Ryan and I have been wanting to take the boys to a Woodchucks game to see how they
would do sitting through a baseball game. Better to test it out there, then spend $200 on tickets to a Cubs or Sox game and have it go miserably. Grandpa has season tickets right under the press box, so we had a great view of the game.
We kept the boys busy with snacks,
and introduced them to Woody.
After a few innings though, they were getting a little restless. And who can blame them??
Even I get antsy sitting at baseball games. Thankfully they have a park inside
the stadium where we took the kids to let off a little steam.
We made it all the way to the end of the game and were able to watch
Joe's instructor for the summer is Q. I was a little nervous coming into this year because Joe is not all that fond of the water. Last year he really bonded with Conrad. That made things a lot easier and helped him get more comfortable being in the water. I was hoping he would feel as comfortable with his instructor this year. Thankfully for me Joe already loves Q! It's funny because the first day of lessons we had to go at a different time and Joe had a different instructor. He cried and I had to pick him up every time it was his turn and hand him to the instructor. But the second day we went, he had Q and he did awesome. He stayed in the water, he went with Q all on his own when it was his turn, and he's been excited to go back. I don't know what it is, but something between the two of them clicked and I am very thankful. My hope is by the end of the summer Joe loves being in the water and isn't afraid anymore.
It also helped that his friend Luke was in his class. The two of them played on the stairs together while they were waiting for their turns to come.
Owen is with Jake. He's doing so well and is such a great swimmer!! He can jump off the diving board and swim to the ladder all on his own. The whole time he is in the water all he wants to do is go underwater and try to swim. I have a feeling this year of swim lessons will be great for him because it will help him on his actual stroke swimming vs doggy paddling. I'm excited to see how for he comes by the end of the summer.
And Miles is happy sitting on the sideline watching with me. Well, most of the time anyway. Occasionally he gets antsy and wants to get out and walk/crawl around, which is why I am thankful the lessons are only 30 minutes. Totally manageable.
My good friend Lesa and her kids were in town from California. They came over for a play date and brought a special cupcake to help Miles celebrate his birthday. This kid is going to be really disappointed when he realizes that cupcakes are not part of his normal diet.
The kids were happy to see each other and picked up right where they left off.
And she and I were able to sneak out for a girls' night at Cafe de Luca.
I'm really happy they're enjoying themselves out in CA,
Because I simply can't resist, I looked on Pinterest for a few ideas, then finished off the decorations with some of my own. Nothing fancy, just fun and festive!
How cute is this?? Miles' first finger painting.
I filled our water table with water beads hoping it would keep the kids busy for awhile.
Mission accomplished.
Aside from putting time into the decorations, I tried to have everything else be low key and more importantly, stress free. We catered food from Cafe De Luca and added a few easy appetizers from Costco. Cafe De Luca provided dessert too, which is awesome! I made some cupcakes for the kids and a special smash cake for Miles.
After watching him devour the cupcake on his actual birthday, I knew he was going to love this cake. He picked up the whole thing and flipped it onto his face trying to eat it. He then proceeded to eat almost the entire cake with the exception of what fell to the floor and in his seat. Looks like he has a sweet tooth that can rival my own.
Some of Ryan's family and our friends were among the lucky few to watch this amazing cake debacle take place. And then there are The Kennedy's, who are both. They've pretty much become like family at this point. We love them!
Earlier this week I was telling Melissa about some adirondack chairs I saw and wanted to get for the boys. Can you guess what she showed up to the party with? Three chairs. One for Miles and one for each of the other boys. They're just what I was looking for and the boys are going to love them. It looks like Miles already does.
He was really excited with all of his new gifts,
even if he had a little bit of trouble opening them.
Thankfully the boys were there to help him and wasted no time
helping him play with his new toys.
Thank you to everyone who was able to come to the party and help us celebrate Miles. We are so thankful for all of you and for also thankful for those who couldn't make it.
