Birthday Party!!

I went to pick up Brytin one day after school and his friend, Bella, told me she'd been invited to Brytin's birthday party. Kids say the darndest things! We had about a month before his birthday, so I figured there was plenty of time to plan a party.

I asked Brytin what he wanted to do for his birthday, and he said he wanted to invite his friends to play at our house. I started listing off names of his classmates, and he said yes to all 21 other kids...Chris and I obviously don't have a house big enough for a party for 22 kids. Wanting to make Brytin happy, I suggested we have a party at the park. He liked my idea.

When we got home, he asked Daddy if he could have a birthday party. Daddy, of course, said "Yes!" We decided that it would be best to have the party on Friday Dec 4 at the big park in Spring Valley. Super fun!

The kids would go on a field trip that morning and then go to Brytin's party in the afternoon. Yay!

The next day, Brytin and I went to the store picked up invitations and some decorations. We got the invites out before the week-long Thanksgiving vacation.

I had some moms RSVP right away, so that was exciting.

I planned to have pizza from Little Ceasar's and play some games. I definitely wanted to have a three-legged race, and Brytin decided he wanted to play Pin the Tail on the Donkey.

The Friday of the party, I went to the park around noon to secure a spot with tables. I put up a ton of decorations!


I even decorated Brytin and Chris!


Around 3:30, ten of Brytin's classmates showed up.


The kids played pin the tail on the donkey, and then I lined them up for the three-legged race. None of them had ever ran a three-legged race, so I tried to explain "teamwork" as best as I could...(Not surprisingly, the girls understood MUCH better than the boys! LOL) Sorry for my screaming; I forgot there was sound on my camera (and I was VERY excited).



After the games, we enjoyed pizza and pop. One of the attendees, Max, made sure to tell Brytin that his birthday party was the "Bomb!" It was a very proud moment for me!

When the kids were full, they played at the park until it was dark. We then loaded all Brytin's presents in the car, and he opened them at home. He got a LOT of great gifts! I even made him fill out thank you cards to give to his classmates.

It was an excellent party! Thanks to all who showed up! :)

Walking Field Trip

The Loma Kinders set out on a walking adventure to Firehouse #15 in Spring Valley. 64 kids, 3 teachers, and as many parents as possibly could walked approximately half a mile from the school to the Firehouse. The kids were very well behaved on the walk!

When we got there, the captain spoke to us about fire safety and introduced the kinders to the "Stop, Drop, and Roll" process. They all listened very attentively.


One of the firemen put on the full uniform so the kids could see what a firefighter would look like if he came to their house. He also put on the breathing apparatus so they would know what he sounded like (Darth Vader). Interesting fact: the fireman's jacket has three layers - the fire retardant outside, the waterproof middle, and the sweat-wicking inside. Did you know that the fireman's sweat could potentially turn to steam and burn him?


All the kids got to sit inside a fire truck.


And then spray a fire hose!


The walk back to school was a little more difficult, as all the kids were hungry and tired and it was all uphill. But we managed and the kids had a great time!

Class Party for Brytin's Bday

I was planning to make brownies for the kids, but ended up running out of time. Instead, I bought a bucket of Neopolitan ice cream and chocolate chip cookies for 22 kids.

Birthday Boy!

Guess who is 5?!!

I made cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and let him open a couple small presents.


I forgot to put the candle in and sing "Happy Birthday" before cutting it up, so we improvised :)


We marked his height on his closet door.


"Leslie, do you have a birthday shirt?"
"No."
"Okay, then I want to wear my tie today."

Embroidery

Brytin was very sad that he couldn't help me with my apron project, so I taught him how to embroider. I grabbed a flour sack towel from the kitchen and ironed on a snowflake/star pattern for him. Considering I didn't have a children-appropriate sewing kit, he did really really really good for a four-year-old!

Doing Homework

Every Friday, Brytin receives a homework packet (approx 5 worksheets). They are due the following Thursday. He enjoys doing the homework so much, he typically will want to start working on it right away Friday afternoon while we wait for Daddy to come home from work.

Kindergarten Thanksgiving Feast

It was really cool this morning to hear my four-year-old telling me about the Pilgrims and Indians. He is so darn smart!



Chris couldn't make it to the feast today, so Brytin wanted him to try on the Pilgrim costume :)

Conferences

Had the first parent-teacher conference for my little BooBoo...He's a SUPER star!!!!

Brytin, the Photographer

Hair-Do

Let a four-year-old play with your hair and you might end up with a 'do like this...

Class Party

Brytin had his first class party October 30th in honor of Halloween. The kids put on their costumes, the parents were invited, and a good time was had by all!

Brytin wore his biker costume for half of the party, and then wanted to wear his ninja costume the other half.

The kids played "Mummy Wrap." They wrapped each other in toilet paper, and then busted out of their mummy garbs. A huge waste of toilet paper, but very fun to watch.

We also had candy, cupcakes, brownies and juice.

I actually remember my Kindergarten Halloween party. My mom was dressed as a clown. I wore her first communion dress and was a bride.

It was a great experience for me to remember my mom doing this for me and then me being able to do this for him.

Jack O'Lantern

Thanks to Kindergarten, Brytin finally understood that there is more to Halloween than free candy. We decorated the house with some Halloween decorations my mom sent us, and a couple we found at thrift stores. Brytin also wanted to carve a pumpkin this year. Thankfully, I happened to have some of those carving knives for kids :) He drew the design with a permanent marker and then started carving. He did a GREAT job!

Homemade Halloween

When I was a kid, Halloween was all about creativity. The first costume I remember was a gypsy. My mom took a piece of fabric and one of her belts and made a very gypsy-like skirt. She put a bandana on my head and some eyeliner on my eyes – bam! Instant costume!

We did not have Halloween stores in Minnesota when I was a kid – we had a big huge box in the basement filled with random crap that I would use to create a costume. An old prom dress, a clown suit, a graduation robe and a cop uniform were some things I remember in that box.

The next Halloween costume I remember was in the sixth grade. My mom worked her a$$ off! She took a BIG piece of foam, cut out holes for my arms and eyes, and then painted it like a Pepsi can! It was AWESOME! I wish I had pictures. (Even though Mom was the best at Halloween costumes, she was not good at photos. LOL)

After a couple years of seeing Chris drop like $40 on superhero costumes for Brytin, I was able to convince him this year to make a costume. How? By making a suggestion that I knew BOTH boys would love – a biker! And I must admit it was the most perfect idea!

The costume turned out totally bad a$$! We found a jean jacket at a thrift store and chopped the sleeves off to make a “cut.” (A “cut” is a motorcycle club member’s vest that carries their club’s patch.) Brytin already had a Harley T-shirt in his closet. We got him a pair of baggy jean (like Jax) at another thrift store. Chris hooked him up with a wallet chain and wallet (just like Daddy’s). Chris worked really hard hooking up Brytin’s bicycle – repairing it, painting it and replacing some parts (all with the intent to make it look more like Daddy’s bike). My part? To sew the patches on the cut of course :)






Everyone who saw Brytin today at the party said the same thing – “Wow! You like just like your dad!” Both Chris and Brytin were grinning from ear to ear!

Though some people did give me sideways glances for allowing my kid to dress like that, I am glad that Chris and Brytin’s first endeavor with a homemade Halloween was so memorable.

Balboa Park

Brytin had two weeks off from school, so I tried to take him on some adventures. One day, we spent four hours walking through all the free gardens at Balboa Park. I got to take some great pictures of all the cacti I had fallen in love with a few days prior.

If green beans grew on trees, it would look like this:

Heaven is thataway!

The gi-normous bugger!

This one looks like a crab

This one looks like a palm tree

The cactus version of plumeria

A MONSTER!

Oh, Yeshua, how I love thee

A cactus rose