A Harry Potter Birthday

Having a birthday 5 days after Christmas is always such fun- planning a party and celebrating with family and friends is a great way to spend the week off from school.

Harry Potter has taken over our house, and Leah knew exactly what kind of 11th birthday party she wanted to have this year.  And it was so much fun!

After a few days of planning, the magic started appearing.

 And then the characters!

 

This party was serious business.

 Even Harry Potter and Hedwig and a non-compliant Dobby joined in on the birthday fun!

Leah hasn't had a big themed birthday party like this is years (maybe ever- thanks to Pinterest this party was pretty easy to put together!) and even this year she didn't want to have a full house.  That's just not Leah's style.  So four of her closest friends joined her for the celebration, and along with her siblings, we all had a night full of magic and excitement!

Starting with potions class.  

Leah helped with most of the planning for the party, but she didn't know that we were going to make potions with fire!  

That was fun to watch- all of the girls started out close and involved and ended a safe few feet away from the flames.  

No worries though- Hagrid was close by with a fire extinguisher.  No wizards or witches were harmed at the party, although we did lose a glass bowl in the process.

Everyone got to make a potion to take home as well.

Next up was pin the tail on Dudley Dursley, Quidditch Tag, then a delicious spread of authentic Hogwarts food.  Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans provided the best entertainment of the night.

 And of course, there had to be a slightly rumpled pink and green birthday cake.  

Perfect for any 11-year-old witch or wizard!

  It was hard to get a good picture of the floating candles and Gryffindor banners, but they were perfect!

 And right about the time Leah was worn out from the presents and attention and second round of Quidditch tag turned laser tag, it was time for the guests to go home.  But it was a fantastic party.  And you can probably guess what kind of party Adam wants to have when he turns 9.

Jason and I commented several times how considerate and well-behaved Leah's siblings were at the party.  It can be hard to not be in the center of the action, but they all did an impressively great job of allowing Leah to have a party of her own.  Adam told me it's because he remembered the year that I made him go to his room during Emma's party because he kept doing everything for her and her guests.  I don't remember that, but apparently it stuck with him.

So happy, happy birthday to Leah, who makes everything fun!  This sweet first born child of ours is growing into such a fine young lady.  She's only got 2.5 inches to grow before she's looking down on me, and she can't wait for that day to arrive.  

Leah has admitted on occasion that it would be great to be an only child, but her eyes sparkle when she tells me about her best friend Emma and her cool brother Adam and her sweet baby Noah, so I know she's happy to be part of our crazy family, too.  

Leah started playing the clarinet this year- in addition to the violin- and I love to hear her play both!  She has a talent for making beautiful music.  

She's still a voracious reader and a witty writer and a brave tryer of new things (like soccer and band).

At her traditional birthday dinner date with Mom and Dad at IHOP, Leah told us the following facts. 

Favorite drink- polyjuice potion (lime sherbet mixed with Sprite).

Favorite book- Wonder, the first fully illustrated Harry Potter book, and Sink or Swim.

Bath or shower?  No question!  Bath whenever possible.

Violin or clarinet- violin.

BFF- Emma!  Because I can always be myself around her.

Biggest triumph of 2017- writing a 10,000 word novel (She'll have to publish it over here some day.)

Biggest adventure awaiting in 2018- going on the Disney cruise!

Favorite food- chocolate chip pancakes

Most excited about?  Starting middle school!

The year ahead is full of adventures, and this sweet girl is ready to take them on!  We couldn't ask for a happier and kinder young lady that Leah!  She is always trying so hard to do what is right and to help bring peace into our home.  

Happy 11th birthday Miss Leah-Bee-a!  We love you!

Adam is 8!

Goodness, my posts are all out of order this summer.  Adam turned 8 back in July!

It took a really long time to get here, but his big day finally came!  

He was so very excited about having a slip 'n slide baseball party.

A party like this calls for peanuts and cracker jack... and cheesy poofs!

I always tease Jason about picking me up a 5-gallon bucket of cheesy poofs... 

The kids were ridiculously excited about it.

This was such a fun and easy party- lots of baseball, lots of junk food, and lots of cake!

Unlike last year's failed attempt at a swimming party, this year's slip 'n slide baseball party was a hit!

 It was hot, but there was plenty of water at every base to play in and stay cool.

It was a very rare treat that we had Grandma Morales here to help celebrate.  I had just come home from my quick trip to Utah the day before, and it was so nice to have an extra set of hands to help get everything ready.  Grandma was in charge of keeping the slip 'n slide wet, and I think she had a liiiitle too much fun spraying the boys as they came around.  It was pretty funny to watch!

Jason was here for the party too, which is also pretty rare.  Even with a pretty small group of guests, it was fabulous having so much help!  

It was a great day to celebrate our favorite Mr. Man!

 He got exactly what he wanted for his birthday- thanks to his grandmas!

 Adam needed a new bike, and Jason insisted on getting him one that he'll grow into.  I get nervous every time he climbs onto this big boy bike!

It was a wonderful day, and a great chance to celebrate our big 8 year old boy!

Adam is such an easy-going kid.  He just floats from activity to activity without a care, and definitely without a sense of urgency.  But he's also aware and kind and helpful- as long as he hears me, he's willing to help out with whatever I need.

He's a deep thinker, and loves to learn more about the about whys and hows and whens and what ifs?He's one smart boy.  He's working with the extending learning teacher again this year, and I'm grateful for teachers that push his to learn as much as he can.

Adam says he'd like to be a Lego builder or a corn breeder when he grows up, although I think he'd make a fantastic surgeon some day.  He's methodical and meticulous and never in a rush.  

He started in Cub Scouts, and so far he's loving it!  I'm excited for him to be involved in such a worthy program and to be keeping up the family tradition.  There is a long line of Scouts before him in both of our families.

He stays up waaay too late every night, reading stacks of books by flashlight in his bed, but he never seems tired or affected by a lack of sleep.  He's usually one of the first to bound out of his bed in the morning and get on with the important business of playing with Legos, folding origami, or reading some more- reminds me of when he was a toddler and just could not be bothered with naptime.

Adam's best friend is Mason, and they are so sweet together.  They both have very chill personalities, and get along so well.  I love watching them together because they always have so much fun.  Adam has other sweet friends too, and I am always amazed at the energy and enthusiasm that they all have for life.  Childhood is such a fun time!

Adam loves mashed potatoes, olives (still), hard-boiled eggs, and blueberry pancakes, and categorically refuses to eat lunch meat or certain other kinds of meat. He doesn't seem to hate chicken or fish nearly as much as he hates ham, turkey, and beef.  Meatballs and hamburgers seem to be okay though.  It's tricky remembering everyone's preferences, and gone are the days when Adam used to ask, "What's the healthiest thing on my plate?" and then enthusiastically gobble that up.  Not anymore.

 He's "dabbing" while shaking cream to turn it into butter.

 This was a silly day- I told Adam that he wouldn't be able to ride in the car carts once he turned 8, and he insisted on taking one last ride while he was still 7.  He lasted for about a minute before declaring his legs were cramped and crawling back out.  Ha!

Happy birthday to our best boy!  We love you!

Emma Grace is Four!

 

After seeing all of the hoop-la about Adam's birthday just two weeks before, Emma was more than ready for her turn to be "da birt-day giwl!"  She woke up with a twinkle in her eye that stayed with her all day long- it was a fantastic day to have a birthday!  

Emma decided she wanted a Tinkerbell/Princess/Palace Pets birthday party, and it turned out great!  She had a few sweet friends over for crown decorating, pin the tail on Pumpkin (Cinderella's pet dog) a princess treasure hunt, an all-pink princess lunch and some very sparkly pink cupcakes.  

Emma did a wonderful job of kindly including all of her friends in her celebration and fun, and I was especially proud of her for thanking each of them by name as she opened their gifts.  She even traded her new scepter for a friend's broken one and made it through the treasure hunt without tears, despite not getting to find all of the clues herself.

It was a stark contrast to see her "run" the show at her party in comparison to Adam just a few weeks earlier.  Granted, it was boiling hot and there were twice as many kids at Adam's party, but he was more of a quiet observer.  Emma, on the other hand, thrived in the spotlight, chatting with her girlfriends over lunch and she was especially thrilled when it was time for presents, calling out, "Who wants to give me a present?!!"  

After all the party excitement it was very much time for a nap, so my sweet birthday girl took a three hour rest.  She doesn't always need a nap, but when she does, she takes one with all her might!

 Emma picked Chick-fil-a for her birthday dinner, because they have chocolate milk!  She was all smiles as we ate and played, then headed home for a few more presents and fun before bedtime.  

The kids got to end the night in a very unusual way- by watching a movie in my bed while I had a meeting downstairs.  It wasn't ideal in my eyes, but Emma loved it and that's all that matters.  To her it was a treat!

Jason had to go out of town on Emma's birthday, so we had started the day off with a family breakfast together before he was off.  Emma didn't want Daddy to miss out on her birthday cake, so we wrapped it up in foil and put it in the freezer to enjoy when we all got back from our trip to Indiana.  Emma definitely loves her daddy.

And we love Emma!  Her birthday came at just the right time, when I needed a dedicated chance to fill her up  with extra love and attention.  She is growing up to be such a sweet little lady.  She is always eager to spend one-on-one time with Mommy or Daddy, and she definitely puts up a good fight to find her place amongst her siblings.  She refuses to be left out, and tries her hardest to keep up with her big sister (a feeling I know all about, as a little sister myself).  Just this morning she happily followed Leah around and proclaimed, "You're my best friend, Le-lah!" And it's true.  She loves Leah and wants so much to be accepted by her, which she usually is, but is heartbroken when she isn't.

Emma's not afraid of doing big or scary things- she is brave and is always up for a new challenge.

 She's excited about starting two day preschool in the fall.  And she is one tough cookie.  She knew that she would be getting shots at her well child visit the day after her birthday, and she told everyone she wasn't going to cry.  She was startled by the shots, and I knew she wanted to cry, but she didn't.  She held it in and sat in my lap and said, "That really hurt", but she didn't cry.  It was an amazing thing to watch, especially as her big brother and sister were sitting in the room (at her request, for moral support) and were kind of freaking out on her behalf.  But Emma was the tough one.

 The bribe of a Topped donut helped a bit, too.  

Emma is just like her mama.  Heaven help me.  She knows how to be kind and loving, but she also knows exactly how to push people's buttons.  She is very aware of her ability to get what she wants with a "flutter and a flash" of her eyelashes and smile, or she can pout and hold a grudge with the best of them.  She is a picky little eater, but she always has room in her tummy for M&Ms.  She's the middle child to a 'T'.  I understand her completely, and I hope she'll continue to let me in as she gets older.

Emma has recently discovered the joy of coloring and drawing and creating art.  I often find her like this- 

She is so spunky and full of personality.  Sometimes she hardly seems like a little girl anymore- she's just one of the kids at the table with funny things to say and nice comments to share.  She's always thinking about her grandmas and their dogs and her cousins and and nice things that people have done for her and ways that she can cheer people up.   She wanted to write a letter to Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer this morning so she could tell him that she thinks his nose is cute, not weird.  

She's always making us laugh.  Emma does not like mint flavor.  One day she found a mint-looking perler bead creation and used it as a weapon, "Stay back or I'll mint you!"

And Emma Grace is beautiful!  She has the cutest sprinkling of freckles across her nose, her bright blue eyes often solicit comments from others, and somehow her hair always looks fabulous!

  Happy birthday sweet Emma Grace!  You took us by surprise the day you were born (before we even got to the hospital!) and you've kept us on our toes ever since.  You are a delightful little lady, full of fireworks and excitement and love.  You keep your brothers laughing and crying.  You are Leah's best friend (even if she doesn't admit it often).  And you are always a delight when you peek around the corner after we've tucked you in the for the night for just one more hug. 

We love you, little SuperGirl!