Ben 10 Bonanza!

So, Mike and I officially joined the masses and got iPhones last week. So all the photos on my old phone were trashed, but I managed to save 2 important ones of the boys as newborns. Just about 4 years ago this one was taken....Yep, Mr. Noah turned 4. He had a week long celebration in all spheres of his world. First up was preschool. They celebrated his birthday about a week beforehand due to spring break and other kids birthdays, etc. He was pretty jazzed about the crown and has been wearing it for the whole week on and off.
This years theme of choice was Ben 10. For anyone who doesn't know, Ben 10 is a TV show (with many variations and spin offs) about a boy who comes into possession of alien technology in the form of a watch-like thingee called an omnitrix or ultamatrix (depending on the version) that he uses to change into different aliens to defeat bad guys. Didja get all that? Good. So here was the gift spread from us.
Mike and I did our usual stay up till 11:30 the night before the party getting preparations done. Mike is the cake committee, I am the decoration committee. This year I got cheap black/green decor and scored some removable wall decals on Amazon. Voila!
Mike slaved in the kitchen making his homemade fondant. This year it was white and grey and green.
The Ben 10 symbol on top. Then it had to sit overnight to firm up some.
Then we were all up at 5:30am the next morning. Mike to finish the last touches on the cake, Noah due to sheer excitement, and Sam because of all the racket. Here's the birthday boy on Saturday with his omnitrix.
And here's the final cake product. He put Echo-Echo (one of the aliens) on the top. Another masterpiece!
Saturday was a day of visits and gifts and partying. Uncle Josh brought over an Ironman Mask that lights up and makes noises. They had fun dueling it out in the living room.
The party got into full swing with all his family members coming by at some point. The cake tasted good too!
Uncle Danny got him the eye poker, er, I mean, Wolverine claw. Fred and Calvin came by too and enjoyed some dress up time.
Uncle Cliff also stopped by to talk shop with Daddy and spend quality time with his Godson.
Sammy tries out the scooter that Bamma and Bampa brought for Noah. He's got the "scoot" part down I guess.
Auntie Faithy hung out with Noah for awhile and did some superhero stickers. It was a fantastic day! Noah is so blessed to have such wonderful, generous family and friends.
The toy bonanza was simply ridiculous. Noah did a great job sharing with his little brother.
On Sunday we took the new scooter out for a spin. We need a bit more practice, but he looks cool when he's not moving, right?!
Sunday night was ice cream time! We went to Oberweis and he got Birthday Cake flavored ice cream.
Yesterday (Monday) was his official birthday. It worked out well that I was off for spring break and Mike was off (per usual), so we had a nice family day as a foursome playing with all the new toys, going to McDonald's for lunch, and just recovering from all the fun. Last night, Evie, Michelle and Bob stopped in since they had to miss out on the party fun. They brought Noah a soccer set (also from the Richmond crew in Iowa) so he can start practicing for soccer.
Of course there was more cake! Noah had to share some with his birthday buddy, Bob!
Evie is a pro, she doesn't even need a fork for cake.
And Sam just swirled around in a cape, mootching cake from everyone!
All in all, it's been a great birthday week. Now I get to relax and enjoy Spring Break! I can't believe he's 4. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIG GUY, WE LOVE YOU!

Tropical Heatwave in March

As most of you know, Chicago has been experiencing record heat for the past week. We're talking mid-80's in March! It's crazy but we've been loving it. Last week the boys and I got in the backyard for some golfing.Then we had a VERY fun Friday last week with our buddies Fred and Calvin. The day was packed with 3 outfit changes due to all the messy fun. We went to the park and had a picnic lunch, then there was the 4 boy shower (the car smelled like a locker room when we brought them home from the park), then after nap we washed the cars. It was awesome!
The big boys goofed and the little boys just took notes. Calvin kept saying "nake, nake, nake!" for being naked. He thought it was hilarious.
I remember a 2 boy shower that seems like just yesterday, but now look at the motley crew.
The water may have been a bit chilly, but I think there was some good dramatic acting going on as well.
Notice the height differential between big man Fred and little man Sam. Too funny! What a bunch of white boys!

Who needs clothes...?

...when you have a cape!!!

A view into the mind of Noah...

Noah has been making great use of the camera option on the iPod touch. These are all some of the 100 plus photos he has taken on his own. This first one of Mike I love. It's from the day we got the iPod, Christmas Day.

There's an app called Hubba Hubba that I highly recommend. With it, you can create gems like these!

Random shot of Sammy gorging on a brownie. I confess, I shot this one. Handy to have the iPod within reach during these moments.



Yep, Sammy with a homemade cape. You should see him swish around with it on, too cute.
Here are some videos, not sure how the quality will turn out for you, but enjoy! The first one was shot at Michelle's house this week. Note the lovely burping at the beginning, I trimmed out an additional minute of burping. The 2nd one was a few weeks ago, typical Noah fare talking about his day. Brace yourself for the "blair witch" effect.

General silliness...

Boy, sorry for the slacking. My time spent on computers lately has been mostly work related or kicking my husband's butt at bejeweled diamond mine (iPad wrestling going on). So a few weeks ago, Michelle and I found ourselves husband-less on a Saturday night. So we decided to commune parent and hang out together. We ordered chinese, made the kids some hot dogs and did a picnic dinner. Then we did a bunch of baths, threw on the jammies, and put on Shrek. It was a pretty fun evening (when you hang with toddlers your standards are low).
Sam looks like a little old man sometimes. Yes, the slippers are ridiculously large on him but he loves them.
Noah can't help but mug for the camera. Goofball!
Here are some of the photos taken by Andrea from our waterpark weekend. Thanks for sharing! No, Ayla is not attempting to drown Noah, they were being nice.
Nighttime shenanigans. No, we did NOT let them all sleep together, there would have been very little sleep.
All the kids together. Too cute :) Next year there will be 7 kids sitting on that bed. Sheesh! (to clarify: NOT ME!)
Present bonanza! Can't wait for our next visit!