Dexter’s FIFTH birthday celebration

Posted on June 9, 2016 by mommyinthemidwest

Dexter had a busy and exciting birthday celebration. It started on his birthday, Friday the 13th, with a celebration at his Montessori school. My mom was able to come from Tennessee to celebrate, which meant a whole lot to all of us. A special time made even more special by the presence of special people.

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I made blueberry muffins for the 9:30am celebration and we enjoyed watching Dexter get to go through all of the steps of the Montessori birthday tradition.

Ryan’s parents were able to come to Dexter’s school celebration – what a lucky little boy to be surrounded by people who love him on his big day.

After school, he opened his presents (in a rush) before we headed over to his Ninja Gym class.

Saturday May 14th: We were right back over at the gym for his party. He begged and begged to have his party at the gymnastics facility, like Theo did for his 5th birthday party. The big difference this time, was that the boys are actually taking classes there and their coach was able to facilitate the party. It meant a lot to Dexter.

They absolutely love Coach Mike. And I gotta say … he is AWESOME with the kids. I feel lucky for them. He’s a great role model and influence.

After the party we had more fun at home with family and went out to dinner.

Dexter’s aunt, uncle, and cousin were here too but I guess I failed to get pictures of everyone. 🙁 Whoops. My camera died at the party so I was partially relying on my cell phone and partly not caring about taking pictures; just trying to live in the moment.

It was sad to see everyone go on Sunday afternoon. My heart was full of love and happiness after a weekend surrounded by friends and family.

Monday Dexter had his 5 year check up and we didn’t learn anything we didn’t already know (Dexter is healthy and smart and doing just great) other than our pediatrician dropping the bomb on us that he is moving to Boston at the end of the year. So, if the boys stay healthy for another six months, we might never see him again. We’ve been with him since the boys were newborns and it’s sad to think about him moving on.

I have so many blogs in the back of my mind, like the end of school stuff and just general updates on life but who knows if I’ll ever get around to posting them.

until then –

~C~

Dear Dexter: You’re FIVE!

Posted on May 13, 2016 by mommyinthemidwest

Dear Dexter,

My Friday the 13th baby. Your daddy has always loved scary movies so it was fitting that we’d have a baby on Friday the 13th. You might not know that some people are scared or superstitious about Friday the 13th but I happen to love this day more than ever before! This is the first time we have celebrated your birthday on a Friday since the day your were born.

You are the opposite of scary, spooky, or creepy! You’re genuinely one of the nicest people I know and even if I wasn’t your mama, I’d love you anyway. You are such a sweet and happy kid who loves to please others. You go through life without a care in the world and I think a lot of grown ups could benefit from having your go-with-the-flow attitude sometimes. You are sensitive and sometimes your feelings get hurt easily. You love your brother, even when you probably should be a little mad at him. You can pick up on other people’s feelings really well and if someone’s upset, you know how to turn on the charm to put everyone in a good mood again.

You like what you like and become passionate about it. After about three years, I think your Batman obsession is dying down a little bit and has been replaced by Mario Brothers. You have learned how to play the Wii and you’re really pretty good at it! You love, love, love to play and you aren’t happy when we tell you it’s time to turn it off. Sorry kid, there’s more to life than video games (even if your dad would disagree with me). You also love animals, Wild Kratts, coloring, Perler beads, and playing at the park. You are happy to be along for the ride without even knowing where we’re going. You don’t often complain or make much of a fuss, but you do like talking like a baby sometimes – which you know drives mom and dad nuts!

Truth is, you are kind of a baby though-or at least, you’re MY baby! And you always will be. Even though we don’t mean to, I’m sure we treat you like you’re younger than you are or we might handle things differently with you than we did with your brother when he was your age. We try not to, but you are the baby of the family and sometimes it’s hard for moms and dads to let go of that.

I can’t believe you’re starting Kindergarten in 2 short months, Dex. It’s CRAZY! You got so big, so fast. You’re reading now and can count to…well, I don’t know what you can count to because you go on so long that we end up begging you to stop! You love your Montessori school and your teachers there. Not walking through that door anymore after May 26 is going to be different for all of us, after having that school such a big part of our family’s lives for the last 3 years. You’ve learned so much and come so far but it’s only a tiny step in the direction you’re headed in the future. Kindergarten is going to be so much fun. New school, new friends, new teachers, new experiences. I’m anxiously excited for you to face new challenges and grow even more as a student, a friend, and a person.

Dexter, I hope age 5 is your best year yet. You’re going to change so much. I’m not ready to let go of my baby but I know you’ll always love your mama. Can’t wait to celebrate your birthday all weekend long.

xo,

Mama

Theo’s 6th birthday festivities

Posted on March 16, 2016March 16, 2016 by mommyinthemidwest

Before too much time gets away from me, I wanted to post some pictures and memories of Theo’s 6th birthday celebration(s). I love this kid and I’m so proud of the person he already is and who he’s becoming. He still surprises me every day by saying something I did not expect to hear out of his little mouth.

Tuesday, March 8th: Ryan and I were both able to join Theo at school and eat lunch with him. Sadly, I didn’t realize my camera was on manual focus when it was in manual mode – such a chaotic setting to try and take pictures. Anyway…this would have been decent if it was in focus. 🙁

Theo loves it when we come to lunch at his school. He loves taking us through the lunch line, showing us where everything is, telling us what we’re allowed to get, where to sit, etc. I love it too. It’s fun to see him in this setting where he spends so much time and has developed so much comfort and confidence in his own abilities.

Checking the mail – he got a card and $ from my grandma, which he loved of course!

The first thing Theo said to me when he got in the car was that it was the BEST BIRTHDAY EVER because while he was working on his afternoon writing, something in his mouth felt weird so he touched his tooth AND IT FELL OUT! haha…he got to go to the nurse and get this super cool tooth necklace. He lost his second tooth on his 6th birthday! I keep meaning to post about our first tooth loss/tooth fairy experience but surprise, I haven’t gotten to it yet. Anyway – he was thrilled.

For his birthday, we had a little TACO Tuesday dinner with some of our friends and Ryan’s parents. Dirt pudding with worms for dessert! We got him Disney Infinity and it has been a big hit.

Saturday, March 12th: My sister-in-law, her husband, and our nephew rolled into town and bombarded Theo with even more gifts.

Sunday, March 13th: The day Theo had really been waiting for…his birthday party! We rented the party room at the theater and had 19 people (including the 4 of us-it was about half kids/half parents) watch Zootopia. First of all, we loved the movie! It was brilliant. Second, I was shocked at how good all the little kids were – we even had a couple of 3 year olds and a barely 4 year old there and they were all so well behaved. No one even had to get up to go to the bathroom. Afterwards we had the party room for an hour.

In the little favor bags, I included Zootopia coloring sheets, a mini bag of microwaveable popcorn, a cute little paper popcorn container I found at Party City, and a Fruit by the Foot. We just went with a movie theme since the party was planned a month and a half before Zootopia was showing in theaters. I enjoyed the movie theme for something a little different (and NOT a character!).

Another year is in the books – I can’t believe this time next year he’ll be SEVEN! That sounds so old. He’ll probably only have about 3 baby teeth left, be as tall as me, and be reading Hardy Boys. Okay…maybe that’s a stretch.

xo,

~C~