Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Piotique

Last weekend was our Fall festival, Piotique. It is a combination of Pioneer and Antique, apparently they couldn't pick so they just combined them! Anyway, it was a beautiful day, and E debuted the robot costume in the kiddie parade!! A HUGE thanks to Anne for the amazing pictures! She allowed me to be in the moment and captured it too!


pre-game warmup. Although, Bea decided to be carried instead of walking.






Yeah, he is amazing. And the costume, which was his idea, is pretty cute too.





these may be new contenders for the Christmas card, except you can't really see E's face.







Normally, I would have edited the pictures more, but I couldn't pick! Thank you again Anne. These are all great!
What a sweet memory.

what happened on my birthday

As a very special gift for my birthday and inspite of an almost 12 hour delay, my mama made it for my birthday!I feel pretty silly because I managed to forget the camera for all but the last sweet hours we had together. It was a good, albeit, very quick trip.  What you won't see pictures of because of my misrememberance, is Russ and my trip to KC. and various other sweet shots of My mom and me. Let's hope my memory is stronger than I think and I can hold on to the mental images!

We  had brunch at The Chef. For old time's sake. And because their Salmon and eggs Benedict is delicious.

Missy and her Nonni


These kids love their Nonni. It gets harder and harder to say goodbye. Thankfully, Grampy is coming in a few weeks!!!


We went to the Sunset Zoo. When I was little we used to walk over from my grandparent's house in Manhattan. It was wonderful to take my kids with their grandmother.

end of the zoo. end of the pictures.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Calling all Superheroes!

In honor of my sweet boy getting older, more independent, and even more opinionated, we let him plan his fifth birthday party! It was a huge success and loads of fun. This year we invited friends--his friends, meaning, instead of party for grown-ups, we had a party for kids. It was a first, and it was crazy, but it was also perfect!
**Credit for all the beautiful outdoor shots goes to my cousin Joseph.
 Thank you again for manning the camera!
My mom gave me an old Jr. League party book and Ev became captivated by the description of a superheroe party. So, on the marvelous day, we gathered a basket of extra costumes, all our party supplies, and headed to one of the local park pavilions! The weather couldn't have been prettier.

One of the games in the Jr. League book was a "telephone booth relay" It sounded like an excellent idea. I think though the adults found it much more amusing than the kids. It was hilarious to watch them race as their mild-mannered alter-egos (meaning in a set of Russ's clothes) across the grass.


As we progressed through the ranks, we got a little lax with how the clothing was worn.

What's that you say? Nuclear blue frosting? Great, Galloping, Gophers! You are right! E designed his birthday cupckes down to the star shaped edible glitter. When I asked his opinion on the color of the frosting, he adamantly told me, "more blue, it needs to be much more blue." So it was. I don't think many of the adults tried one, but the kids seemed to like them.


After the party, we came back home and Evie got to open his presents from us, and Nonni, Grampy and Aunt Amanda, and Uncle  Kit, Aunt Amy, and Uncle Derek. We decided that we would all give Playmobil, because Evie had been lusting after the catalog for over a year. It was a solid decision. Not a day goes by that there isn't an hour or more devoted to pirates, pyramids, and knights... I love to listen as he creates the most amazing scenarios.


Thank goodness Russ is good at imaginative play! He and Evie have quite the epic battles. Now Bea gets in on it too because Nonni sent her some Playmobil of her own!


Because part of the fun is the neat accessories and teeny, tiny pieces, we decided an organization system was necessary. Russ donated this excellent tackle box and Everett found another way to play--he loves to line everything up and sort all the swords, knifes, treasures, and shields into their appropriate slot.

I remember when those feet were smaller than the palm of my hand. Why does time seem to go ever faster? I must treasure these days, always. My first born. My sweet and only boy. Oh how I love him. How perfect he is for our family.
 I can't believe he is already 5.