First Birthday

On August 11th, our baby girl celebrated her first birthday!

The occasion called for pulling out the real camera (as opposed to the ever-present iPhone) and documenting the event on my much-neglected blog (as opposed to the instant gratification of instagram/facebook).

A year ago I was in an "easier" season of parenting where all 3 older kids were relatively independent and things were running pretty smoothly in our household...   And then enters baby Miriam: the nursing newborn stage, the fussy evenings, the night wakings... then it was the too-short naps or the not-at-all-naps and the right-before-I'm-trying-to-get-dinner-on-the-table whine fest... which has turned into "whatever keeps the baby happy" (i.e. letting her shred - and possibly eat - paper or allowing her to empty the entire contents of any and/or all cabinets in the kitchen...)  My days are much fuller and my time is much less my own, BUT this girl has brought so much joy and laughter into our house this year. She is a constant form of entertainment for all of us (so much that I worry she will believe the world revolves around her every move), the older kids adore her and fight over her and want to be the one she looks at or laughs at or plays with or crawls to...

Miriam has become a fixture in our family and it is hard to think of what our family would be like without her.

Miriam's nicknames have evolved over the year.  As with all the kids, we came up with silly little pet names for her - odd names like Meerkat or Whimsical Mimsical or Mimsi-Bear...  The names Mimsi and Meems were pretty common, but the one name that has stuck - I think permanently - is Mimi.  I'm not sure I would've expected to be calling her that when we chose the name Miriam, but it's become fully adopted by all the members of this household.  

Miriam is definitely starting to communicate more and more.  Her official first word would have to be kitty - which mostly just sounds like the letter "T" over and over, along with violent (but excited) shaking every time she sees the cat.  She also says "mo" for more, and "na-na" for night-night.  She waves bye-bye and claps her hands, especially when she stands unassisted, which is happening ALL the time right now.  She has attempted a step or two in between people/objects but no serious toddling yet.

Miriam loves to look at books and spend long concentrated moments turning pages back and forth.  Otherwise her favourite thing is to be in her Mommy's arms.  And if Mommy's arms are busy, she enjoys hanging onto her legs and keeping Mommy from doing whatever task it is that Mommy is trying to finish - sinking her teeth into Mommy's thigh to get her point across if necessary.

 Miriam is our best eater yet - probably mostly because we've thrown her right into the world of food without spending too much time in the baby cereal/pureed food stage.  Some of Miriam's favourite foods are things my other kids wouldn't touch.  Her fave right now is a Mexican quinoa salad with veggies and black beans.  She also really likes the pancakes I make for her most mornings (1 egg, 1 banana, some oatmeal, cinnamon & vanilla).   She is loving all our BC berries and has eaten more than her weight in blueberries and raspberries over the last month.  She has no problem trying just about any food - she polishes off raw broccoli florets and gobbles up homemade salsa...  The only problem with her adventurous eating is that it sometimes overlaps to other not-so-edible items - her two favourites being paper and cat food.  She LOVES cat food.  And if I don't put it up high and snatch up every little kitty crumble off the floor, she will find it and she will eat it.

Miriam has never really taken to a bottle, but has learned to drink from a straw and a sippy cup, though those are mostly just for water.  I'm still breastfeeding - this is the longest I've made it with any of my kids so far - and I'm hoping we can keep it up a little while longer.

We celebrated Miriam's 1st year with a family get-together.  The kids and I had fun putting some simple decorations together for her little party.  It is so nice to plan an outside party after all my winter/spring babies...

My inspiration was a $2 package of cupcake papers I found at Walmart - I loved the green and pale peach colours and decided to use the extra liners to decorate...

Miriam thoroughly enjoyed her first cupcake (dairy-free to be friendly for all our guests - made with coconut milk/oil... Cupcake recipe here and icing recipe here.)

The cupcake didn't stand a chance...

The year has gone by so fast!  But we are in love with our little Mimi and can't wait to see how much she learns and grows in the year to come!

Minnie Mouse Party & DIY Pinata

Time to break my hiatus from blogging.  Would you believe life has gotten busier with 4 kids?!?  Who would've thought...  I spend so many hours a day toting around a heavier-than-she-looks 5-month-old and anytime my arms are free I find myself frantically catching up on housework or half-asleep on the couch watching reruns of Duck Dynasty...  

But now I'm ready for an update.  And I'm going to rewind a couple of months back to Keziah's 7th birthday party.  Every year the party theme is a subject of great debate.  My daughter has some over-the-top ideas about what she would like and she also has a stubborn streak.  But, if I'm strategic, I can convince her (every once in awhile) to go with one of my ideas.  This year, in light of our upcoming trip to Disney, I convinced her to go with a Minnie Mouse theme, which turned out to be one of our simplest themes yet.  

One nice thing about this theme is that you can find tons of Minnie Mouse birthday paraphernalia in all kinds of stores.  We did buy some Minnie Mouse plates and balloons, but we also did a few crafty things to add our own personal touch.  

We wanted all the party guests to have Minnie Mouse ears for the party so that was our first project.  I traced circles on black cardstock (I think I used a plastic kids cup for this size circle) and drew a tab on one side before cutting it out.  My dollar store glue gun came in very handy and these were done in no time.  I just folded the tabs on the ears and glued them to the underside of the hair band.  I used the ribbon to make small bows and glued them to the top of the headband.  

Minnie Mouse ears complete!

I used more black and pink cardstock to create simple goody bags.

The cupcakes were the easiest ever!  With regular size oreos and mini oreos we were able to create the mouse shape.  Some of the ideas on Pinterest showed the addition of a pink bow using fondant, but that just sounded like waaaay too much work.  I think with the pink icing they looked "feminine" enough to pass for Minnie cupcakes (as opposed to Mickey ones).

One thing that Keziah had her heart set on this year was having a pinata at her party.  I really didn't want to buy one so I decided to see if we could create our own.  It was actually pretty simple and I think it turned out really great!

I started off with some large cereal-type boxes rescued from my recycling bin and traced the mouse shape on them using a large dinner plate for the head and a smaller plate for the ears.

Then I cut strips of cardboard to make my head 3-dimensional and started creating my shape with lots of painters tape.

Half-finished and ready to tape the other side on.

My 3D pinata shape is finished.  I left a flap at the top where I could add the candy in later.

Keziah was pretty pleased with the Minnie Mouse shape and next it was time for the fun part - paper mache!

We made a mixture of some white glue and water to make a sort of runny paste and then dipped in our ripped up newspaper - tons of fun for the whole family :)

After we felt it was sufficiently covered in glue and paper, we left our soggy shape to dry and harden.  If you plan to attempt this, give yourself a few days.  It took a day or so to dry and then I did about 3 coats of black paint (crayola craft paint) to get good coverage - leaving it to dry in between coats.

When it was finished I packed that baby full of leftover Halloween candy.  (Side note: I decided to divvy up the candy into snack-sized ziploc bags - one for each guest - to avoid a crazy free-for-all where some kids might end up with a ton of candy while others got none.)

Lastly I taped the top flap closed with packing tape and added a pink bow, which I made by adapting the instructions I found here.

And after we were finished, it was time to destroy our hard work! Erik drilled a couple of holes in the top and hung the pinata from our plum tree in the backyard.  I wasn't sure how it would stand up to the baseball bat test - I didn't want it to come apart with the first hit but I also didn't want it to be an indestructible fortress either.  In the end it worked out perfectly - each of the kids got a couple good whacks and then we let Keziah go to town on it until it broke open completely.

Overall, pinata-making was a pretty simple process and could work with all kinds of shapes - like a number for the birthday boy/girl's age or the first letter of their name...  I think I may have inadvertently started a new birthday tradition... :)

Four

Silas turned 4 today.

I can't believe how quickly he's growing up.  I can clearly remember the March morning that he was born.  I feel nostalgic about him becoming a big boy and yet if there wasn't another baby on the way I think I would feel much more sad about the rapid passing of time and how quickly we have entered a different phase as a family.

There are many great things I could say about this boy.  He is SO loveable.  And the fact that he doesn't want to sit still and snuggle anymore makes us want to squeeze him all the more :)  He's a true third child - making everyone laugh at the right moments and keeping the whole family entertained by his charm and silliness.  

And we're not sure whether he comes by it naturally or if it's a result of having an older brother who is into all things hockey, but this boy loves his stick and puck.  

On rainy days he spends his time on the kitchen floor, mini-stick in hand and ball flying.  On sunny days, he takes me out to the street to show me his "slap-shot", "back-hander" and how he can shoot the ball through the "5-hole".  The phrase I hear about 25 times a day is: "Mom, watch the replay!" and then I have to patiently wait while he does a slow-motion reenactment of whatever amazing play just occurred...

He shoots...

He scores!!

He doesn't have much patience for toys and imaginary play, but give the kid a ball or a swing or a shovel or a bike and he'll be happy as a clam.  He's an outside kid through-and-through.  This year he learned to pump his legs on the swing and ride a pedal bike (he's already graduated from the strider we gave him last year).  He's also a natural at hockey - so Erik says - and can keep up with Micah and the neighbour boys.

I may not share his affinity for sports but I am definitely in love with my little Siley-bear.  I think I'm going to miss having him as my "baby", and when he goes off to preschool in the fall I might be a bit lost without his silly charm.

Happy birthday Silas!

8 Years

This past week we celebrated Micah's 8th birthday.  

Of all of Micah's 8 years, this one was probably the hardest.  He had a rough year dealing with anxieties and fears that are far beyond his years.  But I honestly feel we've come through the worst and most hopeless season of it and for the progress we've seen in these last months, I'm very thankful.  Talking with others in similar situations, gathering information online, and doing a lot of praying have all been helpful parts of this process.  

When it came time to plan his party, we decided to keep it simple and have a party at home doing all the farm things that Micah loves to do with his Daddy - mainly hockey!

(Balloons decorated by the birthday boy)

I found a fantastically simple hockey cupcake idea on Pinterest.  White icing (with some sprinkled sugar for a snowy effect), pretzels and a chocolate chip for the puck.

We were prepared for typical rainy December weather, but thankfully the rain held out and the kids had a blast playing hockey on the street and no one complained about being cold.

After the kids were tuckered out from their game, it was time for a hayride.  These boys got a kick out of the cows and calves following the tractor.

Then to end the party, we all headed inside for hot chocolate, snacks and those delicious hockey cupcakes :)

My prayer for Micah these days is a spirit of joy and optimism.  I also pray that what he is experiencing will shape him in a positive way and make him sensitive to others who are anxious and fearful.  Lastly, I pray for the innocence of childhood to stay with him as long as possible.

We love you so much Micah :)

Butterfly Party

Last year Keziah and I agreed on a fun rainbow theme for her birthday party which was a big hit and a lot of fun to put together.  This year I was inspired by some simple-looking cupcakes that I found on Pinterest and convinced Keziah to do a butterfly-themed party.

First I found a butterfly template online, cut it out and traced it onto folded cardstock to create the invitations. 

I had some supplies laying around from my old scrapbooking days, so I printed the cover words onto white card stock, punched them with a flower-shaped punch and then attached them with the brads.  Not fancy card-making genius by any means - but cute (and simple!)

Then I printed the party details on more white card stock and adhered them inside the invitations.

The morning of Keziah's birthday I wanted her to have a celebratory wake-up.  It worked out great since the boys usually get up around 6 am (they all share a room in case you've forgotten) but Keziah sleeps until 7:30.  I had plenty of time to make this balloon garland.  She was a little sleepy-eyed and groggy when she discovered it but I think it served it's purpose of welcoming her to an exciting day...

After she took a few minutes to wake up she promptly gathered some of her favourite-ist treasures and created a birthday shrine for herself on the kitchen table.

(This is soo very Keziah-ish...)

After she went off to school I replaced it with some butterfly decor in anticipation of her party (which was still a couple of days away).   I found the foliage around the farm and added some dollar store butterflies.

I found lilac branches that were already budding for the butterflies to perch on.  And - wouldn't you know it - we still have flowers in November!  (Erik's mom thinks these little purple flowers are alyssum).

I also used the same invitation template to create some butterfly garland to hang above the table.  

Then, Saturday came and it was party day.  I couldn't help but get Keziah a new dress for the occasion when I saw this one at Superstore...

When the guests arrived we gave them each a pair of "butterfly wings" to wear ($1.25 each from Dollarama).  Then I had 2 crafts planned to keep 6 little girls and 3 little boys busy.  The first was a simple craft of tissue paper and pipe cleaners.

For the second craft I gave the kids each a clothes-pin to decorate and told them that we were making caterpillars, but that by the end of the party they would turn into butterflies.  Later, while the kids were in the other room I clipped on the candy bags as the butterfly wings.  

I planned a couple of party games - our favourites are hot potato dress-up (take an item from the dress-up bin when it's your turn until everyone is dressed up all crazy) and the present unwrapping game (layers of wrapping paper with a gift inside that can be shared by all {more candy, of course!})

Then it was time for cupcakes... 

The cupcakes were my main inspiration for the party - an idea that I found here.  The Martha Stewart version is much more pretty in pastel, but I let Keziah choose the icing colours from this very fun and helpful chart so we ended up with more vibrant butterflies.  The wings are made from yogurt-covered pretzels, some dots of pink icing for the body, a smartie head and licorice antennae (sidenote: it's not easy to find shoe string licorice - let alone black or dark purple to match the picture - so I ended up using a red pull-and-peel twizzler).

The cupcakes were thoroughly enjoyed by all...

I commented to Erik that this group of girls was sooo much louder than they were last year.  I nearly lost my voice by the end of the 2 hours.  I ended up shipping them outside near the end of the party because there was a whole lotta noise and energy going on in our tiny house.

I breathed a sigh of relief when it was all over.  And I think we had one happy little party girl.

One birthday down, one more to go!