It's my party and I'll cry if I want to...

Happy Birthday? Xavier cried and threw tantrums the morning of his birthday party. I worried, knowing that some of those "wrong side of the bed" days are just better to be left alone. I almost called off the party but he brightened up and the party turned out great in the end. Whew!

For months before his birthday, X told me he wanted two cakes--a dump truck cake and a Mickey Mouse cake. Then, in the last month, he changed to a dump truck cake and a Nemo cake. When it came down to it, though, he just wanted a dump truck cake. I thought it turned out really well! It's hard to be sneaky when he's with me 24-7, so I decided not to fight it and had him help me instead of making the cake a surprise. He was thrilled to put the frontloader on the cake and sprinkle the yellow rocks. He also got a big kick out of me putting frosting in the dump truck to make the "dirt" stick.

We decorated the house inside and out, front and back, with orange and yellow balloons and construction tape that said "Birthday Zone" on it.

X's Aunt Jenn took him in the morning so we could set up. The kids were so excited when they got their first look at the party zone!


Xavier immediately went to work at his workbench.

Lilia, Xavier, and Zelia quickly decorated their sand buckets before playing in the blue sand. (Blue sand is a lot of fun but I didn't plan ahead on what to do with all the spilled blue sand...)

Joe set up a demolition game that was a great hit!

and of course there was cake and ice cream...

...and presents!
(Sorry again to Zelia who got tackled by X over a mix-up
with the party favor bags and his presents)

And while we cleaned up, the kids got pulled in the wagon by grandpa's riding lawnmower. This activity is a daily favorite now. Even the dogs get excited!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Xavier!

P.S. Three seems to be a big turning point for Xavier. He feels very grown up (I'm "big" now) and everything he does revolves around that number. How many cars get to sleep with him at night? Three. How many crackers does he want? Three. Why is he going peepee in the potty now and why did he refuse the Sesame Street potty seat in favor of the big one? Because he's three, of course!

Good Kids / Good Books

After taking a multicultural children's literature class, I feel like I am better at analyzing and picking children's books that stretch Xavier's intellectual and cultural boundaries as well as my own. Does that sentence sound like I've been studying educational theories all morning? I have! Anyway, I am always on the lookout for interesting reads and I even think Joe might have been influenced by my class since he picked out some really great children's books from the library for bedtime. Some of recent favorites are:

*Tunjur! Tunjur! Tunjur! A Palestinian folktale about a little pot who gets what she deserves for stealing, even if she was doing it for her mama. I still have no idea how to pronounce the title correctly, which is supposed to mimic the sound of a rolling pot. Xavier loved this story and laughed and laughed at the "reward" the pot gets for stealing. (I'm not going to tell you, you'll just have to read it!) After a few reads, he would read it to himself or to me in his own words. So cute. I love this age!

*Hansel and Diesel & The Ugly Truckling by David Gordon--Two books that Xavier loved because they had to do with cars and trucks and I thought they were amusing versions of the original fairytales. Warning: Parents may get disturbed by these books and wonder about the meaning of the original stories. For example, I was shocked when the "wicked winch" in Hansel and Diesel tried to grind up the little trucks while they were sleeping. I mean, I guess the witch in the gingerbread house was going to cook and eat Hansel and Gretel but this seemed awful! Then again, Xavier thought the story was hilarious and wanted me to read it again and again.

And how does the Ugly Duckling story go again? How did a swan get born to a duck? Or, in the case of the The Ugly Truckling, how did a truck get born to a plane? Does that point to the indiscretion of Mama Duckling? It really had me thinking for a while there. And what mama wouldn't love her child even if he is different or would allow her other children to make fun of him? Or let her child go off with another family just because he looks more like them than the members of your own family? That's crazy! Obviously, the author doesn't understand the bonds between parents and their children. Still, I had fun reading them and there is at least one more twisted fairytale book out there by Gordon that I haven't read yet...

*What Mama Needs--This is a feel-good book about how a mom works with her child's imaginative play and dress-up fun, such as asking the "genie" for three wishes, including cleaning up her room. I think I like it better than Xavier but he does like all the fun costumes and he reads the ending with me and then always gives me a hug--just what this mama needs!


If you've been missing Xavi's pictures (or blogging) like I have, here are a few things to recap the time since I started my last semester in grad school:

Loving his cousin

Practicing the art of picture-taking

He likes to do close-ups of prints and patterns, including the piano bench here.

What great shots of unique perspectives!
This photographer is going places!

Imagination at work:
X & Z driving "cars" made of couch pillows and toilet paper roll wheels.

Easter egg hunt--this orange egg was one step into the dirt
and he didn't want to get dirty, so he's looking at me for help.

New outfit for Easter Sunday

And the aftermath of the run-in with the car door
on the way to church a few minutes later. Ouch!!!!
Okay, break time is up. Back to studying. I will hopefully surface from the books again soon. Love you all!

How lucky are we

Who could ask for a better blessing than having your good friend (and your child's best friend!) move to where you just moved? It is so much fun to just be able to call Amy up and do things together like go to the park, do crafts, or go bowling! We already know each other so we just relax and have fun! The other week, Amy saved the kids and I from the crazy lady who leaned on my car in the middle of a busy street and tried to open our door (and who later showed up at the park we were trying to go to) by letting me quickly change plans about the park and play in the safety of her parents' house instead. Just wanted to say thanks!

We also got together once and the kids had a blast trying out scissors! I would never had thought to let two or three-year-olds practice using scissors but they were naturals.

Amy also introduced me to the ramps that bowling alleys have on hand for kids to use--a wonderful contraption that kids think is fun and helps the game move along faster, too!




The kids got a bit tired as the game started to run into nap time. Bowling advice? Only do one game and let two kids bowl under the same "name" (waiting your turn isn't so hard that way and at our bowling alley it's cheaper, too!).

Terrific "T"

Our "T" pictures the kids helped me find:
toilet paper, teacup, toy, train, tree, table(s), turtle, tiny Dora, and toes!

P.S. If you try this at home, it helps to make a list of things they can find beforehand (not too long) and then ask the kids to find the items so you can take a picture of it for them. Afterward, print the pictures off and write in all the words and the letter you're focusing on, like Tt. It lasted almost 15 minutes for us and the best find was the turtle among all the bath toys!

California Adventures

A Happy Minnie Birthday to Z!

The birthday girl!

Joe and I finally bought our last year's anniversary, Christmas, and this year's Valentine's present--a new camera--just in time to try it out for Zelia's birthday at California Adventure.

The weather was great and the blossoms blooming!

Patiently waiting in line for Z's birthday ticket.

Handy Manny and his tools up close!

X did not want to leave this spot.

Waiting to meet Minnie Mouse...

The fun Playhouse Disney live performance!

(We also got to see Aladdin live which was very impressive.)

We met LOTS of characters throughout the day.

Just being funny for the picture!
I don't think he even saw the stick behind him...

X may have been confused on Wall-E, though, since it was only a cutout.

Showing his own character! He posed himself.

The Redwoods climbing area--X loved it, especially jumping in the water!

The Pixar parade--before we ran to catch one last ride all the way across the park.

Xavi made sure I got this shot of Buzz Lightyear on the camera!

Disney puzzles while waiting for our dinner at Denny's

And at the end of every day...the boy we love so much!