My SuperHero turns FOUR

I am officially a mother to a four year old. Tonight at bedtime I took my time getting extra snuggles in. Nate moves so fast during the day he doesn't have time to stop and snuggle with his Momma very often, so our bedtime ritual is one of my favorite times of the day.

Tonight was more precious because tomorrow my baby boy will wake up a four year old. I think that means he is heading out of toddlerhood and into boyhood- and I don't like it. He is still the biggest Momma's Boy but he continues to spread his wings, find his footing and explore the world with the vision of a leader and entrepreneur. He often asks what chores he can add to his list to earn money for his piggy bank, he can count to 100 but still can't pronounce 13 or 30 the correct way, wears a superhero cape as often as he can or has me tie his baby blankets around his neck in similar fashion and loves to learn about science and nature.

This week we transitioned from his toddler bed (his original baby crib) into a new big boy bed in our new superhero themed big boy room. Even though we had fun decorating together and he is SO excited to share his new room with everyone, I know that this is such a milestone for him. One of many that we will pass this year. We are looking forward to starting basketball and baseball, spending our final year together before starting VPK next school year and learning even more random thoughts.

Some of my favorite witty lessons this year have been:
- Learning that cows have two stomachs
- Learning that izards do not have feet - they have "spatula" (After Googling it myself I learned the answer it spatulea. Nate pronounces it like the cooking tool, spatula).
- Being told about the planets of the solar system ( and I did not think to teach them to him)
- Learning  that a tripod is different than a dipod because a tripod has three legs and a dipod only has two
- Rediscovering that cheetahs are the fastest animal on the planet - Nate will learn to run faster than a cheetah


My favorite things to do with Nate is to play with his hair, scratch his back and count our numbers at bedtime, watch his brain soak up information like a sponge and retain it well enough to tell his awesome stories to others (he gets so excited; his voice pitch changes and he walks on his toes) and see him be such a good big brother (I'm sure at some point this will change but for now he continues to be loving and patient).

To celebrate this big birthday, Nate chose a superhero themed party. He requested a bounce house with a slide and was able to make his invitation list this year by naming all of his friends. Nate doesn't like a lot of fuss and we were mostly outside so I kept the decor pretty simple; a cake table and superhero capes for all the guests.

SpiderMan and SuperWoman here to celebrate! 

Piñata time! 

A good shot at the capes made for each child; they were part of the goodie bags

Nate does not play for the camera like his sister does, so I'm grateful he was excited enough over his birthday to smile for a picture. 

Spoke too soon about taking good pictures to celebrate his birthday - but at least there's one of the three of us. 

Shabby Chic Second Birthday

Oh, but where has the time gone? Each birthday brings tears to my eyes because I can't believe the years are moving so fast. My baby is fading and in her place is a tenacious toddler who could rule the world with her signature look and a twirl.

It's not just me who loves her - everywhere we go she attracts attention with her mixture of sweet and spice. If I had to list the reasons she makes my heart swell, there wouldn't be enough ink or paper. She is such a contrast to her big brother in her affections - she greets with a hug and a kiss and tells me, "Me love you, Momma" several times throughout the day. She loves her snacks but is still a good sport about eating her healthy meals, too. I've learned not to bother with laundry too much since she insists on changing her dress at least a dozen times a day. She has a passion for princess tea parties and mothering her baby dolls and stuffed animals. Her favorite color is pink and she won't wear anything that's not a dress or doesn't have a tutu.

She is such a girly girl and brings a loving contrast to our family - we could never imagine our lives without her in it.

Happy 2nd birthday, P!

Since this is probably the last year P won't insist on her birthday party theme herself (I'm envisioning princesses, fairies, glitter and/or the latest Disney character), I had fun with putting together a simple chubby chic theme to match the horse farm. The color palette was peach, gold and teal and I incorporated burlap and lace to make the theme more cohesive. 

Momma's Girl 

Not only did these cupcakes taste delicious, the frosting colors matched perfectly and I loved the laced doily wraps. 

The birthday girl's cake 

I used a pallet to discuss some of the wall coverings from the venue that I couldn't take down. It helped add to the theme and made a great backdrop for cake pictures. 

The paper doilies were folded into cones to hold popcorn

I used mason jars to create my own fruit cups - perfect for the theme and great to look at. The wooden bin made the perfect storage area and helped with the placement of the cake and other decorations. 

The tablecloth on this table was peach with a lace overlay and I added fabric streamers to the front of the table for more dimension (not pictured but used burlap, peach, lace and teal ribbons to create)

I loved this wooden bin to put the popcorn snacks in - matched perfectly!

Birthday cake close up 

Lace table runner and simple flowers 

Our sweet girl!