Summer is Here ...

After a long winter, we are happy to greet the summer weather -- if only for a little while, until I start complaining about the heat in July!  With the warmer temperatures, we are enjoying more and more activities outside. 

Summer means ...

Sandals.

Riding her tricycle.

(Outfit and accessories chosen by Sophia, obviously).

Swinging in the handcrafted swing that Steve rigged together in the yard.

Homemade popsicles.

Riding her "big girl bike" -- a bigger bike than her old one.

Making a wish while blowing dandelion fuzz.

 

 

 

Taking rides on the lawn mower with Daddy.

 





Lilacs.

 

 

Finding bugs and asking Momma if we can keep them.

Evening wagon rides.

Coloring outside.

(Her coloring has improved SO MUCH this year; she colored that picture all by herself).


Spending lots of time in the driveway with bare feet.

Ice cubes.

Playing in the sprinkler.

Lots of walks.

Upgrading to a bike with training wheels!!!!

Making chalk drawings.

Spending time in the shaded garage.

Blowing bubbles.

Playing on the "new" playground that we inherited from our neighbors across the street.

It's going to be a great summer!

My Kitchen Helper

It has been a while since Samantha has helped me in the kitchen.  That is due mostly to the fact that she has been in school most mornings when I cook, and Sophia helps me then.  The other day, I needed to make some bread pudding (we had some bread rolls that needed to be used up) and I asked if she wanted to help me.  Sophia was preoccupied (and Samantha wanted it that way!), so she put on Sophia's apron and set to work.

Cracking the eggs:

We have to work on this particular skill a bit more, but all in all, she did great.  She kept all of the egg shells out of the bowl!

Lightly beating the eggs:

A quick smile for her momma:

The milk gave us a chance to talk about measurements and how we use a graduated measuring cup to measure out liquids accurately.  Very steady pouring too.

Adding some raisins for the bread pudding:

Overall, Samantha did a great job helping me.  I had forgotten how much more accomplished and competent she is at her age in comparison to my usual three-year old helper.  Two years makes a big difference in baking skills!  I am going to try to do this a little more often this summer -- rotate letting the girls help me.  It's good for them to be able to do things individually and I will try to choose the baking tasks that are more geared toward that particular helper.

Jack's 1st Birthday Party

We celebrated Jack's 1st birthday ON his actual birthday (May 17th) at my house.  I had settled on a "farm theme" quite a while ago and attempted to "keep things more simple," but I couldn't resist ...  I love pulling in various colors and patterns for the theme and using as many things as I can around the house and from previous parties.  I also enjoy doing a little crafting with the kids to keep them involved.

The girls helped me make these cupcake toppers out of items that we had in "Craft Central" -- an area in my house that is home to A LOT of leftover craft supplies.  Each of the girls had their own favorite animal that we designed, whether that was the cow, pig, sheep or chick. 

I made some dirt pudding (a favorite of Samantha's ever since her last birthday) and stuck some of the pigs in that.  Everyone knows that pigs love mud/dirt!

I always make sure to have party favors for the kids (mine included) and these cow boxes and cups were too cute to pass up.  Inside the boxes, I placed some goldfish crackers, stickers, a pig bathtub squirter and a farm animal key chain.

My sister bought Sam a barn stable for her 4th birthday and it got A LOT of use.  Eventually, the stable broke into 2 pieces, but we continued to use it.  On a whim, I decided to paint it for the party (it was just plain unfinished wood) and put Jack's initials and the year he was born on the barn, much like farmers do.  The family frame was in my kitchen and I just moved it to this location to get it out of the way ...
 

In the kitchen, I set up the other half of the barn/stable along with the bowls, plates and silverware.
I attached a wooden chicken to the napkin holder to introduce yet another farm animal.

I printed a banner (for free!) online and cut it out and strung it with baker's twice across my mantle.  The girls helped with this ...

As a sidenote: After helping with the banner, Sam decided (all on her own) to make her OWN banner.  She came and showed this to me.  I was beyond impressed!

I used some bandanas that we had around the house on one of the tables, along with some leftover pails from Sam's cowgirl party to fill with chocolate covered raisins and peanuts for the guests.  The cowgirl boot vase was a gift to Sam from her 4th birthday (it came with flowers in it at the time) and it worked perfectly with my theme to put flowers in that Steve bought me the day before.

Another table with a barn that we painted for a decoration and some roosters that I found on sale a long time ago ...

My girls with the birthday boy:

He's a BIG boy!

"What, Mom?  Let's get this party started ..."

The back of his shirt!

We served grilled chicken, pasta salad, veggies and dip, chips and salsa, and fresh fruit for the party.  Obviously there was also cake, cupcakes, dirt pudding and ice cream!  All were items that I could prepare ahead of time (except for the chicken -- Steve grilled that, of course) because I was not sure when I would need to head to the hospital to be with my sister after she was induced.

Ready to open gifts!

My sister-in-law made Jack his own Detroit Tigers' blanket.  I may consider stealing it for the time-being!

Playing with one of his new toys:

Cake time!  I made Jack his own little mini cake and we waited to see what his reaction would be ...

First, he removed the candle.  Good thinking.

Then he used his right hand (clearly his dominant hand) to help himself to the goodness.

And before we knew it, he was "two-fisting" it!  What can I say -- the boy wasn't messing around!

And then this momma got so preoccupied that I forgot to get the birthday boy his own ice cream.  Luckily, my Aunt Chris offered to hook him up after she observed him nearly diving for a bite of Sophia's ice cream near by!

Sophia wasn't wasting any time either ...

Happy birthday, Little Man!