First though, I had a nice evening with my friend Jen! Jen and her husband Vince live in Irvine at the Park - this amazing apartment property near the Irvine Spectrum. The first Thursday of each month they have a wine and tapas event for residents. Definitely a nice break to the not-so-pleasant things I've been worrying about!
I realized the other day that it is MUCH more enjoyable these days to take Katelyn out and about with us. I am reminded of the days that she used to scream in her carseat and how much I'd avoid having to take her anywhere. Now she's content to just look around and sing or snack! Driving is enjoyable again! Here's a video of wispy hair'd Katelyn grooving in the car. She must have just woken up because her hair is so crazy from all the moving around she does while she naps.
On the Friday before Tyler's birthday, Will and I both took the day off in order to do last minute errands in preparation for the party. I have become a crazy list maker. It really organizes things! The infant room had an extra spot that day so we paid the extra $$ to have Katelyn spend the day at school instead of at home with my nanny. Katelyn gets really distracted when Will and I are coming in and out of the house (she doesn't understand why we keep leaving and stuff) so it was easier on everyone that she wasn't home. We brought special treats for the 3pm snack time to share with Tyler's friend to celebrate his birthday. Everyone got mini cupcakes and gogurts! Tyler doesn't mind being the center of attention while his friends are singing to him. :)
Tyler's 4th of July glitter painting!
Mmmm, go-gurts were a welcome treat on that hot day. We even had enough to share with the other classes.
Here's a video of Tyler at school sharing treats with his friends for his birthday. Tyler had a hard time that first week of July at school. His friends had transitioned to the next class and he wasn't scheduled to move until September 1st! I was not happy about it, but thought we'd try to stick it out. Drop offs were the worse since Tyler would arrive and see all these new younger kids in his class. It was horrible. I kept telling myself that it would only be 2 months until he was in Pre-4 with his friends. Then I'd think - 2 months?! That's forever for a 4 year old!
New shirts at taekwondo- just in time since their regular uniforms were getting quite hot. Tyler has been quite resistant to doing taekwondo lately, but once he's in he has a blast! That seems to be his nature lately - dragging his feet and complaining... and then being totally fine once he starts.
Video of Taekwondo dodgeball - they love playing this at the end of class:
Katelyn is SUCH a little girl with her little accessories. She'll grab her shoes and hat, go to the backdoor, point to it and say "outside??". When she's with the nanny upstairs and they're heading downstairs, Cheyenne just has to say, "want to go outside?" and Katelyn will immediately say "byebye" to me and wave and be ready to head downstairs. :) She LOVES being outside! School had been starting to get her on just 1 nap a day, which concerned me since Katelyn always takes 2 good 1-1.5 hr long naps when she's at home with me. Those 1-nap days would result in a really crabby and screaming Katelyn in the evenings. Not fun. We thought maybe it was the irregularity of it all so we tried putting her on 1 nap when she was home with us as well - BAD idea. When I mentioned to her teachers how she is in the evenings, and hinted that we'd really like them to keep pushing the second nap - the response wasn't so great. Apparently Katelyn is an angry screamer when it's time for naps. So much that sometimes they have to take her to the outside area so that she can calm down and not disrupt the other kids. Oops. But lately they have been trying again, and even though that last nap may come a lot later than I'd like - I'm not complaining! Ugh, not sure what is going to go on with her schedule once I am fully unemployed... we'll see!
Party Day! Oh my. It was already warm that morning. This is the first year that we had Tyler's birthday party in the afternoon. Before we did it at 10-12pm, perfect for playing, lunch, and then naps! But since this was also our first year doing it outdoors, we figured an afternoon party would be cooler. First thing we did that morning? Pick up balloons at Party City! Woah - we were barely able to get them to fit into the car with the kids!
The rest of the morning was quite hectic - getting fruit/veggies ready, having the rentals and bounce house delivered, etc. The worst moment (for me anyway) was trying to put the red paper tablecloth on the banquet tables that we had rented. They just wouldn't stay down since the wind kept blowing them up. ARGH! The added heat factor was not helping. Luckily my parents came over and watched the kids while Will and I were doing last minute errands. They were napping when we left and Tyler was quite grumpy to wake up without us there. Ugh. First though, both the table rentals company AND the bounce house company delivered the stuff early. Like way early. It wasn't such a big deal with the table/chairs since we had them just unload the chairs in Will's parents' garage and set up the tables at the park. (I was a little worried about someone coming and stealing the tables, but c'mon, they're 8-feet long and we're in Irvine!) The annoying thing was the bounce company - drop off was supposed to be between 2-230, and I got a call that they were waiting at the park before 1pm. WHAT? I was concerned mostly with the amount of time that jumper would stay inflated but the delivery guy ensured me that it would be fine until 8pm (which was pick up time). Umm... ok... if you say so... Here's the bounce house! We opted for a bouncer with a slide for the extra fun - a regular square bounce house is just too boring for 4 year olds!
The bounce house was an instant hit for the kids as people started arriving at 4pm.
Remember this? We used to have this inflated in our living room when Tyler was 1-2 years old. He would jump and bounce in it every day! Then we had a big playdate and the kids somehow managed to cause a leak...and as a result it got stored in our garage . I had the wonderful idea to bring it out for the smaller kids to play in - and it was a wonderful idea! What a wonderful reason for me to keep hoarding!
More bounce house fun!
Tyler is like spiderman - scaling walls...
Katelyn was a social butterfly that day - wandering around and saying Hi to everyone. She looked super cute in her little Burberry dress!
It was very helpful having my parents and Will's parents there to be on Katelyn duty - Will and I were running around so it was hard to keep an eye on her. She kept them all on her toes though!
And the feature of the party - Kids Imagine Nation! They came before the party to get all set up (we needed to run a 100 ft extension cord from the backyard of one of our neighbors and over the wall for their speaker system), left, and came back at 4:30pm to start their set. Tyler LOVED this group when they performed at his preschool and they didn't let us down this time either. I loved that we had the party at a private park in Woodbury East (right next to Will's parents' place) - the park was secluded yet huge and perfect! Here are the kids getting warmed up with the act.
Something must have been hilarious.
The cones are meant for the kids to stay behind during the performance (Tyler didn't always follow that rule - he was crazy excited!)
Friendship scarves! The kids had so much fun dancing and laughing!
That's Tyler's BFF Zane at school.
Even Katelyn got in with the fun and dancing.
Glub glub - swimming! I love how all the kids are so into it.
What a pretty day huh!
I told you Tyler was totally into it! He was totally breakdancing at one point. Seriously, I think he was a little off his rocker with excitement.
The birthday song for Tyler. This part was really cute - they had Tyler come up and do dance moves and everyone would follow. Tyler was SO into it - coming up with all kinds of moves!
We had rented a canopy for the eating area (on the basketball court) but moved it over to the lawn for the much needed shade. I had been unsure if I wanted to get the canopy, but I am so glad we did after all!
My little 4 year old. At one point I was wiping his hair since he was drenched in sweat!
After the set, the performers (Aaron, Rachel & Beatz) signed posters for everyone - it was great! Included in the goody bags was a CD with Tyler's Party Mix that included a few of our favorite songs from the group!
Here's Will and Tyler with Kids Imagine Nation! They were GREAT! Totally a wonderful idea. :)
Whew, after all that excitement, Tyler needed a hydration break. I got those glasses on clearance - they're like Beatz' sunglasses! He's such a baller in this picture, hahaha.
Katelyn was still wandering around the party too. She discovered the ice buckets and was most excited to play with them. And she got her first (and second, and third, and...) juice box. She never gets juice! I guess I feel better knowing it was 100% juice?
Stunner shades! Darn, we missed the photo by just a few seconds!
Juice BOX!
The food came just in time (thanks to my brother who went to pick it up) and we had Costco pizza for the kids (because really, do they care?) and picked up catered Mexican food (chicken, steak, carnitas, salsa and Spanish rice) from Taco Factory here in Irvine. We made all the side dishes of the usual fruit and veggies, as well as provided tortillas, lettuce, guacamole, tomatoes, cilantro, sour cream, etc (whatever you would want to put in your taco)! It was a hit!
We had the 4 8' banquet tables on the adjoining basketball court with the 40 rented chairs (very light weight and easily stackable!). Thank goodness for that canopy though. Between that and 2 large umbrellas (we brought ours from home and Will's parents have the same one) most of the eating area was covered in shade. A definite necessity when you're dealing with Asians. :)
We had room under the main area to eat as well!
Right when we were starting to eat, the bounce house deflated. WHAT? I was not happy about that. Apparently the generator was running out of fuel. Will was able to start it up a couple times but it quickly shut off soon after. Hmph. I called the company and they told me it would take 45 minutes to get someone out with some fuel and that I should just get some in the meantime at a gas station. Excuse me? We didn't even have a fuel container! I was quite irate on the phone, seeing that this was the main party time and the delivery person had assured me that the jumper would last definitely until 8pm.
Look how sad the kids are.
Never fear though, they excitedly played in the smaller bouncer. I'm surprised that thing didn't flat out pop with all those big kids in it. About 45 minutes later, a person did finally show up. This was only after I kept calling them and they kept giving me 15 minutes ETA. The kids at least got to continue to play for a bit more, but a lot of them were starting to head home since it was past 630pm.
Goodie bags! These turned out really cute and I am bummed that there is not a better photo of them. I got the plastic bags super cheap on a website called Nashville Wraps. Amazingly cheaper than using paper bags. The tissue paper I also bought from them in bulk as well - super duper cheap! In each goody bag was an inflated guitar (super cute), plastic star sunglasses and microphone, and Tyler's 4th Birthday party mix CD with music from Kids Imagination as well as some other fun songs. Little kids got the same bag but the CD was of nursery rhymes. I tied each bag with this cute checkered ribbon and a punched out scalloped circle with their names on it. Seriously, they were super cute.
Jesse and Sharon! Her birthday party is next week!
with the Tsaos!
With M and T.
A pregnant pregnant Michelle.
My brother and Katelyn. He was so helpful that day, really put my mind at ease.
My parents, Will's mom and her friend Grace. Grace's daughter Angie was really helpful in helping us set up (specifically those darn table covers). She was our flower girl at our wedding and now she's so big! Angie was also great in playing with Tyler and Katelyn!
Cake time! Ok, the cake didn't come out as pretty as I hoped. I saw a photo in the cake book but it was meant for a half sheet and we got a full sheet since we had 60+ people. It ended up quite sparse. But, it was delicious (fresh strawberry and custard filling) and cheap ($60 or so??). I am definitely a fan of Albertsons Bakery! That's where we got the custom cupcake cookies for Katelyn's 1st birthday also!
Oh my little Tyler.
An attempt at a group shot. When you have that people its impossible to round everyone up.
Oh Katelyn. I'm not sure who's bright idea it was to let her have cake, since she is allergic to so many things in it! She LOVED it though, she must have known it was the forbidden fruit. We paid for it later though, when she had rashes all over her legs.
Tyler and Kaden!
AHHH! Baby Emma! LOVE babies. Must. have. another. one. hahahah!
Tyler and cutie patottie Avery. She is so prim and proper, and I love her dress!
The goody bags were a hit!
After eating, it was time to PLAY. Tyler had calmed down, thank goodness, and now was just playing regularly (and not crazily).
Who knew sidewalk chalk drawing would be so exciting! It looks like they're at a crime scene.
Busy artist at work.
Tyler and Auntie Trina.
Tyler and Jake and Brandon! Love that they are always visiting from Taiwan in the Summer so that they can attend Tyler's party!!!
Who drew that?
More bounce house fun. At one point Katelyn actually toppled off at the bottom. My mom was usually standing there to catch her when Angie helped her stand up, but this time she had moved aside so I could take a video. I almost had a heart attack cuz it looked like she landed on her neck. ACK! She was totally fine though, but you can bet my mom never took that step back again!
Here's Tyler's friend Sterling (ok, well his mom is my friend anyway). You can see the sunglasses and microphone that each of the kids got.
After the party we took some time to clean up and get things home. Boy were we exhausted. Tyler and Katelyn were still quite worked up from the days' festivities and i let Tyler choose to open just one gift (he chose the one from Auntie Trina!). While we were cleaning up, Tyler and Katelyn played with Angie and his new toy. Thank goodness again for Angie!
The end of a long long day. :) We took these with my camera after we got home that night. Whew, what a 4th birthday Tyler had. His 5th will be MUCH smaller!
Katelyn wanted to get into the picture too.
Ack - the result of Katelyn eating Tyler's birthday cake that night. Check out the angry rashes! Poor thing.
The next day (Sunday) we headed to Toys R Us in the morning to buy a birthday gift for one of Tyler's favorite school friends. Zane's birthday party was later that morning and I had been too busy to pick up a gift for him. So last minute I know. Katelyn enjoyed the school bus ride (we saved the quarter and just had Will shake it. Yes, so Chinese of us! hah!)
The kids were still pretty tired from the party the day before, and both knocked out on the way down to Lake Forest for the birthday party. We were already an hour late so I decided to wake up Tyler when we got there. He was a little grumpy but was so excited once he saw his friend Zane and Brock.
Friends! These three boys have birthdays just days apart - Brock is 7/6, Tyler is 7/9 and Zane is 7/10! Zane's mom Heather told me that Zane specifically asked for a Transformer themed birthday party and wanted to invite Tyler and Brock (only) from school. He had other friends there also, just not from school. He knew very clearly what he wanted!
Transformer Cake Pops!
They did a remodel and there's this awesome space under the stairs for the kids and their toys. I love that the toys are out of sight. I aspire to have all toys out of sight. One day...You can see the door next to the entertainment console in the second picture.
Tyler and Katelyn also had dentist appointments this week. Tyler did great - no cavities and he proudly told Dr. Harvey that he flosses every night (which he totally does).
Katelyn wasn't as willing.
Piano class! Notice Tyler in the corner. I'm surprised he actually looks like he's listening in this picture. Usually I'm shooting his angry glances to get him to focus. Maybe he needs one-on-one attention.
My nanny took Katelyn to the community pool down the street this week as well. I was very jealous and wanted to join them but was busy with work stuff (hmph, I don't know why I even bothered though...). Katelyn had a great time in the wading pool!
The week after Tyler's birthday we had his 4 year checkup. He was 41 inches and 36 pounds. I think. He was like 70s % for height and 50s % for weight. No complaining here. Only thing he had some trouble with was his eyes - the doctor said it was something they will keep an eye on but nothing to worry about. NO MORE iPad for Tyler!
He's finally tall enough to go on some roller coasters! ... except that he's too chicken. :)
This was a really cute video of Tyler with his friend Zane at school. Tyler was playing a robot and Zane had his remote control. He'd say a command and pretend to press a button and off Tyler would go! For example, "car!" and Tyler would run around pretending he was a car. It helped since I wanted Tyler to use the bathroom before we left so I told Zane to say "use the potty!" and Tyler automatically did! Hah!:
1 comment:
Such the OC bday party! It was so cute how the little ones were almost all the same height/size.
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