Ninjago Birthday Extravaganza

Beckett is now officially a 4 year old.  My sweet (not so) little baby boy is growing up.  Boooo.  Time just keeps on chugging along, the boys keep on getting bigger, and I keep on finding myself with bittersweet emotions as I'm forced to move along to the next phase. Letting kids grow up is hard (as if I had a choice)!

Beckett's birthday was celebrated with parties (yes, plural) this past weekend.  First off, we celebrated with our family on Friday night, followed by his first 'friend' party on Saturday afternoon. He's been talking about his birthday for months now, so having it finally arrive was so exciting for our B.

Friday night was lots of fun with Corey, Asher, Adam and Kayla, and the cousins:)  We had Beck's fave, Macaroni and Cheese (homemade, yummmm), and ribs and fruit.  He loved opening his presents, and received some really fun things.  The first thing he happen to open was an orange shirt, to which he replied, "Oh! I always wanted and orange shirt with a number on it!!" Knowing how much kids love to get clothes for presents at this age (har, har), I was taken back.  So gracious, so sincere, so sweet.  I love how sincerely excited about his gifts he still is...even clothes.

Ninjago was the b-day theme of choice for our big boy, so we had to get creative, since you can't buy the stuff anywhere.  My super crafty and helpful mom sent me over a bunch of paper ninja guys, Chinese dragons and lanterns, which really made the party.  They were so festive and cute.  I put 'Ninjago' eyes on just about everything else...balloons, drink boxes, treat bags, you name it.  I even found an iron on and had made him a shirt! Beck was thrilled with us turning our house into Ninjago-land. It really was a fun theme!

The next afternoon, all of his little buddies came over and we had a Ninjago Bash.  He did great, all the kids had a good time, and the party was lots of fun. We played games:  Pin the Sword on the Ninja, did a pull Ninja pinata in the family room, had Ninjago coloring pages, had an obstacle course for 'Ninja Training', and colored some wooden Ninja stars.   The kids had pizza and cupcakes, and Beck was really excited about his cake...'Jay' the Ninjago guy made out of cupcakes, because Jay is his fave guy.  Fun, fun, fun.  Little kid birthdays are the best:)

Happy Birthday Beck!  I can't believe you are already FOUR years old.  We love your feist, your sweetness, your snuggles and all your funny comments.  We love YOU!

Party, Lego Style

This past Saturday, we had a 'friend' party for Asher's 7th birthday.  It has been SO much fun to search and plan for it.  Asher had been looking forward to it since his 'real' birthday, three weeks ago.  I decorated with anything LEGO I could find and made a few things I couldn't.  The kids decorated LEGO head cookies, played a team relay race with LEGOS, guessed how many bricks were in a jar, and each built masterpieces out of a random assortment (they each received a medal and award for their efforts).  So fun!  And the food...pizza, chips and queso, apples and dip.  Again, fun. The cake was a few LEGO bricks.  Corey ordered so much extra pizza that he called his brothers up to come and make a dent.  I guess he overestimated the appetites of 7-year old boys...had they been 12, I think it would have been a completely different scenario.

Asher had a great time with his buddies, received some fun gifts(which he could not WAIT to open...he kept asking when he could open them), and enjoyed his special day:)

I just love that boy.

First Lobos Game

 

Last night we took the boys to their first Lobos basketball game at the Pit!  It was such a fun night, and Basketball games are my favorite to go to.  Corey and I go to a couple a year but have never taken the kiddos before. The boys' first glimpse of all the hoopla was the starting lineup, which they both watched in awe (see pic!).   Once we arrived at the game Asher was totally in the zone and loving everything about it...the roaring crowd, the music, the contests, the hype.  He loved the plays, the calls, the time outs, the paper coupons that fall from the mini blimp, the band...all of it!  He jumped out of his seat when there was a bad call, and cheered as loud as he could the whole time.  He was in basketball heaven, truly.

 

Beckett, on the other hand had a very different perspective on it all.  He had a good time too, but was very distracted by the popcorn (he wanted some), cotton candy and icees (he also wanted some). He was especially miffed when a young boy went out and swept off the court...he wanted to know why he couldn't do it too.  Then there was the rack of team basketballs sitting to the side of the court at halftime...he thought it'd be nice to take one of those home too.  Why wasn't that okay?  The little coupons that get dropped from the mini blimp were a great distress...when was one going to fall into his lap? He did actually watch some of the game too!

Ah, well.  In the end, they won the game against Colorado State 66-61, Go Lobos!  They are having such a fantastic season, it was a real treat to go and cheer them on.  We were glad Asher loved it, and we might have come to terms with the fact that an almost 4 year old might need some time to fully appreciate it all.   Fun night though!

Asher turns 7!

Woo-hoo!  My Asher is such a great kid, and I can't believe he just turned 7!  We really could not be prouder of him.  He is an excellent reader, tries to do the right thing, loves school and church, is kind to others, says the best prayers, loves to play sports of all kinds and has an amazing imagination.  He is already talking about getting baptized next year, which really throws me for a loop!  How can he be almost old enough for that?

For his birthday this year, it was all about LEGO's.  We'll be having a 'friend' party in a couple of weeks, which will also be a LEGO party.  He also brought in some doughnuts (his treat of choice for the occasion) into school for a class b-day treat at school.  He had fun opening presents, blowing out candles, eating Dion's pizza (his dinner choice), and playing with family. 

His favorite presents were LEGO sets (of course), an alarm clock, his LEGO watch (he never wants to take it off), NBA Jams Wii game and a sand art kit that I still haven't let him break into because it's going to be a huge mess:)  The alarm clock has been a fun surprise.  He listens to it when he goes to bed at night, and especially loves to listen to sports channels and games.  It's even kept Beckett (who comes out of his room several times before finally calling it quits) at bay.  Corey and I have both reminisced about when we received our first walkman's or alarm clocks and how empowering and cool it was to have a radio.  I would venture to say the alarm clock is probably his favorite thing this Christmas/Birthday season.

Anyway, the birthday celebration continues for a little while more until his next party, so, let the extravaganza begin!  Happy Birthday, Ash-man.  We love you so much, buddy!

Durango Escape

We headed off to Durango on New Year's Day!  We had hoped for a little bit of the white stuff in Albuquerque over the break so the boys could play, but it was beyond dry, so we went to the snow instead.  Most people in NM will scoff at us for wishing for snow, but I figure if it's going to be cold and dry, at least a little snow would liven things up a bit, and dress things up a bit too.

Durango had just gotten a nice snow storm the day before we drove up, so it was beautifully covered with a fresh coat.  Yay!  We rented a great little cabin.  I fell in love with it's rustic stone wall, cozy fireplace and gorgeous surroundings. We settled in instantly and Corey quickly became the  'Master of the Fire', keeping us all warm and using his pocketed scouting skills. Fire, snow and all it was such a nice reprieve from suburbia.

 

Games!

After weighing our options, we (don't laugh...it was well below zero while we were there!) went swimming at their amazing-for-kids rec center pool and also hit the sledding hills.  I loved that we didn't hurry to get anywhere, took little naps in the afternoons, hiked around behind the cabin, watched movies, played games, were pummeled by the crazy jacuzzi tub in the bathroom (it was stuck on HIGH, yikes!), read books(Asher!), drank cocoa and just plain RELAXED.  It was great, really.  Corey and I even met season 2 of Downton Abbey head on and watched several episodes per night! 

Giganto pizza slice at J. Bo's. We are new fans.

 

Giganto cookie from Bread, a favorite stop. They're oatmeal cookies are really just amazing.

We have come here enough times now that we are starting to know where we want to eat, play and spend our time, which is nice.  And the 3 1/2 hour drive is a breeze, although, only five minutes out of town and Beck wanted to know if we were there yet (!). It's been over a year since we last drove to Utah, so I guess they are out of practice for the long road trips. All in all, a great, much needed escape for our family, and Durango totally fit the bill.  I am just sad now that Ash goes back to school this week, and the Christmas holiday is over.

Christmas 2012

This month, as with most Decembers past, was CRAZY busy.  Even though I sent out Christmas cards early-ish, had our tree up on time, and tried hard to have all of our gifts bought before December 1st(I was NOT so successful on that one, but did try), the month still slipped right by. I am one of those people who start playing Christmas music at Thanksgiving, want Christmas lights up on the house, enjoy the smell of gingerbread and baked goods wafting through the house(and ending up in my tummy!) and I always hope for snow.  Which is why I wish the month would just slow down a bit...so I can enjoy the whole experience of Christmas with my family in real time, not just fast forward.

The fam on Christmas Eve

The boys putting out treats for Santa (we hear Santa likes Egg Nog...aka 'Special Milk')

That being said, we did have a fantastic Christmas season.  I baked a ton.  So much, in fact that I went through pounds of butter! We talked about the Nativity with the boys as much as possible so they would understand it wasn't all about Santa and presents at all.  I had the boys make each other gifts this year too.  Beckett painted up a 'treasure box' for Asher (on the bottom he had me write, "Asher, share this thing-y".).  Asher made a coupon book for Beck, and he has actually been redeeming them!  It's really sweet to hear him say to Asher," Which coupon should I use?" Asher came up with the coupons all by himself and they range from things like making Beckett's bed, and helping him clean up to playing games with him.  Too sweet.  It ended up being a really great thing for them, and for me.  They both love their thoughtful gifts:)


Corey's parents came into town for the holidays and stayed for a couple of weeks to celebrate.  The kids always love it when grandparents come to town! 

On Christmas Eve, we read the accounts of the Nativity in the Bible, watched some Christmas video clips, sang some songs, and ate some good food.  The boys left out cookies and some 'special milk' (aka egg nog, we hear Santa likes that too!), opened up some new jammies, and were off to bed to dream of Santa's sleigh.  We decided to do the traditional New Mexican luminarias on our sidewalk/yard.  Unfortunately, there was too much wind, so we lit them on Christmas Day instead. They were beautiful though, and the boys helped fill bags with sand and put them out with us.

On Christmas morning, I woke up at 6 a.m., excitedly waiting for the boys to come and 'wake us up', but to my amazement, they slept until a staggeringly late 7 a.m.!  We all came downstairs together and took in the Christmas treasures around and under the tree.  It was a wonderful morning, and the kids had lots of fun opening up their presents.  They were both sweet about receiving their gifts, especially Beckett, who is still very excited about everything he opens.  Christmas dinner was at our place, and we served up a very non-traditional, but yummy dinner of fajitas, sides and a fun peppermint cheesecake cake, which, sadly, we were so full, we barely made a dent in it!

Some favorite gifts this year would include:  Asher- loads of Legos, his snap circuit set (so cool!), a kickball, and soccer wii game. Beck- Imaginext space shuttle, giraffe dreamlite (now named Dreamy), and a Twins shirt.

 Asher sporting one of Beck's super-hero get-ups while opening presents, and Beck with a few of his favorite things:)

 

Add caption

What a Merry Christmas it was:)

Such Good News

This past week we found out some really great news.  Our little Beck has had renal reflux since birth (found in utero, actually).  Over the past 3 plus years, he's taken an antibiotic daily(until things started looking better last March), and once a year we took him in for a renal ultrasound, and a vcug...basically a strange way to see if his kidney still has a kink in it, and it is NOT fun.  The only upside to it is that Beckett gets to eat Jello.  I don't try to deprive my children of Jello, we just never really eat it, and because of that the stuff is like magic when he suddenly can't have real food.  We just pull out some 'Jigglers' and ta-da, it's like he's eating cookies for breakfast.  At least that part is fun for him.

We were really hoping this would be his last one, since after the previous 'study' they found that it had lessened from a grade 3 to a grade 1.  There was a chance it was gone but he'd need one more set of tests to be sure.  A week and a half before Thanksgiving we went in for it, and this past week we received the results and were thrilled to hear that YES, in fact it is GONE!  Yippee!  I cannot tell you how grateful we are to hear this.  Beckett's lil' kidney has fixed itself up, we just had to have a little patience and faith. We are so thankful for a healthy little boy with a happy little kidney:)