Umizoomi Celebrations

Eli celebrated his 4th birthday this past weekend and with our vacation coming up tomorrow I knew I needed to get this post up! Eli's actual birthday fell on a Thursday this year so he took some cookies to school and Hailey and I made him some brownies while he was gone. I really tried to involve Hailey in special ways knowing that there was potential for some jealousy. She did really well all weekend. When she heard the birds chirping outside our window on his birthday she said, "Listen mommy. The birdies are singing happy birthday to Eli!" So sweet.

My parents came into town on Friday to celebrate with us and we decided to take Eli to a Japanese Hibachi restaurant to eat. I initially thought he would like the rice and chicken (though I was wrong), but I also knew he would enjoy the entertainment regardless (and I was right!). We had a great meal and enjoyed watching the kids take it all in. Isaac slept most of the meal which was also a treat.

I love that our kids get excited about silly TV shows and characters. I recently read a mom's blog who was talking about how she dresses her little boy. She mentioned avoiding t-shirts that have characters like Thomas the Train and Lightning McQueen on it. To be honest, it never previously occurred to me that it might not be "cool" to buy those things for my kids. It is what they love! Some of the party themes they ask for would certainly fall into the category of tacky to some as well, but I think it is so fun to see them get excited about things that they like. They are only little once, and I'm sure before I know it Team Umizoomi will no longer be as exciting. :)

During the month following Isaac's birth, I felt like I was walking around with my eyelids propped open and TV initially seemed the best solution to managing Eli and Hailey. I realized with time that Eli was struggling more with attentiveness and obedience after watching TV for a few hours and that he was much better on days with less TV. So, I cut them back to 1/2 hr. in the mornings while I make lunch and sometimes 1/2 hr. at night while I am getting dinner ready. I honestly may scale it back even more now that they are used to it and ask for it less. Saturday mornings are an exception. :) The show they love to watch in the morning every day is Team Umizoomi. We just stumbled across it a few months ago and they quickly became hooked. It is a math show on Nick Jr. and really educational. So, when it was time to start thinking about a birthday theme. Team Umizoomi was the only request.

The only problem was that there is NOTHING in production to buy for a birthday related to this show! I googled it one day and found several printable things through Nick Jr.'s website and some plans they gave for a birthday party. It looked simple enough. I also found a few blogs where people had recently planned an Umizoomi party that were helpful. In the end, Eli thought this party was the greatest thing ever so I won't complain too much about how much time it took. However, I will make sure next time I plan a birthday party that I can just buy some plates and few decorations to hang from the ceiling. It will certainly save me a color ink cartridge (or two)!

Here is a link to the stuff I made in case any one is brave enough to do it after the warning I issued. ;)

There were color pages I printed out from the Nick Jr. website to make a poster of Bot, Milli, and Geo. Eli helped me with this project which was really fun. I unfortunately couldn't find a good place to hang them at the park where we had Eli's party so I improvised.

I ordered a plain 1/2 sheet cake from Sam's and placed this icing sheet on top that I had ordered off eBay. It turned out really cute and I was pleasantly surprised at how yummy it was.

Nick Jr. also had a print out for an iron-on transfer for a t-shirt so I decided to do those for party favors. I bought t-shirts in a bulk pack in two sizes and then bought the iron on sheets from Target. They get pretty crinkled with washes and probably won't last very long, but Eli and Hailey like them alot.

It rained the entire week leading up to Eli's party and the temperature really dropped the day before. We actually had snow flurries the night before! I just couldn't believe it was snowing this late in April. I think the weather has been a little crazy in lots of places in the country this month. So, although it wasn't raining (or snowing!) it was pretty darn cold for an outdoor party. Like 42 degrees cold. We were so used to having cook-outs in Wichita for Eli's previous birthdays that it didn't really occur to me that it might be too cold to be outside. The kids were running around playing so much that I think the parents were colder than they were.

I made sure the kids wore those homemade party hats. Ha!

 Before my parents left we had to show them Eli's new bike! He was so excited to get a big boy bike. He likes to pedal really fast which makes me nervous. Marc said he has a new running partner. :)

No time to proof read this because it is time to finish packing! Hopefully, I will get some posts up after vacation.

Easter 2013

I love how teachable our kids are at this age. Hailey loves reading bible stories, but Eli is actually learning them and retelling them back to us! That made this Easter so special for Marc and me as we were able to enjoy time with the kids reading through their children's bible and teaching them all about Jesus' life and death. I am amazed by the depth at which Eli was comprehending it all. (Lately, we have enjoyed reading The Jesus Storybook Bible and Family Time Bible with the kids. We took a break from The New Children's Bible because it was a little too much for our kids' attention spans and had few pictures.)

This Easter was quite different for us from our Easter last year. Last year, for a week leading up to Easter, we had a sheep bleating in a pen in our front yard (which ended up being slaughtered for Easter dinner) and we were sweating in the hot temperatures of Galmi, Niger while we were serving at a missions hospital there. We think about our time there often and are so glad to have many pictures to look back on!

FLASHBACK to Easter in Niger 2012

This picture cracks me up! Marc said it reminds him of the picture of the farmer and his wife with the pitch fork. You know the one, right???

Eli finding an egg in front of the (ahem) empty sheep pen. :)

Hailey has changed so much over the past year.

 Easter dinner with all our Galmi friends

Now to Easter 2013...

Marc's mom color-coordinated eggs and buckets so that all the grandchildren got the same amount during their egg hunt. It worked out really well and Eli was a sweet brother to help Hailey find all of her purple eggs. It was a very windy day!

 Digging into the treasures :)

 I hope that your Easter was a blessed time with family and friends and that you enjoyed reflecting on who Jesus is and all that He has done for each of us.