Birthday. Potty.

We've had a very eventful week here in NJ. We started potty training Cheeky Monkey last Friday. He's been dry at home since Sunday. He's having a tough time at school, but at home anyway, it's all dry undies, all the time. And seriously, how cute is his little bum in those undies?

Our other big event for the week was Gummy Bear's 5th Birthday Party. We decided to have the party on a Friday evening instead of a weekend morning since it was half the price. We had a really lovely time. There was lots of sliding and bouncing by kids big and small.

Unfortunately, bouncing sometimes = head bonks. I'm fairly certain Bear is going to have a shiner tomorrow.

Here they are on the giant slide. There were a few more at the party than we managed to wrangle onto the slide, but this is the majority.

Pizza!

And cake. Making this cake was an adventure for another time. It was fun though, and turned out pretty well.

And of course, there were presents. There were also meltdowns because it was well after bedtime by the time we got home. And that, my friends, is why my kids have bedtimes.

This was, by far, my favorite picture of the evening. Someday, we'll see this picture at their wedding.

The Big Bear

Gummy Bear turned 5 Tuesday. How is this possible? He's been hair-on-fire excited for the past week. Since his birthday was on a Tuesday, his official party isn't until next Friday. Still he had his school party and we had a little family get together on his actual birthday. He decided he wanted Chik-Fil-A for dinner, so there we went. He also insisted that we all wear party hats. The woman who took our order was trying desperately (and failing) not to laugh.

What can I say about my Gummy Bear? He's a precocious, high-energy little man. The day after he turned 5, he told me that he was excited to be 5 because "I'm going to be so much smarter this year!" He loves board games and playing outside and conducting "speriments". Of course, the speriments usually end up with a mess or broken toys or both ... but hey, he is his father's son.

It's a good thing he's sweet-natured, because he is naturally bossy. I can only imagine the trouble he'll be leading his brother into in the years to come.

Gummy Bear is one of the most outgoing kids I've ever met. When we registered him for kindergarten (gulp) a few weeks ago, he went off with one of the teachers like they were old friends. And when I asked him who he wanted to invite from his pre-K class, he rattled off the entire classroom. When I asked his teachers who his pals were, they confirmed that "he kind of plays with everyone." I'm so thankful for his outgoing, generous and loving spirit. He never has a bad thing to say about his friends and wouldn't know what to do with a clique (and yes, they exist, even in pre-K).

The Bear loves all things sparkly and shiny, and his current favorite colors are red and pink. I'm hanging on to his penchant for sparkly and shiny just as long as I can, since I know a few years of school are likely to quash even those small excursions from the "norm."

He's a funny kind of kid. Recently, he discovered Finding Nemo, which if you remember has sharks in a support group with the tag line "Fish are Friends, not Food." When we had fish for dinner a few nights later, I was surprised to hear him chanting, "Fish are Friends, not Food" before each bite, only to say "He tastes delicious!" after he swallowed. It's fun watching his sense of humor develop. Today's joke was "What kind of pet does the sun have? A hotdog!"

More than anything, I love my biggest boy more than I can say. Happy Birthday, Gummy Bear.



We had a fun family get together. G-Pa decorated their dining room for his birthday. Bear was appropriately shocked and awed. The "5" balloon is as big as he is. It will likely last until his next birthday, so maybe we can use it as the measuring sticks.

Neena made him a beautiful cake, and he most thoroughly enjoyed it.

And boy, I just had to include this picture of the rarely seen, unigepa. Neigh.

Goings on: a list

1. Cheeky Monkey got sick (again) the day after my last post. His daycare called me lunchtime to tell me he had a fever. This time, I took him straight to the Dr. (I have learned my lesson, thank you pneumonia). This time he had an ear infection. The antibiotics cleared it up and we've all been pretty healthy since then.

2. I started my mental health rotation. This is the second rotation where I thought, "this is not for me."

4. We registered Gummy Bear for kindergarten. How is this possible? It went really smoothly, but I couldn't help but feel a little melancholy. He seems pretty excited though, and the school has a good reputation in the district.

5. Spring has sprung here in NJ. We've had a string of gorgeous days. The kids have spent loads of time playing outside, we decided to have our very first grilled pizza of the season. I'll tell you what, I could eat this every day once the tomatoes are in season. Serious yum.

Step the first: roll out pizza, put on grill, low heat. Flip once the underside starts to feel solid. Brush on garlic-infused olive oil.

Step the second: T'OMATOES!

Step the third: mozzarella and basil.

Step the fourth: Yum.

 5. My Gummy Bear turns 5 tomorrow. *Sniffle* He is beyond excited and has been telling anyone who will listen about how he gets 3 parties this year (one for school, one for the family and the friend party at the local bouncy, eaty, melt-downy house). Because he's really into Wall-E this year, that's what he wanted for his party theme. He asked for gray and blue cupcakes "because they look like Wall-E." The blue turned out less like sky or space and more like ... cotton candy. The gray shows more purple than anything. And then I ran out of the other colors and had to come up with a third color. Ry suggested orange-brown (you know, cause Wall-E is rusty). The orange came out more ... fleshy. I can't help but think, wow, those are some ugly cupcakes. I can only imagine the big reveal tomorrow at school. "Ew, Miss Kristina, I don't want the one that looks like skin!" "Why does mine look dirty?" Well kids, those are the breaks. Next year, ask the Bear to pick some normal, mainstream birthday colors.

Gray, seriously?

And that is what's new in our little corner of the world. What's new with you?