Early Celebrating!

Thomas turns six on Saturday, but Aunt Emily, Tom and McKinley will be visiting their family in Indiana and won't be able to make it to the party. We decided to meet up at Thomas' favorite restaurant, Tijuana Flats for dinner to celebrate early. Yes, he wore the Luigi hat inside. Sometimes I have to choose my battles. (He wanted to wear the whole costume!) They got Thomas a fun, silly book and the video game, Wipeout, for his DS. He was super excited since it was on his birthday wish list. We're glad that we were able to celebrate before they left on their trip. Happy Early Birthday, Thomas.

McKinley is so intrigued by Thomas.

And silly with Thomas!

Halloween Already??

Thomas asked me the other day if he coud get a Luigi costume. I tried to explain that they only have costumes in the stores in the fall to prepare for Halloween. He told me to look online. So, I did and we found one! (It also has a mustache, not in photo though.) So now the costume made me think about what Nathan should be for Halloween and I think we decided that he will be Super Mario so that they can go trick-or-treating as Super Mario Brothers. :)

Fun in the Sun

Today we visited my sister and her husband. They are ten minutes from New Symrna Beach so we planned a fun beach trip. This was the first time that Nathan has been to the beach and the first time that I think Thomas will remember since we have been only when he was younger. The weather was very overcast which was kind of nice. Although, we all still got pink! We parked in an area where cars were not allowed. It makes me nervous having Nathan around cars on the beach so I'm glad there was a more family friendly area. We played in the sun for about two hours and then headed to a favorite ice cream shop for a sweet treat. We wanted to get home before any bad weather and we made it just in time! I think that Nathan was meant to be a beach baby. He showed no fear of the waves although he hated the taste of the water. Thomas had fun going to the sandbar and swimming with the waves. He was so brave. He also had fun collecting seashells and building sand castles. It was such a fun day shared with some special people!

The biggest sandbox ever seen!

seashells

Yucky ocean water!

swimming!

Basketball Game!

Thomas played great at his first Basketball game! It was a lot of fun watching all the kids run with the ball while trying to dribble it. During the first game Thomas told his opponent that his shoes were untied just to try to get the ball. It worked! Ken and I laughed so hard we had tears in our eyes! At the second game, Nana and Papa came to cheer the team on. They are starting to get the hang of defense, dribbling, and shooting the ball in the hoop! I can't wait to see the progress Thomas makes this summer!

Happy Father's Day!

We had a very low key Father's Day. The boys made Ken a stone that was placed by his new shed. Ken and Thomas also dug the perfect spot for the bird feeder that Papa made us. It was cute watching them work together. Later in the day, we had a good visit with my dad for Father's Day. Thomas gave him an entry from his school journal about visiting Papa over a recent weekend. It was a fun day celebrating these special men in our boys lives!

Going to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo

Since Ken had to work on Nathan's official birthday, we postponed another mini-celebration until today. We took the kids to the Central Florida Zoo. It was hot, hot, hot and I think we saw a handful of animals. It was "exciting" to be in the snake exhibit since it was air conditioned! (This coming from someone who hates snakes!) The boys had fun being outside. They played on the new playground, splashed at the fun splash pad, ate snowcones, had a picnic, rode the train, and enjoyed the day together. Here are some highlights.

 

"I have to lay down mom. I'm so hot!"

Monkeys!

Typical "cheese" face for Nathan!

Officially Two!!

Today is Nathan's second birthday. It's hard to believe that it has already been  two years ago that he was born! He has truly become a toddler! He is all over the place. He does not like to be still and he is very curious. He thinks he can keep up with Thomas even though he is the big brother. He is beginning to speak more words with the help from our weekly speech sessions. He loves to give hugs and his prized possession is his monkey and puppy stuffed animal. He has changed our world and we couldn't be more blessed! Happy Birthday, Nathan!

Blues Clues Party

Nathan has LOVED watching Blues Clues this past year so deciding the theme for this year's party was easy!The downside of all of this is you can no longer find Blues Clues partyware in stores. I started planning months ago just to give enough time to find all the little items I was looking for. After a suggestion from my mom, we decided to have the party at Trotwood Park inWinter Springs. It has two playgrounds, great for young and older ages, and it has a splash pad. (Perfect for our hot summer weather!) We were very glad that our friends and family came to help celebrate Nathan turning 2!

 

Holli and Cameron

Thomas having fun with Spencer

Juice Break

Splashing Fun

Happy Birthday to you....

Playing in the water cooler

McKinley being a sweetie pie

not a hat :)

trying to put on the new jammies

a potty!