And...We're...Done (Or Are We?)

After having cake a playing for a while longer, the party came to an end. Then, Brady got to open his presents! He was such a good big brother, letting Carson open one each time he opened one. Brady's friends seem to know him well, and he got awesome presents. Thank you to all of our thoughtful family and friends...Brady enjoyed getting his "dollars" just as much as he loved getting toys. I think that Brady would say he had an awesome birthday this year...is it finally over?!

Carson: The Bubble Series

Regan took these pictures of Carson going crazy after my neighbor started blowing bubbles at Brady's birthday party. We call one of them "the thriller picture"... guess which one. I giggle every time I see it!

Carson in Pictures: Why is he so Funny?

I threw a picture of Brady in here, but the next few posts are going to be pictures of Carson. We have some doozies that might make you laugh out loud.

The Extravaganza Continues...

The week before Brady's big party brought us several visitors, and it was a fun and memorable week. First, Stephanie and the Rasamny Family came for a few days, and we got to spend time with Emmy and J.R. (of course, we loved spending time with you, too, Steph and Jk!), AND Aunt Reggie and Uncle Eric came and stayed for the party. Everyone was super helpful and made everything more fun.

At the party, the kids had a great time bouncing in the "jumpy house". (Carson was very put-out when the owner of the rental company came to retrieve his house. He kept asking where it was and why it was taken.) They also dressed up in pirate gear, fought with foam swords, decorated flags, ate goodies, and went on a treasure hunt! Jeremy headed-up the treasure hunt, reading off clues, and having the kids figure out where the next clues were hiding. It was complete chaos, but the kids had a blast. And, most importantly, Brady had an amazing birthday...he was VERY happy.

PS - In the picture with Eric, Brady has pants on, he had just spilled something on his shirt. I didn't want anyone to be weirded out.

The Egg Hunt

Let's just say that I don't exactly have ultra-competitive children. Carson was happy to open eggs as he found them, and Brady stood around for a while before he got started. Luck was on our side, however, because the lazy kids in Brady's age range gave up as soon as all of the eggs APPEARED to be found. Brady and I found many eggs that were hidden in pine needles. Brains almost always beats out speed. What fun!

We were also so happy to see Daphne and the Torr family this morning. Daphne looked so adorable in her dress!

Let the Easter Party Begin!

We had such an awesome time at Redstone today. They had a totally kid-friendly Easter brunch that included a kid-level, kid-centered buffet (plus awesome grown-up food), the Easter Bunny, face painting, balloon animals, a jumpy house, and an Easter egg hunt. The boys had so much fun, and I got to enjoy 2 cups of coffee. It was a truly lovely morning.

Carson's Second Birthday!

OK, before you say anything about what a terrible mother I am for not posting these sooner, I will give you a perfect excuse...as soon as I think of one. I guess life just got in the way. We just returned from our Christmas in PA, and our house looks like Santa's workshop exploded. The boys don't know it yet, but we are getting rid of some stuff to make room for the new toys. Without fail, they always fall in love all over again with whatever toys they see us trying put away! I'll have to be sneaky.

Anyway, the birthday party is pretty self-explanatory. My friend Karen, whose daughter shared the birthday party with Carson, made another rock-star cake. At the end of the night, I found the number 2 which Carson had taken a bite out of. He must not like fondant because it was a tiny bite!

Treats and Parties

On her recent trip to Houston, Nonni spoiled the boys one last time before hopping on a plane back to Philly. They were both very willing for snuggle with the woman who forked over the ice cream! That's pretty much how I get my hugs and kisses, too.

The following weekend, we went to celebrate Ava's first birthday party at the Dean's house. Carson was so spent when it was all said and done, that he literally fell asleep sitting up!

Good times.

More Birthday Pictures

I can tell that my little boy is growing up because, as gifts, he received some board games, action figures, tiny Lego's, Nerf weaponry, and many of these gifts were in Star Wars or Spider Man bags...and, by the way, he LOVED all of it. I had no idea that he knew about Star Wars, but apparently, it's in the "How to be a Boy" manual as something all boys must know by age 4. Sniff, sniff. By baby's growing up.

PS: The AWESOMENESS of his cake will be discussed in the cake video that I will post shortly.

Brady's Birthday, Everybody Wins

I must admit that I worried all week about the 23 (that became 25 by party day) young children attending Brady' birthday party at The Little Gym. Well, it wasn't' the kids that I was worried about exactly, it was more the management of said kids. That's a lot of freakin' kids to put in any room together, but throw in a few balance beams, some bars to hang from, and a wedge powered by springs, and you are ASKING for turmoil. But I was wrong...the two young people in charge of the party ran it beautifully and the kids seemed to have a blast. The only hard part was the fact that it occurred in a whirl-wind leaving me worried that I hadn't properly greeted or "seen-off" all of our friends!

By the way, Carson had almost as much fun as the birthday boy.

Our Travels Begin!

Before we began our holiday traveling, we took a weekend trip to San Antonio, where my mom was attending an exciting social work conference. Luckily, we managed to pull her away from all of the lecturers for a few hours, and she was able to join us at the children's museum, and a few other sights around town.

I also threw a picture of Brady's school feast in there...how cute! Of course, stoic Brady didn't bother to sing or do the hand motions to the songs, but he was happy to snack on the Rice Krispie treats...which leads me to ask the question: Did the pilgrims make marshmallows, or the Native Americans?