Christmas Eve

This year, Christmas Eve was extra special since it was my 60th birthday (according to Claire). I will gladly take "60" because, if I were in fact 60, I would look quite fabulous for my age! My brother and his wife hosted a lovely soiree complete with delectable appetizers, an unbelievable Chilean sea bass dinner and lots of family fun!

The kids eyed the many, many gifts under the Christmas tree, but they were very patient and did not beg us to open gifts the entire day. Once the gift opening began, however, there was a whirlwind of activity with paper flying all over the place amidst squeals of delight and joy. Since both Claire and her cousin can now read, they were reading the names on the gift tags, passing gifts by until they came to packages with their names on them, then proceeding to open them immediately. Next year we'll have to slow things down a bit so we can fully enjoy each of the gifts as they're opened.

We ended the evening with everyone singing Happy Birthday to me and enjoying a delicious ice cream cake. I couldn't have thought of a better way to celebrate my 60th birthday!

Claire's Half Birthday

Last year we decided to celebrate Claire's half birthday to help her understand the half-year milestone. So, naturally, we wanted to do it again this year. I put it on Claire's calendar at the beginning of the month and that turned out to be a mistake. Almost every day, Claire whined and begged and asked if it was her half birthday. The October days passed, then FINALLY October 25 arrived.

Since my husband didn't have to be to work too early, we gave Claire her gifts in the morning.

Then it was a regular day. School. Dance class. Homework. But, we ended it with a candle in one of Claire's favorite desserts -- chocolate ice cream with rainbow sprinkles.

Happy 5 1/2 year old birthday, Claire Bear!

Ryan's 6th Birthday

It's hard to believe that Ryan is 6 years old! It seems like just yesterday he was a tiny baby and now he's a soccer-playing, book-reading, two-wheeler-riding first grader!

We helped Ryan celebrate his birthday at a fabulous miniature golf course complete with knights, water features and a castle! Everyone had so much fun playing through the course, playing games in the arcade and feasting on pizza and Lego cupcakes.

Afterwards, we had a little family party back at his house complete with extra rare hamburgers and ice cream cake. Ryan was thrilled opening all of his gifts (Note to self: Buy Lego stock) and being the center of attention on his special day.

Legos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mimi's 91st Birthday

We celebrated my grandmother's 91st birthday today with a small family get together at my parents' house (My husband couldn't attend since he was flying over the Atlantic Ocean on his way to London. He was greatly missed.). The little kids played so nicely together all day while all of the adults chatted and caught up. Since we don't see each other that often, it's so nice when we have the opportunity to spend time together.

We managed to take our annual "wagon picture." Next year there will be 5 kiddies in the wagon as my cousin and his wife are expecting. They shared the exciting news today when they gave my grandmother a picture frame containing a sonogram as a birthday gift. We are so excited for them!

When the sun was perched high in the sky, partially hidden behind some fluffy white clouds, a rainbow appeared. One of my cousins said that it was his mom (Aunt Karen) making the rainbow in the sky to let us know she was there. Shortly thereafter, the heavens opened up and it POURED!

At the end of the day, before everyone had to start their journeys home, we sang Happy Birthday and enjoyed some delicious birthday cake. It was such a nice family day!

Claire's 5th Birthday Party

After nearly two months of anticipation (from the day we booked the party), today was Claire's 5th birthday party!

Claire was joined by 22 of her friends and a few family members at Imagine That! children's museum for a Barbie-themed party. We had been to Imagine That! several times before for a birthday party, Princess Breakfast and playdates. Given the choice of several party venues, Claire chose Imagine That!

Our guests ate bagels and fruit for breakfast followed by vanilla cupcakes with vanilla and chocolate frosting. Claire loved when everyone sang Happy Birthday to her and she effortlessly blew out all five candles.

We also saw a cute little Three Little Pigs puppet show that made all of the kids laugh. Of course, there was ample time to saunter around the museum playing and exploring. I'm not sure who had the most fun -- the mommies, the daddies, Claire's grandparents or Mimi!

After the big party, my parents, brother, sister in law, nephews and grandmother came back to our house for a little family party. Claire opened all of her wonderful gifts including clothes, Polly Pockets, a Lala Loopsy set, Teacup Piggies, a Leapster game, Strawberry Shortcake dolls, a Crayola Glow Station and, of course, tons of Barbies and Barbie-related toys! She absolutely loved everything!!! If you gave Claire a gift and are reading this...THANK YOU!!!!

We also ate lamb chops for an appetizer, which were delicious, and had hamburgers and cheeseburgers for a late lunch. Our family celebration wouldn't have been complete without cake, so we sang Happy Birthday to Claire again and enjoyed a scrumptious DQ ice cream cake.

It was a perfect day of celebrating with our friends and family!!!

Claire's 5th Birthday

Five years ago today my beautiful baby girl was born. It has been a joy being her mommy for the last five years. She has grown from an adorable little peanut to a beautiful, smart, funny, kind little lady.

To mark the occasion, we tied five helium balloons to the railing in our upstairs hallway knowing that Claire would see them when she came out of her room first thing in the morning. She did, but she wasn't as excited or as impressed as I thought she would be. "What are all these balloons for?" was the first thing she said. Shortly thereafter, she wanted to go downstairs to see what was there. I explained that there wasn't anything special there for her birthday and that the Easter Bunny hadn't come back and left things for her birthday. : )

After serving the birthday girl's breakfast, I got started making birthday cake cookies for Claire's school birthday celebration on Tuesday. It, literally, took me the whole morning! I did take a break for a few minutes to watch Claire open her gifts. She loved them all!

Later we went to the grocery store where Claire got to choose her own birthday cake. She chose an ice cream cake (Like mother, like daughter.). I told her that she could choose the restaurant where we ate lunch since it was her birthday. Naturally, she chose Frank's Pizza so we feasted on pizza and Coke for her special birthday lunch.

Note the velvet dress Claire is wearing. She chose it after being told
she could wear whatever she wanted on her birthday. She has been dying to
wear this dress since she wore it for Christmas!

We spent the late afternoon at soccer practice. Claire was excited to play, although she was extremely tired and hot as evidenced by her frequent trips to the sideline for water and girl talk.

The end of Claire's birthday was marked by me singing happy birthday to her (Her daddy was on his way home from work.). She waited patiently before making a wish and blowing out all five candles. Claire thoroughly enjoyed her slice of ice cream cake before brushing her teeth and going to bed. I think she had a great day!

Madelyn's Birthday Party

Today we celebrated Madelyn's 2nd birthday! Lots of our little friends were at Madelyn's house for the party. The kids had fun playing downstairs and upstairs in the playroom while all of the mommies and daddies chatted. Madelyn's mommy made adorable Elmo cupcakes for the kids! We had such a nice time.

The Guest of Honor

Brooke and Claire enjoying their Elmo cupcakes (Hello, red frosting!).

Birthdays!!!

Birthday party season has begun!! For the next month, we have at least one party per weekend, sometimes two. It concludes with Claire's 5th birthday party on May 1st. Our social calendar isn't quite as full in May (hint, hint).

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Yesterday, we went to our friends' house to celebrate Maddie's second birthday! The kids had a great time playing and the beautiful weather allowed them to play outside on the deck. It was wonderful to get some fresh air and sunshine! Maddie was especially cute when her whole face lit up as everyone sang Happy Birthday to her. We even sang it a second time, then she blew out the candles on her adorable "hop bum" cake (translation: bunny) designed by her mommy. We had such a nice time helping Maddie celebrate. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures at the party, so I will copy a few once Maddie's mommy posts them. : )

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Today, was Peter's first birthday party. We can hardly believe he's one already! It seems like just yesterday I got a call at 1:00 am asking me to come over and watch Ryan because my sister in law's water broke. Little Peter arrived early on Easter morning 2010.

My brother and sister in law had a small family party. Peter was a little shy at first, but completely adorable. He slowly warmed up to all of his guests. Ryan enjoyed his favorite pastime, playing Super Mario Brothers on Wii with some of the older guests. Claire was quite social, talking to everyone, telling jokes and stories. It was a relaxing, low key party.

We ate lots of great sandwiches and salads for lunch. Later, we sang Happy Birthday to Peter. He was very interested in the cake and tried to get his fingers on the #1 birthday candle. Eventually, he ate bite after bite of cake and frosting. He loved it! I think Peter's favorite part of the day was opening gifts! He loved playing with the gifts as they were opened (So did Claire and Ryan!). All in all, it was such a special day. We were so happy that we were able to celebrate Peter's birthday because he has such a special place in our hearts!!!

Grandpa's Birthday

President's Day was the perfect time to celebrate my dad's birthday since everyone was off from work. The six adults feasted on 200 clams cooked on the grill by my husband. They were delish! We also had hamburgers (Claire ate 1/2 of one!), then sang "Happy Birthday" and enjoyed strawberry shortcake. It was a fun family day!

Christmas Eve

We had a great day celebrating Christmas Eve (and my birthday) at my brother and sister in law's house! They are such wonderful hosts and holidays (and regular days too!) spent there are always filled with fun, laughter and delicious food! Today was no exception. My parents were there too, of course.

Relaxing by the Christmas tree

Reading The Night Before Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa

Singing Happy Birthday to Me!

A Gymnastics Party

We had a really nice time celebrating Claire's friend Maya's birthday today! It was a gymnastics party. Claire had so much fun doing warm-up stretches, swinging on the rings (then jumping off), jumping into the foam pit, climbing up a giant blow-up slide, then sliding down and doing parachute activities. The center had a great viewing area for parents. After the kids were tired out from all of the gymnastics activities, they retreated to the party room for pizza and cake!

During dinner I asked Claire what her favorite part of the party was. She answered, "When we sang Happy Birthday to Maya!"

A Weekend of Birthdays

We partied hard this weekend while my husband was away on a business trip!
On Saturday we celebrated Logan's 1st birthday. The party was at a church hall filled with lots of riding toys for the kids to ride as well as a bounce house. All kinds of amazing foods, including a whole roasted pig, were served -- delicious! Big Jeff, a local celebrity among the preschool crowd, had all of the kids rockin' while he performed some well-known as well as some original kids songs. In the midst of all of the fun, we sang happy birthday to Logan and he blew out the candles on a really cool rockstar cake that my cousin, baker and cake decorator extraordinaire, created.

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Later that afternoon we helped Oliver celebrate his 4th birthday. It was an intimate party at a gymnastics center where we, coincidentally, had gone with Oliver before. The kids participated in some activities led by a couple of gymnastics instructors, then let loose with some free play on all of the equipment - gigantic blow up obstacle course/slide, trampoline, long tumble track trampoline, balance beams and floor mats. Claire especially loved the trampoline and low balance beams. Her balancing has certainly improved over the last several years! All of the guests enjoyed some snacks in the party area, then feasted on an airplane-shaped cake that Oliver and his mommy created.

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On Sunday, it was my mom's birthday! We spent the day with her, my dad, my grandmother, my sister in law and my nephews. My husband and my brother were away on a trip together so they missed out on all of the fun. Claire and Ryan always enjoy playing with my parents' toys, but today they invented their own game using clothespins! If I had to give it a name, I'd call it the "Hansel and Gretel Game" because it resembles Gretel dropping stones, then breadcrumbs when she was led out into the woods -- one player closes their eyes and the other player makes a path using the clothespins, then hides at the end of the path and calls, "Ready!" The first player has to follow the path to the end and find the other player who may or may not jump out and scare them! The kids played this game many, many times in between lunch (hamburgers) and birthday cake. Grandma, Grandpa and my sister in law even participated too! It was a fun, relaxing day. We always love going to Grandma and Grandpa's house and we loved helping Grandma celebrate her birthday!!!!

Claire's 1/2 Birthday

I decided to celebrate Claire's 1/2 birthday this year for two reasons. First, I like to buy presents for Claire and I feel less guilty about doing so when there is an actual occasion that requires a gift. You know, Christmas, Hanukkah, the first day of fall, Groundhog Day... Also, I wanted to make a big deal about this half year milestone to help Claire realize that she is not just 4 anymore, but 4 1/2. She understood completely. Mission accomplished. Just ask her how old she is.

This morning when she woke up, Claire asked me what time her 1/2 birthday party was. I explained to her that we would not be having a big birthday party for her until she was 5 and that we would be celebrating her 1/2 birthday with cake and one gift that evening when my husband got home. She was cool with that.

We ran out to get a replacement pumpkin (couldn't find one!) and then stopped at a new place to get some Chinese take out. Believe it or not, they didn't have wonton soup, so we settled on seafood soup. We got home and started sharing the pint of soup. After 6-7 spoonfuls, Claire started getting faint red marks on her face and said she didn't want any more, but she wouldn't talk. She was whining and pointing to her mouth. I almost started to panic, but I kept telling her she was ok. I gave her a dose of Benadryl, but she still wouldn't talk and was crying a little (she tends to be dramatic). I was expecting my sister in law and nephews any minute. We were going to go to the pediatrician for my nephews' check-ups. I figured I'd try to get Claire to the doctor as quickly as I could in case she got worse or needed her TwinJect pen. I drove to the doctor's office while constantly checking Claire out in the rearview mirror. Once we arrived, we sat in the car since we were early and she wanted to sit on my lap. After a few minutes, she was back to her normal self, but when she spoke, her voice was raspy, almost as if she had a sore throat. I talked to the pediatrician about it, but at that point she was fine. The next time we go to the pediatric allergist, I will have her tested for shellfish.

We stopped at a great little playground on the way home from the doctor's office. Claire and Ryan had fun running around and playing. I felt a sense of relief seeing Claire play and laugh just as if the soup incident had never happened.

After a nice 1/2 birthday dinner at Frank's Pizza (Claire's choice), we sang "Happy 1/2 birthday to you...," Claire blew out 4 1/2 candles on her cake and she opened her gift: The "Beast" doll from Beauty and the Beast. She was thrilled with it all!

I'm thankful and relieved that today had a happy ending.

Mimi's Birthday

My Grandma has reached a major milestone: She's 90 years old! She looks great. She still gets out to the movies, Broadway shows and lots of events and activities with her senior citizen group. She still drives. She is probably more active than most nonagenarians.

Today we celebrated her birthday at my cousin and his fiance's house in Pennsylvania (literally a stone's throw from Sesame Place). Our branch of the family tree was there and my grandmother's sister and some of her family came as a surprise. It was a wonderful surprise for her as she hasn't seen her sister in a long time since she moved out of New Jersey. Some of my cousins' friends and family also partook in the festivities.

The little kids all played so nicely together and the adults were able to chat and catch up.

Thanks to the soon-to-be Mr. and Mrs. C. for hosting!

Frog Falls

We've been having a fun summer! Lots of playgrounds and afternoons at the lake.

Today we went to an awesome little water park to celebrate Claire's friend Dylan's third birthday. Claire had a blast riding around the lazy river and swimming in the pool. She wanted to go down the water slides, but she didn't meet the height requirement (Maybe next year!). Claire wanted to stay in the water all day, but we were able to convince her to get out briefly for pizza and then cake a little while later. All in all, it was a fantastic day!!!

Frog Falls Water Park

Claire riding around the lazy river with Zach.



Claire waiting patiently for cake. Dylan's parents hired my cousin, Jaci, to make
Dylan's birthday cake. It was not only adorable, but it was delicious as well!