Abby's Barnyard Party

We had Abby's party at the Barnyard this past weekend, and it was a blast! Abby was in heaven with 3 of her favorite things: animals, sugar, and a swingset!! I planned a "Minnie Mouse" theme, since that's her favorite character these days. As usual, I got a little carried away and my poor family that came into town had to deal with a few of my "diva" moments. Sorry family! I appreciated all the help though :) All in all, it was worth it to see the look on Abby's face. She had so much fun and wouldn't stop smiling the whole party. Can't believe Miss Priss is (almost) THREE!!

The Barnyard staff was great; they had the party scheduled down to each minute (Hello, no wonder I picked this place!) First, we started off with a boat ride out into the lake to feed the ducks. Unfortunately, the ducks were hiding in the shade b/c it was 85 degrees. Not kidding. But the kids enjoyed the boat ride. 

Then we moved onto feeding the animals. First up, the cows.

Then the goats & pigs......

And then perhaps the best part was where all the kids got into the pen with the bunnies & baby chicks. This was clearly everyone's favorite, probably b/c these were the smallest animals and easiest to handle. I was not sure how Nate would react b/c he is little anxious around animals, but he loved the bunnies! (Until his jumped out of his basket, onto the ground, and Nate hopped up onto the bench and said "Will it eat me!?") Oh my sweet boy.

This is the funniest sequence of pictures from the whole party!! 

Abby: "Hey Anthony, watch this!"

This girl loved loved loved the bunnies and was carrying that thing around like she owned the place. Every other kid sat quietly on the bench and kept the bunny in the basket like they were supposed to. Except the birthday girl!!! She loved the baby chicks equally as much.

Please notice how Nate is using just.one.finger to pet the chick. He was a little weary of his "claws!"

Then it was time for the pony rides!! Up first, Miss Hollywood....

Then the party moved into the barnyard, where we had Minnie cupcakes and rice krispies treats and cookies! Yes, it was a sugar coma waiting to happen!

After singing Happy Birthday and chowing down on some snacks, the kids finished out the party on the playground. It was a beautiful day and Abby is lucky to have such sweet friends!

Since the party wasn't until 3 pm, we needed something to hold her off all day while I was making last-minute party preparations. My mom talked us into giving her our gift, early. A tricycle!!! Now she can be a big girl and "go ride bikes" with Greg & Nate. To say she was thrilled was an understatement.

And then after the party and a pizza picnic for dinner, Abby opened presents (while we watched the AL vs. LSU game)! Two of her favorites including her talking Care Bear from Nate:

And her two new Leapster games from her aunts:

Thank you to all the sweet friends who came to the party, and to my family for traveling so far to help me and celebrate with our baby girl!!

(Abby's real birthday is this Saturday, so stay tuned for a long-winded, teary-eyed blogpost! :)

Long Live the Eagles!

Nate's soccer team, the Eagles, finished their season on Thursday. Nate had so.much.fun this year and improved a ton over the course of 2 months! We worked especially hard on learning to play "defense" and I am proud to say my boy is a born defender (like his Momma)! As the season went on, he would measure his success in each game by how many "blocks" he got rather than how many goals he scored. Click here for a short video of my little defender, which was taken about 2 weeks ago.

 

After every game, the parents from both teams form a tunnel on the field, and we all clap for the kids as they run through. Of course, the kids love this and would do it 100x if we all stood there that long.

 After the game on Thursday, Coach Elle gave out certificates and medals to each member of the team. And when she called Nate's name, she called him the "hardest working kid she's ever seen." That didn't mean much to Nate, but Greg and I were super proud!!

I'm not sure who is going to miss our Tuesday/Thursday soccer nights more, Nate or Abby. Nate cried for 15 minutes once we got to the car to go home. (Not kidding. Maybe I need to look into an indoor/winter soccer league!?) And Abby will miss playing on the sidelines with David (Anthony's little brother) and Mindy (Mason's big sister).

 

Some of the team went out for pizza Thursday after the game and Nate was in heaven! He didn't take off his medal the whole time, and I loved watching him bond with his little buddies. One of the dads gave him a quarter for the bubble machine & he was so thrilled.

 

We will definitely be playing soccer again next season! (Hurry up, March!) I'm just so glad that Nate has really taken a liking to soccer, because it's something both Greg and I grew up playing and enjoying so much. Let's just hope this continues!!

Fall Festivities, Part 2

Tuesday was "costume day" at Nate's soccer practice. Of course he was thrilled to wear his Power Ranger costume to yet another place. And Abby - as always - was thrilled to see her BFF Mindy, who is the sweet older sister of one of Nate's buddies.

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On Halloween, I opted to go into Abby's class, since I'd be to Nate's last year. (Trying to be fair, here!) Don't let this smile fool you, this only lasted for 30 seconds. Then the meltdowns began....

It was just a total disaster. She wouldn't listen to the teachers, would barely stand in line to trick-or-treat down the halls, she'd throw her Minnie ears down the hall & step or them, or she wanted me to carry her and when I said no she would lay on the floor and kick her legs. 

One of her teachers, Miss Melissa (shown below) stared at her - many times - in amazement and said to me "I've never seen her like this!" Every time they tell me she's an angel & the sweetest thing at school, I look surprised. And now they know why!!

This is a common face I get from Abby at home. Pretty much all.the.time!

After trick-or-treating, we went back to the classroom for a few songs (and she participated in 1 of 4) and then there was a dance party with the other 2 yr old class. Again, she wasn't cooperating so I just left and I think that made it all better. Guess I know which kids' class I'll be going to for the Christmas party!!

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On Halloween night, Greg was teaching late so I met up with some neighbors at the front of the neighborhood to walk around together. Nate was thrilled that he finally got to bring his sword along!

Is this not the cutest costume ever?!?!? My neighbor Paige made it for her daughter, Loa. Best Umpa Loompa ever!! And everyone else in her family was a Willy Wonka character as well. Even Paige's mom dressed up!

A friend from MOMs Group came over to trick-or-treat with us b/c she has a lame neighborhood! And Abby has been bonding lately with this little girl, Mia. They are around the same age and just moved here a few months ago. 

After trick-or-treating, we met Greg at home and sat outside since it was a beautiful night and not too chilly. The kids had a ball handing out candy to the "big kids" that came by, and Nate & Greg rode bikes in the dead end together as well. 

It was a good Halloween and a busy week! Now onto Abby's birthday party on Saturday.....no rest for the weary :)

Fall Festivities, Part 1

I just realized I have 6 different Fall events to post about, so I will have to divide this into 2 blogposts to prevent it from getting too lengthy!

First up, I'm going to toot my own horn! I hosted Bunco for my MOMs group at church last Friday. Of course I went straight to Pinterest the minute I found out I was hosting for October. Love that site! Here are a few pics of my decor & some of the food. Everyone brought an appetizer or dessert to contribute, so as a result, we had a huge (and yummy) spread. The drinks were a-flowing as well, and I think the "Witches' Brew" I made was a big hit, since people stayed well past 11:30 pm :)

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 Probably my favorite day of the year was on Sunday...carving pumpkins! The funny thing is, I HATE carving. I hate the goo, the seeds, scraping it all out, trying to do a good design....I hate every bit of it. But I love love love to see how "into it" Greg gets. He spends hours working on a very elaborate design, and the kids are always so excited once he's done. And "carving pumpkin day" goes hand in hand with something we call nuts & bolts, which is a homemade chex mix that Greg grew up with. Such a fun family day!

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Monday, we headed to Sorority Row on campus with some friends to meet up for early trick-or-treating. It was super windy/cold but the kids hung in there. And since they each came away with about 10 lbs of candy, I think they had a good time :)

Stay tuned for "Fall Festivities, Part 2!"