Two Times the Fun

On Saturday we had family over for Schaeffer and Logan's second birthday party. If you recall, last year we had a huge blow out of a party and per my promise we scaled things down quite a bit this year. And as much as I wanted to give the boys separate cakes, I even decided that one was enough for this year. Despite feeling unorganized and a little unprepared I think the party went well. Really how could it not with good food and good family around. The twins received what seems like tons of gifts and are now set to learn nearly every sport. We've been having a good time this week exploring all the new things. And best of all I think Schaeffer and Logan once again realized at least a little bit that we were all there to celebrate them. 

Two spoons are better than one.

Two Times the Birthday

Last week we celebrated two special little boys turning two. It's hard to believe (and a little scary) that we have 2, two year olds in this house now. Schaeffer and Logan are still our babies but they are growing up so quickly. In just a few months they will be the same age Jack was when they were born and another month after that the same age Jack was when we moved. It just doesn't seem possible. For their birthday we did our customary door decoration which threw them for a loop when they woke up. Logan groggily walked through the streamers and Schaeffer had to be coaxed out. Later in the day and for the following week they had a grand time running through them and eventually tearing them down. 

We spent the first part of the day at the pool with friends and shared some mini cupcakes with everyone.

By the time lunch rolled around they had been sung to numerous times and were starting to warm up to the idea that something different was going on this particular day. When Jack and I sang again during lunch they both got the biggest grins and giggles.

For the evening Paul thought it would be fun to take the boys out for some one-on-one dinner dates. Jack got to spend the evening with my parents while Paul and Logan ate at Firehouse and Schaeffer and I ate at Monical's. They each had a gift to open during dinner and I think they both really enjoyed a little time alone with Mom or Dad. After dinner we met up at Dairy Queen for some birthday ice cream. It was a fun day and I think they at least understood a little that it was their special day.

Kid's Dirty Dash for St. Jude

Jack had a cool opportunity this past weekend to participate in his first race and help raise money for St. Jude. As indicated by the name of the race, "Dirty Dash" we prepped Jack by telling him he would get muddy and that was OK. Sometimes he has an aversion to getting really icky. We also tried to explain to him the concept of fundraising and donating money to a charity. Pretty sure he's still a little fuzzy on that concept. He only asked a few people to support him and it went something like, "I'm running a race. Will you give me money?" It was effective :-). The morning of the race we talked some more about it and he declared that he would get to keep the money. Oi Vey. He was very excited about his race and we got there plenty early to have a look around. We signed in at registration and when he was asked if he fund-raised he said yes and handed over his packet. The volunteer was so encouraging to him about his generosity, it was really sweet, I teared up as I watched my child learn a little about giving to others. I'm such a sap. Before the race he tried out the obstacles which helped him get a little more comfortable with it all, but I'm pretty sure the mud pit made him nervous. He was very excited about getting muddy until he saw the actual pit, it was a bit intimidating. He lined up for his race and even got to run with a friend from school. When they first started there was a crowd of kids running over the first dirt mound and I could not find Jack at all. Finally, he made it to the top and was off. I raced around with him yelling and cheering and snapping pictures like a crazy lady and even managed to run into a few people in my pursuit of encouraging my son and capturing some memories. He did so great. When he got to the mud pit he just stopped though, along with many other kids. A volunteer was nearby and offered his hand. Jack gratefully took it and the two of them sloshed their way to the finish line. At the end he got hosed off by what he thought was a fireman...you can see in the picture it's just a boy. But this might have been the highlight for him. The boy had to eventually turn the hose off because Jack would not leave the water even when told he was clean enough. It was a very quick event, but it was a lot of fun. We will surely look forward to future mud races.