August birthday party

Despite the fact that August is statistically the month with the most birthdays (followed by July and September), only one of Maggie's friends had a birthday party this month that we could attend. (Her Papa - my dad - also celebrated his birthday this month, but he didn't have a party. Happy belated birthday!) Maggie's friend recently had a princess party complete with a backyard bounce house and plenty of friends to play with. Maggie loved it.

a little celebration

Last Saturday my kind friends Amy and Katrina threw me a little baby shower to celebrate the upcoming arrival of our little squirt. There were 11 of us at the party and we had a nice time eating desserts and fruit, playing a game, chatting, and opening gifts. I had a great time and am thankful for my friends who put the time and effort into planning the afternoon. I also appreciate everyone who attended. A special thank you to my mom who drove up for the day and to Loren who traveled here for the weekend from the DC metro area. It wouldn't have been the same without either of you.

The top photos L-R are: the pregnant women at the shower and me with my hostesses. I wish I had a photo of the entire group of us, but I don't. Darn!

Mount Whitney

On Saturday Chad, our friend Andy, and two of our brothers-in-law, Todd and Jared, set off to climb Mt. Whitney. It was a grueling trek and a trip they'll remember for a lifetime. Three of them made it to the top and none of it was easy for anyone in the group. They were snowed on twice. Altitude sickness and/or delirium caught them all off guard. Basically, after 20 hours of unexpected twists and turns they left their camp, reached the 14505 foot summit and returned back to the trail-head. Many awesome photos were taken, but here are a few of my favorites from Andy's and Chad's cameras. Next time you talk to anyone in this group congratulate him on what an amazing job he did. I know I couldn't do it and I am so proud of them!

new friend

In June we got to meet, feed and hold our good friends' new baby, Matthias. He's a cutie and we were so happy to meet him at just 3 weeks old. Maggie was giddy with excitement to see, kiss, hold, snuggle, tickle and play with him and somewhere there is a video to prove it. When we finally allowed her to hold him (with assistance, of course) she could not stop giggling and smiling and touching and loving him. Heart melting, really.

cowboy birthday

Maggie's bud, K-Bob, turned one this month and we got to celebrate with him this past weekend. His family threw him a darling cowboy birthday party in the country complete with stick horses for the kids, hats, bandanas, photo ops, swimming, food and a pinata. A great way to spend a warm weekend evening.

Independence Day

We had a great, full-filled Fourth of July this year. We were invited to a BBQ where all three of us got to eat and play/chat with friends before camping out to watch the local fireworks show. It was great!

third birthday party

We threw Maggie her third birthday party on Saturday and she had a blast. She is super proud to now be three! Eight of her friends came to help her celebrate, and along with their parents, my parents and a few others, the group totaled over 30 people. The kids started out painting birdhouses (the very light party theme focused on birds. If you watch Portlandia you get it and if not, click here to see why). Then they played in the sprinkler toys for a little while before sitting down for lunch. After eating we had cupcakes and then let the kids take a few whacks at a bird pinata we stuffed for them. We filled it with the usual crap: candy, bouncy balls, bubbles, mini skateboards, etc. and the kids enjoyed both trying to break it with the stick and gathering the loot from the ground after it was broken. Finally we opened her gifts before everyone set off for home.  It was a busy but fun party and we're pretty sure most everyone had a good time. We hope anyway!

toddler Olympics

In May our moms group hosted an annual open house and this year we organized it with toddler Olympics. A non-competitive, fun obstacle course was set up at a local park and the kids each got little gold medals for participating. We had snacks for everyone, along with face painting, crafts and a bounce house. Perfect weather to spend the day with friends at the park.

celebrating with friends

Maggie's little bud turned three in April and we got to help him celebrate. As usual his mom decorated like a pro and the kids all seemed to have a great time. Click here to see a photo of these same 2009 kids from two years ago.

Happy birthday, Chad (a bit late...)

We spent the morning of Chad's birthday at one of Maggie's friend's third birthday party. While not the first thing that came to mind as a fun way for Chad to spend his big day, he had a great attitude and we all enjoyed the morning. That evening for dinner we went out to celebrate and Mags and I helped him eat his birthday dessert.

Weekend Visitors

Today I finally started to get overwhelmed by how behind I am on blogging. The pressure finally gave in and I'm back.  So we left off in April...

We had our friends from the D.C. area out for my birthday weekend. We ate lots of food, snacked on yummy home-delivered ice cream, took a drive in the foothills, watched some MMA fight at our neighbors' house, visited the Forestiere Underground Gardens (go if you're a local and haven't been) and hung out. It's always nice to see them and we really appreciate the effort they make to come out here to see us.

partying

Last weekend we helped throw a baby shower for our good friends in San Jose. Expecting their first child in May, the couple was showered and by a large group of friends on a beautiful sunny afternoon. We had so much fun that weekend and can't wait for their little boy to arrive.

birthday party

At the beginning of the month Maggie was invited to her friend's 4th birthday party. It was at Pump It Up in Madera and the kids all had such a fun time celebrating his big day. After jumping for awhile there were snacks and cupcakes before he opened his presents. Maggie would not eat any of her yellow cupcake, but she did hold it, and she did lick the frosting a few times. Mostly, though, she wanted to use it as lipstick and smear it all over her lips.

egg hunt

On Monday our moms group had an egg hunt for the kids at a local park. There were somewhere near 25 kids and tons of filled eggs for each of them to find. While the kids were in the playground distracted and playing, the moms tossed  the eggs around the large grassy area. When the kids were lined up and ready, it took them less than five minutes to gather the entire lot of eggs. After the hunt the kids sat on the sidewalk to check out their loot, then ate from a potluck of snacks, and finally spent the rest of the time playing with and chasing their friends.

Happy 84th birthday, GG! We love you.

Shades

Last week when we were playing Maggie decided that she HAD.TO.HAVE. sunglasses because the sun was so bright. Being a huge sunglasses fan myself, I was more than willing to oblige. We ran up to (where else?) Target and I let her pick a pair out. Hello Kitty. She wore them (with the tags) in the store, then in the car, then in the house where she wanted to facetime a few people to show off her new acquisition. Since we bought them she has worn them every day outside and in the car (I'm totally surprised but proud) and really still loves them. Finally!

February art club

The kids this month came over to our house and made these initial paintings. I know it's not the most creative craft but they enjoyed it and the outcome was neat. We had 13 kids here and for the most part they were all well-behaved. We'll leave it at that!

tea party

Maggie's friend turned three earlier this month and we got to help him celebrate his big day. He requested a tea party and the kids all got to wear their fancy duds for the event. Maggie and I both had lots of fun that day. The kids played games, listened to a story (Miss Spider's Tea Party), ate tea party-type foods like small sandwiches, fruit, scones and bundt cake, and rode their bikes/trikes/scooters outside (it was 73 degrees!) for awhile before everyone went home for a nap.

Storytime

Our friends Russ and Carolyn came to visit for the weekend back in January. We had a great time and, as a bonus for them, I let them each read Maggie one of the books (Bubble Trouble) they gave her for her birthday last year. It's a jaw workout, tongue twister, mouthful of a book and I wanted them to get the chance to read it to her. It's one of Maggie's favorites and she asks Chad to read it to her practically every night. Now they know what he has to go through!

Let's Go Bowling (Andy)

Last Wednesday Maggie and I met up with some friends from our moms group at a local bowling alley. Because the kids had never been bowling before, the alley staff put up bumpers in the lanes and provided a little rail/ramp contraption for the kids to push their bowling balls from. Everyone started without using the rail/ramp and simply pushed the ball from the end of the lane, but after we saw how long it took for the balls to roll to the end, we decided the rail/ramp was a better way to go. Maggie's team consisted of Maggie and three other friends but the entire group of kids totaled about 10. Maggie did a great job and enjoyed bowling with her friends. And, I must brag, Maggie was the youngest on her team and totally won the game! Yeah! (Next time I'm bringing my bowling ball and shoes. I totally wanted to play.)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Maggie, Chad and I hope you all have a wonderfully sweet Valentine's Day tomorrow. Here is Mags helping me stuff her valentines for her little buds.