Joseph's Birthday Party

It's always a fun challenge getting our kids to decide on a birthday party theme. Gratefully, Joseph knew that he wanted a Star Wars party for a long time. However, coming up with what kind of cake he wanted took a bit longer. We were however (and gratefully with some help with some kind-hearted and talented friends) able to get this party thrown together.

This morning we put the finishing touches on everything and then headed out to the boys' soccer games. Lucy was so happy to be out in the nice weather (while it lasted).

After Andrew's game, Lexie was ready to go so I took the girls home to finish a few more things and Rick stayed with the boys for Joseph's game.

He is a great goalie. But he also really likes to try and get goals. He's getting good!

Once Joseph's game was over we had just enough time for Joseph to change and then it was party time!
We started out with having the kids all put on their jedi robes. Amazingly, everyone was able to find one that fit! Then the kids all made their own light sabers.

Then it was off for some light saber training. We began with the easy stuff. They had to pop bubbles with their light sabers. Who knew that popping bubbles would be so much fun?! These kids totally got into it and had a blast!

The next training step was to try and keep a balloon up in the air with the light saber. That was a lot of fun.

Some got so good, they could really use the force.

Once we were done with that we went out side to see who could balance the longest in their own light saber dual. The kids really enjoyed this one.

They were all surprised with Darth Vader showed up!

It didn't take long for them to battle him to the ground though.

All of the kids then got a turn to dual Darth Vader. They really enjoyed beating him with their jedi skills.

After all that training it was time to get some nourishment for these growing Jedis.

Once we finished eating then we headed down to the basement for an obstacle course.

The kids were so funny to watch!

Then it was time for the Death Star Pinata. Next time we'll have them use their foam light sabers. It really wasn't as weak as we thought it may be. But it was really fun to watch them go after all the candy.

Then we opened some presents.

And ate some cake!

While we waited for parents to come pick up their kiddos, we had some more duals outside.
Everyone had smiles on their faces, I think the party was a success!

Joseph really loved it and was so excited that so many of his friends could make it for his party! We are so grateful that he has so many great friends!

We sure love them (and him) lots!

Busy Day

Today and tomorrow are going to be super busy! But those days are also plenty fun.
We started out with Caleb. Andrew and Caleb have such a good time together, which is good.

Lucy was pretty happy and content which is also good and helpful on busy days like today.

Joseph helped me make some storm trooper cans for the obstacle course tomorrow for his party.

Eliza helped blow up some balloons. 

I finished the robes, food stuff (as much as I can until tomorrow), got the cake baked and started for Rick to finish decorating for me while I got the other things all finished for Joseph's birthday party.

I think he'll be excited to see it tomorrow. Here's hoping it's a fun, fun day.

He's Done Graduated

Hooray for Andrew! He's all graduated from Speech! He still has some issues with his "s" sound and he's now a tongue thruster, but hopefully we can figure some things out to help with those problems. His speech teacher was nice and is sending home some things for me to work on with him in those areas. But he's gotten so much better that he no longer qualifies for speech/special ed services! Hooray!

It was a great IEP meeting and I learned a lot. I didn't know he had a speech teacher and then a "fun" speech teacher (the occupational therapist one where he gets to play and jump and stuff). When I asked him later he said they were both fun, so that is good, too! They did tons of testing for him to see where he's at and it's good to see he's doing great in all aspects of school-mentally, emotionally, socially, physically, academically. He's a trooper. And he averaged out all of the scoring out to being where a 7.5 year old would be. We will not be having him repeat kindergarten, so it's good to know that has been settled.
Andrew loves school and loves all of his teachers and we are so grateful for all of them and for all the help they gave him to get him up to where he is. I'm still amazed at how far he's come with his speech in just 3 years! It's great!

Crazy Hair

Jaws 2

While Andrew was eating today I noticed something in his mouth. He's got shark teeth, just like Lexie did. His front ones aren't even close to being wiggly. One day soon, I'm sure they'll be ready to come out.

Eliza didn't want to miss out on the fun, so here's her mouth as she's eating a laffy taffy. No shark teeth yet.

Making Gifts

The kids had a good time today making gifts for each other. They are so funny. Lexie & Joseph made Andrew a bunch of light sabers.

And Andrew made Lexie a flower.

Snow and Jumping

 Today we had another great snow day! Yay for more moisture!

Eliza and Andrew have enjoyed jumping down the stairs a ton lately and like to see how high they can jump from. And today they wanted me to take lots of pictures of them jumping, so here they go!

These two really crack me up! Like a lot! It will be so sad when Andrew is gone all day at school. Eliza is really going to miss him!