Birthday Bash 2013

We were lucky that Benjamin's birthday was on a Saturday, it made party planning very easy! We are also very fortunate that my ILs could come up for the weekend to be at his party! It was so great having them here. Here is my rundown of his party.

. I am sorta going to write this "by section" so if I repeat myself, I apologize. 

The Prep
I was originally planning to do an ABC/Blocks theme. But then, about two weeks ago, I realized just how much Benjamin is loving anything with wheels, so I decided to change to cars. The theme was not really heavy handed or anything, just some decorations and the cake. Of course I do everything last minute, so I did not get invites out, invited people word of mouth. I bought decorations both the weekend before and from Amazon to be delivered the day before. I started baking the cakes on Friday. I had lots to do on Saturday. I NEVER would have gotten the house ready, the cakes decorated, the decorations up, etc, without the help of my MIL and FIL, and my little sister. Unfortunately DH had to work OT during the day so I really needed the additional help. Thank you so much to those three for helping me out!! I basically got up at 6:20am and started cleaning, baking, running errands, etc, and did not slow down until the party started at 4:00pm. Let me tell you, it was so nice to relax a bit when guests started arriving!

Cake Boss (or Cake Student)
The cake was a true adventure. I wanted to carve Benjamin a car. I am pretty good with layer cakes and cakes by scratch, so I was most worried about the frosting part.  I used this recipe from Veena's Art of Cakes. It turned out SO DENSE and was very easy to work with. When I started carving, it turned out it was easier to make an SUV than a car, and he likes all things that go, so I went with SUV. I was (of course) doing everything last minute. I called my little sister and she came over to help out! She baked the second cake (lemon store bought for those chocolate haters), and made frosting for the SUV cake. Well, I had bought Wilson's Prof Grade food dye, the reviews of which said they would make a great red. Not so much. We used a lot and it still came out BRIGHT pink. So then we added yellow, and ended up with bright orange. When my little sis started icing the SUV in bright orange she realized it looked a lot like my brother's jeep, so she decided to go full out and copy the jeep. Meanwhile, the lemon cake got a quick store bought frosting job and some momma's messy writing, and the Smash cake, made from scraps of the chocolate cake, was a baby block. Honestly the little Smash cake turned out so nice made me wish I had stuck with the Blocks theme! But Benjamin liked the SUV cake! The chocolate carving cake was dense but super delicious, and perfect with buttercream and vanilla ice cream. People loved the store bought lemon as well Here are the results:

The Decorations
Benjamin loves decorations, so I wanted to make sure to have some stuff up, even just streamers! He loved pointing at things. Once I got the banner up (that said Happy Birthday), he immediately started wanting to look at it, and kept pointing it out to my ILs as they chased him around. He also loved the hanging balloons - here are some pictures of the decorations and Benjamin enjoying them!

The Guests
Guests included DH, myself, and Benjamin. Grandma and Grandpa K, Grandma and Grandpa Y. Tante L, M, and K. Uncle M and J.  Adopted auntie and uncle K & J and their son K. My sisters ILs J & L, and the vet student who is working with my older sister this week. Total count 18! It was bigger than I originally planned. It was SO fun having everyone here, and all of them loving on Benjamin. I love having a full house for a party!

Food 
Benjamin's favorite food is Pizza, so we got Pizza! There was also veggies tray, and cake of course. Benjamin enjoyed eating the Pizza just as much as he enjoyed the cake!

The Party
People started arriving right on time at 4pm. DH and FIL went to pick up the pizza while the rest of us hung out and watched the two babies play. K is 2 months older than Benjamin and I always enjoy getting those two together.

Then came the pizza! We had PLENTY for everyone and I think everyone got what they wanted!

After everyone was feeling nice and well-fed, it was present time! The first gift we "unwrapped" was not wrapped at all - it was a sled from my brother and his wife. Benjamin LOVED it and insisted on being in it for the rest of the present opening. I cannot wait to go out and use it!

As with Christmas, it was hard to tempt Benjamin to help unwrap his gifts, so I did a lot of it. We did get him interested in a couple things though! Of course he was more interested in the toys already open than he was in the ones left to open. Some high lights of the presents (no offense meant if yours does not get mentioned!) - A "Lap Pup" leap frog toy, cabbage patch doll named Eduardo, some great books and cute out fits, and of course, his Tonka Truck!

We let the kids play for awhile before moving on to the last part of the party - CAKE!!!

 Benjamin liked his SUV cake and was very interested in it. Everyone crowded into the dining room and sung to him, then I blew out the candle. We gave him his smash cake, which turned him BRIGHT BLUE. Guess the frosting had a bit too much dye! He mainly ate frosting and not much cake, but I am unsure whether that was his preference, or he just had trouble smashing the cake when it was so dense! It was a lot of fun! Everyone liked the cake. And yes, I dressed him in blue on purpose!

After cake, people hung out a bit more and chatted, but started drifting out. It was a really great time. Benjamin is so lucky to be surrounded by people that love him! I hope all his parties go as well as this one, and that this is the first of many great Birthday memories created in this house!

We did a lot of other fun things recently, so I hope to post again soon. Sorry for all the pics, I am just loving them!

We're Going to the Zoo Zoo Zoo...

Today we (DH, Grandma and Grandpa IL, and myself) took Benjamin to the St. Louis Zoo. It is a fabulous zoo, and is free! The free part is especially nice because you can swing by for an hour if that is all you feel like doing and not feel guilty! Even if you have all day, its so big its hard to cover!

We decided to try and hit up River's Edge (many of the African Animals) and the Big Cat section, because when we went to the Duluth Zoo, Benjamin most liked the cats (Lions and Tigers). It was a really great trip! We were there for about two hours and Benjamin was much more engaged than Halloween. He seemed to prefer smaller animals, and seemed to have a hard time grasping that the big ones (like the Rhino and Elephants) were alive. DH's favorite thing to show him was the Bush Dogs, which he just kept pointing at and making sounds. I liked showing him the fishes in the (otherwise empty) Hippo Exhibit. Benjamin liked the rock (pebble) by the Hippo exhibit. Grandma liked the baby Elephant. Grandpa liked the baby lions playing. We also enjoyed the Kangaroos hopping around, the seals swimming laps by the underwater viewing window, and the Camel taking a BIG YAWN. It was such a good trip. There was practically no one there, it was sunny with no wind, about 45 degrees. A lot of the animals were really active. No crowds, it was great.

How about some pictures?

Stop and Smell the Roses

There is much I could post about, but I really feel like the blog needs a quick break from "baby baby baby". So, instead I want to write a quick note about nature. To put it briefly, I love the natural beauty here in Duluth. It is one of the things I missed the most (right after my family). There is, of course, Lake Superior and all of its granduer- different moods every day. Today it was serene and peaceful, glossy and rippling, reflecting the greys and silvers and whites of a slightly overcast day. But besides the beauty of the lake there is the beauty of walking out of my parent's front door. We go on walks when it is nice, lately they have been down a little nearby dirt road, with a babbling creek and butterflies and singing frogs in the background. Sound idyllic? Trust me, it is. I took the pictures below on my parent's property. If I had the time I would take so many more! I was going to just post pictures but found myself writing a poem instead of captions...

 

Fresh Start

How would you like to stroll down an old dirt road?

Basking in sunshine, soft breeze through your hair,

The stream's water whispering sweet nothings,

Oh, how I love to be there.

 

How would you like to breathe in lilac?

Purple lush sweet scented flowers,

Memories blooming through life’s many layers, New and old thoughts fill up the hours.

 

How would you like to watch the storm come

in?  

Cloud banks tower to the top of the sky,

Sunbeams fighting to be the silver lining, 

As the tear ducts of nature open up and cry.

How would you like to wander down an old trail?

Sunset's stark shadows leading the way,

A choice murmuring through the pine tops,

Not even Frost could have dreamt up today.

Our First Mother's Day

Today was my first Mother's Day as a mother, it was a long time coming! We got up at our normal time, DH told me he needed help finishing my mother's day present. So I come downstairs and it is a breakfast tray that says "Our First Mother's Day", with the date and Benjamin's name, and a picture frame, and a place to put Benjamin's hand print. So we painted his little hand blue and slapped in on there! I thought I took a picture, but apparently it did not make it to this computer yet. Then DH took care of baby and made breakfast while I showered. I gave my mom her gift, and we all ate pancakes and bacon.

After some more conversation and preparation we headed out for a day up the shore. My aunt and uncle were still in town from the wedding and they wanted to experience some North Woods beauty. (Also just for my records, we started using size 3 diapers today after a number of blowouts recently. I am putting this here because we stopped to buy a pack on the way up the shore).

We went to Gooseberry Falls State Park and then to one of our favorite little "secrets" along the north shore, Iona's Beach. Then we had lunch at Northern Lights, and I took a nice nap while DH drove us home. It was a really great day and I am very appreciative to have such a great husband, mother, and son, and family to spend it with!

Our Beautiful Little Family at Gooseberry State Park

My brother playing with Benjamin on Iona Beach

Me! Nice shot with Bry and DH in the background.

Grandma (my mom), me, baby, and DH on Iona Beach

Fitting that my new SIL found a heart shaped rock two days after her wedding!

DH holding Benjamin at Gooseberry

4 Months Old!

Benjamin turned four days old yesterday on Cinco de Mayo, and Derby Day! He seems to grow everyday! Since my last post, he has discovered his toes. I am not sure that he knows they are his, but he certainly likes to hold onto them! He has been babbling a lot and really shrieking. He likes to watch us dance and sing and generally make fools of ourselves. He likes songs that have hand motions, like Itsy Bitsy Spider (which my husband had re-written to be the pretty big spider), Princess Pat, and Little Green Frog. DH does a rousing rendition of Old McDonald's farm that involves panda bears, worms, velociraptors, and my brother living on the farm. I have a version of "The Ants go Marching" that my mom claims is totally wrong. We also sing the alphabet song (A Alligators all around, B Bursting balloons, etc). I wrote a little song to sing to him that is pretty basic but he loves it and it always gets him laughing as I poke his various body parts. It goes as follows:

 You are a baby, You are a baby

Baby brows and baby eyes, baby calves and baby thighs

You are a baby. 

Baby nostrils and baby nose, baby feet and baby toes

You are a baby.

Baby hair and baby ears, baby smiles and baby tears

You are a baby.

Baby tummy and baby heart, baby butt with baby farts

You are a baby.

Baby skin and baby hips, baby gums and baby lips.

You are a baby

Baby cheeks and baby chin, baby knees and baby shins

You are a baby

Baby hands and baby wiggles, baby coos and baby giggles

You are a baby, you are my baby.

 Meanwhile, besides the normal age appropriate songs, we also sing some less appropriate songs. He loves it when you take his hands and do "Mmmm look at that body mmm look at that body mmmm look at that body mmm I work out" and "wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle yeah" from the song Sexy and I Know It. I also mix it with parts of Party Rock Anthem. He likes being naked or as near naked as possible and he loves skin to skin contact. Sometimes when you are changing his outfit or diaper (usually both) he gets so giggly you don't want to finish and just want to stand there and make him laugh by saying ridiculous things like "what are you laughing at?"

I have not been as diligent at picture taking, largely because my camera stopped working. I grabbed my Dad's (SLR) camera yesterday and today however and took a few pictures, some of which I absolutely love. I was tempted to post about five more here than I am, mostly various pictures of him holding the "4 Months Old" card like above, including one where he is eating the card, but I figured this is enough pictures for now.

My New Reality (Loving It)

Benjamin and out with my little sister to play photographer. Okay - I played photographer - she actually has some skill and an eye for it, and knows how to use a camera and edits things and such. Despite the snow and grey appearance, it was not that cold out, above 30 degress. I put Ben in his moby wrap and then put on my older sister's midget suit. She is taller than me and the suits get wider as they get taller, so I was able to zip it up right over him! He was happy and warm with his pacifier in there. All of the photo's below are taken within a couple hundred feet of my parent's house where we are staying. My parent's house, the house I grew up in, is located on 40 acres of mostly fields with some woods around the house. The cat pictured below is not my orange cat, it is my parents. It was following us around despite the snow being deeper than its head! If you are facebook friends with me, I will try to show you a great pic my little sister took of Grim frolicking in the snow. She was using my father's SLR and as I said, knows way more about photography than I do!!!