Birthday Boys

This past Saturday we celebrated Ethan (4th) and Ben's (2nd) birthdays.  We had their shared party at an indoor beach volleyball place.  It was a very fun birthday and Ethan told me several times that it was his best party ever and I had to agree.  Here are some of the pictures from the party:

Birthday Cousins.  I love these two boys.

There were lots of trucks and cars to dig in the sand.  

We brought beach balls.  

Mom and Damian 

Lots of playing

Andrew digging a hole probably to bury a child in. :D

Nathanael was pretty chill and seem to love his feet in the sand.

Lots of food.

The birthday cake.  2 candles on one side and 4 on the other.

Blowing out the candles.  

I think Ben was too focused on the trucks on top of the cake to blow out his own candles.

My sweet beautiful nephew.

Good times had by all.  Looks like Andrew is digging another hole.

Hannah and the girls playing in the sand. 

Did I mention how relaxing this party was for me?

Damian and Ethan.

Hannah and Sanne-Lise and Adrianna dancing.

I think my favorite part of this party other than the celebrating of two very wonderful boys was the that there was so much for the kids to do and space for them to run around.

Ethan's Birthday

Almost two weeks ago we celebrated Ethan's birthday with a fish party.  After all he is o"fish"ally 2 now.  Here are some of my favorite pictures from the party.

My mom and Andrew's mom hard at work.

The fishes that decorated the room.

Ethan and his friends.

Hannah and Daddy.

The cake!

I love this picture of Ethan blowing out the candles with has hands on his cheeks.

Inside the cake was wavy blue.

A basket photo for the birthday boy!

Afternoon Quiet Time

Once lunch is cleaned up, it is time for Ethan to have a nap.  I fondly remember the days when Hannah napped after lunch too, but one day in September, Hannah stopped napping: Cold Turkey.  They was no slow down, just an immediate halt to all things napping.  Since then she has what she calls "rest time", it is neither restful nor quiet, and truthfully there are afternoons when I am more tired after rest time than before it.  On a good day, she plays and reads quietly in her room for the majority of Ethan's nap.  Then she reads and plays quietly in my room.  Those are the good days.  I'm not really going to describe a bad day, its too taxing. :D  I will however "show" one relatively bad day.

On the particular day in question Ethan napped well but woke up early.  Hannah did not manage to stay in her room for even 5 mins before needing something.  Turns out that was the relative "calm in the storm" portion of or afternoon.

Hannah and Ethan had not been playing well together, and they were NOISY, VERY NOISY and I had a headache.  After yelling several times, I separated them into their own rooms and  told them to read quietly on their beds until I came back.  After I calmed down I checked to make sure they were both still breathing and I couldn't find Hannah.  She had sneaked out of her room and climbed into Ethan's crib.  They were finally quiet so I left them alone.

Aren't they cute?  Take note of what there wearing.  Hannah is in the pink pants.  When I finally went back to get them out of their prison they were happy and calm.

At some point they had even traded pants. 

Brothers and Sisters

   One of my deepest desires as a parent is that my children will experience a deep, loving, and enduring relationships with one another as siblings.  I come from a family were I can proudly say that is true.  But I have come to realized lately that this isn't true for everyone and I have a really hard time wrapping my brain around that concept.  My mom used to say (and still does) that because she was an only child she doesn't understand what goes on between her children, that she watches us and it boggles her mind.  Now she is watching Ethan and Hannah and she says the same things.  I don't pretend to really know how to make this happen, but I do see it happening with Hannah and Ethan. 

    I love sitting back and watching them interact with each other.  They love each other and when they are apart they miss one another.  They care for each other and try to do things the other person likes, they get excited just because the other person is excited.  Don't get me wrong, they also fight, yell, and sometimes do things just to bug each other.  But that's normal and I think it in those moments they are learning about relationships and conflict resolution.  It is my prayer Hebrews 10:24-25 will be true for them. 

²⁴ And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, ²⁵ not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Friday Fun

This past Friday the kids, my sister, and I joined some friends for pizza and then some play time at the park. It was a lot of fun and the weather was perfect.  We started off by picking up some pizza from our pizza guy down the street.  Hannah thought it was really funny that we put the pizza under her feet but it made the walk so much easier and the pizza was no worse the the trip.

After our pizza dinner, we went to the park.  I was busy keeping an eye on the kids so I didn't have my camera out except to take the pictures at the swings.  Hannah enjoyed playing with her friends.  It was busy at the park so the swings were on high demand.  We decided to put the kids in together.  It was very cool and I wish I could take credit for this idea myself (Thanks Danielle). If only I knew this sooner I could have avoided a few fights between Hannah and Ethan who both LOVE to swing.

I wish I had taken some pictures of all the kids playing but it will have to wait for next time. As it was Hannah fell off one of the play structures (Don't worry she was okay after some hugs and kisses) so I really have to pay attention.

First Haircuts

We finally (mommy finally) decided it was time for some hair cuts.  Hannah and Ethan have never had their hair cuts and so I was a little hesitant.  I didn't want to cut Hannah's hair because I didn't want to loose her curls.  Ethan's was delayed over and over because I knew once he had a hair cut he would look like a big boy.

Before: Hannah

Before: Ethan

 During

After: Ethan

 After: Hannah

I think they turned out well.  Best part; the place we took them doesn't charge for first haircuts.