First Love

Do you remember your first love? Was he the dashing boy who drove the Corvette? Or was she the girl behind the counter that always gave you extra whipped cream on your sundae? Or ... perhaps was she the cute little red-head in your preschool class? In Maysen's case, he's already discovered his first crush, I do believe.

Ms. Claire has been a household name these days, so it seemed natural to invite her to Maysen's birthday party this past weekend. She came and did just great with most of her fellow classmates at the party. Last night, we sat down to do Maysen's Thank-You cards. He got his markers out and his stickers and as he made each card I saw a trend. Most were filled with cars, monsters, snakes, dinosaurs that he would fictitiously draw with is markers. When he was all done he brought me the stack. He showed me each card and who it was to go to. He explained what the snakes were, and which dinosaur was attacking what town, etc. That is, until we got to the last card. You see, Claire had just been "one of the boys to me". That is, until he opened that last card.

"...And mom. This one is for Claire. I made it special. For her." And as I looked inside I no longer saw the dinosaur attacking the city ... or the snake eating the big mouse. I saw ... a long-stemmed purple flower. For Claire. (see photo above)

I although the other 90% of the cards were filled with total BOY MANIA, I realized that I am so truly lucky to have such a thoughtful, soft, caring, and sweet little boy.

Happy 5th Birthday, Bean.

If you put it into true-time form, Maysen is now 1/2 a decade old. Thursday we had his party at school with school friends. Last night was his "real" birthday so we went to ChuchECheese to let him play games and such (Sterilizing between toys ... germaphobe was out in full force). Today was his "friend" party. Next year we're going to have to nix this 3-day birthday event. It's expensive, exhausting, and ridiculous!

Maysen went next door while Nate and I finished up decorations. Fin and mom were taking naps so we got it all done quick. Guests started coming at 3 and before too long they were all here. First everyone looked for their goody bag with their name on it. Then with they ran around and found scooby clues to see who could find the most ... they all "won" Scooby Snacks. Nate volunteered to be "Mummified" with Charmin toilet paper and before too long the kids wanted to be mummies too. After everyone were scary mummies then they chased Maysen through the house. The next game was "who can pick up the most toilet paper?" Worked like a charm. 12 kids running around picking up toilet paper? Genius :)

What party would be complete without "Duck, Duck, Goose". Well, we had our own rendition of it ... "Shaggy, Shaggy, SCOOBY". The 5yr olds didn't quite have the whole concept down, but who cares? We let them run and chase and take turns. They loved it.

And with a fury of tissue paper being thrown to and fro, I looked up to see gifts being torn apart. No supervision, just like a pack of wolves going after a ham. We haulted the show and started over, courtesy of dad's lap. He hit the jackpot with lots of great gifts from all his friends.

At 9:34am on Friday, November 13th my baby turned 5. We laid in bed right when the clock turned 9:34am and daddy called. We talked about his story of when he was born; how he had to eat right away because his blood sugar was low, and how he peed on all the nurses because he came out peeing everywhere. He's such a brilliant boy, full of life and energy. He's been a lot of fun and he's truly my best friend. Happy Birthday, Bean.

Chicken Little and Scooby!

Happy Halloween 2009! Its been a wild few months and we continued with our little Chicken and Scooby filled night of Tricks and Treats.

Unfortunately I was in Urgent Care getting breathing treatments and steroids while the boys were carving their pumpkins but they had a great time. Really all they did was play with the pumpkin guts but that's all that really counts, isn't it?

Griffin wasn't too sure about his costume until we got outside and he got to carry his pumpkin that Nanny-Wendy brought for him with his own name on it. He started getting the hang of things, even saying "Tank Too" and "Bye-Bye" and waving his little wing while falling off their steps to leave.

This looks so real when Maysen puts his head down. Nate and I kept making him put his head down so we could giggle at him.

Last night was the big anticipated USC/Oregon game. It started at a bad time, 5:00pm so we set our DVR and concentrated on the kids and their night until we put them to bed. Then we pretended the game was live (minus commercials) and had a great time watching the game. GO DUCKS! We cut the Trick or Treating night off due to recent illnesses for all involved and the boys were pooped even after our very brief escapade. Tonight we'll finish "Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" with popcorn and settle in for the anticipated Thanksgiving Holiday soon to come! (first stop: Maysen's 5th birthday, though.)