Birthday Parties

I didn't get many pictures of the kids' birthday celebrations, which is weird because there were a ton. But here are a few that I did get.

Celebration #1 - Dinner of his choice, cake, and presents at home on his actual birthday, since it was a weeknight.

Celebration #2 - Ben's friends party at Bouncetown that weekend.

Celebration #3: Family party for both kids at our house.

Celebration #4: Liv's actual birthday with dinner, cake and presents.

We hung up streamers the night before their bdays so that they woke up to this when they opened the door. I did it for Ben too but forgot to get a picture. Big hit with the kiddos!

Ben helped her put together her Duplo Lego set. She was thrilled!

Phew, that was a lot of partying. I'm glad we've got a year to recover. 

Liv at 3

Here is a glimpse at what this crazy, sweet girl is like at 3 years old. She has a strong penchant for mischief. But she is so cute that you can't help but laugh. She is definitely a fearless, wild child. Always on the go, never sitting still, endless energy...

LOVES: (odd how these almost all start with the letter B)
- Bags. She is a totally bag lady, toting a million things with her everywhere.
- Blankets. Again, she likes to bring several of them everywhere we go.
- Binkies. We have her down to just using them at bedtime, but she is still really needy with them. We need to be done with these completely soon.
- Babies. She loves her baby dolls. She likes to fold blankets up as pillows for them and make them beds. She hugs them to her and makes a crying noise and tells me "baby sad; me make baby better" and then rocks her baby.
- Brushing my hair. And making me a "pony."
- Big girl bed. Which is still a mattress on the floor that she rolls out of often.
- Foods: Starburst, Chicken in a Biscuit crackers, juice, berries, watermelon. She's not a big eater though.
- Favorite Color: Purple

HATES:
- Spaghetti-Os. Ben loves these. I made them one night for dinner and gave her a bowl. She threw them up in the sink. No joke.
- Being told no. But doesn't every 3 year old hate this. :-)

STATS:
- Size 8 shoes
- Size 3T tops
- Size 2T or 3T bottoms
- 29 pounds (I think--her well visit is in a few weeks.)
- Almost potty trained! She asks to go or just goes and uses the potty herself 90% of the time. But if she is not in the mood or busy, she will go in her pull-up. She wears undies over her pull-up every day and loves her undies so much. We need a weekend where we have no plans to just take off the pull-ups and give it a serious go. I think she is ready and would do well.

Ben at 6

Here is a glimpse of Ben at 6 years old. He is silly and smart, kind and strong. He remembers everything and loves to learn. He is ahead of the curve in school, reading since before Kindergarten started, in the special advanced math group, and earning all Ms for Mastery on his progress report. But he is also the class clown, struggling a bit with focusing and following directions.

LOVES:

- Legos. Oh, how he loves the legos.
- Star Wars. He resisted for a while but now he's joined the dark side.
- Stuffed animals. Still. Especially lions and dogs.
- Paw Patrol. He requests this show daily.
- Sports. Any... It tends to shift with each season.
- Shorts. They are all he wants to wear. We fought about this often before school in the winter.
- Gum, Starburst, Fruit by the Foot, Popsicles, turkey/chicken, strawberries, pancakes, bacon.
- Favorite Color: Red

HATES:
- Bed time. Though the dramatics have reduced dramatically.
- Brushing his teeth. I don't know why.

STATS:
- Size 12 shoes
- Size 6 tops
- Size 5 bottoms
- 47 pounds (last I checked)

Lego Organization

Like any 5 year old boy, Ben is majorly into Legos these days. He loves the City and Superhero sets, and often will rebuild old sets. For that reason, we save all the booklets. And we desperately needed a system for storing the booklets, train tracks, and Legos that made it easier to find random pieces when he does a rebuild. Or when he builds something from his imagination.

During the holiday season, I was at Michael's getting some supplies for Ben's classroom party when I spotted this guy, which just happened to be the deal of the day--50% off. I snatched it up thinking it would be great for Lego sorting. I can't remember the exact price but it was around $25 on sale. I'd been looking at other options at Ikea, and this was much cheaper than those units.

Putting it together was a breeze, but then we had to separate all those Legos into colors. All of us worked hard, and got it done.

More than a few times, this has come in handy as Ben searches for a specific piece, and can now just sort through a small group rather than the entire huge pile. And let's be honest, it is usually mommy who is called in to help, so this is a big win for me too!

I let Ben choose which colors went in which slots and how to group them. He did a great job and it has been working like a charm!

It even rolls around, so if he wants to build elsewhere than the playroom, he can. Though since the play table is in that room, it typically stays put. But good to have options!

Keeping it real--here is how the table generally looks. Always some sort of build in progress.

We store the boards and train tracks in one drawer, and the booklets in the other drawer.

Hallelujah for organized Legos!

Christmas Day

Ben woke us up Christmas morning ready to go! I put him to bed in Christmas PJs, but before he got us up he changed into his signature look, shorts and a tshirt. He wants to wear shorts year-round. It's a constant battle with him to put pants on for school when it's cold.

Grammy and Grampy got them stuffed animals as part of their gift (along with a Lego set for Ben and a baby pram for Liv), and we got them the plasma cars. We didn't feel like wrapping any of it, so we just put the stuffed animals on the cars and called it a day. I figured it'd be fun for the kids to see a few presents unwrapped and calling their names. Ben was smitten.

First we opened stockings. Ben got them all down for us.

Ben was super excited and high energy, whereas at first Liv was more quiet and just taking it all in.

But it wasn't long before she picked up on the excitement and joined Ben in his enthusiasm.

Dee got a new toy and some treats, and was more excited than Ben and Liv put together.

The kids each got Grammy and Grampy a small gift (some candy). I want them to start learning that Christmas is also about giving, so we got the grandparents small presents and donated to Toys for Tots this year.

Ben also made us a 2016 calendar and an ornament, which were both super cute. He was very proud and excited to give them to us.

Then it was back to opening their gifts!

Santa, Mom and Dad, Grammy and Grampy, Grandpa and Grandma, and their cousins all spoiled the kids, so it was a very busy Christmas morning. Ben was so excited, he started tackle-hugging Mike after each gift he opened.

After the presents were all unwrapped, Livvie opened up her princess tiaras and handed them out to me and Mom, so we ate our annual breakfast burritos in style.

And did I mention that the plasma cars hold up to 220 lbs so the adults can get in on the action! I took Liv for a spin. I intended for these to be fun toys for the basement that I'm clearing out for the cold winter ahead. But Mike moved the hall rug and they are riding them around the house. I think Mike likes them better than the kids. Great purchase! If you are interested in buying one, keep an eye out for a sale on Amazon. I paid about $40/car.

That afternoon, we headed over to Nana and Papa's house to celebrate with the Tammaros. It is baby Theo's first Christmas, so that was exciting. He is very mellow and just took it all in. Liv is smitten with Theo, and most of the time he stared at her, not sure what to make of her.

Liv kept herself busy playing with coffee filters that Nana let her have while making coffee.

Per usual, skinny minnie ate very little but definitely enjoyed the jello!

Then we opened more gifts. Oh my. Theo really dug the tissue paper.

And that wrapped up Christmas 2015!