Tag Archives: birthdays

Celebrating Spiderman!

January 6, 2013 Molly 1 Comment

Reed turned 6 today!

One of our gifts to him, a soccer goal and ball.

He clapped when he opened up his present from his grandparents! He then played with it for 2 hours, until we had to pull him away for dinner.

He had a great birthday. He loved each of his gifts and took time to play with them. He was incredibly sweet about everything. After he was done with his cake, unprompted, he told me “Thank you for making me a Spiderman birthday cake.”

Reed at on his 4th and 5th birthdays:

Reed, it was so much fun to celebrate with you today. You have grown up and changed a ton in the past year. You became a big brother again, you started school and you lost your first tooth. You are speeding through life, but you are never one to slow down! I love your energy and determination, even if it sometimes is a challenge for me to keep up with you. I can’t wait to see what the next year brings for you. Happy 6th birthday, Reed! Love, Mama

Everyday Life

20 Birthday Questions (Lena– 5 years old)

December 10, 2012 Molly 4 Comments

1. What is your favorite color? Purple

2. What is your favorite toy? Dollhouse

3. What is your favorite fruit? Banana

4. What is your favorite tv show? Backyardigans

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Quesadilla

6. What is your favorite outfit? Stripe jacket (I suggested this– her original answer was just “shirt”, but she wears this jacket all the time)

7. What is your favorite game? Hide and Seek

8. What is your favorite snack? Water

9. What is your favorite animal? Giraffe

10. What is your favorite song? A Giant (?!?)

11. What is your favorite book? The Bible

12. Who is your best friend? Allyson

13. What is your favorite special treat? Cookies “Any kind you really like?” Um, no

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play

15. What is your favorite drink? Um, water (She actually said um for most of them but I had to put it here, since that’s how she answered it last year)

16. What is your favorite holiday? Eggs “Do you mean Thanksgiving?” “Um-hm”

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? “To sleep” (I explained it to her and then she said) Monkey

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Banana

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? My chocolate cake… chocolate, I mean my chocolate, chocolate (What she asked for was tacos)

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Play “Like what kind of job, to do for work… last year, you said a ‘tree'” Giraffe!

Here’s last year’s answers. Reed’s is first and hers is at the bottom.

Everyday Life

My Pair of Fives

December 8, 2012 Molly 3 Comments

Today begins the 29 days when I have 2 5 year olds! It’s Lena’s 5th birthday!

If you know them in real life, you know how true this picture is!

We went to get our Christmas tree. We went to a park that allows you to cut down a red cedar, an invasive species here. It was pretty fun– wandering around in cedars with the kids asking “What about this one?”

But, lest you think it was too fun…

Someone was mad that his daddy was busy with the tree and couldn’t carry him. He had to settle for me instead, which was NOT okay.

Lena went out on a little date with her papa this afternoon, while Reed and I got her present ready. I decided that he had to help me set it up and wrap it after he found out what she was getting and nearly spoiled the surprise for her. I think it may be a new tradition to have the kids help out with their siblings’ presents, because it was a lot of fun and helped him feel more involved in her birthday.

It was fun to watch her unwrap a present bigger than she is. And to see all of her delight over it!

When I first asked her what kind of cake she wanted, she told me “a Lena cake!” Later, she told me, a chocolate cake. So, I decided on a chocolate Lena cake.

We had some friends over for dinner and cake. It had been awhile since we had seen them and we had a great time.

After our company left, and Gus was in bed, Lena asked me “can I play for just a few more minutes, please? …two minutes, please?” It was already past her bedtime, but she was so sweet and so happy, so she got a timer for 15 more minutes. They got an extra bedtime story too… we just had to read her 2 new books. “Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots?” and “Llama Llama Holiday Drama.”

Happy birthday, sweet Lena! We love you and we are so happy to be your parents. We had a great time celebrating you today!

ETA: Sorry about the photos not working earlier– they should be now. They always show up fine for me, so I never know until someone comments to tell me.

Everyday Life

18 months and Toothy Milestones

August 2, 2012 Molly 5 Comments

My day began at 12:30. Gus woke up. VERY unhappy. Even after I calmed him down, he was not going back to sleep, so I brought him into bed with me. Poor kid is teething. One of his canines is just poking out, and apparently canines are the worst. He cuddled up with me and we tossed and turned for about 2 more hours before we finally fell asleep.

Babies need mamas. Gus has his own very sad, post-institutionalized way of self-soothing, but when I scoop him up and cuddle with him, that’s enough. Then he’s just my baby, content to put his head on my chest and play with my fingers or let me tickle his feet.

The excitement of our morning did not end there. Reed and Lena let us sleep in a bit, but when we got up, the first thing Reed said to me was…

“Look, mama! I lost my tooth!”

He was SO excited. And I was so excited for him. He is so cute without it, and it feels like crossing the line from preschooler to big kid.

Even though we don’t pretend that the tooth fairy is real, we still play out the tradition. Reed is pretty sure that I cannot be the tooth fairy. Here is the letter that he wrote to her:

“Dear Tooth Fairy,

We have a baby brother named Baby Gus. We love you, Tooth Fairy. I lost my missing tooth. It was pretty funny and it goes straight and I tried to get it back to normal, like teeth are supposed to get back. I can’t find things small because there is a lot of white. How do you fly inside my teeth? Are you little or not? Is your magic wand at the top a star or a heart? Sorry for telling you you don’t know how to snap.

Thank you and love,

Reed”

Gus turned 18 months old today. Since we didn’t get to celebrate his 1st birthday with him, I wanted to celebrate this. Nothing fancy, just the Oreo cupcakes.

Gus had his first cake moment. I imagine that this is his first time ever eating cake, and you can see how he just throws it until I put some icing in his mouth. It was too cute.

Happy 1/2 Birthday, Gus!

Everyday Life

Twenty Questions for the Birthday Boy (And Little Sister, too)

January 8, 2012 Molly 10 Comments

I saw this idea on pinterest. You ask your kid the same twenty questions on their birthday every year, so you can see how they change over the years. I love it! Here are Reed’s answers, at 5 years and 1 day:

1. What is your favorite color? Orange

2. What is your favorite toy? Firetruck

3. What is your favorite fruit? Apple

4. What is your favorite tv show? Backyardigans

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Burgers

6. What is your favorite outfit? Pants and shirt and underwear

7. What is your favorite game? Umm… hmm… hide and seek

8. What is your favorite snack? Granola bar

9. What is your favorite animal? Um, giraffee (signs giraffee)

10. What is your favorite song? Backyardigans

11. What is your favorite book? Christmas book

12. Who is your best friend? Papa

13. What is your favorite special treat? Ice cream

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play “What do you like to play?” Some toy “What kinds?” Hammers, a little one, it has yellow and green in it

15. What is your favorite drink? Juice “What kind?” Orange apple juice “Which one?” Apple juice

16. What is your favorite holiday? I like to be Buzz Lightyear. “Halloween?” “Yeah.”

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? A monkey

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Ummm, I like… apple

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Burgers and mashed potatoes

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A cowboy

And then I asked little sister, too, because she really wanted answer too, and I forgot on her birthday:

1. What is your favorite color? Orange “Is that yours or Reed’s?” Reed’s “What’s yours?” Pink

2. What is your favorite toy? Slinky

3. What is your favorite fruit? Grapes

4. What is your favorite tv show? Backyardigans

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? C-kiens (clementines)

6. What is your favorite outfit? I don’t know “Do you have any favorite shirts or shoes or anything?” Shoes “Which ones?” Brown ones