Theo’s 5th birthday celebration

Posted on March 21, 2015March 21, 2015 by mommyinthemidwest

You all- I took over 400 pictures between Friday, March 6th and Monday, March 9th while we were celebrating Theo’s big FIFTH birthday so bear with me. Getting this post down to less than 40 pictures is quite an accomplishment!

We think turning five is a pretty big deal around here. A lot happens with turning 5. Kids go to Kindergarten, start reading, (hopefully) Theo will start riding his bike, can start losing teeth, and all other sorts of big kid things. It’s just like…he’s a kid now. I don’t know how to explain it. He’s just grown up so much in the past few months. He’s little, but he doesn’t seem like a little kid sometimes. He’s got a teenager’s attitude, says things to hurt our feelings when he’s mad, and can turn on the charm to get what he wants. One thing’s for sure, he keeps us on our toes.

Friday, March 6th. Theo had his birthday celebration at school. It was super hard to get pictures without his classmates’ faces in them so I just have a couple to share. Dexter and Theo were both very excited that Dexter was able to come over from his class to join the festivities. All of Theo’s grandparents were there, too.

Theo held a little globe and walked around a wooden sun on the floor 5 times to represent each of his trips around the sun on Earth. With each year that passed, we stopped and shared a picture of what he looked like and talked about his likes and dislikes each year as he grew. Afterwards, Theo passed out bat signal-shaped rice krispie treats. They were a hit!

Saturday, March 7th. Our immediate family came over for pizza before his big party. We decided to let him open family gifts beforehand to cut down on time spent opening presents during the party. He loves this step-by-step drawing book from Nana and Pop Pop.

Another of his favorite gifts was a Lego chicken suit guy from Aunt ‘Chelle, Uncle Bob, and Spencer. It was his first Lego, ever (given to him by Spencer a couple years ago), which has been lost for a long time. He’s been saying he wished he still had it for some time now and Aunt Michelle delivered! He was overjoyed.

The money wasn’t terrible, either.

Theo’s party was from 1-230pm at a local gymnastics facility. Since there was a ninja skills training component included in the party, we went with a TMNT theme. Ryan’s mom made the cupcakes. She set up the table while my mom put together tabletop cardboard decorations. What would I do without family when I am feeling frazzled on these very exciting days??

Hey, Dexter…who do you think you are? Pretty sure Theo was not the one that blew out those five candles.

Sunday, March 8th. We still had not given Theo a gift. I’m sure he noticed, but he hadn’t mentioned it. When he came in our room in the morning and after we’d said “happy birthday” to him and given him a million hugs and kisses, I said “did you realize mommy and daddy hadn’t given you a gift yet? Well, I had an idea…” and we told him that we were leaving that day to go to Legoland Discovery Center in Chicago. He was very excited and ready to pack up and go! But not before Grammy (my mother) took us out for a big birthday breakfast – chocolate milk and all!

About 3 hours later, we rolled into Chicago.

My favorite thing at LDC might have been the HUUGE Lego model of the city. The detail! It was seriously impressive! The boys were in Lego heaven every minute we spent there.

I have to brag on the staff at LDC. They were super nice. Three different staff members went out of their way to give Theo a little something special for his birthday. It was an awesome place to spend part of our day.

Afterwards, of course we asked Theo what his favorite part of LDC was and he said … the store. LOL. Well shoot, we could have gone to a Lego store without driving 3+ hours and staying in a hotel overnight! He was super pumped to give this guy his OWN birthday money for a nice new Lego set.

We didn’t have a plan for dinner but we wanted to go somewhere that had cake. We’d thought about Maggiano’s because it was close but by the time we left Legoland, there was a 45 minute wait. Theo acted whiny about it and said he didn’t want cake anyway. So Ryan and I set out to find something that we didn’t have in Indianapolis. I’d seen people on Facebook who frequent Chicago talking about Portillo’s so that’s where we landed and it did not disappoint! The food was amazing and Theo was thrilled to end his big, special day with a mint chocolate milkshake (that he split in half with Dexter). Ryan may have been on sugary drink overload.

Legos before bed…

Legos when we wake up. It’s really no different from being at home, is it?

After enjoying breakfast and some hotel pool swimming, we made it back downtown and explored Navy Pier before heading back home.

It had to be the first nice day this year in Chicago. There were still piles of snow all over the place but it was 50 degrees and super sunny. No wind at all…I suppose the water being covered by sheets of floating ice had something to do with the lack of wind. It was perfect. Totally perfect.

That dimple was one of the very first things I noticed about Theo, within seconds of him being born. It still gets me. I can’t think of a better way we could have celebrated little Theo’s BIG fifth birthday!! Happy memories to last forever…

xo,

~C~

catch the moment: week 10

Posted on March 12, 2015 by mommyinthemidwest

This week has been all about Theo. He had his celebration at Montessori school on Friday, his birthday party on Saturday, and a surprise overnight road trip to Chicago on his birthday, which was Sunday (see my sentimental, sappy ramblings in a love letter to Theo HERE). I attempted to start sorting through the photos from Friday through Monday and have decided to separate all that fun into 2 separate posts. Hopefully I will get to it this weekend – we had so much fun. I am anxious to put my thoughts, memories, and photos together in one space here to look back on someday. Linking up withMindi at Stavish Stills Photography, Carrie at My Life, Our Journey, and Stephanie at Behind the Camera and Dreaming.

064/365: Thursday, March 5th. Pull your eyes north of those pretty baby blues, right to the center of the forehead. You may notice a green hue. That’s what happens when your child paints his hair and forehead green at school.

065/365: Friday, March 6th. Theo generously passing out bat symbol-shaped rice krispie treats to his friends at school during his celebration. These celebrations are the most adorable thing ever. I heart Montessori. So hard.

066/365: Saturday, March 7th. I had such a hard time choosing just one photo per day to share this week. We had so many amazing moments. This is Theo, the star of the show, at his Ninja Gym birthday party. Everyone seemed to have a great time; it was just a whirlwind for me. I always say I’m going to slow down and try to enjoy more but I find myself such a nervous ball of energy and excitement that when I look back, it’s just a blur. I know Theo was happy and that’s truly all that matters!

067/365: Sunday, March 8th – Theo’s FIFTH birthday! The highlight of (and inspiration for) our one night trip to Chicago was visiting Legoland Discovery Center in Schaumburg, 30 miles from downtown. This is just a small portion of the Lego model of Chicago as you enter LDC. It was stunning; we were all in awe. I think Ryan and I could have soaked in all the details for an hour. The boys liked it, but were ready to breeze on to the next exhibit after just a few minutes.

068/365: Monday, March 9th. RARE family selfie (maybe the only one, ever???) at Navy Pier. Pure happiness bubbling out of every inch of my being – one of those happy moments where everything feels exactly as it should. I had such an overpowering feeling of love for my family and gratitude for the time we spent together.

069/365: Tuesday, March 10th. After our very fun, celebratory, whirlwind weekend, I returned to work. I couldn’t stop thinking about my family. I was missing them and Chicago and the whole dang happy weekend. Both boys took a Legoland Discovery Center map to school for show & tell. I might have picked up a little souvenir for myself while we were there. Every time I look at my new key chain, I think about our special getaway.

070/365: Wednesday, March 11th. Theo’s 5 year check up and a doctor visit for an infected bump on the back of Dexter’s right knee. 5 year check up stats: 40 lbs and 42.5″ tall so he’s still right around the 60th percentile like he has been the last few years. 2 shots. A lot of tears. I think he was more nervous about the shots than anything, but he cooperated and sat still like the nurses asked him to before they stuck him in each arm at the same time. He barely cried during the shots but let loose like Niagara Falls when they gave him the wrong sucker. I think he was just a nervous, emotional mess and relieved it was over. Sweet boy.This week, my favorite picture (hands down!) is our family selfie!! It may not be a fantastic photo but it means a lot to me.
Which one do you like best?

xo,

~C~

Theo is 5!

Posted on March 8, 2015March 8, 2015 by mommyinthemidwest

Theo,

I have been thinking about what to say in this letter to you for weeks. Your 5th birthday has been on my mind since right after Christmas. Not because I didn’t know what to buy you or where to have your party, but because I can’t believe my first baby boy is turning FIVE. It’s now been five whole years since your Daddy and I went to the hospital in anticipation of your arrival. What would your face look like? Would you have lots of hair? We were filled with excitement and worry. Did we deserve to become parents to a tiny human who depended on us for every single thing for his survival? Would we even know what to do?

Your first birthday was a hard one. I cried as we sang the birthday song to you at your party, surrounded by friends and family. The first baby year was officially over. You’d gone from a squishy pile of helplessness to a walking, talking, outgoing, opinionated little toddler. Two was hard for me, too. My baby who could barely walk a year earlier was learning and growing so fast. Stringing together sentences that were turning into conversations. Your third and fourth birthdays breezed by more easily with so many milestones and changes in between. All along reminding myself that this was the youngest you would ever be. I could never get this time back with you.

I think that’s why having a son who is turning 5 is SO hard for me. The past half-decade has whizzed by so quickly and I know these last few years are only a small indicator of how quickly the next 13 will go. I don’t want you to grow up. I don’t want you to get to a point where you are too big for hugs and kisses. For you to be annoyed when I rest my cheek on your head and smell your hair. I know once you start Kindergarten, time will only move more quickly. 1^st grade, 6^th grade, 10^th grade and beyond. Homework, class projects, field trips. Sleepovers, football games, girlfriends. Job applications, prom, college applications.

I know I can’t go back to those baby years and I’m not even saying I want to. They were just so sweet and it’s sad knowing that you get bigger and more independent every day. I can’t know when I will pick you up for the last time. I can’t know when you will sit on my lap for the last time. I’m so sentimental about where we have been and where we go next in life. It’s a beautiful pain that I never understood until I became your mother. Of course I want you to grow, learn, and explore with confidence and a passion. I want you to continue surprising and teaching me, as you have done for the past 5 years.

I hope you always love learning and building and making others laugh. I love that you love to color, write, and draw. I love that you are curious about everything. I hope you will try to do lots of things that are hard. I hope you will find things that make you feel happy and fulfilled.

I hope you love Kindergarten. So much. I hope you have a great teacher and make lots of friends. I hope you learn your way around quickly and feel at ease walking the hallways of your school. I hope you are kind to the people around you and that they are kind to you in return. I just want what’s best for you, whatever that might be. I know you won’t always choose the things that I think are best, but I hope you make the right choices for you. I hope you will prove me wrong. I hope I never say “I told you so.” I hope you learn from your mistakes. I will love you. I will always support you. For now, you are still my baby boy. You are getting big, but today, you are still little. You’ve got your whole life ahead of you. You are five.

xoxoxoxo forever,

Mommy