Thursday, November 20, 2014

Party (November 9-15)

It was birthday party week, but we worried at the beginning of the week that we might not make it.  Brenna came down with the flu at the beginning of the week and then Liam a few days later.  Luckily, by Saturday, we were all well and the party went off was a hit!


November 9:  Overnight, Brenna came down with the stomach flu.


It was the kind of flu that makes you fall asleep in a room full of family, play, noise, and chaos.


Brenna also fell asleep in the middle of our bedtime routine.  So, Liam had stories and his parents all to himself, in his room.  He didn't seem to mind that Brenna missed it.


November 10:  It ended up being a 24 hour stomach flu.  Brenna was feeling a bit better by the next day - well enough that when she went with Brian to drop Liam off at school, she insisted on staying too.


Another bedtime naked dance party in the master bedroom.  This is becoming the highlight of our bedtime "routine".


Getting her stories ready.


Goofing around with Dadda while getting into pajamas.  Bedtime laughs are much better than bedtime sadness.


November 11:  More goofing around with Dadda.


Piggy back rides, too!


November 12:  The stomach flu grabbed a hold of Liam overnight.


Luckily, Liam had a dog nurse.


Brenna got a solo bedtime, with Liam down for the count by bedtime.


We're gearing up for Thanksgiving in Vermont and wanted to see whether Brenna's snow suit still fit.  It did, and she said, "It fits!  I like it!"


November 13:  Everyone was back to 100% and so we were back to our bedtime naked dance party.


We were also gearing up for the weekend birthday party, with Liam's detective outfit.


He was really into the whole look.


November 14:  Trying on a mustache and the detective outfit.


Hide and seek in the pillow fort, a frequent offshoot from the bedtime dance party.


November 15:  Party Day!  We picked a local playground, with some picnic tables and a grassy area nearby.


Of course, we had lots of food.


Mexican food from our favorite local stop and plenty of cold drinks for a day that turned out to be warmer than we expected.


And, of course, a bounce house.


Liam even got to turn on the generator and blow up the bounce house.


The bounce house really wore out the four year olds.



Liam wanted a mystery theme, so we had fingerprinting, "mystery boxes" where the kids had to feel in the box and guess what was inside, and disguises and a mug shot backdrop.


And, of course, a huge chocolate raspberry cake.



There was a lot of chaos around the cake.


And it all got overwhelming for the birthday boy.


For all his friends, Liam had favor bags.


Inside, there were disguise glassses, notebooks and invisible pans, and magnifying glasses.


Brenna loved the balloons.


The kids also had a lot of fun on the playground equipment.


And in the sand.


Although we suggested for no gifts, Liam was lucky enough to get a couple presents and a bunch of homemade cards.  He was really focused on this presents all day.  I didn't realize until the next night that he didn't realize he was getting all his presents on his actual birthday, so there was a lot more to come.