Bunny-riffic!

She's four. It happened on Thursday. I can't believe she's four. In the blink of an eye she went from looking like a little girl to a grown-up kid! I can't believe she's four. I know, I already said that...

We celebrated as a family on Thursday and with her preschool class on Friday. She had the best birthday celebration week!

I still can't believe she's four...

On her birthday morning, she dressed and accessorized herself.
I "cleaned her up" a little bit and she became a grown-up girl!
She loves her new babies.
She loves to draw. (Pictured from left to right: Scarlett, Jordan, Mommy, Noah, Daddy. Scarlett is her best girlfriend from preschool. She's now a part of our family. The bunny said so!)
The preschool celebration.
The classroom theme is a campsite, so I made mini cupcakes topped with mini s'mores. Cute, right?! Oh, and those are mini triple chocolate cake balls in the middle. The orange sprinkles sorta look like fire. Right?
Ms. Cindy and Luther the Lamb
Mrs. Munro and Luther

She loves school. She loves her teachers. She loves her birthday! And she's four.

A Party-ful Weekend

The grand gala was on Saturday. We celebrated the bunny's 4th birthday in the royal garden with 11 of her princess friends and a special visit from Sleeping Beauty. When the kidlets were in earshot, I explained that since I grew up near Orlando, I was connected. *wink wink*
But the truth is, Princess Aurora is my girlfriend's 18 year-old daughter, Jessica. Earlier in the summer I asked her if she'd be willing to use her theater skills and perform princess duties at the bunny's birthday party. (So what if I still plan parties months in advance? It's my thing! *grins*) Jessica ran with the idea and went so far as to MAKE the dress HERSELF! I'm still amazed by her talent and have to tell you she made the perfect Sleeping Beauty. She never broke character the entire time she was here and all the little princesses thought she was the real deal! Even the adults were awestruck! So if you're local and need a princess for hire, I can hook you up!

Sleeping Beauty sang her way to the backyard while all the little princesses were playing on the playground. This is the moment Jordan saw her:
Jordan and Natalie - completely smitten!
She read them her story.
Most of the princesses in one frame!
They had a tea party.
I made special cupcakes for each princess.
Everyone else had to eat these. *grins*
Jordan said her favorite part was taking a picture with Sleeping Beauty.
I have to say, this was the best princess party ever!

If you want to see the rest of the photos, go to Snapfish.

The End.

Noah

...glows when he sees his birthday cake
...wears big boy underwear
...shares candy with his sister before eating his piece
...writes his name
...surfs perfect waves
...blows giant bubbles
...bites the bottom of sugar cones before eating the ice cream
...snuggles his mom every morning
...smooches his dad every evening
...makes rainbows
...devours Grandpa's barbecue chicken
...giggles when you tickle his feet

Noah turned six last weekend. We had a fun family celebration that included a trip to the beach, Bud's barbecue chicken, and triple chocolate cake with fudge buttercream!

The Harvey Boys
6 Candles!
He couldn't resist!
He savored every bite! Noah hasn't been a cake fan until recently.
He enjoyed it all over his face!
He needed a bath before presents!
Noah lit up like a Christmas tree when he saw his cake with candles!

Happy Birthday, Noah! We think you're the best and couldn't be more proud of you!

Moving Right Along

Remember how the bunny used to say, "bitzy-bays" for strawberries? I still miss it, but her current, "straw-ber-arries" is pretty cute. Noah's, "straw-ber-bellies" is also super cute. I hope that sticks around for a while because, "law-ler" has been replaced by, "wa-ter." Dude! He only gave me a month with that pronunciation and he's already moving on. Sheesh! Seriously, though, I couldn't be more proud!

Noah will ask for something by naming the object and looking at us. We've worked on adding on, "please" and "thank you." This week we've been working on, "I want." Every day he tries so hard and builds on his conversation skills. Yesterday, we had this exchange:

Noah: Piece of gum.
Me: Say, "I want."
Noah: Piece of gum. Please. Bank you, Mommy.
Me: Say, "I want a piece of gum, please."
Noah: I want piece of gum. Please. Bank you, Mommy.

I know I push him, but I know he's capable. I also know he's a little schemer. A couple weeks ago while he was sitting on the toilet, trying to convince me he was done when I knew better, he said, "Ha ub you." It took me a moment to realize what he said when he said it again and hopped off the commode and gave me a hug. Then he said, "all done pee pee." Right, buddy, I love you, too, but you're getting back on that toilet. He did. And he peed. And he got his, "peanut m-m-m."

I guess it's only fitting that he tells me he loves me for the first time unprompted while he's on the toilet. I guess he figures that I'll always remember it that way since my world revolves around my children's bowel habits. And since I so enjoy discussing toilet issues with anyone and everyone. Hahaha!

I've waited over five years to hear my son tell me he loves me. I'll take it any way I can get it and I'm happy to share with everyone! Since it happened so close to my birthday, I'll take it as my birthday gift from Noah. One I will always remember!

Speaking of birthdays, we spent that day at the Museum of Natural Science. Both kids love the planetarium and we watched an animated show involving the Zula Patrol. I'm not familiar with the show, but Mike says he's seen it on PBS. I trust him. Anyway, we got some cute photos of the kids posing as the characters from the show. Both were too short to stick their heads in the holes so I held each one up individually while Mike snapped the photo. But the magic of Photoshop allows me to present one photo. Shhhh, it'll be our little secret!

The Book of Bunny

Whew! Our celebration week has come to an end and I am exhausted! Good thing Daylight Saving ended last night so I could get that extra hour of sleep this morning.

The bunny's third birthday was Wednesday and we celebrated with her preschool class. She woke up with some sniffles, but still wanted to go to school for her party. Since she didn't have a fever I took her in. She enjoyed her special day at school even though she looks pitiful.

She was exhausted after school and fell asleep during lunch. I let her sleep.

We opened family gifts Wednesday evening and the bunny got SPOILED by everyone! Thank you so much!

And I just have to throw this one in. I knew she was my girl!

On Thursday, the bunny had her three-year check up and the doctor confirmed the bunny has a case of sniffle, but no infection. She was cleared for the rest of the week's events. She's 24 pounds and 35 inches tall. She got her second round of the Hep A vaccine and was NOT happy about it. She carried on allll the way out of the office, allll the way down the elevator, allll the way to the parking garage, and alllll the way to Pappasito's. Lunch made everything better!

On Friday, we took full advantage of the kids being in school and made party preparations. We also carved our pumpkins for Halloween. Can you guess which one Mike carved?

Jordan really, really liked trick or treating! Noah was ready to go home after a few houses, but the bunny made it around the block and carried her loot the entire way. She needed two hands by the time we were almost home, but didn't want anyone's help! Noah wore his costume all night while helping Daddy hand out candy.

Saturday was the big birthday party day and we spent the day getting the house ready. (Read: shove everything non-essential into the bedroom and close the door in hopes that nobody has to go in there.) The party was a lot of fun and we had plenty of food, drink, and bounce for everyone! I do have to give props and a shout out to Mary. I am SO IMPRESSED and so happy she and her family came to celebrate with us. Mary, you look fabulous and your new little pumpkin is beautiful! And you're my hero because you got to take three showers in one day! I'm not sure I showered three times in a week when I had a newborn.

I have a lot more pictures to share but I'll leave you with this one for now. It's the birthday bunny enjoying her cupcake.