3.28.2010

Silas Turns 3!


Silas turned three yesterday and we enjoyed a nice day with a low-key celebration at home and fittingly, Silas stayed in his pjs all day.  There were some tantrums just to remind us that we're not out of this difficult phase yet, and a lot of hoopla over going to bed, but he enjoyed his birthday and i do feel like this one was a good celebration that we all made it through this year!


We started with a special breakfast that Silas chose and JT cooked.  Then lots of time playing and some Diego videos and after naps, time to open all the presents.  When Silas woke up from his nap i went in to him and while i was snuggling for a minute Henry brought Silas a dora balloon and said "Happy Birthday Silas!" and gave him a big hug. 

Henry's really helpful attitude continued while we opened gifts which was nice.  Because when we opened an early gift a few days ago, Henry had a complete and utter meltdown that the gift was for Silas and there wasn't a gift for Henry-- and that Silas might want to play with "his" gift first.  In a way it was nice that happened earlier because we had been prepping for Silas' actual birthday for a few days, talking with Henry about how it would go-- that the presents would be for Silas, etc.


When the time came Henry was great.  He was excited and helpful to Silas opening gifts but he didn't take over or try to steal anything away.  I feel like they've both been loving all their gifts and it was definitely fun to watch their excitement.


Preparations continue apace here for the Frog and Toad Birthday party.  While Oma was here a few weeks ago she sewed the bean bag frogs that will be the main item in the kids goodie bags.  I got them stuffed with lentils last night and all sewn up.  Aren't they cute!?  I used the tutorial here which worked great (or at least i think it did-- Sheree did the hard part!)

I also finished the birthday crowns for the boys.  Here's a picture of Silas' which predictably he liked but wouldn't deign to put on his head.  Henry's will make an appearance on his actual birthday.


I've also finished the pennant flags which i don't have a picture of yet and i'm close to finishing the frog and toad parachuters, which i will definitely post once i've got them ready.  

3.22.2010

Isn't that such a smart way to spend our money?

So we hit costco for what seems like our weekly outing on Saturday and found that they had children's vitamins for Henry.  It was a huge bottle with a dinosaur and Henry was quite happy.  At home he honed in on the number on the outside "300."  JT told him they would last almost a year.  So then we talked for quite awhile about how many days in the year there were and how old he'd be in about a year. 

Cue to this morning when the boys slept in and i had to wake them up.  Henry sleepily woke, extracted himself from his blankets and then just let loose with a torrent about the vitamins.  "Mom, aren't you so excited that we spent our money so smartly?!  These vitamins will last us almost a year!"

3.19.2010

Welcoming Spring


This week we got a sneak peak at spring and it was lovely, really lovely.  Warm temperatures and sunshine allowed me to pick up the boys and hit the park most days after school.  Henry and Silas resurrected their bikes from the basement and Henry was getting quite comfortable on his by the end of his first session.

JT has been working on end of quarter projects and will be starting spring break next week which we're all looking forward to.  We've got plans to get the yard prepped so that when it's really warm we'll be all ready to plant in another month or so.

Preparations for Henry and Silas' frog and toad party are continuing apace.  I've got the birthday crowns about 75% done, the frog bean bags were helpfully sewn by Oma, and this weekend i've got to hit the thrift store to find hankerchiefs for the frog parachutes.

Clearly i need to take some pictures because i don't think i have anything new to share.

3.08.2010

Travel Log

On day one of my trip to NM and while i've been looking forward to the trip for work, i've been dreading it for family reasons.  Silas is so needy right now and has episodes of not being able to seperate from me at all that thought of having to leave him come Monday morning had me really worried.  But just to make sure it's clear that i don't have the blueprint, when i mentioned it was time to get my coat on, his eyes got a little watery but he just gave me a big hug and asked who i was meeting on my trip. 

He and Henry bid me a fond farewell and i just skeddadled out of the house.  Then he got dressed and put on underwear with Oma.  Sounds like it was a great day all around.  So curious to see if the trend continues, but glad for all our sakes that it went well today.  Henry just kept keeping on.  I promise more updates on him to come-- i know they've been Silas centered lately.