3 and 6

Our kids had birthdays again! Funny how that comes around every year, right?

It was Zuzu's turn for a friend bash and we settled on a "Minnie's Bowtique" theme. I think she loved every second of it.

The evening before and morning of her party we suddenly had people canceling right and left. It looked like only one friend was going to make it (we had invited 10 kids). I almost lost it and ended up calling my good friend and begging her to bring her daughter, volunteering to babysit, have her brother over, anything to make it work. She is a nice friend and instead of looking at me like a crazy person she brought Cora over. Luckily, a couple of other friends made it and we ended up having so much fun!

For her birthday, Zuzu started asking months ahead for a pair of "pink ice skates." I was kind of at a loss. Ice skates are very expensive, and the closest rink to us is about a 30 minute drive, and also very expensive!! Luckily, Amazon came to the rescue. Her pink princess roller blades were received very well, and we had a blast with them all summer long. Phew. My kids are always the ones with crazy gift requests!

3 definitely looks good on her. She's crazy girly (tights and fancy shoes are her love language), gives amazing hugs, and is fiercely independent. She's developed quite the attitude and "no" is a staple, but we wouldn't have her any other way.

Walter turned SIX. 6!! I can't believe it. He wasn't slated for a big party this year, but at the last minute I caved and told him he could have 2 friends over for a Nintendo night. We aren't sure if we'll be here next spring so this might have been his last opportunity to have a birthday with his buddies here.

I've got to tell you - this was the easiest plan of all time, and the kids LOVED it. It was a good reminder to me that all of the trimmings and cutesy, Pinteresty stuff is fun, and I think the kids do appreciate it, but it's not 100% necessary for a good time. Pizza, treats, Nintendo. Nothing else needed. :)

Walt didn't ask for much, but he did get Minecraft for his birthday, which he'd been wanting FOREVER.

His dad also hand-crafted an amazing master sword from the video game Zelda. It was pretty epic.

A funny memory from this birthday is that ALL Walt wanted to do was to go to Olive Garden. This is not because of the food, although spaghetti is his favorite - it's because we went there for my birthday, and they have these screens that you can pay to play games on. He really does have a one-track mind. But since it WAS his birthday and all, we decided to do it.

I don't regret it. :)

Walt is still the most kind-hearted kid I know. He hates to leave anyone out, is fiercely loyal to his family and friends, and has the biggest imagination of anyone I have ever met. I can't wait to see where life takes him!

2 and 5

Having the kids' birthdays so close together is incredibly exhausting but it's also fun because neither one ever really feels left out. :)

This year we had a low-key family only hangout for our spunky 2-year-old. She loves Sofia the First so I made her a cake, we went swimming, opened gifts and had pizza. She was sweet about the whole thing and we had a lot of fun celebrating her!

It was Walt's year for a blowout friend party. And oh. MAN. It was definitely a blowout. Months before his birthday, I started asking him what kind of party he might like to have. He immediately said "Zelda," and I inwardly cringed. Not only would none of his friends have any idea what Zelda was, it would be so hard to plan because they don't exactly sell Link piñatas at the Party Store. I tried so hard to talk him into a Star Wars party or Ninja Turtle party. He agreed to a Star Wars party but he just wasn't that excited about it. One of my friends wisely said to me - "Who cares if no one knows what it is? It's a party, they'll all have fun, and Walt will love it." I thought this over and told Walt later that day that if Zelda was what he really wanted, then that's what we would do. I scored major mom points that day.

PS: It's hard to fill the same room with balloons twice in 10 days!

And actually, this party was so much fun to plan and host. We created a "game" the kids went through where they had to find pieces of the tri-force at the different sanctuaries.

First, they made shields for their quest:

They used keys to open a treasure chest in the Lost Woods...

And water "bombs" to defeat a bokoblin (or "Gobo" as Walter calls them)...

Finally, they had to cross the hot lava of Ganon's Tower to defeat Ganon himself with their master swords!! Our amazing friend Mike actually volunteered for this job. He was great and the kids got a serious kick out of it.

I integrated some other things from the game into our snack and the party favors.

I'm so glad I went with what Walt wanted. Most of the kids actually loved the whole thing-- and now they know what Zelda is!

This crazy Nintendo loving boy is such a hoot. We're so glad he is ours.

Sprinkle Her With Love

For Isannah's birthday, I wanted to go all out - just like I did with Walt's first birthday years ago. It was fun to pick out any theme I wanted and just run with it.

So we did sprinkles. :)

Landon was a trooper and stood by me in my insanity. There were so many tiny details, and for weeks I was completely absorbed in party stuff. It was super fun - but I will definitely not go this nuts for every birthday!! (Don't get used to it, baby girl)

Probably the best part was that my mom flew in all the way from Idaho to celebrate with us. It meant a lot to me that she would come. Almost all of the time, I'm obsessed with Seattle and love living here. But occasionally, when we have a big family event like this, I get sad that we're far away from our family. So it was awesome to have my mom there representing everyone. :)

I did not take enough pictures of the people who came! I'm sad I didn't get a group shot. But my best friends were mostly able to make it, and I was once again amazed at the awesome people we have in our lives here to support all of our doings. I love our "framily" so much!

Zuzu was really unsure about the whole cake thing. When we were done with the "cake smash," there was only about 2 bites missing. We ended up just eating it later, which certainly didn't bother Walt. Ice cream, on the other hand - that she could get behind. :)

It was so fun to celebrate this little chicky. We love our baby girl!

ONE

One year ago (ok, one year and a month - I'm behind again!), this beautiful girl joined our family.

Everything changed.

I had no idea how different my life would be with 2 kids. I had no idea how much this little beauty would melt my heart.

I was terrified of having a girl -- but I love it. I love to dress her up, style her hair, and see a little bit of me in her.

This year was full of milestones, vacations, and adventures. At the age of one, this girl has already been to: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and British Columbia. She's been camping, swimming, to the beach and to the mountains.

The year was also full of learning how to deal with extra messes, extra snuggles, extra needs, and an extra schedule to accommodate. We're still learning.

She has completely captured all of our hearts. Walt daily wants to hold her hand. He gets very upset if I take anything away from her or talk at all sternly - "Mom, I have to protect her," he'll say to me. So seriously.

At age one - her first word is "yeah." She plays the "so big" game with us and loves to clap her hands. Her favorite food is, hands down, crackers. She's a great crawler and can pull herself up to standing. Her little laugh is a jingle that gets the rest of us giggling, too.

I miss holding her in all her tiny glory. I miss that new baby smell. I miss the 6 months that she slept for 12 hours straight, like clockwork - I miss the baby sighs and the utter dependence.

But I love holding chubby hands while she toddles all over the house. I love to watch her examine toys to see how they work. I love fascination with opening and closing things. I love her independent spirit. It's exciting to see her personality emerging, day by day. (She's feisty!)

We love you Isannah! Happiest of birthdays!