Thursday, March 20, 2014

Jake's 5th Birthday Party

5 years old!!! Hard to believe we just celebrated Jake's 5th Birthday.  Were did my little baby boy go????  Jake knew already at his 4th birthday that his 5th Birthday was going to be an Avengers Party.  I was actually a little surprised that it survived the year, but this boy is REALLY into super heroes.  :)  We were really blessed in that the weather held out for his party.  It was forecasted as a day with a 90% chance of rain and there were many times where it looked like the heavens were going to let loose.  But amazingly it did not start to rain until the party was over and we had the chance to enjoy every last bit of Jake's Hulk bouncer that we had rented for the party.  We were also greatly blessed to have some great friends from Jake's class at school, our church Lifegroup, and also some great old friends from Rosamond who now just happen to live out here in Oklahoma!  I remember last year when we knew a move was possible at some point wondering what type of party Jake would have as we would be in a position of making all new friends.  We really are truly blessed!!!!
 
Jake's cake that he picked out himself...chocolate of course.  :)
Jake was SO excited when his Hulk bouncer showed up.  We had tried to prepare him that it might not be able to come with the weather but we would still have a great time with indoor fun.  But when it arrived he was beyond excited.  :)
He barely let the poor guy put the stakes in the ground before he was outside trying it out.  :)
Posing with some of his "super" friends :)
We told Jake that on this day, he was an honorary Avenger :)  (or "Abenger" as he still calls them :)
He could hardly wait for his friends to arrive and so Daddy was good enough to join him for a bounce (AJ was taking a quick nap to be ready for the party)
Daddy got some air :)
Friends started to come and AJ got up...of course the first place everyone went to was the bouncer  :)
These little guys were not too sure about it at first  :)
Occasionally some kids would filter into the house for toys or different types of play.  :)
Cake time!!!  Jake did much better during the singing of "Happy Birthday" this year...he did not get completely embarrassed like he had before.  :)  He even asked for candles so he could blow them out.
I thought it was so sweet that his old buddies David and Abigail sat next to him during cake time.  Great friends from California and pretty much friends all his life (other than some missing time in the middle when we lived on opposite coasts)!  :)
Of course you can see little brother had to join the group once he heard there was cake and ice cream involved :)  Jake can hardly wait for his piece.
I think everyone is thinking the same thing here..."yum"
Even this little guy wanted a piece :)
I think this was the quietest the kids got the whole party
Brothers :)
I love watching kids this age during present time...every one likes to jump in and "help"  :)
Some patient ones were willing to sit back and watch.  :)
Jake was very blessed to get some awesome Super Hero gifts! 
The night before we had put together a couple games just in case it did turn out to be a rainy day.  Jake was actually super excited about having a scavenger hunt in the house.  So even though it was nice out we still played the game and the kids LOVED it.  Although next time I will make more than 9 clues...they were asking for more.  :)  Here they are running from one place to another.
The clue for this spot was "the fastest place to make popcorn -- microwave"
The last clue brought them to the dryer where they found their goodie bags  :)
Then it was back to the yard for more bouncing and fun.  And of course the kids enjoyed their Avengers masks.  :)
Jake had such a great time and many times told us "it was the best party ever!!!"  We were just happy that he had such a great and special day.  :)
At one point I had not seen Jake for a bit...found him in his room playing with his buddies from school.  :)
AJ loved the party too, I honestly am not sure which or our boys was more excited about Jake's party.  And he also loved the bouncer and was constantly in there even taking on the big boys.  :)
My two boys, meet Iron Man and Iron Man :)
This is what I had hoped for with Jake's party, being able to use our nice backyard for the bouncer and our backyard toys.  The kids really seemed to enjoy themselves.
Once the group dwindled and we were down to a couple families we were able to let Piper join in on the fun too.  :)
Funny because we have the hardest time getting a decent picture of these guys and the one time I do...they have masks on!  lol
Happy Little Brother...not sure he ever figured out it was not his party.  :)
I have to admit... the Hulk bouncer was pretty fun :)
And in the end, Jake enjoyed it so much....he actually turned into Hulk!  ;)


Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Fun around the house

So we just celebrated Jake's 5th Birthday and I have party and birthday pics to share but I had a ton of great pics to show too.  So therefore you get this great blog entry with a TON of pictures.  :)  All the fun things that we did the last 6 or so weeks.  :)  Enjoy!
The boys love playing "mechanic."  One of them will get under this ride on toy and then both of them will use their Handy Manny tools to fix it. :)
A special day that they got a treat!  McDonald's Happy Meals are always a hit :)
Little Thor :)  Ryan saw the Thor suit on Craig's list for $5 and we already had the hammer and helmet so he went for it.  The boys (and their friends) love dressing up as their favorite heroes.  :D
Jake has been getting better at eating his veggies (he likes carrots, green beans and broccoli) but AJ....well AJ as you can see still needs some work.
Cute boy
I love how Jake takes care of his brother, here is  trying to put AJ's shoes on him.
AJ looking at his favorite book.
Ahhhh AJ and apples.  He LOVES them!!!  We actually had to stop leaving them on the counter because we would catch him running around eating yet another one. :)  Could be worse.
Although he will even put his apple down for time with his beloved book.
 We have this really neat place called Unpluggits where they have in indoor play area and also a big painting area.  They also have this air hockey table that you can play for free and the kids LOVED it!!!  (Nice to have a place like this when the kids have been stuck inside due to snow for a while)
Jake "reading" a book to his brother
This was the first year that Jake got to give Valentines as he is now going to school for Pre-K.  He was super excited and picked out some Transformer Rescue Bot Valentines.  He then wrote his name on each and every one of them.
My big boy has come such a long way  :)
Two adorable boys just hanging out
I was super lucky to be able to help out at Jake's Valentines Day party at school.  It was so fun to see him in his class with his friends and he was also super happy to have me there.  Telling all his friends that his mom was here and pointing me out.  I enjoy this time while it lasts.  :)
When we got home we had a little Valentines Day party too.  Grandma and Pa Brown had sent us some goodies for the holiday.
AJ got one of those paint with water kits...I had not seen one of these in years.  Can hardly wait to introduce him as he LOVES water colors and this is even easier and turns out AWESOME.
Jake got Chutes and Ladders, it had been forever since I had played this game and we had a fun time as a family :)
Jake also started swim lessons again.  We signed him up at the YMCA so he could have lessons there at an indoor pool that goes year-round.  There is also a new one nearby that has an awesome splash pool and pool with a slide...will be fun to introduce him later :)
Took him a couple lessons to get back in the swing of things but he was SOOO happy to be back in the water!
And he did great.  He actually just started his second month and since they swim test them before each month they kicked him up a class.  Its more challenging for him but he will go far in it!  So proud of my water lover!
So the other day I check on my little AJ during nap time and I could not see him on his monitor so I looked in his room and this is what I saw.  See him hiding in his little hole reading a book?
"I not sleepy mommy!"  Does anyone believe that with those eyes????  I often catch him looking at books now when he is supposed to be napping or even once when he went to bed at night.  Never thought this would start at age 2 :)
One of the boys favorite treats is to go for ice cream/frozen yogurt!  AJ mostly sticks with chocolate but Jake likes to try different things.
The boys love to color
AJ very seriously coloring his Mickey Mouse
Jake very seriously coloring his Ninja Turtle
....although 2 year olds do get tired of doing one thing a little faster...so AJ started playing with Ninja Turtles.  :) ....
....and the of course they HAD to fight :)
My boys love their buddies and what is fun is that they often take turns cuddling with different buddies in the mornings.  On this morning Jake chose his panda bear which we made with him at a Build a Bear for his 3rd Birthday.
AJ chose a little Snuggles bear which used to be mine.  :)
Playing with Lego Duplos is a favorite activity for these two.  :)
My boys are hilarious.  Even if I sneak into their bathroom, the moment I turn on the water in their bathtub one of them will yell "Bath-time" and they will both immediately strip out of their clothes to get ready.  AJ can get this far on his own when wearing footsie pjs.  :)  So he will find me in this state for some help.  :)  Makes me laugh every time.
Watching my boys brush their teeth makes me realize how big they have both gotten.
About a week before Jake's birthday Jake had brought home a coloring sheet from AWANA.  On it was a brown teddy bear.  So Jake came to me and asked "mommy, can I get a brown bear for my birthday?"  I told him that he already had one that his Grandma Eileen and Pa Gary had brought to him in the hospital the day he was born.  When I found it for him in his room he loved it!  I love it when they rediscover old treasures!
Jake was doing his best to "look like daddy," how do you think he did?
Balls are always fun!  We got a couple more of these big balls for Jake's party and the boys have been having a blast with them.
This was the sweetest thing.  The other day Jake tried Fun Dips candy for the first time.  He had gotten a couple with Valentines at his school party and had never had them before.  So I let him have one as a treat after lunch and AJ chose something out of his bucket.  Jake really liked it and let AJ try some too.  Soon AJ was asking for more and Jake was sharing by giving him licks.  :)  After they finished it they were both very happy.  Jake walked up to me and said "Mommy can I get my other red candy like that and put it in AJ's bucket?  He really liked it."   How sweet is that.  He gave a new candy that he really liked to his brother to be "a giver" as he says.  Such a sweet boy my Jakey Bear.  :)
We recently signed Jake up to play t-ball this summer, and even though we have not started practices yet Jake is really excited to start.  We found the helmet and pants at a consignment sale for cheap and so he is all set.  :)
AJ cannot wait until he is old enough to play, but for now will settle for playing in the backyard with us.  :) 
Too cute
Daddy giving his son some pointers.
Goofy boys with the cool tower we built :)
Papa Murphies has these pizza kits for kids where they get to make their own pizzas.  Ryan got them for the boys the other day and they had a blast making their own little pizzas.
Success!!!  We have two great pizza chefs!!! :)
 
Next up...Birthday Party pics.  :)