We had a big birthday party for Leia and Arwyn this week in the back yard. I consisted of a big treasure hunt, some fun games, a slip and slide, and the big unveiling of our new trampoline! It was a very fun day, but lots of work for me and Josh to get the yard cleaned up after the winter of flood damage. Arwyn LOVED the new trampoline, "I jumpin' !" and she just jumped and jumped and jumped forever. It was also cool because at the end of the party Arwyn was content to just go back and forth between her little slide and the sprinklers, and she totally entertained herself for quite awhile. She still didn't care too much about the whole presents thing, but she was super excited to get her very own scooter (aka, "my cooter") just like Leia's. She's been riding around on it everyday since then! We invited Arwyn's friend Julia from school, and she was so excited to see one of her friends actually come to her house! And she didn't know what was going on with the whole birthday cake and candles thing, which Leia pretty much took over, but she did enjoy just sitting in Daddy's lap and munching on her cake for awhile. Even though Arwyn slept really well that night, I think all the excitement really took it's toll because she was really grumpy all the next day, which made for a rather difficult Father's Day celebration. We did get some relief because Leia and Arwyn were both excited to head off on an adventure with Aunt Joanne, so I was able to stay home and clean up all the mess from the party. It was pretty amazing because often times it takes Arwyn a little while to warm up to people, but she really liked Joanne from the first second (maybe she actually remembered her from last year, but I kind of doubt it), so she played with Joanne most of the day on Sunday and Monday without any sort of Mommy clinginess. Thanks Joanne! I took Arwyn's final "Monthly Photo Shoot" pictures on her birthday, and it was a particularly difficult session, so I'm glad to be done with that project! I love all the photos though, so it was worth the effort, but I think the first 24 months was enough. It's not like I don't take other pictures every day anyway!! Arwyn started saying "I luh you!" to me at when I put her to sleep this week. I feel like this might be the first time she's told me she loves me, so I definitely melted. Her other favorite thing that we love to hear her say is, "It's broten. I fits it!" We are on a mission to record her saying that because it's so cute. Leia also gave Arwyn and I some more ballet lessons, so now Arwyn says "I do bai!" (aka, I do ballet), and then follows Leia across the room doing "sashé, sashé, clap" routines. The two of them played together all evening doing that stuff; it was great. Finally, she's been pointing out all the school buses we see, yelling "lellow boo bus!" It's funny because Emmett also called it a "boo bus," but when Leia was little she said "scubas."
The morning of the big birthday party, Leia was so excited. I made a good decision scheduling it for 10 am because we couldn't have gotten ready any earlier, but Leia couldn't have waited a second longer! She even wanted to help me do all the setup tasks for the party, which was nice that she actually wanted to help. She's so thorough and detailed with the setup for her tea parties, so I should have known it would be the same for the real birthday party. The only problem was that I was trying to keep her out of the backyard so that we could surprise her and a late-sleeping Arwyn with the trampoline at the same. She saw it too early, so I missed the chance to record the magic moment, but she sure was excited! She loved my Pirate Treasure Hunt. I felt so bad when it ended because she was so disappointed that we couldn't keep hunting, but I hadn't hidden any more treasures! At cake time, she was so excited when she saw the princess cake box. She didn't even know what was inside it, but was totally freaking out. Then she saw the Rapunzel Dress Cake, and couldn't believe her eyes. Josh and I were so happy to have gotten the happy reaction that we wanted. Leia didn't get into any tifs with her friends this year, and she even shared all her favorite princess dresses, and started giving away some of her books and toys to them. I actually let most of it go home with those girls because I wanted to make sure she learned about and was ok with the consequences of not being able to have it back later. Leia loved having Aunt Joanne (aka, "Aunt Joeyanne") around this weekend. She loved having a willing sidekick to go along with her on all her adventures. Leia was really sweet with Arwyn this week. She would wait and help her down the stairs a lot, and she started giving Arwyn lessons about what to do if her friend Luna tried to bite or scratch her: "Just say 'Stop Luna! No biting!' Then tell your teacher or tell me, and I'll take care of it." So sweet, protecting her little sister!
The morning of the big birthday party, Leia was so excited. I made a good decision scheduling it for 10 am because we couldn't have gotten ready any earlier, but Leia couldn't have waited a second longer! She even wanted to help me do all the setup tasks for the party, which was nice that she actually wanted to help. She's so thorough and detailed with the setup for her tea parties, so I should have known it would be the same for the real birthday party. The only problem was that I was trying to keep her out of the backyard so that we could surprise her and a late-sleeping Arwyn with the trampoline at the same. She saw it too early, so I missed the chance to record the magic moment, but she sure was excited! She loved my Pirate Treasure Hunt. I felt so bad when it ended because she was so disappointed that we couldn't keep hunting, but I hadn't hidden any more treasures! At cake time, she was so excited when she saw the princess cake box. She didn't even know what was inside it, but was totally freaking out. Then she saw the Rapunzel Dress Cake, and couldn't believe her eyes. Josh and I were so happy to have gotten the happy reaction that we wanted. Leia didn't get into any tifs with her friends this year, and she even shared all her favorite princess dresses, and started giving away some of her books and toys to them. I actually let most of it go home with those girls because I wanted to make sure she learned about and was ok with the consequences of not being able to have it back later. Leia loved having Aunt Joanne (aka, "Aunt Joeyanne") around this weekend. She loved having a willing sidekick to go along with her on all her adventures. Leia was really sweet with Arwyn this week. She would wait and help her down the stairs a lot, and she started giving Arwyn lessons about what to do if her friend Luna tried to bite or scratch her: "Just say 'Stop Luna! No biting!' Then tell your teacher or tell me, and I'll take care of it." So sweet, protecting her little sister!
Wake up time, it's your birthday party today! Leia even showered her with balloons!
This big girl is turning 2!
Helping put the party balloons out in front of the house.
Oh happy day, these girls just got a new trampoline for their birthday!
Testing out the new tramp...
It's good for snuggling and jumping!
Password = Leia
The unveiling of the trampoline birthday present for Leia (4) and Arwyn (2).
And here come the friends to help break in the new tramp...Audra and Julia were good little jumpers too.
Jumping sure is tiring, time for a little rest!
Aunt Joanne drove up from Carmel to join our little celebration.
Nana and Poppy taking in the chaos from a safe distance.
This one really likes jumping!
Leia and her friend Luke.
All the jumpers attracted quite an audience.
Rolling, jumping, running...she just can't get enough of this trampoline!
Happy girl!
And the Pirate Treasure hunt begins...first up is the Pirate Balance Challenge!
Hopping over the log obstacle course.
Next stop, Daddy's Slide of Doom!
Speeds were ok today, but it was hot! Poor Annabelle was getting scorched!
Arrgh Matey's, time to walk the plank!
They were a really good team, everyone helped find the treasures, like the one hidden in this snowblower.
Time for "Keep the balloon off the ground" game...and in case you didn't notice, 1. This is Leia's 2nd outfit of the day, and 2. she had the suit on backwards the whole time!
Arwyn found some JuJu's in the treasure hunt!
Princess Esmerelda...3rd outfit of the day.
Emmett on the Slip 'n Slide!
And now, the moment you've all been waiting for...the cake box...can you guess what's inside?
Ta-da! A Princess Rapunzel Dress Cake!
Naughty little hands trying to get at the cake before it's time!
Password = Leia
Leia was completely ecstatic to see that her birthday cake was in the shape of Princess Rapunzel!
Arwyn helping to blow out the candles.
It took 4 girls and many breaths to get the 6 candles blown out.
Wow, it really was a whole barbie inside that cake!
Kailyn, Leia, Audra, and Mackenzie trying to dig in!
Arwyn found the perfect spot to eat cake, she sat on Daddy's lap for quite awhile working on that same piece!
Loving her piece of cake, more please! (4th outfit, by the way).
Sean and Kailyn found a nice little spot to enjoy their cake.
Annabelle had such a pretty dress. It was fun to see her again.
Zoe, Melissa, and Zazie (aka, Daddy's athletes and Leia's new favorite baby sitters) stopped by to celebrate too.
Hot day. As you can see, everyone was trying to stay in the shade!
Thumbs up Uncle Ry!
And here come the princesses, down the main stairs, making a grand entrance!
Snow White, Sofia, and Rapunzel...5th outfit.
Hunting and hiding from Yeti's!
Showing off monster scary faces!
Helped herself to seconds without asking, and took it upon herself to use the large knife to cut the most monstrous piece!
Nothing but the best for these princesses.
I lowered the swing and changed the hole pattern to make it more stable...glad to see Annabelle and Charlie were happy with the new and improved version!
Hot sun + cool sprinklers = happy Arwyn!
Relaxing in the shade: Sean, Poppy, Nana, Josh, Joanne.
Water slide!
Oh yeah, the water's nice and cold!
Josh, Ryan, Lizzy, and Biby enjoying some chill time.
Everyone else had long since moved on to other activities, but Arwyn was still happy as a clam to do her slip 'n slide to water slide circuit all by herself for so long!
So proud of Leia, just as we asked her to, she patiently waited until most of the party died down to open up her presents.
All her little friends were excited to watch her open stuff, and no one cried about wanting to take Leia's presents back, probably because Leia had already given them a bunch of her own toys as presents!
Is she just hot and flushed or is present time serious business??
Everyone is gathered in a nice little present circle, while Arwyn is still over on the other side dominating her obstacle course!
Super Girl taking flight!
Finally someone got a picture of me! Yes, I was actually at the party.
Big grins, but she can't stop now!
And the moment we've all been waiting for...
What's in the long package?
The suspense is building...
Wow, Leia and Arwyn's very own Light Sabers!
Two happy little Jedi's!
The force is strong with these little princesses!
Ready to take on the evil Darth Vader Daddy!
The official Jedi training can now begin.
The present procession continues, thanks to a small dress adjustment from Princess Leia's Lady in Waiting.
Gyongi offering up a little help to untangle the new fishing pole line!
Yes, there's Emmett's signature smile!
More trampoline snuggles with Daddy.
Nice air time! Arwyn is a jumping machine!
Learning the safety rules...always keep the door closed when jumping.
Hurray! Arwyn finally got her very own "cooter"!!
Big smiles and big jumps for Emmett, Arwyn, and Kyle.
Uncle Ryan and his little KZ.
Whew, great party, but looks like everyone is ready for a little nap! Aunt Joanne took MumMum's spot on Leia's couch.
It was such a hot day, with so much more snow melt, that the creek was even higher than this morning!
Testing out our new creekside hammock...nice little spot to relax!
Using light sabers to wake Leia up from her nap...we might have needed a whole army to get the job done, but luckily Arwyn is well trained with the light saber and got the job done herself!
So powerful and magical!
The Jedi training never stops...here we are meditating.
Yep, the force is strong with this one!
Oh no, here comes Darth Vader and he stole our light sabers!
I just love the glow when the force is in action.
And their off! Team Scoot is now complete!
Password = Arwyn
Arwyn didn't waste any time taking her brand new "cooter" for a little test drive!
Lovely evening down by the creek...nice way to cap off a great party day!
Looking so beautiful in Arwyn's new flower tiara!
It's like the rocks are just begging to be thrown!
I guess this is what you get when you ask a 4 year old to smile!
After their little garden tour, Aunt Joanne and Leia really did a nice job adding more flowers to this lovely tiara.
There's the smile.
They even inducted Daddy into Team Scoot!
Hard to believe we still have so many big smiles and cooperation after such a big day!
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