Friday, November 14, 2008

Happy Birthday Danika!!!

What a big girl you've become! November 2nd was Danika's birthday. Her requests for her party were simple. . . dress up and make necklaces. Sounds simple, but since boys were coming, I had to get a little creative. So we had a Princess and SuperHero party. All the kids looked fabulous. Danika chose to be Belle and thanks to after Halloween sales, I was Snow White. Anytime to dress up is a fun time for me! After seeing Colton's birthday cake, Danika requested a "big take with wots of pincesses". I found a cake similar to this at a local bakery, but they wanted $125 for it! I thought for sure I could figure it out. I think it turned out pretty fabulous and a lot cheaper! Pink cake with pink frosting - what else could she want!
We did a few fun activites.
First when everyone was arriving, the princesses and superheroes colored big pictures of Ariel and the Incredibles. Then, we made necklaces! My great friend, Laurie, make shrinky-dink princesses and superman medalions and we added sparkly and foam beads. The kids had a great time with the help of talented mommies! If you look in some of the other pics you can see the finished products.
Freeze Dance is always a big hit. Thanks Carrie for putting together a cd with fun dance music.

Danika opened presents in her new princess throne. It makes music everytime she sits down so of course everyone tried it out!
Those are the highlights! We had a great time and Dani is already planning her next party!

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

My Playgroup

Six years ago I joined a mom's league in our area to meet other stay-at-home mom's. I thought we'd share the highs and lows of motherhood, have playdates, and meet up for lunch. Well, Colton and I did join a playgroup with other kids born within a month or two of him. That playgroup was as much for the moms as it was for the little 1yr olds who were there to "play" together. Little did I know 6 yrs ago that these remarkable women would become some of my very best friends. How lucky I am! Together we've had lots of laughter and tears - childbirth, childrearing, death, divorce, etc. Thanks girls for being such great friends! You have made such a difference for me over the last 6 years and I look forward to many, many more.Jen, Debra, Penni, me & AmyThe kids!
We had a special little birthday celebration for Colton and Dani with just their playgroup friends. They ran around like crazies, ate cupcakes and opened presents. How fun!
Our group six years ago was a little different. Some of our friends have moved away though we wish they'd hurry back. Penni - we're holding our breath, so please come back! Colton and Matthew are the only two boys left since all the boys have moved away. They are great playmates!
My dear friend, Sabrina, is missing from these pics because she just had her 4th girl!!! Yeah! We're all so excited to get our baby fix with little AnneMarie.
What makes your girlfriends so special????

Happy Belated Halloween!

Better late than never to share fun photos of my darling children! Joel took the kiddos out trick-or-treating while I stayed home to work on Danika's birthday cake.Colton reminded us late Thursday night that we hadn't carved our pumpkins yet and we'd need to get it done after Dad came home from work but before trick-or-treating on Friday. Needless to say, I wasn't really excited to squeeze carving 6 pumpkins in on such a crazy night. Joel is a "mad-carver" and got them all done very quickly. I do admit that I wasn't the best sport about it and I was breathing down his neck while feeding the kids some mac & cheese as they cleaned out their pumpkins! Colton didn't enjoy the "cleaning out" part as much as he enjoyed "carving with a sharp knife". Such is a 7yr old boy. They all turned out very different and surely lit up our walkway for all the neighborhood kiddos.