Breeley's Special Day

Breeley's birthday fell on my day off, so I promised a special day of fun things for her. One of the things I planned was to get our nails done together, but we ended up doing that the weekend before. She picked red for her toes and fingers, and they painted little white flowers on a few of them. She loved it!

On her birthday, we dropped Zack off at daycare and headed to an art studio to paint pottery! Breeley loves to paint and I thought it'd be nice to have a fun keepsake. She picked a bowl and all the colors and I gave her free reign on the first coat. Then I painted the second coat, going over the exact same pattern and colors. She used a round sponge to make black dots, and I painted the edges black to try to tie everything together. She had fun and was proud of her creation!

I would not recommend this activity for younger kids. Zack would have been a "bull in a china shop," and even Breeley seemed to get restless after an hour. Also, I normally like to give kids free reign with art projects, but that's a little more difficult when it is something you want to use/keep/display and don't want it to end up as a big brown blob. I think we had a good balance and ended up with her design and work. We will definitely go back because I got some other project ideas and they have good specials on weekdays. After it was glazed and fired in the kiln, I think it came out pretty cute!

Different angles

We then headed home to make cupcakes for her class. Since she knew her birthday was coming up, Breeley had been asking to make cupcakes for two weeks. She did almost all of it herself--pouring, mixing, and even putting the batter in the cups. We were cutting it close to get to school in time for their afternoon snack, so I ended up doing the icing and sprinkles while she napped. I left a few for her in case she was upset, but she was surprising uninterested in the decorating. 

Her friends were excited to see cupcakes and sing to the Birthday Girl, but, in a repeat from her birthday party, she got all bashful and hid behind me then went to a corner table and buried her face in her hands.  After things calmed down and people weren't staring at her, she happily joined the group and was very proud of her birthday hat.

I got Zack from his class so he could have a cupcake too!

Next, after some errands, we headed to the strawberry patch! The strawberries had been such a hit that I decided to get more while they are in season. The farm had a sign saying they'd be closed the next two days to let more berries ripen, which meant they'd been picked through and it took twice as long to pick half as many. The kids were not as helpful this time because it took them longer to find good ones so they ate every one they found! (I will point out that they asked me before eating almost every one. Such good kids!)

I didn't get my traditional picture of the birthday girl waking up (she had a little accident getting to the bathroom, which happens very rarely), so here she is going to bed as a 4-year-old!

I usually only plan one activity or outing per day because it's hard to schedule around the normal meals/naps and errands, so this was a special and full day! But a special day was appropriate for a special 4-year-old!

Birthday Party Time!

We have not had an "official" birthday party for either of our kids since Breeley's first birthday. Since then, we've enjoyed many birthday parties for friends and classmates. Breeley has been talking about her birthday party for months and doesn't seem to distinguish between the party and her actual birthday. Whenever I would round up and say she was 4, she'd correct me and say not until her birthday party.

We knew we wanted to do a party this year, but I tend to stress out about these things, so we decided to let someone else do it for us! We've been to several parties at places like My Gym, Monkey Joe's, and The Little Gym, which offer all-inclusive packages where all you do is bring the cake. My favorite place, My Gym, is temporarily closed for relocation, so we settled on The Little Gym.

Staff members lead activities and sing songs, but mostly just let the kids run around and play on the equipment. It seemed a little unstructured and chaotic, but it wasn't messing up my house and the kids seemed to have fun!

Breeley on the balance beam, which was very popular

They make a big deal about the Birthday Girl, which made Breeley uncomfortable and bashful. She spent most of those moments buried in Brian's shoulder or running from the group. It was shocking behavior because she's not shy and is very friendly, but we're learning that she does not like having a group's attention or having a fuss made about her. Several parents commented that their children do better at other kids' parties than at their own, so I guess this behavior is not uncommon.

Buried in Brian's shoulder while everyone said their names and happy birthday to her

Ma and Pappy came from VA!

I love this picture of Breeley with her little friend, Katelyn

 

Zack joined in some activities but was mostly content doing his own thing. Not surprisingly, he spent as much time as possible with a ball in his hands!

Breeley was fine sitting in the middle of the parachute...

...but made a quick exit when they started singing Happy Birthday to her!

The kids were told to sit on this mat, but then many of them got a little freaked out when it started filling with air. Zack is sitting next to his friend Helen, who he knows from daycare and we are friends with her parents. (Helen is going to be a big sister any day now!)  

 

Once it was blown up, the kids had fun jumping on the bounce mat. I think it was the one activity that interested all the kids! 

Then they sat on it again while it deflated, which didn't turn out so well.

My sister Amy volunteered to make cupcakes! She's learned a few things from Cupcake Wars and they turned out so pretty!!

 

Since Amy did the cupcakes, we only provided ice cream and party favors. So easy! I even had a photographer, Amy's husband, Andrew. We took this picture while the staff cleaned up. :)

Breeley had so much fun! It was great seeing her and Zack play with their little friends. I'm not sure what our birthday traditions will be--definitely not a big party every year--but Breeley loved having her friends and family celebrate with her!

Zack is TWO!!

Zack turned 2! Here is what I posted on facebook on his birthday, Feb. 23: Zack is 2 today! I know with him, life will always be an adventure! We love our Zack Man, or as Breeley calls him, "Bud."

Like last year, we were lucky to have grandparents celebrate with us two weekends in a row. Brian's parents were down last weekend and my parents visited this weekend. The kids certainly did not complain about cupcakes--or extra attention--two weeks in a row!

Normally he mostly licks the icing, but Zack devoured his whole cupcake!

Beelee and Bud

Traditional picture of him waking up on his birthday. He wasn't too happy that I was flashing a camera in his face first thing in the morning. But I haven't been too happy sharing my bed with him either! Yes, that is OUR bed! This stinker has been crawling into bed with us multiple times at night. He's never been a good sleeper and this is his latest phase. He started climbing out of his crib, and since we're not yet set up for a big-boy bed, he is currently sleeping on a crib mattress on the floor next to his crib... until he comes lurking into our room!

This child loves cupcakes!

Cupcakes and family visitors (Amy came over too) was the extent of Zack's "birthday party" this year. I was pretty lame and didn't even get the cake pops made in time to take them to daycare, so I took bananas (one of his favorite foods) to his classmates as a special snack on his birthday. Further proving I should be fired as a mommy, I didn't even wrap his gifts! Thankfully, both grandparents gave him wrapped gifts (a remote control car that does flips and a truck and trailer/boat combo), and he still loved the wheelbarrow and fold-up camping chair we gave him.

Zack had his 2-year well appt this week and he weighed 30 lbs (75th percentile) and was 33.5 in tall (25th percentile). He's a solid guy but has really grown into his weight. He does not eat as well as his size indicates, although he does love bananas, grapes, and green beans! Brian is worried he'll be short but I think it's too early to tell--he could go either way though because we have both short and tall genes on both sides of our families.

Zack keeps us on our toes for sure! Unlike his sister, his curiosity far outweighs his cautiousness, so it is not uncommon to find him rummaging through drawers and cabinets, carrying a blow dryer/flat iron/blender/etc. through the house and pretending to plug them in (he has a crazy obsession with small electric appliances!), sitting on our back porch after he's let himself out the door, or hiding behind our bed examining some "treasure" he knows he shouldn't have (tampons are a favorite). He can be quite sneaky--there are multiple times where I've taken something from the kids and he won't protest, but as soon as I put the item away, he'll quietly go right back to get it. Other times, he will protest loudly and by throwing things. He's always had quite a temper, so I'm not looking forward to Terrible Twos/Threes!

Thankfully, communication does not seem to be a big issue--he seems to understand everything and speaks far better than Breeley did at his age. It also helps that he and Breeley get along great (for the most part) and Breeley is a great example and models good behavior (for the most part). He loves giving kisses and hugs, especially if you have a boo boo, and he's very protective if he thinks games get too rough. (He gets all serious and will say, "No, Daddy, stop it!" and then push Brian away from me or Breeley. This comes in handy because I HATE to be tickled and Zack gets all protective when I start screaming.) He loves to play outside, especially pushing his lawnmower or playing with any type of ball.

We're waiting for space to open so Zack can move into the Twos class at daycare, but I'm thinking it may never happen because the Toddler teachers want to keep him! Everyday, especially recently, they've been raving about how he's such a huge helper (I haven't particularly noticed this at home) and seems to understand more than any of the other kids. They called him "mature" and "agreeable" and they always smile when they talk about him, which is a good thing!

We sure do love our Zack Man! We are so blessed to have him in our family. Happy birthday, Bud!!