Build A Bear party

Liz attended two Build-A-Bear parties when she was little, but I had never actually seen a bear made until we took Lainey to spend her Christmas money last month.  Lainey loved the experience so much that I decided to hold her birthday party there.  Also, it was much more affordable than I thought it would be (you only pay for what you make so you could do a party for six kids for as little as $60).

Lainey picked six friends to invite.  One of her picks was Lizzie's friend, Jordan.  Jordan has been so kind and inclusive to Alaina that she considers Jordan to be one of her friends.  At first Liz was bothered ("Lainey, Jordan is my friend"), but she quieted down when I pointed out that it would be fun for her to have a friend at Lainey's party.

The kids picked their animals and named them before they stuffed them.  The names were pretty sweet and girlie: snowy, princess, snowflake, and rose ("because some roses are white").  Ellie named her dog "Doggie Gawgo."

This party was soooo easy for us.  We've done out-of-the-house parties before but they were more work because had to figure out food and party favors.  Not at Build a Bear.  Food is not allowed and the bears are the party favors.  Done.  We provided blueberry muffins and juice boxes for the kids while we waited for everyone to arrive (those we were driving to the party location that is).  We handed the kids a cupcake to take home with them at the end.  Easy Peasy.  The night before I kept telling Drew that I felt like I was forgetting something because it was all too easy.  Really the hardest part was remembering where I had stashed Lainey's birthday girl shirt from the year before. 

The girls got to put one heart in their own bear and then they each added a heart to Lainey's bear.  There was a mad scramble for hearts when the party leader dropped them in the middle of the circle (much like a dash for pinata candy).

 The girls had to warm up the hearts and infuse them with a wish for Lainey.

 

Ellie is adding her heart to Lainey's bear:

 "Washing" the fluff off their bears:

 Picking accessories:

This was supposed to be our silly face group picture, but clearly only three girls made a silly face:

We sang a birthday song to Alaina, then the girls raised their hands and pledged to care for their bears (or love them or be good friends or something like that), the kids got the bear's birth certificates and we were done (we opened presents at home, with just our family--actually Ellie and Emma slept).

Lainey's 5th birthday

Lainey turned five on the first day of school (could have been her first day of kindergarten but we decided to wait another year).  We celebrated on the actual day as a family and held a party with her friends on the weekend.  On Tuesday, Alaina woke up to a balloon strewn floor.  That evening we went to one of Lainey's favorite restaurants, Cafe Rio, so she could get her beloved "greasy meat" (a.k.a. sweet pork barbacao - we've tried to correct her and it hasn't stuck yet).

I brought the necessary supplies so Laines could blow at a candle on our shared Tres Leche cake.

Ren Fest

We spent the last day of the summer at the Maryland Renaissance Festival (quite possibly Drew's favorite day trip).  The festival goes through October and I'm sure the weather would be much better any day but when we went, but Drew and I were afraid if we waited soccer would conflict with our outing.  Anyway, we had fun even though we were sweating buckets.

I planned to make some cute floral hair garlands for the girls (I think the ones sold at the festival are too pricey), but I didn't get back from the beach in time to shop for supplies.  Instead, I improvised with leis from our dress-up bin.  They seemed to work well enough (though they certainly weren't as cute as the ones my friend Sharon made for her girls).

Festival favorites: Drew had to see the jousting and I insisted on seeing Shakespeare Skum perform.  The girls enjoyed numerous shows and treats.

Beach Week

W spent the last week of summer in the Outer Banks with friends.  It was nice.  I was worried that it would be too much with a six week old, but it was very manageable (mostly because Drew got up with the other kids and let me sleep/nurse in bed with Emma).  

This year's pros: sparklers, tie-dying t-shirts, Lainey finally dared to play in the surf, cots for the little girls (they fit in the walk-in closet!), almost no sunburns, searching for sand crabs at night with the whole family, Duck Donuts (somehow I didn't come to love them until just this trip), and a sleepover for Liz at her friend's beach house.

This year's cons: Drew had to work at least part of every day except Friday, Lizzie burned her back, we had a red flag/no swim day, and a weird surf situation.  One day there was too much of an under tow for the kids to body board, the next day there were almost no waves.  Also the drive home was tricky. I dropped Drew, Liz, and Lainey off in Richmond were they rented a car to drive to the BYU game.  Ellie wanted to go with them and she cried about it for the rest of the drive.  The rest of Drew's drive was no picnic either.  He was delayed by traffic and arrived at the game an hour after it started and just in time to see the crowds exit the stadium (due to lightening).

 

 I spent almost all of my beach time sitting under one of these awnings nursing/holding the baby.  It was nice.  I visited with the moms and reading Angela's Ashes. 

 The girls had a lot of nice daddy time.  Lainey especially enjoyed building sand castles with him and sitting on the beach while the surf washed over their legs.  Liz and Drew liked body boarding together.  Ellie (and Lainey) liked playing in the pool with Drew, and Emma had lots of snuggle time.

We had a lot of kids in our house--19 including little Emma--but it wasn't too bad because we could send them all to the theater room and contain their noise (and movement).

In the following shots Liz looks like she just finished crying because she just finished crying.  She was disappointed by how we tie dyed her shirt for her while she was at a sleepover (in my defense most of the dye was gone before we got to it and also, who really cares?)

I also tie dyed a onesie for Emmaline.

 

 

Father's Day Interviews

Here are my favorite answers from the girls Father's Day interviews (I finally finished off his gift in August because I'm super punctual and otherwise amazing like that).

ELIZABETH

I really love it when my dad: Wrestles with me and gives me a kiss goodbye when he leaves for work.

The best thing he does is: Hugs me and tells me that he loves me.

My dad’s favorite household chore is: He likes the kids to clean the basement.  One week prior her answer was: That’s very hard because he doesn’t seem to like any jobs. Is taking a nap a job?

Dad’s favorite TV show/type of show is: Mythbusters One week prior she said: Well, I don’t really know the names of them, but ones that people get killed in.       

If I could give my daddy anything it would be: Anything he wants because I love him dearly.

He is smart because he knows: More than I know and he’s very talented. 

  

ALAINA

My dad always tells me: You’re pretty.

The best thing he does is: Play with me.

If he could go on a trip, my dad would go to: The airport.

My dad is special because: He makes dinner.

At work, my dad: Make money. 

He is smart because he knows: He knows that I’m pretty.

GABRIELLE

I really love it when my dad: Holds me in his lap when he is driving. (For the record this has never actually happened.)

My dad always tells me:  I love you.

What makes him happy/smile: Playing with toys.

My dad’s favorite household chore is:  Fix trees. 

My dad’s age:  Bigger.

At work, my dad: Play with his friends. 

      

All the above photos were taken by Danelle Empey during Emmaline's newborn photo shoot (to be posted soon).