Flora & Frank

On Mother's Day my mom gave me a pretty hanging plant. Days after hanging it right outside my breakfast room window a mourning dove had made her nest smack in the middle of my plant. I didn't really notice at first until the plant started to die in the middle. I climbed up to see what the trouble was and found this:

Since then the plant has completely died leaving us an unobstructed view of her and her nest. We named her Flora. When daddy bird came to visit we named him Frank. Flora and I have bonded through all of this, she did kill my mother's day plant, after all. Early this week Flora was perched on the edge of the pot looking very panicked. I thought maybe they eggs were hatching so I climbed up to see, but instead there was a fresh THIRD egg!! I guess that one was a surprise to her too!

Yesterday evening, Frank came by to relieve Flora for a bit. They were both perched on the edge so I thought I'd check out the progress of the eggs and make sure there wasn't a fourth. This is what I found:



Do you see the two fuzzy baby bird heads in the nest? Look left-center. And the third egg in between momma and her babies.

I couldn't stop taking pictures while Flora showed off her babies. Frank is a scaredy cat and flew away when I approached with the camera.


Peeking out to say hello!

She is usually pretty shy about feeding her babies when I'm hanging around, but I got this one.

Two babies, one head up, the other head tucked under momma.

It has been so fun to watch this process of nature. I just wanted to share with you.

So, what should we name the babies???

And the party. . .

This was the biggest birthday party we have ever given Luke either of our kids, yet surprisingly it required the least amount of preparation and was probably one of the smoothest. We have always had parties either at our home or at a local park because that is what he wanted. This year he wanted a roller skating party. I was down with that except that there was only one rink he wanted it at and it was not in our city. It required driving through a ridiculous construction zone freeway. The last party we went to there we were met with a line wrapped halfway around the building just to get in. But it was awesome because he got out there and did that roller skating thing all by himself.

We got on the computer one night and looked around the internet for fun places to party that were local and easy to access. We chose a place called Leapin' Lizards which was awesome. It had 8 or 9 inflatable play things, a big playground/climbing/slide thing and the party packages included absolutely everything from napkins to party favors. We had a party bouncer that was amazing. He took one look at the party and then knew who belonged and who didn't. Luke kept calling him his coach, as in, "Where is my coach? I need a drink of water." I just can't rave enough about this place and I would recommend it to anyone. When you consider all the things included, the price was reasonable to me--what we would have spent on birthday decor, plates, food, favors.

Will jumping with the big kids

 Will was in absolute heaven. He talked about that yellow castle for days, literally. The kid never stops jumping around on dry, flat, solid land. Putting him in a bounce house was like sending him back to his home planet.

Group shot with Izzy(?) the lizard.

I did my best attempt at a spiderman cake.  Thank you for action figures.

A cute bunch of kiddos.

 This picture below was one of the best features of the party. The kid-mob riot that happens at present-opening time drives me bananas. They had this giant inflatable chair that they plopped Luke in for presents and it totally gave me the space I needed. I didn't get a good shot of it though because I was standing to the back/side.

 When we got home, this is the first present he ripped from the package.

Look out. This kid is five and he means business.

And just for fun. . .

4 years old

Three years old

Two years old

One year old

Minutes old

Luke turns 5!!

So I haven't posted in nearly three months, but I have a really good excuse this time.  I've been posting over on my new project www.lizspinspiration.blogspot.com and keeping myself really busy with that. But now that its up and running I am going to try to work on this one a bit. And of course I can't miss a birthday! First things first--the birthday photo shoot, which I did myself and I am surprisingly pleased with! I kinda wish I had some photo editing software to polish it up a little.

This is Luke's favorite shot. I told him he looked like a cranky pirate so he loved it even more. Boys.

Feeling alive at five!!

Gosh, with a kid that cute how could the pictures turn out awful?

Birthdays are AWESOME!!!

December 8 our Willybird turned 2! He is so grown up now, I just can't believe it. He loves Yo Gabba Gabba so his party was all Gabba themed. I didn't know this going into it but nearly all the Yo Gabba Gabba stuff has to be bought online. Since I am such a good mom, I started planning this one early enough that I actually had time to order party stuff online and get it shipped without having to pay for expedited delivery. And thanks to black Friday I got it on super sale with free shipping.

Thank you Pinterest for the Muno-inspired chocolate dipped pretzels--they were a hit with the kiddies, and delicious too.

Grammy made him a fabulously scrumptious DJ Lance Rock fluffy orange hat cake.

What Gabba party would be complete without Gabba land?? I thought I was buying a Yo Gabba Gabba book for Will on Amazon, but when it arrived it was really this fold out-paper doll play set thing. Not super fun for a 2 year old but made for cute counter top decorations for the party. Luke has enjoyed playing with it.

Luke spun Gabba tunes all afternoon in the play room and showed off some sweet moves.

Will was a fabulous host and welcomed all his friends with big hugs!

He blew out both his candles like a champ.

Grammy made some cupcakes too per special Willy request. Will ate his one sprinkle at a time in true Willy fashion.

 Playing in his Gabba tent filled with balloons! I am still finding balloons all over the house.

The kids played pin-the-eye-on-Muno.

A couple of cute DJ Lances at the exclusive after party.

 It was a fun party and we were so grateful to the friends and family who helped us celebrate. Fitting in one more event in the already busy month of December is no small feat! We had all been at cousing Maya's party the day before so it really was a weekend of birthdays for our families. Next year we are going to try to plan consecutive parties for the two. Hmmm. We'll see if we can be organized enough to pull that one together.

20 facts about Will at 2:
1. Loves cereal. Eats bowls and bowls of it. Probably at least 4 bowls a day. His favorite are Froot Loops, Chocolate Cheerios, and Honey Nut Chex.
2. Loves to jump. On things. Off things. Just jump around. The kid has got so much energy to burn.
3. Favorite TV shows are Yo Gabba Gabba and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Still has a little soft spot for some Baby Einstein though. (Seriously, do kids ever outgrow Baby E??? Even Luke enjoys one every now and then.)
4. Not so much into wearing clothing. Really likes to show off his undressing skills in public places.
5. Temper. Temper. Temper. Stand back.
6. Bangs his head on things when he is really upset. Not just things, he specifically finds hard things. Shelves, tables, wall, ceramic tile. He will get up and walk over to the tile just to bang his head on it.
7.  Wants to be just like his big brother when he grows up. (And this drives Luke bananas.)
8.  Favorite CD is Mama Mia. He can't help but dance when its on.
9.  Gives some pretty sweet snuggles when he needs some love. 
10.  Knows a billion words. Speaks in sentences. Says "Awesome" on a daily basis (which makes me laugh).
11.  Knows all his capital letters, some of his lowercase letters, and numbers 0-10. Can sing most of the ABC song by himself.
12.  Loves to be read to. Current favorite books are Knuffle Bunny, anything Llama Llama, Dr. Seuss ABC's, and Berenstein Bears Clean House.
13.  Charmingly crooked teeth and cross bite create a cutie-pie smile but mommy and daddy forsee a lifetime of orthodontic bills.
14.  Will never turn down ham. Loves the stuff.
15.  Loves dogs, all sizes.
16.  Loves going to "school" and likes the idea of wearing a backpack. Once its on though he rethinks the decision and would really prefer if someone else would carry it.
17.  He needs a haircut. I can't stand when the hair falls over their collar. I'm sure when they are teenagers, my boys will make up for all the short cuts I keep them in now.
18.  He loves to put on a show when he is supposed to be sleeping. He has come up with all sorts of acrobatic tricks to "fall" (read flip, slip, jump, skip, etc) out of bed at bedtime--over the toddler rail of course.
19.  Watching him do somersaults is hilarious. I had him in tumbling once but it's mommy & me classes and he wears me out.  He can't go by himself until he is three.
20.  He is the funniest, sweetest, most energetic, smartest two year old I know and I wouldn't change him for the world.!

Catching up: Party at the Park (Luke's birthday, part two)

 Luke's party was at our favorite local park.  He is so easy to please! All he wanted for a party was the park, cupcakes, and balloons. Easy enough for me. Somehow, we have lucked out on his birthday weather every year and ended up with a beautiful day for a party. Last year on his birthday morning when he woke up he said, "Mommy, tell me all the people who are coming to my party." So I listed all the family and close friends we had invited. And his response was, pitifully, "I don't want those people. I only want George*." Of course George wasn't invited because we hadn't invited ANY of his school friends. So this year, you can bet I invited every school friend, church friend, family friend, minor acquaintance, neighbor, and all their siblings and cousins as well. Since it was at a park, the guest list was virtually unlimited. And all the right people showed up!

(*Name changed to protect the innocent)

Luke picked Handy Manny for the theme and all the kids got plastic tools on top of their cupcakes.

Count the four candles for Luke!!  It was really windy that day and we barely got the candles lit, but really all Luke cared about was licking the icing off the top.

And here is the evidence that they were there. . .

Family. . .

Neighbors and friends. . .

When it was time for presents, I felt a little like I was in the middle of this pint-sized mosh pit.

It was so much fun, and Luke enjoyed it. The wonderful thing about having it at the park was that I didn't have to plan any activities or games. The kids entertained themselves the entire time.

A big {LATE} thank you to everyone who came and made this day so special for Luke!

Luke's not the only one who grew in the last year. . .

Will's (now traditional) picture with Aunt Kim--

Hasn't Kim grown up so much??!? And Will, too. We even let him have his own cupcake this year!