Rabbit Fur Hat

For Christmas, Andy gave me a rabbit fur hat. It's soft and warm and I like it, but it makes me a little sad to wear a dead bunny on my head. It doesn't matter anyway, because Calvin has taken it over.

He wears it around the house, playing video games, outside, and even sleeps in it at night. This bothers me for two reasons:

1) It makes him disgustingly sweaty. His head is like a wet mop when he takes it off. I can't even imagine how the poor rabbit feels.

2) He can't hear anything. I can talk to him for five minutes and then yell to see if he was listening. He'll see my lips moving and nonchalantly pull it off and say, "Did you say something, Mom?" Grr.

The other day when we were driving, a rabbit jumped across the road. Calvin said in his best "thug voice" (we hear it a lot around here) while petting the hat. "That bunny jumped outta the way fast, 'cause he saw what I did to his brotha." 

Oranges and Belly Buttons

Nicky has discovered two things he loves: oranges and his belly button.

With oranges he goes back and forth all day long, alternating between eating them, rolling them, sitting on them, and eating some more.

His belly button is just like Calvin's belly button phase (minus the belly bumping). He rubs it, shows everyone, pulls up everyone's shirt to look at theirs, and sticks his finger in it while sleeping.

I'm not sure whether perpetually squashed oranges or fingertips of belly button lint disturb me more.

Calvin's Baptism and Ice Show

Today was a long time coming! Calvin had a hard time deciding if he wanted to be baptized. Once he finally decided and was excited about setting a date, we had to push it back for Grandma's radiation treatments, and then we had another date set, which was cancelled when Andy had to go to Israel for work. So, months after turning eight, Calvin was really excited for his big day.

Nicky sitting reverently in the chairs we'd set up. He thought it was so great, that he forced Autumn and his bear to sit with him.

I forgot to take pictures of the rest of the house. We kept it simple but had fresh flowers and a gold eight and pictures of Calvin set up. 

Our family before the service started:

Andy and Calvin, ready for their big day!

One of my favorite things about today was that for her brother, Autumn asked if she could sing a solo. Calvin also wanted his cousins to sing, so we did a group song, with Autumn doing a solo at the beginning and end. It turned out so great. Autumn was so loud and brave, and I wish I had a recording of her doing her amazing solo. Here they are practicing before the baptism started:

Grandma and I gave talks, and the service was short and sweet. Calvin wanted to keep it small, so he handpicked his favorite people. We were so grateful they would spend the day with us.

After the service, all but a few of them came over for refreshments. It was a beautiful day, so the kids played in the backyard, we had delicious treats, and the grownups enjoyed chatting.

It was the perfect day.

And then we had part 2.

Almost a year ago, tickets went on sale for Disney's Frozen on Ice. I thought it would be fun, so I bought tickets, thinking I would give them to the kids for Christmas. I forgot. I would have forgotten about the whole thing completely if I hadn't put it into my calendar.  So after a long morning, we drove to Salt Lake and settled in for the show.

Before it even started, the kids had talked their dad into popcorn, pretzels and cotton candy. At halftime, they got snow cones, ice cream, and another pretzel. Basically all they wanted to do was eat and buy things.

Calvin was bored before it started. About ten minutes in, he was asking to go home.

The problem with the show was that it was the movie rehashed on ice. It would've been fun if they'd used the characters to do a spinoff or something, but it was the exact same story line. Not to mention the 30 minute long intermission in the middle so people could buy more stuff. 

Autumn was the only one who liked it. She was happy and loved it, so that makes it worth it. She's looking adorable in her Olaf hat.

The beginning was promising when a bunch of random Disney characters danced and sang.

And then Frozen live went on and on. It felt longer than the movie.

Then the reprisal. 

Then we made the long drive home. That was our first (and hopefully last) experience with Disney on Ice, but it was mostly fun to spend time together.

Autumn made me this when we got home. It's her own concoction of fresh squeezed orange juice and carrot chunks. It was sweet of her, but it reminded me of what my gallstones looked like. 

It was a fun, family filled day. I'm proud of Calvin. I love the kiddos, and I'm so grateful to be their mama. Days like today are too few and far between.

Hat Thursday

Today's Dr. Seuss celebration involved hats!

Here's Autumn:

Every few weeks I help out in Autumn's classroom, and I was at the school today, so I got to snap a picture of both of the kiddos together. 

Calvin was trying to be Freddy Fazbear:

He was disappointed. People kept calling him Abraham Lincoln.

And, Nicky's current collection is this colorful variety of woodland creatures:

Wacky Wednesday

This week at school the kids are doing weird dress-up things for each day to celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday.

Monday was crazy socks. Tuesday was wear green. Today was Wacky Wednesday. This is what Autumn came up with!

She's most excited about her shirt being inside out and backward! Happy Wednesday, wacky girl!

Gymnastics, Sunsets, and Writing Group

Autumn wanted some pictures today at gymnastics, so here she is balancing before class:

 Practicing cartwheels:

 (she's the cute little green dot!)

Andy and the boys met us at Chick-fil-a, so the kids could climb around in the play area for a bit while Andy and I tried to have adult conversations (nothing steamy, just literally trying to be two adults talking without constant interruptions.) 

And on the way home, we saw the most amazing sunset, so we stopped to enjoy it for a few minutes.

My favorite new thing is our "Writing Group." I'm working on a book app with a developer, and it's content I've never written before, so Calvin was helping me with the plot. He said, "we should have our own writing group!" So we got together, wrote for two five-minute bursts, read a chapter in a book about writing for kids, and then shared our stories. It was so much fun! I love the imaginations these two have!

Calvin: A Lego's Life and Time Eyes (one eye sees the past, one eye sees the future)
Autumn: PB&J Eating Ghost and The Disabled, Out of Control Robot

Brilliant, right? I hope it's something we keep up with, because we all loved it, and it was a fun new way to interact.

Fish Baby and Matchbox Cars

He'd rather be in the tub than anywhere else. He'll stay there for hours, until the water is frigid and his skin has turned to prunes. If Autumn or Calvin try to get in with him, he screeches like a banshee until they get out. He needs his space. He needs his water. He's our little fish baby.

The collection of the week is the matchbox cars. They are in a giant Ziploc baggie that must go everywhere--to bed, in the tub, in the car. He won't let us leave the house without them. And if he's in the car and they spill, they need to all be picked up and repackaged before he will exit the car. He's a particular one, this little guy!

Star Wars!

We have some good friends who are hardcore Star Wars fans and rented out an entire theater for the new film. We were lucky enough to be on the guest list. Sadly, Andy couldn't get back from Chicago in time, so I brought my brother Jesse as my plus-one. Also sad, I apparently can't read things correctly, and we got there an hour after we were supposed to. Luckily we arrived right as the movie started, but I was sad we missed the mingling and prize drawings and all the fun they'd set up before the show.

We had awesome seats, right in the middle, and a big ol' tub of popcorn. Once we were there, we settled in and had a great time.

Since my family didn't grow up on Star Wars and has never been into it, we bought Jesse a t-shirt so he'd fit in:

We left Nicky asleep at Grandma's house, and she did Princess Leia buns for Autumn. Autumn's shirt is her dad's vintage Star Wars shirt, circa 1980-something.

She looked adorable, but she didn't last long. She asked a million questions, said it was too scary, ate half a bucket of popcorn and drank most of the soda, and then she promptly fell asleep for the rest of the movie:

But Calvin LOVED it. We really liked the movie, and it was fun to see so many of our friends after it ended. Next time we'll show up when we're supposed to, but thankfully everything worked out.

We got home at about 2am. Both kids were fast asleep within seconds of their heads hitting their pillows.

Snow Day!

 It's always so magical having the first huge snowfall of the season! The kids are dying to get outside and play in it.

Nicky doesn't remember ever seeing anything like it. He is thrilled! It takes about 40 minutes to dress them all in warm winter gear, and they rush out the door, happy as can be:

They take their new sleds and dive into the powdery soft goodness of the fluffy snow:

They eat snow and pull each other on sleds:

And 15 minutes later, they stand at the bottom of the stairs and sob until I come get them.

To be fair, Calvin and Autumn played for about an hour, but Nicky did about as well as the rest of them did at his age. So he came inside and we packed away all the wet clothes we'd just taken out. Hooray for snow days!

The Hoarder

One funny thing about Nicky is that he doesn't like to do things one at a time. He likes collections. Collections of Squinkies. Farm animals. Matchbox cars. Whatever. He puts them in buckets and carries them wherever he goes. He won't let them out of his sight--even at bedtime.

For bed, he takes whatever collection he's into at the time. His kitty and tiger. His bedtime books. And right now he's got a small collection of Christmas ornaments and snow globes sitting on top of his bucket full of farm animals. They must all be strategically placed before he'll go to sleep. Every morning, we have to unload all of it--including his pillow and blanket--right when he gets up.

Also, a few nights ago around 3am he was crying and yelling my name. I went into his room, and he said, "Pillow." He'd never slept with one or asked for one before, so I went and found one. He groggily said, "good boy, Mom," then went immediately back to sleep.

He's a quirky little kid. We love him. 

Wizard Party: Calvin, Age 8

For Calvin's birthday, he wanted a wizard party. We narrowed down the list to 25 kids (ugh), and we had a fantastic time! In planning the party, I learned that most wizard parties are either Wizard of Oz or Harry Potter related, so we had to be creative, but I think everyone had a lot of fun.

Luckily lots of our Halloween decorations could double as wizardy/dungeony stuff, so I just left them up, added a few things, and strung stars to the ceiling:

When the kids came, we introduced them to wizard training school, and they received a hat and wand:

They each received a training manual with several stations to complete.

 

A Magical Creature Hunt:

 The broom flying course:

Teaching your owl to fly (Throwing stuffed owls through hoops, which kids, including Calvin, surprisingly said was their favorite part.):

Spells and Potions:
They did the blow up a balloon with vinegar and baking soda trick, but we called it swamp water and ground up bones or something clever. Carrie acted as the Snape-like dark wizard and made it awesome.

 

Adorable wizards wandering the yard:

 I love this one. Bunches of wizards looking fierce.

The highlight of the party was the real-life wizard (magician) who came to perform some spells!

 

Calvin being the helper.

 

 

 Chasing a cloth mouse as all of the kids shrieked and squealed. 

I love this picture. For one trick, the magician was opening a can of soda that had been shaken. Autumn curled against the wall, cringing and shrieking for him not to do it! After the soda exploded, she was the one who laughed the loudest, but the anticipation definitely stressed her out!

 The Magician and his assistant doing their final trick.

Calvin has a cute little friend that couldn't come to the party because he'd broken his leg. Luckily, the sitting portion of the party was perfect because he could be with us. His awesome mom brought him just for the magic show.

 The whole crew.

 The birthday boy. We loved the wizard. He did a fantastic job and was great with the kids. Autumn asked him to come back for her birthday, so he was a hit!

After the magician, we wrapped up the party with treats and presents.

Usually we throw away a ton of food after these things, so this time we kept it simple with unicorn hair, pickled serpents, wizard hats, and dragon lips.

 Nicky carrying a cupcake and Calvin's new wizard staff.

Cake time!

  Tricky sparklers that kept lighting. They were a hit.

 Party favors:

It was a madhouse, but Calvin was sad when it was over, and the other kids seemed to have a great time. I'm so glad that the birthday boy thought it was the perfect party.

After the party, Nicky stole Calvin's gifts (and made them into crowns) until he went down for his long overdue nap.

Calvin played with his gifts and practiced his new magic tricks.

We had a low key afternoon and evening. Calvin received Nintendo Monopoly from his grandparents (he literally jumped and squealed when he opened it, he was so excited), so we kind of played it as a family. By kind of, I mean we all started, but then Andy ended up rolling and moving for me and Autumn while we drifted away.

Nicky and I played while I should have been concentrating on Monopoly:

And then we piled onto the bed, hanging out and talking about our favorite parts of the party:

It started out a busy, stressful, magical day and ended cozy and quiet. The very best kind of day.

Happy birthday, sweet boy. I hope that your 8th year is the best one yet!