Mexico!

Don and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary in Mexico this last weekend! My wonderful brother gave us the trip for Christmas- and not only that, he came down from Chicago to take the kids while we were on vacation. It is the first time that Don and I have left the children for more then one day and the first time we have been more then maybe 25 miles away. It was such a wonderful trip- the weather was great- Lot's of sun. It was an all inclusive resort so we ate wonderfully and never had to worry about anything. It was such a re-energizing trip which after such a hard first half of the year. I am so thankful to my brother- while I can't imagine a time in which I would not like the trip- the timing of this trip was absolutely perfect and I feel like a brand new person. 

Don had never been to Mexico- while we didn't explore outside of the resort we did get to hang out a lot on the white sand beaches in Cancun. We read, ate, slept and then did it all again the next day.  We never got on the internet and except for watching Harry Potter- avoided almost all electronics (minus my Kindle which was perfect for this trip). I was so relaxed I hardly took any pictures ,yeah okay so there are about 25 posted here- but for me this was tame! 

Birthday Party

 Getting ready for the party

Super Hero Theme

Besties

 Cape (Each kid got their own)

Ryan and his friend Ben had a joint birthday party- they were born only two days apart and we had a lot of mutual friends- and it's a lot easier/ more fun to plan a party with a friend)

Wolverine

Ryan's Birthday

Ryan turned 4 today! We tried to make the day as special for him as we could while letting him choose what he wanted to do (his birthday party with friends is over the weekend). We started out by opening presents from Uncle David (Bat cave) and Dad (Star Wars Lego ship). Then we headed out to breakfast at IHOP. After breakfast (mind you it was like 9:00am at this point) we went to Grandma's house where Ryan got his "motorcycle" and a really cool cardboard playhouse. Ryan told me that he had expected me to decorate the house for his birthday- when I told my mom she sprang into action and headed to the store after the kids and I headed home for nap. When Ryan woke up the house was all decked out with banners, balloons and ribbon. He then got to open the rest of his presents- we played with those and watched his new DVD until dinner at Red Robin. Ryan was so embarrassed when the waiters came to sing 'Happy Birthday' to him but it was all worth it when they gave him a dessert. We came home and he got some one on one time with dad so they could put together the Lego ship. He had a great day and I think it might be a shock to him tomorrow when the whole day isn't revolving around him!

Ryan's Birthday Survey

1. What is your favorite color? Gray

2. What is your favorite toy? Star Wars Lego Ship

3. What is your favorite fruit? Apples

4. What is your favorite tv show? Clutch Powers

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Sandwiches

 6. What is your favorite outfit? Batman Shirt

7. What is your favorite game? Star Wars Legos

8. What is your favorite snack? French Fries

9. What is your favorite animal? Tigers

10. What is your favorite song? Blues Clues Song on the TV

11. What is your favorite book? Blues Clues Book

 12. Who is your best friend? My cousin Kaylie

13. What is your favorite cereal? Cheerios

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play

15. What is your favorite drink? Milk

16. What is your favorite holiday? My Birthday

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Doggy

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?  Waffles, Pancakes and French Toast

19. What do you want to be when you grow up? Fire Fighter

20. What is your favorite Sport? Basketball

21. What is your favorite thing at school? Play with blocks

So he is at the age where he answers everything based on what he is doing at the moment. What is your favorite toy? Obviously the one he is holding as I ask. My goal is to do this every year to see how his answers change as he grows up. Happy Birthday Ryan! 

Art

With all of the stuff going on in our lives I haven't had a lot of time to do anything creative besides the superhero capes and birthday t-shirt (which I will post tomorrow when Ryan is wearing it) Last night a friend of mine hosted an art project night where we made shadow portraits. What do you think? Can tell they're my kids? 

Mothers Day Breakfast

My mom hosted a Mothers Day breakfast for us yesterday. It was a lot of fun and the kids really liked all the grandparent attention they received. Notice how few pictures there are of Ryan- he avoided my camera like the plague the whole morning. The only one I got of him was from behind while he was chasing his grandpa around with the hose. 

I hope all the mothers/ mothers to be out there had a great Mothers Day!