An *Almost* Two Year Old's Birthday

Since we were already among family we figured we would go ahead and celebrate Henry's second birthday even though he isn't really two until Monday.

For some reason, when cake is involved everything Henry ever learned about table manners flies out the window....I'm not sure why the icing is inside his ear......maybe once he's really two he'll regain his composure when faced with delicious treats....or should that just be gain.....I'm not sure he's ever had composure when it comes to treats.......

We got him this Bruder Toys Loader Backhoe which is now the most desired toy in the house.  David keeps saying that Henry should share it, but by share he apparently means Henry should give it to him at all times and never touch it or David will immediately fly into hysterics......

 Henry sure loves his *diggers* and he had a wonderful party!  Thank you everyone who made his day so special!

A(nother) North Carolina Vacation

So when we take a vacation, you can bet it's to visit family because (a) they want to see us and (b) it's nearly free.  As soon as Chris finished his last final exam we packed up and headed down to NC for a well deserved break.

We went to the aquarium--which we promptly abandoned due to the seven or so school buses full of children running rampant.  The boys preferred the outdoor nature walk away from all the hustle and bustle.....

They also had a lifelong dream fulfilled when we ran into a friend who just happened to be a school bus driver and let the boys sneak onto his bus to see what being on a school bus would really be like.....they were beyond thrilled and none too happy when we had to go.....

We also did a lot of backyard playing.....

and one trip to the bouncy house which I will probably regret forever because they've begged to return every day since :)

Some proof that I was indeed present on this vacation.........

There was also a fair amount of digging going on.  Grandpa Reintjes helped build this super awesome bridge-tunnel for David......

 .....but grandpa had a little trouble sharing his toys and seemed to be a little concerned that David might break his wondrous creation..........  :)

We had a lovely time but now it's time to get down to business and get all of our preparations in order for the big law school graduation this weekend!  Wish us luck......

Birthdays are for Baking

Being one of the only "old" married couples in law school I feel compelled to take care of as many of those young whippersnappers my darling husband pals around with as I can--you know, offering home cooked meals and such since there's no telling what they're eating when they're left to their own devices.  This is especially true when it comes to birthdays....after all, if they don't have mothers or wives around to bake for them and make them feel special on their big day then who will?  Hopefully none of these young men feel annoyed that my mothering instincts extend well beyond my own precious brood.

Well, today we had yet another birthday and while I didn't go kitty cupcake crazy, I did manage to whip up a batch of our favorite cookies--with the boys help of course......

We also squeezed in a round of our new favorite game--the Catch Me! Tin Game.  The boys love this.....okay, Chris and I love it too and have played a few rounds without them.  There's a dice with five colors (corresponding to each wooden mouse color)--the "cat" rolls the dice and if your color comes up the "cat" tries to "catch" your mouse with the tin that the game comes in as you try to pull your mouse off of the felt circle.  It's especially fun if you also make cat noises :)

And for your viewing enjoyment....here is what happens when your son doesn't listen to you when you tell him that hot sauce is in fact hot and he probably shouldn't lick it.

Don't worry....after I stopped to take his picture I did eventually give him some milk to ease his torture.....or should I say natural consequences........

The Incident

David has something he wants to show you.....

He's been telling everyone he sees about his "boo boo" and how brave he was when we bandaged it up.

It happened like this...the pieces of a cheap travel coffee mug that had fallen apart after one washing were sitting on the counter.  David picks up the metal part and walks towards me blowing through it as if it were a trumpet. I tell him to put it back (mistake one) because it was sharp (mistake two).  He looks at me and then at the cup and then slides his finger across the edge--you know, just to see if mom was telling the truth.  He then calmly sets the cup on the counter looks at the blood now pouring from his precious little finger and falls to the floor in hysterics.  I then scoop him up holding a wipe around the cut to stem the flow of blood and run around the house with my screaming preschooler in my arms looking frantically for the first aid kit which (of course) was not where it belonged.  I finally find the kit (in an upstairs drawer?) run them both back downstairs and try to take a look at the damage but it's bleeding too much to see anything.  I then proceed to call Chris who doesn't answer, followed by Kate who does answer and recommends a trip to the ER.  Chris calls back and rushes home from school to help where he finds me, sitting on the floor with David in my lap--both of us crying and both of us with blood dripping down our arms.

In my defense I was fairly calm and collected until he looked up at me with tears in his eyes and said, "Mommy, I don't feel good....please make me feel better" in the saddest little trembling voice you've ever heard.

We ended up not going to the ER and David's finger is healing up nicely.

On another note, our dog is a wildabeast so we took him to the groomers today which is one of the boys' favorite spots.  They can't decide which type of animal is their favorite--fish, cats, birds, hamsters, chinchillas.....

See the sad band-aid....we're down to just two to cover the cut up as opposed to the original giant gauze pad/tape/band-aid combo we had going before.....

They would have stayed here all day if they had it their way.  I promised we'd come back and look at all the animals again when it was time to pick Raleigh up so there's that to look forward to.  These grooming trips are the only time you get the inkling that David really does love our poor abused dog.  As soon as we got into the car the tears started because he didn't want to leave him behind and "he missed his dog."  If he would just stop terrorizing poor said dog maybe Raleigh would actually miss David someday too.......as it is he's probably glad to be somewhere where no one will chase him with a dump truck--even if he does have to brave the clippers to be there........

A Sewing Lesson and Some Kitty Cupcakes

Our cat loving friend, affectionately known to the boys as "Mr. Leroy," had a birthday today so the boys and I have been working on some extra special projects.  We invited Mr. Leroy over to dinner to celebrate and I had the last minute inspiration to cross stitch him a little cat which I knew he would find hilarious--not to mention the fact that he really appreciates home made gifts :)  I've been working like crazy trying to get the little fella finished and David (seeing how much fun I was having?) decided that he also wanted to sew something.  My son......wanting to craft?  I got right to work gathering supplies!

David cuddled up next to me and started working on his masterpiece.  He got the hang of it right away and especially loved sewing on the buttons and beads.

Here's his finished piece....he found those letters and insisted I sew his name on for him but other than that it's pretty much all his original work.  I thought he was done about three dog beads before he thought he was finished......oh well, he's the creative genius........

And my finished masterpiece....not nearly as colorful.......(I used this Martha Stewart pattern)

I braved TJ Maxx this morning to grab a frame.  David picked this one out....I do think Mr. Leroy liked it.  I don't think he fully understood the process of taking the boys into an aisle full of glass chotchkies and attempting to pick one frame out of hundreds while trying to maintain David's focus on the task at hand and away from the random Precious Moments figurines that he felt the need to gently cradle in his arms......

We also got ambitious and made some kitty cupcakes from the book:  Hello, Cupcake!: Irresistibly Playful Creations Anyone Can Make.  David and I whipped up the chocolate cupcakes yesterday...with the inevitable cloud of cocoa powder when we turned the mixer on.  David was covered  but he didn't mind too much.  I intended on turning all our cupcakes into kitties but I lost momentum after just three....well really after two but I had already mixed up the orange icing so I figured I'd do one of each....

When David came down this morning to see the finished products he said "cats!"  I didn't love how they turned out but if they were recognizable as cats to a three year old I figured they couldn't be too bad right?

The rest we just iced the old fashioned way and they made a much better base for birthday candles.  Of course David was on hand to help out Mr. Leroy with such an arduous task.....he also offered his cupcake licking services as well.  Apparently he only likes the icing......I'm not sure where he gets that from, certainly not me :)

Happy Birthday Mr. Leroy!