February

February was a BUSY month for us.  Our daily lives seem hectic and chaotic and sometimes non stop--  but we manage to have fun and enjoy whatever we're doing together!  

We celebrated Valentines Day and made it as special as could be!  Our morning started with the traditional heart shaped choc chip pancakes that the kids helped me make.  I took a few cake orders for some friends and donated 1 cake to an auction event our church was having that evening!  These are just a couple of the cakes I made.  

Gavins class had a valentines party that I was in charge of (since I'm the room mom) and it was a lot of fun.  The kids played musical chairs and did the chicken dance for half the the party.  Parents helped out and brought sweets for the kids to enjoy and they had a lot of fun.

We got a few special packages from grandparents on Valentines Day so the kids got to enjoy some cake pops and new puzzles!!

Valentine's Night our church youth group hosted an event called Second Chance Prom to raise money for summer camps.  Our group of friends decided it would be fun to all go together, dress up, and party it up at the dance.  IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!  We had a catered meal, tasteful music to dance to, silent auctions where we bid on a few items, and just had a GREAT time celebrating Valentine's Day!!!  

Gavins school hosted Dr. Seuss day the week before his bday and the kids were encouraged to dress up as a character from one of his books.  Gavin and his buddy, Jeven decided they wanted to be Thing 1 and Thing 2.  The only problem was they told me 2 days before the dress up day.  I frantically searched our town for red t-shirts, but ended up driving to Target in Amarillo where I found some and then decided to use printable, iron on transfer paper to make the shirts.  I found the images on google and 30 minutes later had 2 shirts made just in time for the boys to have the next day at school!  Gavin and I met Jeven and his mom at McDonalds before school started and got the boys into full costume-- blue spray painted hair, white faces, and bold eyebrows!  They truly were in character from that moment on.  The school had special activities all day and we went to the book reading that afternoon.  Miles and Brooklyn were grateful to participate and even got to see The Cat in the Hat perform!

February was our coldest month yet and I don't think we've adjusted to such cold weather.  When I say cold.... I mean COLD!!  What makes it even tougher is the wind that generally accompanies us daily making the air feel even colder!!  Snow days are still fun and the kids enjoy playing in the backyard making snow angels, snowmen, and having snowball fights!

Miles has been sick and we're still battling monthly episodes or outbreaks as I call them.  I started monitoring his food intake, took fast food out of his diet along with most dairy products and he was still getting sick so our doctors here agreed it was time to run some more tests and pursue other options to get his body healed.  He did really good for getting pricked 3 times and having multiple pokes.  He was brave and only cried a short time.  His favorite color is blue-- like, he's almost obsessed with anything blue, so the moment they started putting a blue bandage on him he was fixated on that!  His results showed us his body had some form of infection so we were encouraged to see a Pediatric Gastroenterologist to get a better idea of what was going on.

Gavin lost his 5th tooth, which was one of his front teeth and he was so excited that it finally came out.  We tried pulling it off and on for days but it never would come out.  He ended up losing it at school during PE when he jumped for a ball and fell to the ground!  I'm pretty sure he loved that 1000x more then having us pull it.  He said all his friends thought it was so cool how it came out!  Our little boy is growing up!

Basketball, Part 2

Gavin had the opportunity to play basketball in another league whose practices and games started the week after his other basketball league, and this time Brooks was the coach!  Gavin LOVED having his dad as his coach and really learned a lot playing back to back for several months.  It was impressive to see how much he improved on his skills.  Brooks LOVED being the coach... I mean, if he could quit his full time job and become a basketball coach I'm sure he would!  He had a team of 8 boys from 1st and 2nd grade while Gavin and Jeven, who was a brother of one of the other players were the only kindergartners- they let them play since Brooks was the coach.  Brooks did his best playing all his guys and making sure they all had ball time.  Brooks and the other teams coach spent time on the court with the players while they were playing to direct them and offer assistance and advice on what to do while they were playing.  This really helped keep the kids focused rather then being a distraction.  

This league did things a little different.  Not only did the teams play games, obviously, they also had skills test.  Each team would compete against one another in drills.  Players could earn points for shooting free throws, tossing the ball back and forth without dropping, racing another player by dribbling back and forth on the court, etc.  The points went towards the overall final score of the game. I really liked this idea since it caused the kids to practice skills they needed to actually play the games.  

Some games were a little more laid back then others and some were hard core...penalties being called, kids having to sit out, etc.  It was very interesting to watch parents reactions to some of the players actions, but I guess that's part of sports these days.  I realized I'm one of the parents trying to encourage my child on the sidelines, too, but always in a positive way (at least I think!).  I'm happy to say and very proud of my husband that our team had a 7-1 record and rocked it.  The boys improved every week, Brooks picked out each kids strengths and built on those and they did great!!  

Basketball was and still is a BIG thing in our house.  Gavin loves it just as much as Brooks and spends a lot of time with a basketball in his hands!  Of course, whatever Gavin does, Miles wants to do so he got in on some of the action, too.  We got him his own size basketball that he toted around everywhere and practiced dribbling, shooting, and passing!!  This truly became a family affair.  Brooklyn and I cheered everyone on from the sidelines!!  

Basketball

Gavin started playing basketball in a local league called SLAM.  It's very similar to Upward Basketball, a church sponsors the practices and games, devotions are shared during halftime, kids are encouraged to act and play Christ like, but, overall have a good time!  We were very fortunate that Gavin got on a great team, with good coaches, and teammates who were nice AND good at BB.  

To be honest, the first few games, I was a little nervous for Gavin because he just didn't seem like he could play to the level his teammates were playing and it just didn't seem like Gavin fully knew what was going on during the games.  Don't get me wrong, he could follow everyone and he would run up and down the court with his team and attempted to play defense, but he just wasn't "all there".  I quickly realized I was THAT mom yelling from the sidelines to her kid about what to do, where to go, who to watch, etc, etc.  After some convincing from Brooks that Gavin was going to be fine and things would eventually click for him, that he didn't have to play like a professional-- I started backing off and enjoying the games!  After a few more weeks of practices and games, one day everything clicked for Gavin.  He was scoring baskets, stealing, assisting, passing, and really playing ball!  Brooks and I were so proud of Gavin and you could see that he was having fun and even more proud of himself then we were!  

At the end of the season, Gavin was given the Most Improved Player on the Team and he really deserved it!!  I think we have a future star on our hands!!

 

 

Brooks got to participate in the Parents vs Coaches game and showed off his mad basketball skills!  It was so fun to watch him play and compete against some other great athletes.  He helped the parents stay up with the coaches, but in the end, Brooks' team lost by 1 point at the last second.

Party Decor and Stuff

For the little ones birthday party I spent time a few weeks before working on decorations and party favors.  Brooks was out of town the entire week before the party, which meant I spent every night from the time the kids went to bed until midnight working on making homemade mouse ears.  I was so set on making my own because to buy already made indivudal ears was going to cost anywhere from $3-4 a piece= $88 for 25!  Not worth it!  So instead I spent 20 hours making 25 ears at .75 a piece= $18 total!!  Believe me... it was a lot of work, but in the end it was worth it!  I try to think of party favors that kids would reuse at their homes instead of spending time and money on things that will eventually get thrown in the trash!  None the less, all the little kids loved their ears and at least wore them a short time during the party!  

Along with Minnie and Mickey Mouse Ears, I found packs of red cups and made Disney style logos and personalized each child's cup to take home filled with a few snacks!  These cups came in handy when it came to the pinata and kids having something to hold their candy!  

The Cake!  Oh the cake!  Usually I spend a week preparing cakes and doing as much as I can a little at a time each day, but this week Brooks and I were both sick and life around here just wasn't normal.  So,  I invited a sweet friend to come over to the house two days before and help me with the cake!  We had one issue after the other for various things and we quickly found ourselves 6 hours into cake making and decorating and had very little done!   So, for making and putting this cake together in one day, I was pleased with it.  I let Brooklyn and Miles pick out pictures from other Mickey and Minnie Mouse cakes and tried incorporating what they liked into their cake!  Each tier was a different flavor and seemed to be a big hit with all the kids! 

My mother in law came in town for the party and graciously made a wreath for the front door and it came out cute!  I actually kept it up for a few weeks after, too!

Thanks to my Silhouette I was able to make Mickey and Minnie silhouettes and hung them up around the house with streamers!  The little ones loved coming down stairs the day of their party and seeing the house all decorated for them!

Mickey and Minnie Mouse Party

Miles and Brooklyns' birthdays are 3 weeks apart and since they each aren't at the age of having their own set of friends, I decided to have a joint birthday party.  Let me start off by saying that I absolutely LOVED doing this.  It meant... one invitation, one cake, one set of decorations, one week to prepare, one set of party favors, one meal, one weekend for party, etc, etc.  It was AWESOME.  I successfully was able to do everything for their party under $200.  There's no way I would have been able to do that having 2 parties.  Not to mention, had we had two separate parties... we would have invited the same exact people-- no one less, no one more so it really only seemed like the right thing to do!!  

I had been brainstorming themes, for months, that coordinated but wasn't in love with them because I didn't feel like it was things either one of them were into.  I really wanted to have a Pancake and Pajama party but Brooks thought that was too girly and not boyish enough for Miles.  Then one day, I was walking by the play room and saw both Miles and Brooklyn were dancing and jumping around to Mickey and Minnie Mouse on the Clubhouse show.  That's when it hit me!  Duh!  What a perfect age for them to be at where they both like Mickey and Minnie and that theme would go GREAT together!  

I opted to use Minnie's red and white color scheme so that I didn't have to buy or tie in pink polka dotted things with Mickey's red, yellow, and black colors.  After throwing enough birthday parties the past few years and killing myself over all the details, spending tons of time, energy, and money into all the aspects of the party... only to throw it away or it sit in a box when the party's over... I went smart, functional, and minimal all while making a statement and I think it worked... not to mention my pocket book and time schedule appreciated it!  I felt like I was able to enjoy this party soooo much more!  The kids had a blast, I got the theme across, and everyone left with a little something that I thought they could use in the future!  

So we had all our friends come over around lunch time.... a) so that our entire weekend wouldn't be occupied with getting the house ready for the party b) we'd be finish by nap time (still a necessity around our house) c) gave the kids plenty of time to enjoy their gifts that evening

Brooks grilled "Hot Diggity Dogs" and I fixed "Minnie" Pizzas for our guests to eat.  I made the kids' cake- which we were all sick the week leading up to the party, so I was grateful for a sweet friend who came and helped me the day before.  Thankfully, the weather was beautiful for party day so we spent a majority of it outside.  The kids played on the swing set, jumped in the jump house, and just ran around riding on bikes and scooters.  We let the kids open their gifts, which was pure mayhem.  That was the only downfall of having the joint party-- I stayed next to Miles opening his presents and Brooks was helping Brooklyn, but neither one of us were able to see what the other one was getting/opening.  On top of that we had lots of little kids helping open presents adding to more of the chaos.  Our little ones still enjoyed that time though!

After presents, we sang Happy Birthday to the kids and had all the kids eat their cake outside!  We gave our guests homemade Mickey and Minnie Mouse ears, which they graciously wore for the singing time and they all looked precious in them!  

I didn't plan on any games except for the pinata my mom sent for the kids party!  The kids loved taking turns swinging at the pinata, but unforunately the bottom came out of it by the 3rd kid so it was fast lived.  After all the candy got picked up, a few kids took turns wacking the pinata just for fun!  Overall, it was such a fun and relaxed party.  The kids had a blast and we had minimal clean up/pick up and enjoyed celebrating our kids special day!  I think I just might do as many joint parties as I can get away with until their older and have their own set of friends!!  

Happy 3rd birthday Miles and Happy 2nd Birthday Brooklyn!

 

Did I mention Grammy was here with us? She drove in late Thursday night and was a HUGE help all day Friday and Saturday with the preparations and the party!  Couldn't have pulled off half of it without her!  So glad she was able to celebrate with us since the last three years we haven't been home to celebrate our kids bdays with family.