Birthday Party 2013 - Fly Away with Alex and Nathan!

Both boys are obsessed with airplanes.  We live under a flight path to Logan, and they enjoy just sitting outside and spotting planes.  Nathan is building model airplanes with Michael, hanging them up all around the house.  They always watch the airplane episode of "Mighty Machines", and on and on.  So what better theme for their birthday party then airplanes?

I made a special invitation, which of course I sent all copies out and have no picture of.  Ooops.

But we had a lot of fun preparing for the party, making paper airplanes, cutting out clouds and stenciling airplanes.  I trolled Pinterest for all sorts of ideas and tried to keep my projects reasonable.

It turned out to be a rainy day (very different than last year!), but I think we did a good job of keeping the troops under control and everyone had fun :)  I know Nathan and Alex did!  Thank you everyone for making it such a great birthday party!

Felt banner from Target, love!

Getting the birthday brunch all set up - bagels from Bagel World are now a tradition!

The "craft" room, with airplane stencils or "how tos" for making paper airplanes.

Really cute free printables I found on Pinterest (here)

Our little dining room ready for lots of kids!

Favor bags, Nathan helped me emboss them with his airplane stencils.

Nathan warming up the craft area.

Carter and Sydney playing in the "airplane" (I go the idea here)

No other toy gets more use than this in our house...

Charlie checking out the propeller.

Enjoying some brunch.

The boys getting a little crazy :)

Captain AJ!

Mimi reading to Alex and Carter.

AJ and Nathan "fixing" the airplane.

Time for cake (thank you, Pinterest, again for the cake idea, found it here)

Alex was a little unimpressed by the plant (or candles?  Mimi has a great photo), but everyone did a great job helping to blow out the candles.

Let them eat cake!

Nathan handing out the favor bags.

Nathan's 4th Birthday

As Nathan told everyone on June 10th (friends, family, strangers...), he is 4!  He has been counting down for weeks, and he woke up that morning very worried.  He wasn't sure if he was okay with turning 4, he wanted to stay 3.  But as the day wore on, he saw how awesome it was to be 4, helped by a great morning celebration with Aunt Carrie and Tyler.  We rounded it out with a birthday dinner of spaghetti and meatballs, and awesome cupcakes from the local bakery.  Then a ride on the big present from the Savage Aunt and Uncles, a roller coaster!  Thank you everyone for the cards, gifts, balloons, donuts, phone calls and Skypes that made it such a special day for him.

Nathan ended the day by telling me that "Turning 4 was awesomer than he ever expected." He is already talking up his 5th birthday!

Nathan opened his card and presents from us over breakfast...

Ladybug land!

Aunt Carrie and Tyler surprised Nathan with a balloon and a birthday cupcake, complete with red sprinkles and a car candle!

Nathan all ready to chow on his birthday dinner!

Birthday cupcake! (Red velvet)

Alex licking his cupcake.

Roller coaster!!

Alex turn!

Gin's Baby Shower

Just in case no one has heard, Gin is having a baby boy name William! :)  We are so excited for her and Fred, it has been a long journey...

Carrie, Mimi and myself roadtripped down to Philly for the shower, no way we were missing this day!  Somehow it had been years since I had seen Gin and Fred's house, and they have made it look so beautiful in preparation for William.

The first thing we did when we got there was get a mani/pedi.  What else do you do when you get three sisters and a mom in one place?

Pretty toes!

The rest of the day was standard girl time: big dinner followed by a movie rental.  We went to bed early, had to rest up for the big party the next day!

The shower was held at Winberies in Wayne, PA.  Amazing brunch, I had trouble leaving room for the ice cream cake.  People from all facets of Gin and Fred's life were there, the Schobel family (and 'fake' aunts and cousins), Gin's best friend Brenda and her crowd, the "fun" crowd from KoP, and the Savage family.  We ate, talked and opened presents for an hour.  It was a wonderfully organized shower!

Just in case anyone wasn't sure :)

The place card for the mom-to-be.

Brenda's beautiful favors.

Besties :)

Brenda and Gin talking with some of the "fun" crowd.

Talking with a "fake" cousin.

Gin telling Emma a story with her hand :)

More stories!

William's Mimi and Grammie!

The Savage Ladies.

Everyone enjoying the wonderful food.

Gin making Brenda cry, in a good way!

Present time!

For the future Philadelphia sports fan (does he have a choice??)

Enjoying every minute...

Gin explaining the history of this book, written by a Schobel "cousin" with proceeds to Hurricane Sandy victims.  It is all about a house on the Shore...

Opening gifts from Emma, first was a beautiful bonnet for baptism...

Opening gifts from Emma, first was a beautiful bonnet for baptism...

Get ready for LOTS of Thomas in your future!

Snuggling with one of the many beautiful afghans hand made for William by the Schobel ladies.

What is a shower without cake?  Especially cookies and cream ice cream cake from Cold Stone!

Snuggling with one of the many beautiful afghans hand made for William by the Schobel ladies.

Then back on the road for the three of us.  It was a short but wonderful trip!  Next time will be to visit little William!

Peek Week!

This is a special short post just for Grammie and Papa.  We took them to open swim with the boys when they were visiting, and they badly wanted to take photos.  But they typically don't allow them at the YMCA for privacy reasons.  The one exception is "Peek Week", when they invite friends and family to come watch the swim lessons and take as many photos as they want!  So I took a few for them.  Here you go!

Nathan waiting patiently on the wall for Miss Holly.

Doing a great job swimming on his back.

Always his favorite!!