Cake Time, originally uploaded by cheryl.
You wonder what he's wishing for, concentrating so hard, as he blows out his number six candle. It's hard to tell at this age. Sometimes I think he wants everything he sees.
Grandma and Grandpa drove up early this afternoon to pick up Connor so they could go to the store and pick up this cake. He had picked it out weeks ago on another trip with them. In true Connor fashion, it had been a difficult decision. He wanted every single cake he saw as he flipped through the order book - Hot Wheels, Lightning McQueen, sports, baseball, more Hot Wheels. Each one was better than the last.
Eventually, he settled on the one you see. It's a partial baseball diamond with players that he (with the help of cousin Kyndal) assembled just before the picture.
We almost had a little mishap with the cake before the day even started. As soon as Grandma and Grandpa and Connor came home with the cake, the put it on the kitchen counter.
And then walked off to do other things. Leaving the cake unattended. And tempting another little boy.
Guess who came walking into the living room holding the cake by the top of it's plastic container? Good thing it was a strong plastic container. Connor would have been crushed. And Sawyer might have gone running for his life because Grandma and Grandpa would have been after him. Little stinker.
But it was a strong container, and it made it through to the end of the day. Only about half of it remains, so we'll be enjoying it again the next few days. Birthdays should last longer anyway, Connor says. He's already asking what we're going to do tomorrow. You know, for his real birthday.
Hey, Dad!, originally uploaded by cheryl.
In years past, we've had all the kids' birthdays at home.
It is, quite simply, easier that way. The twins don't always do well in other places. Especially loud ones. With lots of other people. And strange food that they most likely won't touch. And confined spaces where they have to sit for long periods of time. And other people who look at them for every loud noise or odd movement.
This year we decided to try something different. A while back, Connor was invited to a school friend's party at a children's restaurant. He couldn't go simply because of a fall t-ball issue. But it made me think about doing something fun for his birthday this year. He's getting older, and his other friends talk about doing other kinds of birthdays - like parties at children's restaurants.
I didn't want to go through the hassle or the expense of a party with other kids, but I did want to try something different. I compromised. We had the family meet us at a large children's restaurant with no reservations or large party restrictions. We went to GattiTown. We were joined by Grandma, Grandpa, Grammy, Pappy, Uncle Brian, Cousins Austin and Kyndal, Aunt Kelly and Great Grandma JoAnn. We were a big table of fourteen! There was pizza and pasta and soft drinks and games and prizes.
There were also balloons. And unfortunately, that derailed Xander for most of the day. He ran away once, scaring us half to death, only to find him in a private party room trying to steal another child's balloons. He also desperately wanted to untie the balloons Uncle Brian (and Cousins Austin and Kyndal) had put on their gift for Connor. We tried to put them on his chair, but that wasn't good enough. He wanted to hold them. And we didn't want him to, because the ceiling was much too high and they would have been lost forever in a matter of seconds. It was struggle all day long. He wasn't happy until hours later when we got back to the house and he was, indeed, given one of the balloons (Uncle Brian had gotten three - smart guy that he is).
Sawyer did great. He ate lots of bread, drank lots of Mountain Dew (yes we know this is not a great thing), and rode the carousel many, many times. He had a good day. He may have swatted at Uncle Brian's balloons a time or two, but only because he loves to watch things in motion. He wasn't trying to take them or hold them, he just wanted to pull on them and watch them float back up. Overall, he was a model citizen.
And Connor was in heaven. He had pizza and pasta and Cherry Coke. He was with his two cousins who he worships, and got to spend the afternoon playing all kinds of fun and silly games, winning tickets that they would eventually cash in on cheap trinket prizes (his is already broken after an hour's play).
Food. Family. Fun. That's what birthdays are all about.
Play Friends, originally uploaded by cheryl.
A few weeks back, Connor had his first ever sleepover at a friend's house. He went home after school with his friend B (two years of preschool together, and now at the same school though not the same class). He had a great time then, and has been begging to have B over to our house from the minute he got back home last time.
Friday it finally happened. We picked up B (and his older brother H, who we dropped off at their house) from school and headed back to our house. The boys played, we fixed an early dinner - pizza, french fries and macaroni and cheese - and then the boys played some more. They took turns playing computer games, making Hot Wheels race tracks from Connor's many different sets, and even picking out movies to watch and munching on popcorn. They had a busy afternoon and evening.
Saturday they spent the morning playing again, enjoyed Daddy's pancake breakfast, and then took B back to his house around lunchtime. The boys might have liked more time, but at their age, we don't want them to grow tired of sharing or each other's company, so we cut it short on the second day. It seems to be working well for now.
Connor had a great time, and we hope B did, too!
Hard Days Play, originally uploaded by cheryl.
The days run together lately, but this was taken one day late last week. It was a rough week all the way around.
School is always a little bit exhausting for Connor, even more so when you add in things like play dates with friends (Hi J and P!) and child-led teacher conferences. It was a long week. And he was simply worn out.
And poor Buster has it even worse. In our old house, he was used to sleeping in as long as he wanted (he had his own room) and going in and out of the house whenever he wanted. Now he sleeps in the sun room - which is also the boys' play room - by his choice. We tried to put him in the over-sized laundry / mud room, but he moved himself out there and we let him.
That was before Sawyer started getting up at 4:30 in the morning. Not once, but three different times last week. Oy! Buster is also exhausted. He says you try sleeping with a bouncy, noisy, wide-awake little boy in your bedroom at that ungodly hour of the day.
So my two big boys were tired, and decided to nap together. How I wish I could join them some days!
Friends, originally uploaded by cheryl.
Today was election day, and beyond going to the polls, that meant all three boys were off from school on a random weekday. We made plans to meet up with some friends (and distant cousins) at the local neighborhood park.
Connor was so excited as soon as I told him about our plans. I told him the night before, at bedtime, as we were going through our day and talking about things that were coming up for the next day. His concept of time is still a little sketchy, so we try to give him short lead times for things he's looking forward to.
It didn't matter. He was so excited he could hardly sleep that night.
And the next morning. He kept asking if it was one o'clock yet (our set time to meet). When that didn't work, I told him he would have to get past breakfast and lunch before we could even think about going to the park. About five minutes after breakfast he wanted to have lunch.
Are you seeing the pattern? He was SO excited to see his friends.
We had lunch at the last possible minute, just to avoid the annoying questions of can we go yet. He got up from the table, wiped his hands and mouth, and went straight for his socks and shoes. The twins took a little more coaxing than that, but the mere mention of slides and swing is enough to make Xander come running. Sawyer sees the snacks being packed and he, too, is ready to go.
So off we went to the park. Connor rode his bike, and I pushed the twins in the stroller. Connor wanted to drive today, for some reason, but I told him no. It was close, it was a nice day, and we were walking.
It turned out for the best. When we got there, Miss S and her boys J and P were already at the park playing. Both boys were impressed with Connor's bike, and he felt like the king of the play date. They all took turns at various times sharing his helmet and riding it around. It kept them occupied.
Not that they needed a lot of help. They were fast friends and quickly all over the park. Riding the bike, playing tag, playing (or attempting to get the big boys to let them play) basketball, exploring the far reaches of our supervision, swinging, sliding, and well, you get the idea. They had a blast.
For two and a half hours.
It was a great day. A little cool at times with the breeze, but lots of sunshine and with the boys running around so much I'm sure they were fine. I stuck closer to the play set, talking to Miss S and helping the twins in their chosen amusements - usually the swings or the rings.
All in all, a fun way to spend our day off from school. The boys were out of the house and away from the screens. We got to be social and see friends that it's hard to see when school is taking up so much of our regular days. And we enjoyed the afternoon. Good friends, good times.
