Quick photos from Easter

Just popping in with a few photos from Easter. I sewed all the dresses, made the bows, and made the bow tie. I was sewing on buttons Sunday morning. I’m tired. Trying out shaving cream marbled eggs. We did this (successfully) with preschoolers. My kids, not so much. It’s starting out fine here. Starting to get out of control. And now it’s disintegrated into chaos. This is what happens when Mom leaves the room for five minutes. Not as beautiful as I would have liked. Of course, they look much better once the shaving cream was rubbed off.   Bridget got to do the traditional dyeing. Yes, she drank the dye. I thought she was just going to look. You would think I would learn, since after looking back through old Easter photos, I have many shots of a kid trying out the dye. Doesn’t taste so good.   She wanted to kiss the egg. Why? I have an adorable family. Seriously. How are they all so good looking?      His primary teacher said he should be a pediatrician, because apparently pediatricians wear bow ties. And since my boy Paul is wicked smaht, he could, if he wanted to.   Not sure why I thought I could get a good photo of a 19 month old. Past Easters should have taught me better. I really should do a post comparing Bridget and Averi at this same age on Easter. It’s bizarre. They’re twins born three years apart. She was fine when she was distracted. Aww! So cute! P.S. I designed the pattern for her dress myself. *Pats self on back.* “I’m tired of pictures and I’ve missed my nap two days in a row!” “But at least I have cute shoes.” Bridget adores shoes. She insists on wearing them at all times, even if she’s only in a diaper. She’s always asking for her “shs” (not really a vowel in the word the way she says it). Easter dinner spread. So yummy and adorable! Sneak peek of the new table. Its size definitely came in handy for this meal! Michelle’s cute bunny fruit bowl that she made. Carrot cake. Of course. Yummy Easter bread. The kids were wild about the eggs in it.

Saturday Morning Cartoon Party

We threw Paul’s party just two weeks after Averi’s party. I had the idea for this party a long time ago, and it was super simple to execute. I already had the ruffled crepe paper saved from another party, and the only food prep was popping Pop-Tarts in the toaster after a trip to Wal-Mart. So easy, but so fun. The breakfast spread. The kids went crazy about being able to pick out whatever sugared cereals they wanted. This is a very rare event in our house. We also had muffins, doughnut holes, Pop-Tarts, bananas, milk and orange juice. After the first round of TV watching (Phineas and Ferb, I think), we went outside for a rousing pillowcase race. I love Albuquerque September mornings! Our somewhat ghetto setup. Six-year-olds don’t mind at all.   Present opening. This boy got some NICE presents. I definitely have an inferiority complex about my birthday gifts now. Rice Krispie Treat “birthday cake.” Easiest cake ever! Happy birthday, six-year-old! We love you, Paul!

Minnie Mouse Birthday Party

It’s difficult cramming in birthday parties for everyone, since we have five birthdays so close together. Bridget turned one on August 19th, and I meant to throw a Minnie Mouse birthday party for her. But between the starting of school, Katie’s birthday, and life in general, her first birthday came and went without any fanfare. Cue “Mother of the Year” anthem here. My mom and sister came for a visit in mid-September, and since it was getting close to Averi’s birthday by that time, we decided to bite the bullet and throw the Minnie Mouse party for both of them. Of course, we decided this on a Wednesday and threw the party on Saturday, which didn’t leave much time for inviting guests and all the other party preparations. Somehow we managed to throw it all together, and it turned out fabulously, I must say. Everyone had a great time, and the girls were thrilled.      Birthday girl Averi wearing her Minnie Mouse dress I made. Minnie and Mickey Mouse hats all lined up and ready for the guests. Our menu: Hot Diggity Dogs, Mickey Mouse chicken nuggets from Costco, a pizza shaped like Minnie Mouse, red punch, relish tray, “Oh Toodles” Noodles (pasta salad), Minnie Mouse cupcakes, and a red velvet cake. Bridget wearing the Minnie Mouse dress I made for her that day. Bridget with our friend Elma. She LOVES Elma and was thrilled to be with her most of the night. The Boyles and the Worthens were also able to join us. It was a gorgeous night for eating outside and enjoying the view. Pin the bow on Minnie Mouse Aaron did all the lettering with an exacto knife. In a rush to get things done at the last minute, I asked Kiera to glue everything onto the poster board. I didn’t realize that Aaron wasn’t finished and hadn’t cut the centers out of the letters like P and O. It drove him crazy for the rest of the night. Minnie Mouse cupcakes. These were probably my favorite since they were so adorable. The ears are mini Oreos and the bows are made from Fruit Rollups.   Bridget with her birthday cupcake. Now you can turn one, baby! We’ll just pretend I wasn’t a month late. The obligatory cake face photo.   Minnie Mouse pinata that Aaron and I made. If I were to do it again, I would spraypaint the base before I glued the tissue on. There were parts of the cereal box showing and it was driving me nuts. Also, cereal box pinatas are hard to break. But that meant that everyone got lots of turns! Katie having her turn. That girl is growing so fast. Those jeans fit her perfectly in September. She’s already outgrown them!   This laugh-smile is so my mom. 90% of photos taken of her look like this. It’s because she’s so happy all the time! And there’s Bridget’s cheesy grin again!