Catching Up

The last few weeks have been a little busy but a lot of fun.  I think we've finally caught up on appointments, to-do lists and visits.

We were so happy to meet our new pediatrician (who happens to share our interest in Star Wars), and finally diagnose the allergies behind Ryker's eczema- pollen, peanuts, and egg whites.

We also finally made it to the Skirball Center, and it only took me 2.5 yrs of living here! The boys loved the Noah's Ark exhibit.

Last but definitely not least, we had an awesome time at B&G's Bday party.  What could be better than a Star Wars party at Chuck E Cheese?  Jaime wins the Best Mom Award!

These boys have been the sunshine of my days!

Party Time!

This year was Nicholas' first big boy party where the kids stayed without parents.  I wasn't necessarily planning on that... I was more used to being friends with the kids moms and the parties are a chance for all of us adults to chat too! Oh well.  The kids had a lot of fun and I felt a bit more relaxed, but the kids did still need help with getting their food, cleaning up, and moving between activities. I think 4yr olds are probably still a bit too young to be left.

Anyways, we had a great time at Nicholas' fish party.  The invitations read: "You are o-FISH-ally invited..." and Nicholas was really into the theme.  For food we had sandwiches in star shapes (so much more appealing than regular shapes), fish in water (Swedish fish in blue jello), of course goldfish crackers, fish eggs (grapes), and a few other things.

Nicholas was so happy to have his three school buddies, Kellan and Cade (twins), and Jack, in addition to his church friend Savannah, and other friend Andrew (who came later).  Ryker had a great time too, especially finishing off everyone's leftovers.

 They played a fun Go Fish game, went fishing for treasure in a shipwreck, and even watched some of our favorite parts of Finding Nemo.

  Nicholas loved his special Nemo cake and was so happy to be with his friends.

Party Time

Girl's Night!! Dancing for the Kinnect game Dance Central....

My heroines- Jayna, Kelli, Courtney, and Jaime!!

Kiki's 3rd Birthday Party

We had so much fun at Nicholas' party this year. When I was deliberating over a theme I tried to think of what he likes the most of all- waffles! A close second is his friends. He is a very social kid and loves his friends. He remembers everything about everyone, including what color their eyes are and their favorite color. And last of course, his favorite thing to wear- Pajamas. Put 'em all together and you get a Best Friends Birthday Breakfast Pajama Party!

We had a great time, and Nicholas was in shock that he got to keep all the cool new stuff.

As a side note- it was nice not to have to get all glammed up myself while trying to get it all ready :)

New Additions

Married!

Sisters (total resemblance, right?)

We (us C's plus Kenz) left early friday morning and were back by sunday afternoon, but in that time we met a new pet, reacquainted ourselves with utah family, ate a million times, drove back and forth between provo, american fork, draper, and salt lake, and got a new family member!

Kiki particularly enjoyed playing with the two dogs. The new puppy, Lady, was adorable but lots of trouble (sounds like some kids I know....).

"What? I didn't do anything...."

Kiki caught up with his friend and best babysitter, Cassidy (also featured here)

The whirlwind weekend went without disaster until saturday morning at the temple when I forgot Kiki's church pants... Poor kid. At least the microfleece "Elmo jammies" are super warm and comfy! We later stole some from one of my million cousins (thx Amy!!) for the professional shots.

We loved the beautiful reception. Rykie did great most all the time and finally just napped in my arms while my brother and his crazy friends danced.

We had a blast but totally crashed the second we got home. We all napped and are still working on making up our sleep. Congrats, Matt and Angelica!

Yesterday was our big boy's 2nd birthday party!

We had so much fun decorating, cooking, and getting the apartment ready for all of his friends. Kiki loved helping me make the snickerdoodles and rolling them in the sugar. He also took it upon himself to taste all the food to make sure it wasn't poisonous. Poor kid had to watch all the treats being made and wait for a few days to eat it!

The spread (minus the cake)... and zoomed below

The craft table was insane!

We decorated Christmas trees, played a snowman game, and sang jingle bells (his favorite song). The best moment for me was watching his sweet face light up singing the song, surrounded by all of his favorite friends. It was so cute I contemplated crying. The cake turned out so yummy (dark chocolate and peppermint ice cream cake), and the event went without a hitch. We pulled out his present from us (a ball pit) and let the kids run amok inside unsupervised.

As far as two-year-old parties go, I think this one rocked!!