Peyton and Landon's Birthday Party!

This morning we had a great time celebrating Peyton's 5th birthday and Landon's 1st birthday.  Mrs. Sarah asked if I could take pictures for her so I have several cute ones to share! Their theme was Pirates and Princesses - so creative!  Because of the weather, they moved the party from their grandparent's house to the Seven Hills church building which turned out to be a great location.  Thankfully the weather cooperated so the kids were still able to enjoy the bounce house as well as all the activities inside.

I love the creative titles for the food table.  I think Mason would love a pirate themed birthday party!

There were several stations set up all around with activities for the kids- Tattoo Parlor, Walk the Plank (balance beam), Buried Treasure, Princess Dress-Up and more!

 Sweet Friends.

 Landon and Camden.

 Cousins.

 The birthday boy and his grandmother (Mrs. Charla).  The pirate hat is too funny.

 Ms. Amanda, Mrs. Tracy (holding Camden) and Uncle Jordan.

Princess Maclain.

 I love that Maddox put on a dress - not sure how Justin would react if Mason did this.  Ha!

 Mrs. Amanda, Emeline and Nolan.

 Uncle Jordan managed to get a great picture of me and Cambo!  I love those two little teeth poking through!

Three little firecrackers - Kate, Peyton and Audrey

 Jumping in the bounce house! Thank goodness the rain went away for a little while.

 Maclain

 Nolan

 Maddox

 Sawyer

 My handsome boy 

(with yet another bruise on his forehead from a bad fall into the corner of the door frame)

Camden and Uncle Justin

After jumping, we all went inside to sing Happy Birthday to Peyton and Landon and eat cupcakes.  Yummy!

 One of the cleanest one year olds I've seen in a while!

Birthday boy.

Birthday girl.

Happy Birthday Peyton and Landon!  We loved celebrating with you!

Happy Birthday Papa!

Tonight we celebrated Papa's birthday at Texas Roadhouse!  We had a great time and the kids behaved really well - thank goodness!  Kate loved throwing peanuts on the floor, but instead of cracking them open and throwing down the shells, she just threw the entire peanut.  Oh well.  On our way out, we guessed the number of jellybeans in a jar for an Easter basket giveaway.  We asked Kate to pick three numbers and she did: 431.  Maybe we will win!

We hope you had a wonderful birthday Papa!  We love you!

Disney Jr Live!

Last night Kate and I had some girl time and went to see Disney Junior Live with Princess Sofia and Jake and the Neverland Pirates.  Mrs. Katie called me back in December to see if we would be interested in going with them.  It was a small fortune but well worth the money! We made plans to meet Mrs. Katie and Maddox at Moe's to eat a quick bite of dinner before the show started at 6:30.  

At dinner, Mrs. Katie gave Kate an adorable shirt for her to wear at the show and I can't thank her enough!  So cute! 

It was pouring rain last night, but we managed to get a fantastic meter parking spot right beside the Civic Center (for free)!  We got inside around 6:00 so it was a long 35 minutes for the kids before the show started.  Thankfully they have a short skit with Doc McStuffins to pass some of the time. 

The view from our seats!  

The floor was great but also a little challenging being able to see everything.  

The first part of the show was Princess Sofia with a special appearance by Cinderella! 

After a not so brief intermission (at least 20 minutes), the Jake and the Neverland Pirates show started.  Kate started crying at one point during intermission saying that Jake was never coming on.  Poor girl.  However, the wait was worth it because the show was fantastic.  Jake and the Neverland Pirates is one of Kate's favorite shows so it was the highlight of her night.  

 Peter Pan made a special appearance in this show!  And at the end when Jake and the Neverland Pirates found the treasure volcano, it exploded gold doubloons (confetti) all over the audience.  A great ending!

As soon as the show was over, Kate asked me if she could "watch another one?!" Needless to say she LOVED it.

Our group picture: Kendal and her grandma, Mrs. Brittany and Charlie, Mrs. Kristen, Mrs. Katie and Maddox, and Kate and I.

Who needs to go to Disney when Disney comes to us?!

Kate's New Chore Chart

We have had a difficult time lately with Kate and temper-tantrums.  Something simple like eating another bite of dinner, brushing her hair or even putting chap stick on her lips can quickly escalate out of control.  No amount of spankings, talking to her, threatening, or time out seem to work.  Most of the time she ends up screaming and crying for up to 20 minutes while we ignore her until she calms down.  I just thought the two and three years were challenging.  These spells don't happen all the time, but when they do - watch out.  

So...in an attempt to try something new, Gigi suggested we try a chore chart.  The goal is for Kate to get check marks every day in order to earn a toy (or special treat) at the end of the week.  Her chores are: get dressed, make her bed, brush teeth, pick up toys, help mom or dad (aka be a good girl), good report at school (sticker says parent's choice) and eat her dinner (we added that sticker later).   

Kate has been very excited about it but our first morning we failed miserably with not one, but two mega temper-tantrums before we even left for school.  Mornings like those suck every ounce of my energy.  I decided I wouldn't immediately tell her she lost her toy privilege because what would be her incentive for the rest of the week?  I recorded a small part of her temper-tantrum that morning and played it back for her on the way to school which upset her, but I think I got my point across.  Since Monday, the rest of the week has gone more smoothly so I hope this continues!

 

Horse Rides and Party Fun

Kate and Mason have had a fun-filled day today. This morning, my parents took them to the Azalea Festival at Espositos where there was a bounce house, pony rides and face painting.  Kate has been begging to ride a brown horse and today she got her wish.  Mom said she waited in line twice to ride the biggest horse there, Feather. 

 This afternoon, we were invited to Maddox's 4th Birthday Party at Truesdale Gym.  None of us had ever been to a party there before so we were excited to go and help Maddox celebrate! There were several different activities the kids could do: the foam pit, obstacle course and the trampoline.

 The birthday boy.

The group started off at the foam pit and  the kids took turns jumping and sliding in. 

The foam pit was one of my favorite places to play when I was a kid.

Tackling the obstacle course.

 Even Mason and Landon took a turn on the obstacle course, once the big kids moved on to the trampolines.

 Waiting patiently for their turn on the trampolines.

  Before the kids left the gym to go into the party room to have cake and open presents, all the kids ran underneath a giant parachute (aka the "birthday tent") and sang happy birthday as loud as they could to Maddox. So cute!

Happy Birthday Maddox!