A Mo Willems Birthday Party

Kyle's favorite children's book author is Mo Willems.  He knows almost all of his books my memory and loves to "read" them to anyone that will listen.  So, of course, for his very first friend birthday party he picked Mo Willems' books as his theme.  Let me tell you, this was a fun party to put together with the help of the boys.  All of his friends seemed to enjoy the party as much as he did.  The basic set up of the party was to read a Mo Willems book then we'd follow the book with an activity based upon the book. 

 The Pigeon, Elephant, and Piggie

Candy Bars - Part of the Party Favors (thanks to Mel for the great idea and help). 

We also included coloring and activity sheets from the Mo Willems website.

 Cameron was the reader for the day.  He did a fabulous job!

"There Is A Bird On Your Head"

Bird nest with plastic eggs made for a good relay race.

"Don't Let The Pigeon Drive the Bus"

The blindfolded kids had to get the pigeon into the driver's seat.

"The Pigeon Wants a Puppy"

Puppy Pinata

 Grandma Judy made this adorable Pigeon Birthday Cake.  Thank you!

"The Pigeon Finds A Hot Dog"

A Hot Dog Dinner

"I Love My New Toy"

Present Time

"I Am Going"

The Gang Heading Out the Door

Kyle's Family Party

The weekend following Kyle's 5th birthday, we held a few more parties to celebrate.  Kyle had a great day celebrating with his Minnesota family.  Grandma Judy made him a "Pigeon" cake.  We ate, played, open presents and overall had a great day.  He did miss having Uncle Steve and Aunt Angela there.  Aunt Angela is expecting twin girls this fall and had to unexpectedly visit the hospital that day. 

 Our gang!

 The boys being goofy!

 Lauren showing off her party dress!

 Grandma Judy, Kyle and Grandpa Al

 Great Grandma Betty and Kyle

 Uncle Dan, Kyle, Tina and Wyatt

Kyle and his "Pigeon" Cake

Kyle's 5th Birthday

On September 7th, my baby boy, Kyle, turned 5 years old.  WOW!  Before big brother, Cameron, went off to school we opened presents over breakfast.  The boys had a few minutes to play and enjoyed every second with Kyle's new toys.  Daddy took the day off of work to spend with the birthday boy.  We spent the AM playing outside at the park and with Kyle's presents.  After lunch, Kyle and Daddy went to see Kung Fu Panda (in 3-D  - This was Kyle's first 3-D movie and he loved it).  Dinner that night was Kyle's choice so we celebrated at one of his favorite restaurants.  The wait staff even gave him ice cream and sang to him...he loved all the attention. There were a few more presents that night and his final request for his birthday was Hotteok (this is a sweat Korean pancake).   

Happy 5th Birthday Kyle!  We love you and are so proud of you!

 Presents at Dawn (he wished for a HexBug Habitat and we did not disappoint)

 The birthday boy and his beautiful smile

 Presents from North Carolina Grandparents

His favorite children's author is Mo Willems. 

He now has Pigeon, Piggie and Gerald to snuggle up with at night. 

 Yummy Hotteok!

Minnesota State Fair 2011

What summer would be complete without a visit to the Minnesota State Fair?  Not our summer that is for sure.  We all love the rides, the people, the food, the animals and much more.  It has become a tradition that Grandma Judy and Grandpa Al join us for this outing.  We all were up early in anticipation of the day so after a quick breakfast we loaded up the mini van and hit the road.  We are lucky to live about 15 minutes from the fair grounds.  Although most people avoid parking on the state fair grounds because of the cost and traffic we love it the convenience of it after a long day of walking.  Some of the highlights this year...the sky glider ride, the giant slide, lots of yummy food, the children's farm, and the Farris wheel.  But by far the best memory of the year is introducing Lauren to this annual tradition.  She was in her element with all the people.  She would try to wander away from us and stop random people by waving to them and smiling and yelling "Hi".  After she got a response she'd  run back to us and do this over and over again.  She loved being surrounded by "her public" as we call it. 

 STATE FAIR!!!!!

 Mommy with Kyle and Daddy with Cameron on the Giant Slide

 Sky Glider

 Farmer for a Day

 Farmer Lauren driving her tractor with help from Daddy and encouragement from Cameron

 Snacking after a "hard day" on the Farm

Catching a few winks while the boys ride the Ferris Wheel

More Summer Fun

 The Boys Love Swimming Lessons

 Reading the whole Magic Tree House Series

 Learning to Read

 Loves Posing for Pictures

 Soccer Fun

 Reading to his little sister

 Crazy Blue Hair Day

 More Swimming Lessons

(Congrat to Kyle who passed 2 levels this summer!  He has caught up to his big brother.)

Parade!

Preschool

Today was Kyle's first day back at preschool.  He seems so much more confident this year and excited for school.  I think its going to be a good year for him.  He will be attending preschool 3 afternoons a week.  Lauren will be so lonely with both boys gone but hopefully this will lead to some good naps for her and some quality time with mommy.  Kyle, I hope you have a fabulous year at preschool. 

Our 2nd Grader

Well, its back to school time.  Cameron is now is 2nd grade.  Time flies. His younger siblings were excited to wish him luck and see him off on the bus.  So far, so good...he loves school. 

Friends from Japan

On August 23rd, several old friend were reunited after 5.5 long years.  Our friends from Japan were in Minnesota for a short family vacation.  The last time we talked in person was right before they moved back to Japan and our oldest children were not even 2 years of age.  We became friends with them through an early childhood and family class and have kept in touch with them throughout the years with Christmas cards and emails.  It was so fun to see how much the kids have grown and to meet the new additions to the families.  Even though the kids had a hard time communicating with each other they had a blast playing together at the Minnesota Children's Museum.  We will miss you Katsue, Hiro, Miki, and Tatsuya.  Hope to see you again soon. 

 Tatsuya and Kyle (new friends)

 Miki and Cameron (old buddies)

Catching Up (thanks to Mike for taking the picture)

"New" Swing Set

Our wonderful neighbors blessed us with a gently used swing set that their girls had outgrown.  Thank you!  The kids are having so much fun with it.  It's the first thing they ask to do in the morning and the last thing they do before bed.