Friend Birthday Party!

So, apparently we have 5 year olds now. I'm not sure how it happened. But it did. AND IT IS AWESOME. I love five. It is a great age.

The kids had a gymnastics party for their friends the Sunday before their birthday. We had the party at the gym where both kids went to camp last summer and where Colin takes classes every week. It was such an easy party from a parent perspective. All I did was fill in the invitation that they gave me, take drinks, cake, and chips, and pay. PERFECT.

Colin and Gillian and C's bff J.D.
 
 

The gym workers RAN those kids for an HOUR. It was fantastic.
 
 
 

The cake I made! I am so dang proud of that Minion.
 

Octo-Birthday Party!

Last Saturday we threw Colin and Gillian their FIRST "friend party." We decided to have the party at our favorite play center, The See Saw Center! I thought it was perfect because it was big, full of toys, and not at our house! We had the place all to ourselves for a 1-3 pm party! We invited the five other girls in Gillian's class, the five other boys in Colin's class, and three friends from outside of school! We had a great turn out...11 kids plus our own! And two siblings that came along! Colin and Gillian easily settled on Octonauts as their party theme!

I decided to NOT plan any party games. It's too hard for that many kids to play organized games and they are more of the age to just want to play anyway. I did print some Octonaut coloring sheets and Grammy painted faces for us (and her painting was EXCELLENT!). Otherwise, it was play, cupcakes, and presents! HOORAY!

Some pictures from the big day!

Getting warmed up for party time...


Papa Frank warmed up the gear table.






Grammy doing some great paint work!





Mr. Kenny came with Ian and Julia!


Time to sing and EAT! Gillian had picked out her cupcake at home, but Colin waited until party time.


First we sang to Colin (he WAS born first).


Then Gillian!


After snacks, we had some more playtime!


Then we opened A LOT of presents (seriously, very generous friends).





Look at that swarm of boys all over that helicopter. It was HIT. J.D. got it for Colin and Colin was immediately smitten. He told us "It is the most awesome present ever."


Both Colin and Gillian were very sweet when they were opening their presents. They were very appreciative and gracious. Gillian even gave out a few hugs as she opened presents. It was very nice to see.

Friend love.


What a fun, fun party! We hope our guests had as much fun as we did. The kids are already planning their next party!

***I know it looks like the only kids at the party were Colin, Gillian, Ian, and Julia. BUT, I hate to use pictures of other people's kids on my blog. I know Ian and Julia's mom and dad are okay with it! I protected everyone else!***

Birds, Birthdays, and Trains

A weekend or two ago (so behind on the blog) the kids were invited to their first "friend" birthday party by their classmate Alana. The party was at the Pittsburgh Aviary. We hadn't had a chance to get the kids to the Aviary before this, and for very good reason: Mommy doesn't like birds. At all. Unless they are well caged or on the other side of glass. At the Aviary they have free flying bird exhibits and that just sounded creepy to me.

The invitation was fortuitous though, as Colin has been BEGGING to ride the "new part of the trolley" for weeks. And lucky him, the new part of the trolley line takes you over to the North Shore and a nice, short walk from the Aviary. So, we combined two fun things into one day!

So, we parked at the local station and waited for a train. And it was chilly. Later in the day it was quite nice and warm, but the morning started a bit cooler than I had been expected. Colin took it well though:


We had a great time on the train and took in all the sights. We greatly enjoyed our trip under the Allegheny River, even though Colin was SURE that the tunnel was going to be like the polar bear tunnel at the zoo and we'd be able to SEE the water as we passed under.

Alana's party was a PENGUIN PARTY! We actually had a real, live penguin come visit our party room!



And we had some snacks. It was technically lunch, but Colin refused to acknowledge that and insisted it was a SNACK.


Gillian and I hung around the party and watch Alana open her gifts. Gillian and Alana have very similar tastes, so G was impressed with her haul! Colin was ready to move on though, so he and Daddy explored the Aviary for a while.

When they came back it was time for cake! Yum. Gillian really enjoyed that too. By then the party was winding down, so we headed out and all four of us went to see the rest of the Aviary. Which was quite stinky. Yet another reason to dislike birds. We did see some cool birds though. And none of them flew at me or pooped on me, so that was a success.

And look how cool these flamingos are!


So, now we've been to the Aviary. And need not return. We did have a good time on the trolley though! I KNOW we'll be back on that!