Andy's Pre-school Christmas Party

Today was Andy's party and he was pretty excited. I am the room mom, so I got to coordinate the party (which I love to do!). It was alot of fun and I started planning weeks in advance. I wanted to make this as special as I could for the kids. Didn't want to forget anything.

Here's their stockings (made by their teachers). I brought a tree for them that was totally cute and a big hit. It is cardboard, and it's like 5 feet tall, from Oriental trading. It was so cute and the kids loved it. I will put it in my attic and save for years to come : )

Party decorations before the kids came back from Stretch n Grow.

Chick-fil-a chiken nuggets, fruit and a Capri Sun ... Yum! 

Andy wearing his reindeer hat we made and enjoying his lunch : )

Andy w/some of his friends : )

Me and my sweet boy : )

Andy, you are supposed to stand in front of the tree - not behind it.

There we go......

Me and Andy again : )

Andy and his class. If you notice, Andy is behind the tree. He would not stand in the front of it. I almost excluded him b/c I couldn't get him to pose for me. Luckily - I snapped as he poked his head out.

 Decorating his cookie. Fun! And not as messy as I had thought : )

 We have so many involved parents - which is awesome. I love that!

"Can I eat this?"



The party was great fun and a great way to end the year at his school. His teachers, the kids and the parents are all so awesome. We can't wait for next year :) See you January 6!

Teachers Gifts for Christmas!

Every year for Christmas and the End of the Year I do teacher gifts. They work so hard, that I feel a small token to show them how much we appreciate them is due them.

For Ben, Will & Andy's immediate teachers I did bookmarks from Brighton. Great, great gift and a great price. I was really pleased with them. And then for their other teachers (music, art, library, gym, etc.) - I did special chocolates or baking goods. Very Yummy and Fun!

I had fun making labels w/their picture on them and decorating the bags really pretty : )

The boys are so excited to give their teachers their special gifts and play "Santa's Elf."

We'll hand out our special gifts at the Christmas Parties tomorrow.

I also made their class friends suckers w/these suckers covers on them (Santa, Reindeer, Elf). The kids always love them. They are from Oriental Trading and SOOOOO cute!

Will's Party/Sleep-over

Last year we had a pretty big party combined for Ben and Will - so this year we did something smaller. They each got to invite a few friends over and have a sleep-over. Will invited 3 boys (Scott, Jacob and Blake).

Here's his invite for the party!

Our theme: Super Mario Bros

I normally get my cakes from Terri, but since I was only having a few boys - I decided to make the cake on my own. I've only made one other cake and that was a Birthday Cake for Jesus at Christmas. But I found it was easy (from a box). Betty Crocker really does a good job : )

My challenge was decorating - as I am not the artist in the family. That would be my husband and he's on vacation. So I was alone to create Super Mario on the cake. I used some spray icing from a can w/decorative tips. I think it turned out fine ... for the kids, at least, they all liked it. But as you can see, I am not a cake decorator. The good news is - my Boy loved it and said the cake was awesome (Yea Mommy!)

 

Here's the boys playing outside with their Super Mario and Luigi hats on. Sun is in their eyes that's why they are squinting.

In picture: Scott, Will, Blake, Jacob and Andy (without his hat)

 

 

So, lets try again w/o the sun shining in their eyes.

In the picture: Jacob, Scott, Blake, Will and Andy

 

 

Present time:

He got a cool car from Blake, a game from Scott and Super Smash Brothers for the Wii from Jacob.

From mommy and daddy he got a Nintendo DSI

 

 

What party doesn't have goodie bags? We love goodie bags.

Inside was a Mario or Luigi hat, a Super Mario Bros water jug, and some Super Mario Bros gummies

 

 
It was a great party. We ordered pizza, played games and watched a movie. The boys had fun!

At the end of the night - the 3 boys decided not to spend the night. They weren't quite ready for sleep-overs. Will was really disappointed b/c he wanted his friends to sleep-over, but eventually he understood it wasn't him they didn't want to be with - they just weren't ready and that was fine!
 
And this morning - when we all slept until 9:30 a.m. - I was thankful that we didn't have a sleep-over : )
 
Happy Birthday William! We Love you Sweet Boy!

Ben's Birthday Party / Sleep-over

Ben's Birthday was actually June 20, but our summer has been so busy that we've been unable to have a birthday party for him. Since we had a pretty big combined birthday for Ben & Will last year - we did something smaller this year. Ben invited 3 friends and we went bowling, went to McDonald's and then home for a sleep-over. 

Our theme this year: Super Mario Bros

Here's Ben's invite (I took out personal information : )

And what party doesn't have goody bags, right?

Inside each goody bag: a Super Mario Bros water jug, 1 pkg of Super Mario Bros gummies, a thank you card from Ben, and the costume for the evening: a red or green shirt; and either a Luigi hat or Mario Hat (made by ME : ) with a moustache. I ordered the hats from Oriental Trading and got felt from Hobby Lobby to make the white circles, the "L" or "M" and the moustache. Super easy and the kids loved it.

The costumes were a BIG hit! The boys loved them!

left to right (Caleb, Chris, Ben, Andy, and Will).

One of Ben's friends couldn't make it, so he had two friends from school.

Having the colored shirts also made it easier to keep up with the boys and spot them at the bowling alley. Although they were all very good - it was great to be able to look and see green and red shirts : )

My sweet 8 yr old BIRTHDAY boy, relaxing : )

Will, stopping to smile, while waiting for the games to begin

(Chris & Caleb in the background : )!

My awsesome babysitter (and friend), Jamie, explaining to the boys about bowling. I love her and am so thankful for her and all she does for our family!

Jamie, demonstrating to Ben, the proper technique : )

A little fuzzy but .... Ben, Caleb, Chris & Will (moustaches ended up on their shirts. too cute!)

Ben with his souvenoir bowling pin that all the boys (and girls) signed.

Sweet Andy sporting Jamie's shades : )

Jenna and Andy.

Jenna came along to take care of Andy. They stayed in the arcade most of the time and had a great time. So thankful Jenna was there. I was able to be with Ben and the boys and not stress about Andy.

Me and my boys

(Ben, Andy and Will)

It took a lot to just get this. It's hard to shoot a moving target : )

After bowling, we had a little arcade fun.

(Caleb, Chris & Ben)

Ben on the motorcycle game (he looks very intent, doesn't he?)

Andy on the motorcycle game

(I looked over and he was playing this on his knees. SO cute!)

After bowling and the arcade we went to McDonald's for dinner and to let the boys play. It was a great way to let them run around and exert some more of that energy all young boys are full of : )

Ben's sovernoir bowling pin and the Mario & Luigi hats I made. I am very proud of them.

I think they turned out pretty cute.

This morning - the boys are up early, playing Wii and enjoying their time together. Only Chris ended up spending the night. Caleb had a family committment today - so his mom picked him up late last night. All in all - it was a great birthday celebration. Everyone had fun and really enjoyed themselves.

Breakfast time for the boys. David made eggs, sausage, biscuits, and English Tea (a normal breakfast for the weekend).

Ben, Chris, Will & Andy : )

Happy 8th Birthday, my Dear, Sweet Ben! I love you!