Birthday Boy!

November happens to be a very busy month for this fam jam.

Fun fact : out of the 5 of us, 3 have birthdays in November - Declan (9th), Myself (28th) & Sadie (29th) ;)

Last week, we celebrated little man's birthday. He turned 2! He is my strong-willed, crazy, fun-loving boy.

These are a few of Declan's favorite things, at the moment -

Favorite breakfast - toast with scrambled eggs
Favorite food - apple sauce
Favorite treat - chocolate chip cookies
Favorite song - Happy by Pharrell Williams from the movie Despicable Me
Favorite movie - Disney's Tangled, especially this part
Favorite toy - anything on wheels
Favorite phrase - gasps, "oh no!"
Favorite book - Color Book
Favorite thing to play with - crayons or measuring cups
Favorite shoes - his 'Cars' crocs
Favorite time of day - bath time

We had planned to spend the day at the Telus Spark Science Center for his birthday but it snowed over night and all morning.  With one bad tire, slippery roads and the Science Center almost 40 minutes away, we decided to save it for another day.

The girls wanted to help out with the cake. I baked Declan's cake while the kids were in bed so I let the girls draw on the cake when they woke up. They had so much fun drawing pictures for their brother.

Pictures for the birthday boy from his big sissy's and balloons - we love balloons!

 

We were unsure of what to get the birthday boy this year. We decided to get him this Imaginarium Train set/table a few days before his birthday. We were a bit iffy about buying the table because we thought all the pieces would end up in different places of the house and that we'd lose most of the trains. I can happily say that after a week of having it, the tracks are all still together, no pieces missing and the kids actually play with it. I decided not to put it in Declan's room just yet because the main floor is where the kids normally hang out most of the time. They still play with it for most of the day which is nice.

My sis-in-law made this tipi for Declan. She made it the day of! Can you believe it? It's super cute and the kids love it. We are so lucky to have such a talented sister/auntie. She really can make anything and she is an amazing cook/baker. If she ever invites you over for a cooked meal, say yes! I promise you will never be dissappointed :)

August, this cutie celebrated with the birthday boy. He had fun playing (or should I say, sucking) on all the trains, tracks and the little people that came with the set. Such a cutie. If you have Instagram, you need to follow him - @hi_my_name_is_August

 When it was time to sing "happy birthday" to the birthday boy, he had all eyes on the little rainbow balls that outlined the cake. As you can see, most of it is gone because he was eating it throughout the day with his sisters. When we finished singing to him, his mouth was full, if he tried blowing out the candles, he'd be spitting out marshmallow fondant, so his sisters helped and blew out the candles for him.

Declan's birthday cake - I baked him a rainbow cake with vanilla buttercream and marshmallow fondant. It didn't turn out the greatest, I had used tons of icing trying to keep the cake together because I had made the layers too thin. It was so easy to make it tho, so I definitely plan on making another in the future for another birthday. 

 And last but not least, a little video of his day. Enjoy :)

 

T.I.M.E

"Make time for your kids. Enjoy their laughter and silliness. They are so innocent and real.

Make them feel special, because they truly are the biggest blessing of your life."

I couldn't agree more with this quote. I love it so much. It's true, you know. Time with your kids is so important. Setting your priorities so that your kids/family are on the top of your list. They don't need all the cool toys or have all the money in the world spent on them. They just need your time. Whether it be in the living room, kitchen, their bedroom, on the floor, in the backyard - wherever it may be. Just spend time with them.

Today, while Mike was at work, Sadie called him asking to play "Go Fish" with her when he was done. So, as soon as he got home from work, he took a quick shower and there they were - sat at the kitchen table playing "Go Fish". They played a few rounds of the game until it was time for bed and Mike had to leave for the gym. When Mike left, Sadie asked to call him. So I gave her the phone and she started talking to him, "Hey dad, I had a fun time playing cards with you. Good night, I love you.". That phone call melted my heart and it put the biggest smile on my face. A few games of "Go Fish" was all it took to make her night.

Hallows' Eve... Eve? - Family Pumpkin Carving

It's that time of year again. Time for all the cute, scary, pretty and, I guess you could include, "sexy" costumes to come out. Decorating your house with ghosts, creepy creatures, pumpkins and all things halloween-y. We actually decorated our house tonight with all that fun stuff. A bit late, but you know how the saying goes, "better late than never".

As you can see, we welcomed creepy creatures, black cats and creepy crawly things - clearly fake. The girls had so much fun helping me put decorations up. As for Declan, he had fun being a terror and taking things down. So we took a break from putting more decorations up.

We also carved pumpkins this evening. Earlier this morning we told the kids that as soon as daddy gets home and after we've eaten our dinner, we could carve pumpkins. So the whole day, Mckenzie would ask, "Is daddy home yet? We carve pumpkins yet?". It was cute and annoying all at the same time. When Sadie got home, the girls picked out what kind of pumpkin they wanted. Can you guess what they chose?? If you said, Elsa and Anna, you are right! We decided to carve Declan's pumpkin as the Lorax, since it is one of his favorite movies at the moment - also, he could care less what his pumpkin was going to be... I don't even think he realizes that he even has one.

As soon as Mike got home from work and showered quickly, we started on dinner. And after 45 minutes of Mike and I constantly asking the girls to "eat their dinner" and "to stop goofing off", we finally started on our pumpkin carving.

As you can see, Sadie was not at all excited to be cleaning out the pumpkin. She was so grossed out. I tried telling her that she cleaned her pumpkin out last year. But she wouldn't budge. And when big sissy is grossed out, Mckenzie is grossed out, too. She did put her hand in there, but pulled it right out as soon as her hands got slimy and wet. Thank goodness for daddy. He got right in there while mommy snapped some shots.

This kid - he is usually in bed by 530-6ish. So, when we started, it was already way passed his bed time. I loaded him up with stickers and markers. Two things he doesn't see too often, so he was a happy camper, in his chair the whole time! It made me one happy mama - that's for sure!

After the pumpkins got cleaned out, Mike started on the carving. And while he was doing the carving, the girls decorated their other pumpkin with pumpkin decorating stickers I bought from Target. They loved it and had so much fun decorating their pumpkins on their own.

 I seriously love this little guy. And I was so surprised with how happy he was.

Once Mike was done doing all the "heavy lifting" aka pumpkin carving, I managed to get a family photo afterwards. Even with Declan being up 4 hours passed his bedtime, he didn't mind taking pictures at all. I honestly don't even remember when the last time we took a family picture. When people offer to take a family picture, I normally opt out of one because, either Declan is asleep, or there is one kid or sometimes two or even all three kids upset or Mike is not in a picture taking mood (he is not a big fan of posing for pictures. He is more of a candid picture kind of guy). So I was shocked and so incredibly happy that the one we took turned out great!

And I honestly love this picture in particular because of Mckenzie's face. Always the joker.

Lastly, the girls wanted pictures with their pumpkins before going to bed. The faces I got - priceless!

As Sadie would say, "One more sleep until Hallowe'en". I hope everyone has a fun and safe Hallowe'en!