there about fondant.  And the recipes required glycerin and other stuff that was unbelievable.  Until I found this link.  This lady teaches you how to make easy fondant with marshmallows!  And it was FUN!  (Here is the link if you ever want to make easy fondant.  You know I am recording this in this blog so I can easily look it up later.  I am sensing many more fondant cakes in the future.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9rlJeJsJR0

The night before the party we worked on the fondant.  Since Auntie Barb's B'day was on the day of Ky's party, we figured we would first experiment with the fondant on a little cake of hers.  It went so well, we got a bit overconfident.  We started adding dye to the remaining fondant for Ky's cake.  And we added dye and more dye and more dye--and well after using a FULL bottle of red food coloring and still having a pink colored fondant, we were done.  So we began rolling out the fondant. Long story short, all the dye changed the consistency of the fondant, so when we placed it on the cake it cracked in the corners.  We now know (of course hindsight) that if we had simply added a little shortening it would have fixed the problem.  Oh, well.  The cake still came out looking pretty good and really amazed Ky.  The look on his face when he saw that cake was worth the late night of decorating.

The day of Ky's party, he was SO excited.  It really brings back memories of being little when you see your own child's excitement.  He was continually asking when people were going to arrive.  And finally the arrivals began! 

Uncle Adam & Aunt Liz were first to arrive, though they detoured through a fair amount of Wisconsin country before they arrived (and reminded us that we need to tour the Jelly Belly factory soon!)  And shortly after that the extended family arrived.  After some visiting and admiration of the carpeted garden, we got the meal going.  Ky was bouncing from family member to family member and playing with his cousin Dominic. And the usual family things were happening:  Richard managed to get a piece of toast stuck in the toaster--and it turned into a long and drawn out ordeal--thank goodness Detective Bloedorn was on the case.  U. Kirk and A. Barb had brought  a book from the 50"s?  on how to make various things --for example how to shoot and slaughter your cow, recipes for bizarre things like cow tongue soup, how to skin a rabbit.  And of course we cannot forget the three grandma's that attempted to change Alaina's diaper and put it on backwards! (again!) Ahh...nothing better than the fond memories of family.

We grilled for Ky's b'day (I think we pretty much do this every b'day).  It was good eats.  Shortly after dinner we pulled out the cake and the look on Ky's face was priceless.  He loved it.  We sang to him and he sat there with the cutest expression on his face.  And then we chowed.  It was pretty good cake.  Alaina kept asking for "more cake." And when she was denied, she cried. 

Then of course the gift opening time came.  And what an excited boy he was.  He got some great books, the Car's video, baseball bat (which is hidden for the time being---yeah...), a bug catching kit with lantern, underwear, cd's, and a Thomas laundry hamper.  (I am sure there were some other things as well..) At that point it was late and many people left.  Ky was bummed, but happy he still had U. Adam & A. Liz to hang out with.  It was neat to see the kids with Liz & Adam--also interesting.  Alaina really bonded with Adam, while Ky really bonded with Liz.  The next morning after a yummy breakfast Ky was very sad to see them go.  (You can see from the pics, he didn't want to smile.)  Ah...but all good things must come to an end.  All in all it was  great 4th b'day party...and Mom & Dad had decided to give Ky his present on his actual b'day--which will be in the next blog entry...

Happy 4th my big kid!  I couldn't have picked a better boy!  God sure paired us together well!