Andrea and Kevin's Birthday Weekend

Friday, July 23: Andrea's 5th Birthday

Andrea spent most of her birthday at daycare. She was fine with that because she got to wear a special birthday crown her teacher made for her, and bring a movie for the class to watch after lunch. When Daddy got home from work, she opened her birthday presents from us: lots of clothes, a game for her Leapster 2, some books, and a Barbie styling head.

That night, Daddy and Andrea were heading to Comerica Park to see Andrea's first MLB Game. Unfortunately, there were severe thunderstorms all evening! They made it over to the Park only to find out, about an hour later, that the game was cancelled. The good news was that they could go to the rain-date game on Sunday night. I'll put up another post about that when I get the pictures from Daddy's phone!

Saturday, July 24: Party Day

It stormed all Friday night, and right up until about noon on Saturday. Then, the sun suddenly came about, and the day became beautiful for our outdoor party (although hot and humid). Andrea was SO excited for her party that I could barely keep her occupied until the guests started to arrive. We decided to take some pictures of her modeling her new outfit from Grama Marty and Grampa Rick to pass the time.

Grama Marty and Grampa Rick also gave them "Happy Birthday" candle hats for their birthday. The kids thought these were just great.

Kevin was partial to this blue balloon. Apparently, it made a good pillow!
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The guests soon arrived, and we spent the first little while in the house, because it was so humid outside.

Ryan was happy to be passed around and given lots of attention (until he got tired--he wouldn't nap!). Here he's visiting with Aunt Angie and Grandpa Vic.

Papa took the other kids downstairs to play for a while. Andrea is hiding in the chair fort he made for them.

The kids were anxious to play outside, so most of us headed out with them. We had a slip'n slide set up, and a little wading pool, to help them cool down. Andrea and Izzy decided to get cool before going on the trampoline, which was a good strategy.



Andrea, Izzy, and Joshua spent lots of time on the trampoline. When they got too warm, they headed back to the slip 'n slide. It was a good system.

Hannah was testing the water with her hand, but she didn't spend too much time on the slip 'n slide. The water was cold!

Gram spent most of the party trying to coax Ryan to sleep. Each time she got him to sleep, when she tried to put him in his crib, he woke up and cried! (The poor little guy didn't get to sleep until about 9PM, after everyone left and Mommy had some time to relax with him.) Here's Gram with a hot, sleepy Ryan, trying to unwind in the shade.

Kevin managed to stay cool, too. We wrapped up his cast in a couple of plastic bags, and he scooted carefully down the slip 'n slide on his knees and bum.

Aunt Stephanie and Brigitte helped Izzy and Hannah have some fun on the swingset.

Our friends Michelle and Mike, with their boys Parker and Griffin, were able to join in the fun. Here's Michelle and her cute little guy, 4-month-old Griffin.

After dinner, it was cake time! Our party had a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme this year. I found the picture for the cake online, and had J.J's Cakes and More turn it into an edible digital image. They did an awesome job on the kids' cake!

There was a little problem: I forgot to buy birthday candles! I thought I had some from before, but I couldn't find them on the day of the party! Well, the kids had to pretend to blow out the candles. I guess this version was safer, if kind of pathetic. ;-)

Andrea and Kevin loved their cake. Andrea had at least two pieces.

Kevin devoured his piece, and got it everywhere.

Next, it was time to open the presents. Our friends and family were quite generous, and the kids were thrilled.

Kevin got this Little Tikes Cozy Coupe Firetruck from Gram and Papa. He loves it. The other kids at the party loved it, too. They were all anxious to have a turn in Kevin's new wheels.

Andrea was excited about the sparkly Barbie she got from Gram and Papa.

She was a bit disappointed that she's too big to ride in Kevin's firetruck, but she figured out she could pretend from outside of it, and she looks good in the firefighter's hat. (By the way, she told Brigitte she wants to be either a firefighter or an artist when she grows up!)

After presents, they had a bit more time to play. Aunt Stephanie and Hannah joined the others on the trampoline!

The other kids were still taking turns with the firetruck.

The party was nearly over, and it was time to hand out the goodie bags. They were Mickey's Clubhouse-themed, of course.

Cousin Cuties
Hannah wanted her bubbles, but she needed a little guidance. We had to make sure she was blowing the bubbles, and not tasting them!

Kevin needed some help with his bubbles, too. He was blowing, but not with the right force, and not in the right direction. Great-Gram stepped in to help. She demonstrated proper bubble technique, but Kevin got silly, and kept making funny noises instead of trying to blow the bubbles. He's so silly.

Sunday, July 25: Kevin's 3rd Birthday

We had a pretty quiet day on Kevin's birthday. We spent most of the day putting their new toys together and cleaning up after the party. I don't think Kevin even realized it was his birthday, although I kept telling him so. To Kevin, the big party had been the day before, so that was his birthday. However, he still had some gifts from us to open.

Kevin: always the comedian. He immediately put his new sungalsses on upside-down, and when I tried to fix them, insisted they were better this way!

Kevin got lots of clothes, a Leap Frog writing/drawing toy, and a truck cell-phone. He had fun learning how to draw shapes. It's actually a pretty cool toy.

Later that night, Kevin and I had a little quality time to ourselves, after Ryan was in bed, because Daddy and Andrea went to the Tigers' game. Kevin asked me to take his picture, and this was all he would give me--funny guy!