Happy Birthday, Grampa

We spent Saturday afternoon up in Kingwood to celebrate the last of the March birthdays. It was another beautiful day so we brought the boys' bikes with us and took several bike rides on the Kingwood trails. The boys and Gene also played soccer in Gramma and Grampa's backyard.

Will spent a fair bit of time reading a collection of poems by Jack Prelutsky (A Pizza the Size of the Sun). This picture is cute because the poem is a mirror image so he had to read it in the mirror!

We sat outside on the deck for dinner and then sang "Happy Birthday" to my dad. He blew out one lone candle.
Pistachio torte for dessert (my grandma's recipe!).
Happy birthday, Grampa! We had a great time celebrating with you.

Tadpole Troopers: Ladybugs

Will had a soccer game bright and early Saturday morning, so Henry and I headed out to our first Tadpole Troopers class of the spring. We learned all about ladybugs and explored the Houston Arboretum.

Henry observed real ladybugs

before making a ladybug craft.

Cutie.

After the craft, we followed our teacher (who wore ladybug wings)

out on a nature walk

to the bluebonnets

to release our ladybugs!

Henry loved this part.

Just checking out the dew on the bluebonnets.

Looking at the turtle in the pond.

Henry loves being outside and learning about bugs -- he's the perfect Tadpole Trooper!

The New Bike and a Field Trip

Henry absolutely loves his new bike. He rode it all around the driveway yesterday morning and then in the afternoon, he and Daddy took a nearly 3-mile bike ride around the neighborhood in search of a park with a tire swing. This kid is speedy and doesn't get tired!

So happy to have his own *blue* bike.

Henry's class got to go on their fourth field trip of the year yesterday and I was fortunate enough to tag along. We saw How I Became a Pirate at Main Street Theater. As always, the performance was stellar and the kids all enjoyed it. It was the perfect ending to our pirate-filled week!

Once again, Kalino and Henry were buddies for the trip. The two of them have the exact same personality: completely goofy and wholly endearing.

On the agenda this weekend is more bike riding and perhaps some pirate antics as well!

Henry's Pirate Party

Henry's pirate party was last Saturday. It was an awesome party all because of the very talented Pirate Redbeard, who once again delivered the performance of a lifetime... people keep asking if they can hire him for their pirate party!

Guests started trickling in and I started taking pictures.

Will and Chloe

Ainsley colored outside.

Henry and Kalino played soccer.

Will and his buddy Luke found a snail.

And finally Pirate Redbeard arrived!

Pirate Redbeard is always misplacing his treasure, but he did have one starting clue and a band of helpful pirates to help him find his missing booty.
Eagerly listening to the next clue.
They finally found the loot in the small playhouse out back. Pirate Redbeard divvied up the treasure.
And then it was cake time! Henry examined the cake with Kalino.

My birthday boy

Best friends

Eating cake

Pirate Will with his eyepatch on upside down

Presents!

And family.

Henry's pirate party was a huge success. And though you may think you've seen the last of Pirate Redbeard, I have no doubt he'll be back, probably sooner than you'd even imagine.

Getting Ready for the Pirate Party

After Will's pirate party last August, Henry immediately asked to have a pirate party for his 4th birthday. This made my planning very easy since I could just repeat everything I had done for Will! We celebrated Henry's big day last Saturday with family and lots of friends.

Invitations from my talented friend Ally

Goody bags from Meri Meri

filled with a pirate CD, pencil and small bag of Pirate's Booty.

We had eyepatches for all our pirate friends.

Banner from Meri Meri (reused from Will's pirate party)

The food table

This time I had Ally design table tents for the food:

Pirate's Booty

Cannonballs (my peanut butter bites -- huge hit!)

Grog (juice boxes)

Fish o' the Sea (Goldfish) and Fruity Booty (fruit salad) and Nuggets of Gold (chicken nuggets, not pictured)

Cake from Whole Foods

Our activities included pirate coloring pages, decorating spyglasses (toilet paper tubes) and going on a treasure hunt with Pirate Redbeard. More pictures from the actual party to follow.

Henry's Big Day

Henry's 4th birthday was great from start to finish. He began the day with Swedish pancakes and lingonberry jam. Yummy birthday breakfast!

Then he was off to school for another fun birthday celebration. I ordered pizza and brought cookies and Henry got to wear this birthday crown all day.

And best of all, it's Pirate Week at school, which is perfect for my pirate-loving little boy. Everyone made wands and crowns.

One of Henry's favorite activities is riding his bike, so he rode around while waiting for Daddy to come home. (Note: he got a real bike today. It's blue. Surprised??)

Dinner was Henry's choice and he picked Little Matt's.

It was the perfect day to sit outside on the patio. 70* and sunny!

My birthday boy

with a cheeseburger!

Dessert was cupcakes from Crave. The best part is the quick walk down the block to pick up birthday treats!
Lemon, candy bar and Nutella cupcakes. Yum!!

Making a wish

and blowing out the candle.

After cake, it was time to open a few more presents.
And with a full tummy and lots of new toys to dream about, our big birthday boy fell fast asleep!