Zachery Turns Three

We just celebrated Zachery's third birthday, well sort of, time really escapes me as it's already been two weeks! Recently I've been watching a lot of our old home videos from our time in Thailand and it almost feels like another life reminiscing that's where Zachery was born and spent the first four months of his life.

The beginning of his life was very much an adventure (He's already been to five different countries!), fast forward three years, we haven't traveled to anywhere cool and exotic, but his personality shines through and through as a little explorer.  He loves to be outside wandering around collecting things; he loves to climb things; jump off things; pretend we're on a roller coaster when we're driving (I'm not saying I drive fast, but where we live there are a lot of windy curvy roads!); he's fearless, carefree, and beats to his own drum.

The other thing that stands out the most and is my most favourite thing about him is that he's our little joy giver. His smile is goofy, his laugh is contagious, and he's a complete ham in a crowd of people. I can't tell you how many times a week people notice how happy he is and the twinkle in his eye.  Its always encouraging amidst these hard toddler stages, it reminds me to stop and just enjoy him and all his awesomeness. I mean it's a truly wonderful thing to watch such a tiny person (my tiny person!) lift the mood of an entire room of people.

Here's a few pics from his paw patrol party  

DIY : Allstar Baseball Party

Last weekend we threw an all star baseball party for Zachery's second birthday! It was a whole lot of fun and so fitting for our little sports lover.

If there are any other little baseball lovers out there with summer birthdays than this is the theme for you! We however just had to make the best of the indoors with our dreary January weather. Regardless of indoor/outdoor this theme was actually very simple to put together, which is handy if your life is like mine...FULL!

So first things first Rylee and I made a baseball piñata... think batting practice! This was a fun craft for her and me and it was cool to be able to teach her how to paper mache for the very first time! If you've never paper mache'd before, its super easy you just need to allow for drying time (however a blow dryer does wonders if your in a pinch). All you need is old newspaper or scrap paper (cut in 1 in. wide strips), a balloon, flour and water (mix smooth 1 to 1 ratio). Blow up your balloon, dip your strips in flour paste and apply to balloon overlapping a bit and leaving a hole at the top of balloon to add candy's. Let dry for 24hrs. I tied string around the balloon so that it could be hung later on and then put another layer on. Let dry 24 hrs. Pop balloon and pull it out. Insert Candy. Apply two layers over hole (allowing time to dry in between layers). Apply third layer with plain white paper strips. Paint white and allow to dry. Paint red stitches and allow to dry. And just like that your done!

In addition to the piñata we also played "Pin the Ball on the Bat". I just cut out some cardboard in the shape of a bat and printed out some baseballs and attached some scotch tape to the back to make them stick (obviously :P).

Next thing I made was the concession flag to hang over the snacks. I just used white cardstock for the flags. And I downloaded this baseball worthy font, and printed out the letters to trace onto red cardstock, cut them out and glue them to the white flags. A fun little thing we did for the kids was give them tickets that they could buy their own snacks from the concession. For additional decorations I used red sharpie to draw stitching on white balloons to make baseballs and hung them from the ceiling. I also used the kids baseball gloves as some added décor in the concession stand.

For food we went with the baseball classic, hot dogs, how can you not?! Then we had Baby Babe Ruth chocolate bars which I found at Walmart. We had snack size chips and popcorn (which could easily be substituted with Cracker Jacks...I wanted to but just didn't have time to make it). For drinks we had lemonade and last but not least the birthday cup"cake" was in the form of a baseball glove (with a HORRIBLE marshmallow baseball... definitely a Pinterest fail right there!).

**Some extra ideas for a summer party would be a slip 'n' slide for sliding practice, a board with cut outs for some good ol' pitching practice, and don't forget to pull out the BBQ for them hot dogs!

DIY : Princess Scroll Invitations

Rylee decided she wanted a princess themed party for her fourth birthday this year. Well... actually she wanted a princess party, a Rapunzel party, and a doctor party.... she doesn't ask for much does she? Anyways we told her she had to pick one and the princess theme won out.

So the first matter of business to make it happen was to create none other than a royal scroll announcing the event! 

It'd turned out amazing and better than that it was actually quite simple to create.

All you need:

Glue

Paint (dollarstore)

Dowel sticks (dollarstore)

Wood Beads (Michaels)

8.5x11 Cardstock

Paintbrush

I first created the card in photoshop and printed it on cardstock (4 invitations per sheet). 

Rylee helped me paint the dowel rods and beads gold, it took two coats with acrylic paint. 

Once everything had dried I put the beads on the ends of the rods.

Then I put some good ol' elmers glue on the top edge of the card and applied the dowel rod. This was the hardest part, just waiting for the glue to adhere, but I found holding it for a minute and then starting to roll the cardstock around the rod help it form to the rod easier. Repeat this same process for the bottom of the card.

Once everything is attached roll the ends to meet in the middle and voila you have yourself a royal scroll! I added some star stickers to give it some sparkle and finished it off with some gold ribbon to keep it all together.

Zachery Turns One

The day has finally come and gone, the fifteenth, Zachery's birthday! Our little man turned one years old can you believe it!?

He woke up and was greeted by his very excited sister. She so kindly directed his path towards the over sized ballon and pile of presents that she had been waiting so "patiently" to open with him. We started with Mommy and Daddy's presents, a Melissa and Doug stacker toy, and A Maxim 3 exciting ramp racer!

We spent most of the day just hanging out, playing, and getting ready for the low key "Little Man" themed party we were having that evening with close friends and family.

We had a brief crumby part of the day when we took Zach in for his one year vaccinations, ill planning on my part, but alas it's over and done with. 

The party started at 6pm and the table was set with some festive food including: bow tie pesto pasta, manwiches, stud muffins, veggies, and of course some good old fashioned root beer (moustache straws included)!

Zachery was dressed in his "I Am 1" tee and looked dapper in his little man suspenders... Unfortunately I failed to get a good picture of his cute little outfit!

We opened more presents (he scored some great books, an interactive walker toy, adorable clothes, and awesome new cloth diapers). We finished the night by singing Happy Birthday and watching him dive into his very own giant cupcake!  He was pretty excited when he saw it coming his way, and really who could blame him!? I think he loved each and every bite of that yummy treat!

Zachery Turns One : 20 Questions

I started doing these birthday interviews with Rylee when she turned two... I love it (You can read them here: Year Two & Year 3)! It's such a simple way to capture every year and I think looking back its going to fun to see how much our kids change and how much they don't over the years!

So I'm on the ball with Zachery, I get to start with his first year! Now obviously he can't answer the questions but I will do my best to answer what I can.

20 Questions For Our Little Man : Year 1

1.) What is your favourite color? Ummm not sure yet.

2.) What is your favourite toy? Melissa & Doug stacker train set.

3.) What is your favourite fruit? Banana... its messy but he loves it!

4.) What is your favourite movie? No movies yet. 

5.) What is your favourite outfit? Jeans, onsie, and padraig slippers.

6.) What is your favourite thing to eat for lunch? Anything and everything!

7.) What is your favourite game? Wrestling with big sister Rylee.

8.) What is your favourite animal? He seems to really like dogs. 

9.) What is your favourite treat? Ice Cream. 

10.) What is your favourite book? Not too big into books yet. 

11.) What is your favourite song? "ABC's" 

12.) Who is your best friend? Rylee. 

13.) What is your favourite drink? Milk. 

14.) What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Soose, and fuzzy blankie. 

15.) What is your favourite thing to eat for breakfast? Milk and Cheerios. 

16.) What is your favourite thing to do outside? Eat everything! 

17.) What is your favourite word? No words yet. 

18.) What is your favourite thing to do? Eat! 

19.) What is the latest thing you've learned? To clap 

20.) What do you want to be when you grow up? No answer... 

Flashback

I am still amazed and baffled its been two years since we got to hold Rylee in our arms for the first time (read her birth story here). Since day one I have loved her and as time goes on I love her more and more. She blows me away with how smart she is, how quick she is to learn, how beautiful, how funny, and how much energy and life she has. She's independent, smiley, adaptable, snuggly, silly, and not to mention sassy (I don't know where she gets that from...).

In her first year she learned to roll (4 months), crawl (6 months), and walk (10 months). She got her first two teeth (10 months), rode her first airplane (to Las Vegas), and found her love for food!

In her second year she learned to run and climb (and hasn't stopped since), spoke her first words (sadly da for dog, and dada came before momma), and traveled to 3 countries outside of Canada (USA, Thailand, and Malaysia)... four if you include Guatemala when she was in the womb!

Now on for year 3 of the Rylee adventure...I already know some monumental events to come, like, adding more stamps to her passport, becoming a big sister, and putting sentences together. I'm sure there are going to be many, many, mannnnnny moments she'll amaze us and I look forward to them all.

20 Questions

I'm all about making memories that will last, so this year for Rylee's birthday I've decided to do something for her that I can give her years down the road...maybe for graduation or the day she gets married!

Every year on her birthday I will ask her the same 20 questions and eventually put it all together in a photobook for a cute keepsake for her (and us).

The second thing I plan to do every year will be to write her a letter of how great I think she is and all the milestones she hit throughout her past year (these letters I will keep hidden away till the day I give it to her).

20 Questions for Rylee : Year Two

1.) What is your favourite color? By the clothes she wears one would think pink...

2.) What is your favourite toy? "Happy", her Despicable Me minion. 

3.) What is your favourite fruit? All kinds, but "bananana" seems to be a favourite right now. 

4.) What is your favourite movie? Happy Feet. 

5.) What is your favourite outfit? Monster Pyjamas. 

6.) What is your favourite thing to eat for lunch? PB&J sandwich. 

7.) What is your favourite game? Kids songs app on the IPAD. 

8.) What is your favourite animal? Geckos. 

9.) What is your favourite treat? Chocolate Milk. 

10.) What is your favourite book? The story of baby Moses or Jesus in the picture Bible. 

11.) What is your favourite song? "If Your Happy And You Know It..." 

12.) Who is your best friend? Anyone who gives her "nandy" (her word for candy). 

13.) What is your favourite drink? Smoothies. 

14.) What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Mommy, soose, and little monkey. 

15.) What is your favourite thing to eat for breakfast? Yogurt and eggs. 

16.) What is your favourite thing to do outside? Chase birds and play on slides. 

17.) What is your favourite word? "Noooo" 

18.) What is your favourite thing to do? Snuggle with mommy & baby. 

19.) What is the latest thing you've learned? To make a very serious face. 

20.) What do you want to be when you grow up? Obviously she can't answer this one, but after asking her some yes, no questions she said "yep" to being a food connoisseur.

9 Month Birthday

August 10th was Rylee's 9 month birthday! I can't believe in 3 months she will be a year old, time has just flown by. Our lil' munchkin is speed crawling everywhere, climbing up on tables and chairs, she'll walk if you hold her, and she's even had moments where she's stood on her own for up to 10 seconds. SO cool, not long till she walking... then the real fun begins!!

We started the day with a visit to Nanny and Granddad's (on Sevio's side), which they took us to their community garden plot and we picked fresh grown veggies: green onions, potatoes, peas, english broad beans, rhubarb, and lettuce. I absolutely loved it, and Rylee slept through it.

Early evening we had our first of many baseball games for the weekend for the end of season tournament. It was a perfect summer night to be playing, unfortunately we didn't do so great and lost but we had fun and that's what counts right! 

Later that night Grandma Michele gave Rylee her 9 month birthday present, a super cute Skip * Hop sensory toy in the shape of a big owl with a baby owl! I really love Skip * Hop products, I've seen them around when I'm out shopping and they make some really cute stuff for kids, this toy in particular is absolutely PERFECT! Apart from chewing on it Rylee likes to fling it around by one of its dangling things, making it look like its flying. Thanks Grandma Michele :)