May: Celebration Overload 2013 (Birthdays and Mother's Day)

The beginning of May is one of my favorite times of the year.  My kids' birthdays being around the same time as Mother's Day seems like serendipity, as I can't help but reflect on the day they were born and (well, at least with the first one) the day I became a mother.

Yes, I use this picture a lot - because I CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF IT.

This is the first year we didn't do any kind of party for the boy child, and it was fantastic.  Now that he's in Kindergarten, if you invite one kid, you have to invite them all.  We did that last year with his preschool class and it was fun, but I just seemed to be grasping at straws trying to find a place to celebrate.  For his first two years it was easy to have people over to our house or a friend's house, since the crowd was small and consisted of 'baby' friends.  For year three and four, with preschool friends, going to a park worked out fine; but the weather can be fickle in May.  So last year we decided on the local Children's Museum, since it's one of his favorite places to go.

This year, we wanted to start making things a bit more low key and do something that would be fun for both kids, as we're starting to celebrate the birthdays together.  It would be an understatement to say that my son is obsessed with any and all sea creatures, and the current favorite is sharks.  My daughter also loves all things Nemo, although her favorite gifts this year included a fully operational Buzz Lightyear and a tea set; this just about sums up my daughter.  So, the one big common thread is that they both have the best time at the Aquarium.  To make it special, we headed down to Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium for the first time and it did not disappoint - mainly because: SHARKS.

baby girl and my favorite: the walruses - 3000 pounds of cute.

I hope we can keep the tradition of a family outing for birthdays; it seemed a lot more meaningful to the kids and, of course, it's much less stressful.  Not once did either of them pipe up wondering where the big party was, and I'm quite happy to keep things this way until they do.  

Ah, and of course this weekend was Mother's Day.  The best gifts ever:

front and inside of big brother's card

yearly Mother's Day hand print poem from baby girl's toddler  group

I also started doing this questionnaire I found on one of my all time favorite blogs, All and Sundry, when big brother was three.  Every year the answers are priceless, age six being no exception:

Okay, ready for some questions? Here goes. 

What is something I always say to you? I love you

What makes me happy? me being good
What makes me sad? being bad

How do I make you laugh? Tickle me

What do you think I was like as a child? You liked pugs (true, I told him a story about how I met a pug when I was a little girl and always wanted one)

How old am I? 23 (looooove him!)

How tall am I? 10ft (he ascertains as he starts by my feet and counts off, raising his hand little by little until he gets to my head)

What is my favorite thing to do? Cuddle with me

What do I do when you’re not around? You read a book (smart kid)

What am I really good at? Working on the computer and reading

What am I not really good at? Doing the hula hoop (hah! true)

What is my favorite food? Garlic bread (I can never leave garlic bread untouched when we have some with a pasta dinner)

What makes me proud of you? when I do nice stuff with my sister

What do you and I do together? Play together

How do you know that I love you? Because you’re the best mom

What is one thing you wish you could change about me? that you’d let me do whatever I want to

What do you wish you could go and do with me? go and buy a real great white (um, I'll get right on it!)

fin