Sunday, February 23, 2014

Jacoby is Seven!

We had an awesome day celebrating Jacoby's seventh birthday.  To say the last seven years have flown by would be an understatement.  We are so proud to be the parents of this boy and love watching him grow, learn, and become his own person.

So, on to the day:

Our theme was Legends of Chima by Lego.  Yes, technically our second Lego party, but a much-loved activity in our house.

 Jacoby invited two friends from school.

 Building Chima speedorz was our main activity at the party.

 Birthday treats were cake push-pops, popcorn, blue jello 7's, and blue punch.

 Busy building their speedor racers.

 Racing their speedorz

 And having a great time!

 Ready to eat and celebrate!

 Opening presents 

 Trying to get four boys to pose for a picture...hmmm.

 Playing our favorite Lego bingo game.

 The birthday boy and his latest Lego creation: Cragger's Commandship (Lego Chima set)

 He's quite the master builder.  This was not the only set he received today, and he did manage to complete 2 out of the three before and after the party.  I asked if his brain hurt, but he said no.  (:

Lego crayons and notebooks are going to school tomorrow to serve as our birthday favors for the class.

Birthday Interview
1.  What is your favorite thing to do? build with Legos
2.  What do you want to be when you grow up? be a Lego instruction maker
3.  What is your favorite food? pizza
4.  Who do you like to spend time with? A. (friend from school and party attendee)
5.  What do you do really well? I play and build things with Legos
6.  What makes you laugh? Morgan
7.  What is the best time of day? evening and playing with friends
8.  What are you afraid of? nothing
9.  Who is your best friend? L. (friend from school and party attendee)
10.  What do you like to do with your family? play games
11.  What do you love to learn about? dinosaurs
12.  Where do you like to go? Montana
13.  What is your favorite book? Yoda Chronicles
14.  If you had one with what would it be? build all the Lego sets on my wish list

Happy Birthday, Jacoby!

Monday, February 17, 2014

February Happenings

Our days have been busy.  Warmer temps have come and melted the snow away, so we've been enjoying some much needed time outside.  The boys are doing really well.  We had a good parent/teacher conference with Jacoby's teacher.  He's doing great in first grade and we're really pleased with his teacher and progress.

Justin continues to work extremely hard on his dissertation.  He's hoping to have it mostly completed by the time he starts teaching his graduate course at the end of March.  I'm working hard to keep my head above water.  I found out on Friday that I'll be able to stay at home on Tuesdays and Thursdays this summer with the boys.  So looking forward to it!
   
 Jacoby's Valentine's Day box

The boys' Valentines

 Always doing art projects...

 I found winter coats and boots for the next few years at the thrift store...all for $17!

 We've been watching the Olympics, and sometimes we have picnic dinners too

 The boys got a Lego table (my first Ikea hack) and small Lego sets for Valentine's Day

 We spent a lot of time outside, enjoying the beautiful weather.  The piles and piles of snow have melted, for now.

 Jacoby has been saving his allowance for weeks and did some extra chores to be able to make a special purchase

 And here it is...he's been talking about this set for awhile.  He put it together all by himself.

 Snack at the park

 Enjoying the three-day weekend...a typical morning at our house

 An upcoming event next weekend...Jacoby invited a couple of friends over from school.  We're excited to celebrate his special day.

Monday, February 3, 2014

A Ski Day & A Birthday

We went up to Winter Park for the day to ski.  The boys took a half day lesson, so Justin and I got in a few runs on our own.  The mountains have gotten a ton of snow, so the skiing was great and the boys had a lot of fun too.

They were the only two kids in their lesson, so they got a lot of one-on-one time with the instructor. They went on the chair lift and skied the green runs.

It was a beautiful day in the mountains...I heart Colorado (even when our team doesn't bring home the Vince Lombardi Trophy)!
 When we picked them up, the boys wanted to show us what they had learned.  Word on the street is that Morgan E. likes nothing better than to point his skis straight down the hill and let 'em go!  This should not surprise me in the least!

 Jacoby is more cautious and controlled (thank goodness one of them is!) and he's ready to start making turns, etc.

 Did I mention that Morgan thought he was going to be taking ski jumping lessons?!  Guess I know what we'll be watching on the Olympics!  They were pretty whipped by the end of the lesson.

 
In other news, the boys sleep together on the weekends.  They are still crazy about Legos and incorporate them into all aspects of their play.  School is going really well for both.  Jacoby just started the 18th Junie B. Jones book (she's now a first grader too!).  We finished up Freckle Juice and are reading Paddington Bear together.  I think we'll move back into the world of Roald Dahl this spring.  

I had a terrific birthday.  The boys spoiled me with picture frames they painted, a cactus, a laser level (sweet!), flowers, and a lovely dinner.  They made the day very special.