Birthday Questionnaires

I almost forgot about the tradition I started last year with the kids. Audrey and Henry's birthday questionnaires last year were fun, quick and cute and I'm glad I remembered to do it again, albeit a little late... :)

So, without further ado...

Audrey's 2013 Birthday 20 Questions

1. What is your favorite color? Pink & purple
2. What is your favorite toy? My Little Ponies
3. What is your favorite fruit? Apples & bananas
4. What is your favorite TV show? My Little Pony
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Sandwiches (peanut butter & jelly or peanut butter & honey)
6. What is your favorite outfit? Church clothes
7. What is your favorite game? Slap Jack & Cootie
8. What is your favorite snack? Popcorn
9. What is your favorite animal? Cats & Horses & Dogs
10. What is your favorite song? My Little Pony song
11. What is your favorite book? Monkey books
12. Who is your best friend? Diana (from her Kindergarten class)
13. What is your favorite cereal? Honey Nut Cheerios
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Playing chase, playing "Tiger" with Taelin, Addie and Ariana
15. What is your favorite drink? Milk, water and apple juice
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? My tiger, Cootie and Twilight (a My Little Pony plush)
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Honey Nut Cheerios
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Mac & Cheese
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A cowgirl

Henry's 2013 Birthday 20 Questions

1. What is your favorite color? Blue
2. What is your favorite toy? Car Garage
3. What is your favorite fruit? Banana
4. What is your favorite TV show? Diego
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Nuggets
6. What is your favorite outfit? My Dinosaur shirt (he was wearing it at the time)
7. What is your favorite game? Hungy, Hungry Hippos
8. What is your favorite snack? Fruit snack.... & Red Vines
9. What is your favorite animal? Monkey!
10. What is your favorite song? Dinosaur Train song
11. What is your favorite book? A ducky book (I have no idea if he wants one or if he's talking about one we have...)
12. Who is your best friend? Jesus (okay, that's just cute!)
13. What is your favorite cereal? Honey Nut Cheerios
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Blow bubbles & feed fish
15. What is your favorite drink? Chocolate milk
16. What is your favorite holiday? Easter
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? All of my duckies (he has three, plus his pillow pet)
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Chocolate milk & red vines (No, I don't really give him that...)
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Beanie-weenies
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Cat in the Hat

I'm amazed at how many of these things have remained the same over the past year. I'm already looking forward to next year to see what changes, and what doesn't! :)

Henry's 4th Birthday Celebration

Ever since Audrey's birthday, Henry has been asking and asking about his own birthday. He really wanted it to be the day after Audrey's. Good thing he only had to wait ten days or we all would have gone crazy.

When the magical day finally arrived, it started out quite a bit like any other day. Audrey went to school. Dad was at work. Though, I do believe that his sister was the first one to wish him a Happy Birthday. She even beat me to it.

He requested Beanie-Weenies for dinner, his favorite! Grammy patiently agreed to make this for him, after the previous night's discussion failed to change his mind about it. ;)

Grammy and Papa had business at the MTC, so we started the present-opening festivities before the cake and candles event.

Grammy had noticed that one of Henry's favorite shirts was getting a bit small and found a replacement. Henry, as you can tell, was overjoyed. But, his enthusiasm reached new heights as the next gift was taken out of the bag.....

It's too bad a picture can't capture the giggle-squeal that came out of my boy at this moment.

So, we had to put it on right away and then the two kids raced around the house to self-made flying and other superhero sound effects.

Grandpa T sent "DOLLARS!" We counted them. He was very pleased to have four of them since he is four and he told us so... ;)

At this point, I think he was over the moon.

I think greeting/birthday cards still confuse him a bit.

Busy, Busy Town

Can we just imagine that these two are always this wonderful together? Yes, let's do... 

When the cousins arrived, we broke out the cake. (Henry requested strawberry cake with lemon frosting. It seems that he was channeling his father at the moment he asked.)

As it turns out, the frosting was too sweet for him and he didn't want to eat much more than a bite or two. We'll just have to mark that in our brains in case he asks for something equally interesting next year.

The gift from Audrey (even to her own surprise) was a stomp rocket. We put that to use a few days later, and I suppose I'll have to blog those pictures soon.

Every boy needs a matchbox car garage with ramps! It took both of his parents about a half hour to put it all together, which was a bit better than me putting together Audrey's My Little Pony castle by myself the week before.

Another lovely birthday. Simple and quiet, just the way we like it... it won't be long before friend parties are the order of the day... *Shudder!*

So, Happy Birthday to my boy! He's growing up so fast!

Audrey Turns Six!

Yet again, I have managed to keep my eldest child alive and well for another year. I don't know why I'm so impressed with this accomplishment, but I really am. Every year I'm astounded that I have been reasonably successful for a WHOLE year.

This year was fairly easy. She got to have her dad home for her birthday, which was almost present enough. But, add her My Little Pony obsession into the mix and you have Birthday Gold.

We asked her what kind of cake she wanted for her birthday and she asked for Strawberry Short Cake. I did it the way my mom always did when we were growing up. A slice of angel food cake, a pile of sweetened strawberries and a dollop of whipped topping. Delish!

We got the colored flame candles for fun. They didn't work as well as the box appeared, but that's okay.

We got a candid picture of Cami when she wasn't looking. Henry sports his new mohawk while he chows down.

Eden is looking startled. Pretty much every time she looks at Uncle Ben since he came back from his seven month training escapade in the Army.

The bird purse from Nanny and Grandfather was a favorite. She was quick to store some of her favorite things in it. (I.E. My Little Ponies)

A Tinkerbell card from Grandpa T and Grandma Linda came with cash, something every child wants but usually has no idea what to do with... ;)

Princess Celestia. This was opened right away, and likewise almost right way, a pony shoe was "lost" and had to be found by Mom.

Okay, we splurged and got her a playset: Princess Cadence and Shining Armor in their Wedding Castle. She's so invested in the My Little Pony franchise, we figured it would be worth it. What we didn't take into account was the roughly 45 minutes of adult assembly it took. Worth it? Yes. The bonus is that Henry finally has a boy pony toy to play with.

She also got some clothes from Grammy and Papa, which she has already put to use.

Next, we need to teach her about Thank You cards and put her new-found writing skills to use. :)

Birthday Catch Up

The last couple of weeks have been a little stressful for me... "What?!" you say? "You? Stressed out? The Super Mom?" Tee hee, I say! You are too kind for words!

Okay, I'm done now.

Looking at my blog postings, it seems I fell off the face of the planet right after Miss A's birthday. In a way, I suppose I have. I got caught up in a roaring whirlwind of birthdays, bikes, party planning, Diablo III ordering, visiting family, a  factory tour, decadent gourmet cookies, a graduation ceremony followed by a graduation party and a surprise visit that had been planned since January.

I will get to most of those later.

Today, I will finish what I started and share the birthday fun.
I posted last time before we had taken pictures of the birthday girl blowing out her candles.

She always feels shy when she's sung to.

She blew out her candles on a small cake, but...

It was the Cupcake in a Cone that really did it for her. She had been concerned earlier when she caught a peek of them. She thought they were really ice cream and that they would melt.

Little brother!

Frosting on the nose! What a happy girl!

She got a bike for her birthday, and we will post on that soon.

Now, on to Henry's birthday!

Just as I did on Audrey's birthday, I asked Henry 20 questions on his birthday.

Henry's 2012 Birthday Questionaire

1. What is your favorite color?  Orange
2. What is your favorite toy?  Ball-Popper
3. What is your favorite fruit?  Banan-ies
4. What is your favorite TV show?  Spongebob Squarepants (I think he has watched it only once or twice.)
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch?  Sandwiches
6. What is your favorite outfit?  My bike  (I guess we'll have to work on his vocabulary so that he will understand what an outfit is by his next birthday. ;D )
7. What is your favorite game?  Bingo  (I didn't quite understand this answer at the time, but I now remember that we played Bingo on St. Patrick's Day. What a memory!)
8. What is your favorite snack?  Fruit Snacks
9. What is your favorite animal?  Duck
10. What is your favorite song?  Barbie Song (Aqua - Barbie Girl)
11. What is your favorite book? Cookie  (Cookie's Week - A story about a cat that gets into a lot of trouble)
12. Who is your best friend?  Audrey
13. What is your favorite cereal?  Honey Nut Cheerios
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside?  Play with bubbles
15. What is your favorite drink?  Milk
16. What is your favorite holiday?  Halloween
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night?  Squacky and MingMing (His two stuffed ducks)
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?  Honey Nut Cheerios again
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday?  Spaghetti
20. What do you want to be when you grow up?  A grown-up

Henry had a great birthday. Nanny and Grandfather came into town and spent the day with us. We drove up to the Sweet's Candy Company factory in Salt Lake and took a tour of the place. It was a lot of fun, though Audrey was disappointed that she couldn't go into any of the really interesting rooms where the mixing and cooking were going on. Everyone liked the candy samples we got along the way, however. I'd share pictures but we weren't allowed to take a camera in; not even our phones if they had cameras.

After the factory, Nanny and Grandfather directed us to a little cookie shop they had discovered the day before. Rubysnap is a wonderful gourmet cookie shop in downtown Salt Lake. The cookies all have women's names. I had Judy. The moment I finished it, I wanted another. I've been fantasizing about this cookie shop ever since.

Henry also got a bike for his birthday. He has yet to work out how to pedal and steer at the same time, but he'll get there.

Instead of birthday cake, we had waffle bowl sundaes. YUM!

Just in case you were going to call Shenanigans, we didn't do the candle-blowing ceremonies for our children on the same day. Henry just likes that shirt.

As for the rest of the craziness of the past couple of weeks, I'll get to that... tomorrow... maybe.

Happy Birthday, Audrey Buttons!

Five years ago, on a Sunday quite like today, my sweet little girl made her entrance into the world. She has given me so much over the last five years, including the satisfaction that I've managed keep a child alive and happy for FIVE years!! ;)

I put her hair up twists last night so that she would have cute little curls for her birthday! Miraculously, she kept them in all night!

She asked if she could wear something special on her birthday, so we sprang for an adorable dress.

This year, I am starting a tradition of asking my kids 20 Questions on their birthday. I got the idea here. Over the years, their answers will change and develop. My plan is to create a memory book for them that they can keep when they grow up. :)

Audrey's 2012 20 Questions

1. What is your favorite color?  Pink and purple

2. What is your favorite toy?  My Squirrels (She's referring to the Calico Critters of Cloverleaf Corners Squirrel Family that she got from Nanny for her birthday.)

3. What is your favorite fruit?  Bananas... and apples!

4. What is your favorite TV show:?  Kai-Lan and Hello Kitty

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch?  Peanut Butter and Honey sandwich

6. What is your favorite outfit?  New Pink Check Dress

7. What is your favorite game?  Shoots and Ladders

8. What is your favorite snack?  Fruit Snacks

9. What is your favorite animal?  Horses and Cats... and Bunnies

10. What is your favorite song?  I am a Child of God

11. What is your favorite book?  Monkey Books (similar to Leap Frog) and Olivia Books (for her birthday, from Grammy)

12. Who is your best friend?  Henry

13. What is your favorite cereal?  Honey Bunches of Oats

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside?  Play with my friend, Henry

15. What is your favorite drink?  Orange Juice

16. What is your favorite holiday?  Valentine's Day

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night?  My Bunny

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?  Toast

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Spaghetti and Cake

20. What do you want to be when you grow up?  A Cowgirl

Happy Birthday, Audrey!

We love you so much!!

The Birthday Boy

Henry's 2nd birthday was earlier this week. He is so different from his sister and SUCH a BOY! 

We went out for breakfast just like we did for Audrey's birthday. We went to the store for a last-minute birthday gift. After that, we went to a nearby park, fed the ducks and played for a while. Ben asked for this night off work as well. It was nice to have him home the whole day.

Ben and I were remiss in our duties as parents and forgot the camera for the candle ceremony! Henry had a banana cream pie and blew out both candles in one try! :)

This is his "ham" face.

From Grammy and Papa

It was a cute sports outfit. Henry was more intrigued with the ribbon. He kept saying balloon. He probably wondered if he'd been gypped somehow and didn't get the balloon that's SUPPOSED to be attached to all ribbons!

Once he realized that there were shorts, he wanted to put them on. One thing this kid is good at is taking off and putting on pants.

Just like Audrey, Henry picked out his pillow pet. He, however, was forced to wait a week and a half to enjoy his.

A duck, of course!

It took me quite a long time to get this gift out of the box. It was SCREWED in, of all things!

The Dad.

Grammy entertained the birthday boy with his very own hat made out of wrapping paper. Please note Mom trying to unscrew yet another superfluous piece of plastic off the bottom of the truck.

FINALLY!!

Audrey was a really great big sister for his birthday. He certainly was a king for his special day!

The Birthday Girl

We celebrated Audrey's 4th birthday almost two weeks ago! It seems that the older my daughter gets, the more surreal the idea of having children gets. 

Ben took the evening off work so that he could spend as much time with his little girl as possible!

We started the day out going out to breakfast. It was a nice change of pace for the kids who normally get cereal or toast for breakfast. We also went to Toys R Us to spend Audrey's free $3 certificate. Of course, she got a princess crown!

I went all out and made my first two layer cake. Audrey thought it was the coolest! ;)

Pink, pink, purple, pink and more pink.

She blew out all the candles on the first try!

The Cake Cutter.

Cousin Lily

Aunt Dara

Audrey already knew what was in the wrapping. She picked it out herself when her mother got an attack of indecisiveness.

I should have guessed she'd want a horse. She always asks if the horses are out when we pass by a local horse barn.

Cousin Eva was right by her side throughout the present opening.

Mama reads the card from Grandpa T.

At this point, Henry decided he'd had enough and wanted out of his chair. What a sincere look of supplication!

Aunt Dara was BEYOND ready to have that baby out! (She had the baby just a few days later.)

The puzzles from Nanny! The look says it all. :)

Audrey had a great day and was pooped by the time it was over.