Ninjago Birthday Party

When he was three Matthew asked if he could have his birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. Most of his favorite PBS shows were sponsored by Chuck E Cheese which is how he found out about it. I told him that he had to be five to have a birthday party there. Five was ages away and surely he would forget about it by then.

On his fourth birthday party Matthew began counting down the days to his Chuck E Cheese party. He knew from the commercials that he would get to go in the ticket blaster and he and his guests would get lots of free tokens. I didn’t have anything against the place but I enjoyed the creative control I had over his birthday parties in previous years. This was what he really wanted so we booked it.

This was a no-girls-allowed-except-moms-and-little-sisters party. He invited all the boys he is friends with both inside and outside of school. There was something like fifteen invited in all. The party was a roaring success. The kids each got a cup of tokens. Matthew was sung happy birthday and crowned by Chuck E Cheese himself. Pizza and cake were served to the guests. Sarah made the Lego Ninjago cake and cupcakes which looked amazing. Matthew elected to take a friend with him in the ticket blaster, which for months years of him talking about it, they both stood there in amazement instead of scooping up any tickets. Best of all there was no cleanup afterwards which wins out over creative control hands down.

Lego Pops

We're getting ready for Matthew's birthday party on Saturday. These will be the party favors.

Never Dull

As the result of a cold Sammy was stuffy when I picked her up from daycare. We went about our normal business of dropping Matthew off at a play date, pulling books off the shelf in the playroom, deciding what to have for dinner, and later picking Matthew up from his play date. Then suddenly it seemed that Sammy was having shortness of breath. I called the pediatrician to request a prescription for Albuterol but she needed to be seen first and they were getting ready to close for the day. I was referred to urgent care hours at another facility but that was an hour drive away so figured that the hospital closer to our house would be quicker.

On one hand it was a good thing I picked the hospital because as soon as we got there Sammy vomited three times. On the other hand I could have driven to the other location five times in the time that we spent at the ER. The nurse confirmed her shortness of breath and we were seen by the doctor immediately. She ordered a chest x-ray to confirm it was bronchial and not pneumonia. Sammy was not pleased with the scary looking x-ray contraption, especially the second time she had to be strapped into it because one of the films did not come out. When we got back to her room she had worked up an appetite again which was a good sign. She dozed off on my lap until the doctor came back to let us know the x-ray was clear so the next step was to give her some steroids and a nebulizer treatment. The tech showed up awhile later to do that which Sammy did not seem to mind because she was fascinated with pulling on the tech’s necklace of key cards. After the treatment they kept her under observation for a bit and then discharged us with a prescription for Albuterol.

Sammy is recovering at home quite well now. She is keeping her food down and back to pulling books off the shelf which are both good signs that she is on the mend.

Our Busy Day

A friend of mine works at a library which was having a Star Wars Party this past weekend. The timing worked out perfectly so that we could attend the SW party an hour before skating lessons.  We met a Clone Trooper and some other sort of character which name escapes me. The Clone Trooper was able to pluck out the Darth Vader tune on a piano which Matthew found astonishing. Who knew the hidden talents these Clone Troopers possessed?  

Meanwhile Sammy practiced standing without holding on by using her belly to balance her against a crate of blocks. It was a morning of hidden talents. 

Later Matthew displayed his ice skating talents by completing his last skating lesson in the pre-tot level. Next he moves up to tot 1 which will put him one level closer to his goal of playing on a hockey team. 

Sammy was able to catch a twenty minute nap during the ride from the skating rink to the riding rink. Grammy took Matthew horseback riding and taught him how to stop and turn the horse while in the saddle. 

When we got home our new shed was put together by Bob and Papa.  They had been quite busy too! 

Patriots Day

Matthew had counted down the days to Patriots Day as he understands the significance of it to have something to do with football. On Patriots Day Bob took him to Gillette Stadium to visit the Hall of Fame and to participate in an event they had which allowed you to get on the field in trade for a pair of donated jeans to the charity Cradles to Crayons.  It was all Matthew talked about for days after too. They had a great time!

9 months spells T–R-O-U-B-L-E

Our baby girl turned 9-months-old as of yesterday. She is starting to pull herself up onto anything and everything. She is getting more vocal each day and seems to want to sing more than talk. Everything goes into her mouth whether it is our guest’s shoes, her brother’s sandwich, or the welcome rug by the door.  Sammy is sweet natured and full of giggles but also a trouble maker. She makes a beeline for Matthew the second she is within crawling range and tries to get to his toys, tugs on his shirt or arm, and sits snuggled up close to him. Another avenue of opportunity for her is the bookcase. We keep the board books on the bottom row because she loves to pull books off the shelf. The other day Bob I was holding her along with Bob’s keys and wallet in parking lot and she managed to thieve the wallet and was swinging it upside down before either of us noticed. Pretty soon she will be walking and getting into all sorts of trouble Bob and I have not even thought of yet!

Their 1st and 5th Easter

The Easter Bunny came to our house and left Matthew and Samantha a baskets each full of toys and treats. "This is my best day ever!" Matthew declared and then openly added, “I hope that no one ruins it."

We had an egg hunt in the backyard. Matthew had practice the day before searching for eggs at Joycie's house. Sammy was bundled up and didn't do much searching of her own this year. Matthew still gave her all the eggs that had puffs inside.

We had just enough time to take some pictures before heading off to breakfast with the family. Sammy enjoyed her pancake and egg breakfast so much that I do not think anyone could have ruined her day! 

When we got home Matthew asked me to take a picture of him and Kermit the Frog on the couch as Kermit is now a part of our family. I could not say no to a request such as that one! 

Happy Easter!

Lunch Notes

Matthew’s school sent home a letter at the beginning of the school year urging parents to write notes in their child’s lunches to promote literacy. As you can see we are having a lot of fun with it! Each child has a small photo album in their cubbies to keep them in. Recently we enjoyed taking a look back at all the little notes and pictures from throughout the year.