My dear boy is six years old.

And "dear" he is. So, so sweet and good. I know, I know. This is mushy....but really. This boy is everything a Mother could want in a son. Kind, easy going, smart, SO caring, funny, polite, expressive, curious, honest, generous, understanding, TOLERANT (he has this one brother in particular.....), and the list goes on and on. One thing I've really noticed since he has started Kindergarten is that he's really bloomed socially! Kids love him, teachers love him. He seems to be...dare I say it....popular! When I pick him up from school, so many kids go out of their way to say goodbye to him. He's friendly now - not painfully shy like he used to be. He's happy...and I love that. Anyway, the main thing is this: I just *know* that he'll take care of me when I'm super old and have strange hairs coming out of my ears. And that really means something to me.

The big day was last week. After dropping R off at preschool, we went to Starbucks for a celebratory hot chocolate (him) and coffee (me) before school. I made some fun surfboard cupcakes for him to share with his classmates, which were apparently a big hit. That afternoon we went to the park as is our daily routine. I don't hate the park the way I used to now that N's friends, and their very cool Mom's come as well. It's sort of like a playdate for everyone. All 7 kids play together (siblings too) and we get to talk.

We had planned on going bowling on N's birthday, but because Big Al took him a few days prior - we skipped it. It worked out fine though. N opened his gifts, and then we went to the boys favorite pizza place for dinner. It was hard to tear him away from two particularly cool gifts - The Razor E100 electric scooter from Big Al and I, and Heely's roller-shoes from Grandma. I was sort of worried about the Heely's but he took right to them - he's actually really good at it.

After the boys spent God-only-knows how many dollars worth of Grandma's quarters on video games, and the "grabber" machine, we went home and had cake. The bowling ball/bowling pin cake. The grand finale of the birthday season. That's it. No more. No more cakes, cupcakes, baked goods of any kind. Well...not until....Friday......when I have to make 4 dozen cupcakes for a bake sale/silent auction at R's school. Oh well. At least I had a week off!

All in all, N had a great birthday. At least that's what he told me as I tucked him in that night.

However - Six has brought with it something sad.

He calls me "MOM" now. Not the usual "Mommy.........."

"MOM"

He very sweetly but seriously told me that it was time for him to start calling me Mom. Because that's what six year olds do. He got this idea from a friend of his, but I can tell that he really feels that it's time. I'm trying to get used to it, but every time that sweet face looks at me and calls me something other than "Mommy" it's like a knife in my heart. Silly, I know. I just love him so much....and dammit I'm still his Mommy.

Baby Talk

My baby. He's getting so big. Now when he's in the bath, he splashes and looks at me for a reaction. I laugh. He laughs. And then we do it again. And again. And again! He still loves to blow raspberries. Yesterday he did it for about 15 minutes straight while we were driving. When he's on his blanket in the family room surrounded by toys, he'll scootch himself around. I'm not sure if he's "aiming" in any particular direction. I just know that if I leave him in one spot and then go throw a load of wash in the dryer - he is usually about 6 feet away from where I left him when I return. He's also starting to push up onto his knees and rock back and forth. I love how he looks at me to see my reaction when he's doing something new. So sweet. He's already too tall for his little entertainment/activity/circular thing. He LOVES his rain forest jumper thing though. He gets a serious workout in that one! He's sitting up pretty well, but appreciates the support of a Boppy. The whole tip-on-over thing gets old.
Today I brought him up to his room to take some pictures. Having gotten quite a few scrapbook pages done this weekend, I was in the mood to take even more pictures! Of course I did what I always do....I played the "lets see if I can avoid using the flash!" game. Every good photographer (which I am NOT) will tell you that the best pictures come when you DON'T USE THE FLASH! And whatever you do - DON'T USE THE AUTO SETTING! Do I use the auto setting? Yeah. But I'm working on that. Ultimately, I need to take a class.

And as for my wonderful owls...I mean JACK's owls....I love them. HE loves them....I meant to say that HE loves them. I don't have a problem and I don't need an owl intervention. I can quit owls anytime I want to. I wouldn't hold your breathe though.

Cheerios!

Can you believe it? Baby Jack is eating Cheerios. He loves them. He loves the challenge of the pincer grasp, and of the Cheerios long journey from the side of his slimy little fist into his equally slimy little mouth. I love watching him work out the cereal-y details, and even had a little bit of a moment the other day when I realized I was putting Cheerios into a ziplock for the diaper bag: No! We can't be here already!! Is it Cheerio time already? Wasn't he just born??

What I'm *not* loving is.....Cheerios on my socks, Cheerios under the table...Wayward Cheerios smashed under his chin, in his diaper (talk about the amazing voyage)....they are everywhere. Sweeping be damned - they are everywhere.

I have video! The "footage" isn't exactly riveting and there's a whole lot of background noise (In *my* house?? Imagine that!) "Logan" is N's friend from school who was over for a play date....just in case you were wondering. Honestly, despite how things look - I'm not growing a "boy tree" over here!

A Parrot-y Pirate-y Party

Yesterday was THE BIG COMBO BIRTHDAY PARTY. I wrote that in ALL CAPS to convey that this was a much anticipated and much prepared for event. Every time I throw a party, I'm really happy with how it all turns out. However. The days before said party are always....well.....overwhelming.....because I'm controlling and bossy.....and maybe a little bit of a perfectionist where parties are concerned. Poor Big Al. He had last week off and he spent the whole entire week "working for the man" well....in this case...."the woman." Me. Having a party is always the best way to get household loose ends - tightened. You'll notice my sign on the lawn....I felt bad about threatening little children, but we just re-seeded the lawn! It's a mess thanks to a rough winter and pesky squirrels. I didn't want all of our lawn-nursing to be for nothing because of 14 kids and a two hour party! It worked. No one walked on the lawn. And hey - at least I stayed with the theme of the party!

For the entertainment, we had the Happy Birds (http://www.happybirds.com/) come with their menagerie of wonderfully beautiful and talented birds. This went well with our pirate themed party! The kids absolutely loved the show - and so did the parents! R. invited six friends, and N. invited six friends - so it was a nice sized group. Not too big, not too small. The show started inside with one baby bird (a darling little bird named Sunshine) and her handler - Julie. While this was going on, her husband Ed set up outside on the deck where the bulk of the show would take place.

The show was so cool! These birds were amazing. They spoke, did neat tricks, played games. Really entertaining. The birds really were...."happy" birds! Julie and Ed were very professional, yet very sweet and funny with the kids. However, it was very clear that these birds were their babies and they were very careful with them - giving the kids clear instructions on what was and wasn't okay for them to do. The kids were all really respectful and just totally taken with the show which was great. I don't know if I've ever seen so many little kids (some 3/4...some 5/6) captivated by anything for such a long time!

All the kids got a chance to have a bird on their arm, but the birthday kids got special treatment - kisses from the birds and other neat tricks! Another thing I really appreciated, is that Julie made sure to give me very specific photo opps in addition to some great candid ones that I got on my own. She must be a scrapbooker, because she really seemed to understand the importance of "the shot!"

The show lasted about an hour, and then it was time for lunch and cake. What might Petsmart, Costco, and me all have in common? Well....this cake. I ordered a chocolate cake with white frosting and ZERO decoration from Costco. We got the pirate ship and treasure chest from the aquarium department at Petsmart, and then to Safeway for a frozen Sara Lee pound cake which I carved into an island. All I had to do was ice the pound cake and top it with brown sugar to look like sand, mix up some blue frosting and make waves with it on top of the cake and then use my scrapping stickers to make a cute black flag with the boys names on it. Totally easy and very cute! If anyone would like to see a much better picture of the cake, just let me know. I didn't post it because I forgot to take a "blog" picture of it - (one without the kids' names on it)

All in all it was a great party. The kids all had such a nice time and I think the parents did too. The entertainment was great and as always...I had lots of fun decorating! Of course in all the commotion, I forgot to take a picture of the table which was decked out in a treasure map table cloth, pirate head decoration and a big parrot dressed up as a pirate surrounded by treasure!

I can't even tell you how surreal it was to have such magnificent birds right there on my deck!

One thing is for sure - this party was scrapbooking GOLD!

N.'s actual birthday is next week and we promised to take him bowling that evening. I'll be making special cupcakes for him to bring to school and then a bowling cake (by request) for that night. Besides the Pac Man cake, the Pirate Cake, the Surfboard cupcakes for next week and the upcoming bowling cake....I made these (with a little help from Oriental Trading Company) for R.'s birthday celebration at his school just before Spring break.

I am SO.DONE.WITH CAKE!!!

Make a Wish and Blow out the Peeps!

Easter was a two for one holiday for us. R. turned 4 on Easter Sunday! It was a fun and FULL day. The kids woke up early as usual, and were delighted with their Easter baskets from the Easter bunny.

*****See that baby bottle candy in R.'s hand? I HATE those. I am fundamentally opposed to those baby bottle candies. But every time he sees them in the store, he wants one - and every time - I say NO. I figure we'd let the "Easter Bunny" get him one. This way, *I'm* still sticking to my guns. Get it?
Even baby Jack got an Easter basket - and even though his was the only basket that didn't contain anything edible, he still managed to put every little Easter toy into his mouth.

After R. opened his birthday presents from Big Al and I, we all enjoyed a big Easter breakfast. After that, we got dressed and ready to go to R's favorite place (and I realize that I'm outing myself here): The Boardwalk. So the five of us along with my Mom and sister piled into the van and headed to the beach. We got there right when they opened and managed to get on all of the boys favorite rides before it got too busy. It was a warm and beautiful day! Oh how they love the Boardwalk. They were so happy to be there and had a great time. They were cooperative too! What a bonus! The baby was a total angel - totally content in his stroller.

You know, I still get a kick out of taking the kids to the Boardwalk. As often as we go, it's still so fun for me to reminisce about all the many days I spent at the Boardwalk with my family when I was growing up! We're so lucky to live where we live. Not because of the funnel cakes - but because of the beautiful beaches and beautiful weather.

<------Look. Don't accuse me of taking their picture like this to show off their Boden shirts. I TOTALLY wasn't doing that. Oh my gosh, wait 'till you see the two Boden outfits I got R. for his birthday. He was just beside himself...well...I was anyway.

After the Boardwalk, we went home and insisted that the exhausted and sun kissed boys take a nap. Later on, my mom and sister came over for Easter ham and my mom's famous potato salad. R. was more than willing to open a few more presents from his aunt and grandma, and then.....the cake.

R. was thrilled with his cake, and so was I. A few weeks ago, I asked him what kind of cake he'd like for his birthday. Without hesitation, he said that he wanted a Pac Man cake. It's his favorite game to play on the computer. I was *so* excited to make this cake. It's a fun throwback to my *80's* era! I LOVED to play Pac Man when I was a kid. On Friday nights, we'd go to the pizza "parlor" and play Pac Man. Anyway, this cake was well.....a piece of cake........to make and it turned out super cute (I think.) Of course, what made it was the vintage Pac Man wrapping paper that I found online. It was still in it's Hallmark flat wrap and the price tag was still on it. $1.00. Inflation! Twenty years ago, one of those flat Hallmark wrapping paper packs was $1.00. Now they're about $4. Crazy.

Anyway....Happy Birthday to the funniest, silliest, smartest, most clever, most mischevious, warm hearted little monster I know. I love you.