Court's 3rd Birthday

Court loves hedgehogs. Why? We don't know. But whatever the reason, his request was for a "blue hedgehog birthday" so we did our best to grant the wish (thank goodness for pinterest!).

A blue hedgehog cake.

And a hedgehog coloring craft.

He seemed pleased.

And he also seemed to approve of his gifts. Star Wars sheets...

...and Legos!

Luca helped him read the directions and the two of them built every set completely unassisted (while Baby Hedgehog looked on).

Another birthday in the books! 

As he says it: 

"I'm dis many".

Luca's 5th Birthday

Bean Girl turned 5 years old on August 24th. This post is late but I'd like to blame my active five year old for keeping me too tired to blog at night. Really, her brother has more to do with the tiredness so that is only partially accurate but in any case, I am behind. 

So: August 24th started out with Donuts. And sock curls (as requested by the birthday girl):

Then we had her close her eyes so we could lead her to her gift...

...which she had zero interest in driving until about 6 hours into the day when Court and Noah and the cousins started to enjoy it. 

She was more inclined to help me with some chalk drawings

For lunch, she asked for purple mac-n-cheese (I made pink mac-n-cheese last year and she remembered it well). As shown in the picture, it's hard to make mac-n-cheese purple. In retrospect, I should have used the food coloring on the noodles too but she was happy with it.

The Cake

My Mom made me a few cakes like this with china doll toppers. I let Luca pick a fairy at the store and we baked her dress in a mixing bowl.

The Non-Party, Family Barbeque:

Court kept asking Aunt Megan to "play a game with me" and then laying down like this...we aren't sure what he meant but he seemed to have fun.

The Littles

We love you Luca Bean!

Catching up with Court Robert

He still loves books. And books about trains or construction trucks are the best. This is his current favorite by Kevin Lewis and he supplies all the sound effects.

He loves electronics (he is a boy after all) and anytime he can swipe an earbud, iphone, remote, etc. he will. He is still very drawn to music and spontaneously breaks into song and dance.

He is learning to drive.

He still hates going through a carwash. The current coping mechanism for this is covering his ears, even if his hands are full of cookies.

Court steals shoes. He is equally happy with Mommy's "uhflip uhflops" or Daddy's work boots.

Tinker toys are at the top of the favorite toys list, primarily I think, because you can make a sword. And when I am not being pierced in the leg or back by a short pirate, I find these stashed all over the house.

Court may be the rough-and-tumble-noisy-destroyer-of-most-things but he is also sweet and cuddly. I caught him putting his motorcycle "nigh-night" complete with a snuggle and a prayer.

He loves to copy his Daddy whenever possible.

And he humors his Mommy often.

His sense of style is...

Did I mention he loves trains?

Court can be a perfectionist and sometimes this leads to extreme frustration, like when the blocks won't stack exactly right on the bobcat's shovel. He is learning to be slow and methodical in some instances.

One afternoon Court was naughty, I don't even remember what he had done but I sent him to his room and said I would be in to talk to him. This is how I found him. Sitting ever so still behind the curtain, he knew when I opened the door and I heard a happy little voice say "Hi Mommy!". Disciplining Court seems to be 50% effective and 50% me failing at not laughing and him joining in and in so doing learning that "if he is cute enough he won't ever be in real trouble". Oh help me.

Playing with Luca: he was the baby, she put him to sleep.

The days are never dull with Court Robert!

Catching up with Luca Florence

Five years old (the birthday post is coming...it's just late as usual...) and such fun!

She loves playdough and requests a photo of every creation so that "she won't forget what way she made them". This is her octopus, Court is learning the art of photo-bombing.

Apple picking! Our neighbor's tree was very prolific this year and in addition to a baked apple crisp, for about a week, Luca would pick up a blemish-free apple off the ground for her breakfast.

Here she is with her first ever completed summer reading program. She didn't have any trouble hitting the requirements. This Mama is so proud.

Her first "Selfie" (I found this on the camera...guess she borrowed it).

Coloring is still the #1 activity in Luca's life. She spends 1-3 hours per day at her desk or the kitchen table with a stack of plain paper and her markers. This is a "quilt" that she made for Court, all taped together and ready to sleep under.

Luca noticed that our outfits were "matching" so she asked if we could take a picture and if Aurora (the rabbit) could be in it too.

We love you Luca Bean!

Happy 2nd Birthday Court Robert!

Our party plans this year got rearranged by life but we happened to be in Fremont on Court's birthday and also had the company of Aunt Whitney, Uncle Chris and Malcolm added to the usual group so it turned into a wonderful party. Grandma Cindy made a motorcycle cupcake and there were gifts galore.

 

As you can see in this video, our sweet boy was a little overwhelmed by the attention but he recovered well.

Yummmmmmm...

Court's Favorite Things at Age 2: 

-motorcycles (called "wy-o-wooks") and trains ( "chug-choo-choo")

-snacks of the sweet variety, mac'n'cheese, avocados, cherry tomatoes, hard boiled eggs.

-running and jumping, 

-Daddy (he copies everything Joe does)

-the sandbox and dirt in any form 

-books; The Woods by Hoppe, Lift-the-Flap Trains, Construction and Airplanes, Smokey by Peet

-his blanket

Mommy and Daddy's Favorite Things About Court at Age 2:

-his tender heart and desire to please

-his "snuggly-ness"

-full out squeals and giggles when you chase or tickle him

-the way he loves to show off his flipping, jumping, flying tricks with Daddy

-whispered "okay"s and "yeah"s when we correct him

-fierce scowls that are completely for their humor value

-the way he curls into your chest in the middle of the night and asks for a "rock-rock" if he's woken up crying. 

-covering his head with his blanket and running around the dining table like a short, laughing, ghost.

-the way he jumps, landing almost stiff legged; and runs, with total abandon.

-his crouching pose for shooting tinker-toy "guns" and the "pchoo-pchoo" sound effect that accompanies it.

-his big round head and big brown eyes 

-the ecstatic squeal of "Daddy!" or "Mommy!" when we arrive home.

-the love he has for his big sister "Loola".

Happy 2nd Birthday Court!

We love you SO much.