Carter's bowling party

This past weekend, Carter celebrated his 5th birthday with his friends from pre-school. His family birthday party is in June with Addison's, but this one was at a local bowling alley. His birthday was a few days before his party. He opened his gifts from mommy and daddy! He got a board game, some TMNT figurines and vehicles, a rocket launcher, legos and a couple other little things! :)

On Saturday, he was ready to head to his party! Before the party, he had a baseball game and the game of a friend so he had been moving all day! (We also had a picnic after his party too! Busy day!)

The simple set up at each setting. I made the swords out of the jumbo paint stir sticks, paint and electrical tape.

His cupcakes were vanilla and chocolate--as requested by the birthday boy--with yummy buttercream and TMNT rings (a hit with the kids!).

Time to blow out the candle!! 

They had such a blast bowling. There were 6 kids per lane so things were definitely lively. :) 

Part of the gang! 

He had such a blast -- I love seeing him so happy and excited. And, it was by far the easiest party I've ever thrown. Wrap up the disposable stuff and toss it, pay the bill and head out (with someone else cleaning up the mess...my kind of party).

Five years.

Five years. I can hardly believe it, but five years ago today I was calling Seth at work to tell him that I thought it was time. It was time to meet our sweet baby boy. I was hot, I was cranky, I was tired. But, boy, was I excited because I was about to meet the little guy who'd make me a mama.

The experience was nothing short of wonderful in meeting that sweet boy.

And it's been nothing short of wonderful since. 

Sure, we'd lost a lot of sleep. We've battled a lot of will. I've had many days where I wanted to curl up and cry. But for every one of those things, we've learned a lot of lessons and we've loved more than we ever thought humanly possible.

Carter, you are such a sweet, sensitive little boy. You are kind, energetic (like really energetic), thoughtful, loving, smooch-able, curious and playful. You made us parents and you've made the past five years the most joyful we could have ever imagined. You are so very loved.

Happy birthday, baby. We love you all the way to Guatemala.

Let's play ball!

Well, it's time. He's no longer my little baby. In fact, he's registered for kindergarten and is now a baseball player, too. (Hold me.) 

He's on the young side for t-ball, but they made an exception because he only missed the birthday cutoff by a few days. His team is the "Fire Rocks." This league focuses heavily on teaching the game and making it fun, so there isn't a whole lot of skill yet. They can't really catch, throw or hit...but they're learning and working on it. Already since opening day--which was April 11--I've seen some improvement. 

Here's our sweet #7! He's our favorite player! :)  

Their season is actually semi-intense. They have a lot of games for little kids. This week alone, there are three! Can't wait to see how much my little Fire Rock grows in his baseball skills. GOOOO, Carter!! 

Easter in NJ

We were in New Jersey for Easter this year and I actually had off on Friday for Good Friday (one of the many benefits of working at a Christian college!) so we left around lunchtime thinking the kids would nap in the car. Silly us. :) Needless to say, we made a Starbucks stop on the way so mama wouldn't lose her mind! On Friday night, we hung out at Ben and Salli's so all the kids could play. 

Saturday morning, I gave the kids their Easter baskets because I knew Easter morning would likely be crazy. I kept them simple this year but they loved them anyway! 

We headed to World of Wings on Saturday morning. It was a cute place that had lots of reptiles, butterflies, and other fun exhibits for kids. (Yes, that is a band-aid on Addison's forehead. No, it was not necessary.)

The kids were running around so quickly to each exhibit--which they could do because we were basically the first people there that day. It was awesome to have a lot of it to ourselves for a little bit. 

The kids did the extra add-on of the bounce houses...of course. :) They had that to themselves too, which was so awesome. Free run of giant bounces is probably every kid's dream! 

On Sunday, we made the kids do the obligatory Easter photos. Thankfully, I was able to snap a couple cute ones before we headed off to church. Love these munchkins!! 

After church, we went to Aunt Cindy's house for a delicious brunch. Getting this bunny sunglasses photo was pretty hysterical. :)

And in a fun twist, Oma and Opa kept the kids for a sleepover through Tuesday night! After a tiny bit of apprehension from Addison we headed out. Thankfully she was totally fine. We had a PEACEFUL trip home (rare these days), and enjoyed a full night of sleep. On Monday, I worked a half day so that we could have a date day. We went to see a movie and tried a new restaurant, which was fun. On Tuesday, we worked normal days. We were planning to meet Seth's mom part way for the hand off but she ended up bringing them the whole way home. The kids had so much fun at the park, wrestling Opa, playing checkers and playing with cousins, and already ask when they can go back. Thanks for the fun memories, Oma and Opa!

Easter-ish things

A couple weeks ago, Seth and I formed a small group with three other couples from church. We did not know them prior to this but matched up with them during a meet and greet one night back in February. We are so thankful for this group already and we are only a couple weeks in. All the couples are similar in age and all have kids, so it's perfect. On Palm Sunday, we got together for an Easter "party"--we painted eggs and had dinner as part of our weekly get together. 

Carter and his new BFF, Lucy. They get along so well and every time we see them, Carter asks if we can have a sleepover. :) 

Addison got a little dirty. Surprise.

The set up for the party! 

This is just some of the 40 eggs we painted that night. 

Life Lately

Life is crazy and hectic and we're aching for spring around here! Cabin fever is real, people. Thankfully, the weather has been spring-like lately and has allowed these little hooligans a chance to get outside a bit, and even wear short sleeves some days. 

Little Miss on her way to school! 

I often wonder how we've made it this long with no broken bones. Sneakily watching things like this out the kitchen window gives me a good laugh. 

Yesterday morning for St. Patrick's Day, Carter asked me when the leprechaun was going to bring his "prize." Whoopsie! A quick trip to the grocery store over lunch and "Lucky" was able to drop off a few little items for the cuties. :) 

They even got a little time by the fire with daddy, which allowed mommy to clean up the house. A pretty cute scene out there!! 

In other news, Seth and I recently joined a fellowship group at church, and formed a small group. We've had a great time with both and are thrilled about the new friends we're making. Our small group is made up of four couples--all with kids and all around 30 years old--so it's really awesome. We're on week three and so far, we're just rotating houses and letting the kids wreak havoc in the playrooms. Ha! 

This past Sunday, we also hosted the appetizer course of a progressive dinner for our fellowship group. We did appetizers for THIRTY PEOPLE in our ranch house. Interesting for sure, but it totally worked! 

Carter starts t-ball this week (and I'm team mom, of course!) and Seth starts softball in about a month. It looks like life won't be slowing down for us anytime soon! 

Bedtime conversations with Carter

Tonight, as Carter and I laid in bed together, singing and talking, we had this conversation.

Carter: I love you, mommy.

Me: I love you too, buddy.

Carter: I love you all the way to the sky.

Me: I love you all the way to the moon and back.

Carter: And I love you all the way to....Guatemala.

I cannot stop laughing!! :) Love, love, love conversations with my sweet 4-year-old.

Spring is in the air!

Finally!!!! Weather that allows us to go outside with a light jacket! It was 55 degrees tonight and it was glorious. While we made dinner the kids rode bike on the deck, we drew in chalk and threw frisbee. 

Only 11 more days til spring is officially here!

Valentine's Day festivities

I feel like there have been a lot of Valentine's Day things going on, so I'm going to lump them together. Here are the kids' Valentines for school. Addison did Frozen fruit snacks with little tags, Carter did Lucky Charms bars, and the teachers got Burt's Bees lip balm. I did something similar a couple years ago, but it was all new teachers this year, so it worked perfectly! 

Yesterday they had their parties at school. It's nice to work so close to their daycare, because I was able to pop over for 30 minutes at lunchtime. I didn't really get a picture of Addison because she saw me and immediately thought it was time to go home and had an epic meltdown when she learned I was just there to say hi. Yikes. This little guy was happy to see me and happily kissed me goodbye when I had to go back to work. Four is a nice age. :) 

Last night, we did a family fondue night. We LOVE The Melting Pot, so I found copycat recipes online and we did our own at-home version (minus the cheese course...kids only have so much patience). We did the coq au vin broth with marinated steak, chicken, and shrimp. We also did the broccoli and potatoes, just like TMP does, too! Oh...and I recreated the sauces. I was so pumped! 

It was AMAZING. It literally tasted nearly identical (for about $85 less -- HA!) though we had A LOT leftover. I over estimated quite a bit. Then...it was time for the chocolate course. We did the chocolate peanut butter and I did the little dippers like TMP as well. It was so good but we were so full. And, just like the real thing, we all burnt out mouths on the first bite. :) 

This morning, I did a scavenger hunt for the kids which led them from clue to clue until they got to one that said to go get dressed and get ready because we were going for a treat. We took them to Dunkin Donuts where they got their next--and last--clue. That clue took us to the Sports Emporium, which has a huge arcade...almost like Chuck E. Cheese but without the crowds and gang fights. 

We let the kids play for about an hour and then cashed in their tickets. They had earned about 900. Addison wouldn't pose for a picture, but Carter chose a matchbox car, a slap bracelet, 10 army guys, and a dinosaur finger puppet thing. Addison chose a ring pop (shocker! She's a candy FIEND!), a dinosaur finger puppet and 1 army guy. They were both very excited! 

And tonight, we got a babysitter and Seth and I are going out for dinner! YAY for a quiet dinner in which we aren't headed to the bathroom for a little girl who remembers she has to pee every time our food comes to the table! ;)