CVSD: Day 38

Issac is officially FIVE. Celebrating during a pandemic was not my favorite, but it was a good day for our little guy nonetheless.

From donuts for breakfast to video chats with my family and also the kids Nana. And even a surprise visit from Grandpa and Abuela, who popped by to sing and bring a present. There were virtual wishes online and some friends even drove by to sing Happy Birthday, while other friends dropped homemade cards in our mailbox.

I had initially thought we would ask our friends to do a Birthday Parade drive by for Isaac, but then we were told to Shelter in Place. While I know a lot of people still do the parades, I didn't feel right asking a bunch of people to drive by. That being said, we did love seeing our friends that drove by anyway unasked.

Also, Isaac gets super embarrassed with too much attention, so while one mini van was nice, I think a slew of them would have been too much for him. As for me, I went inside and cried after they left. It was so good to see friends, but it was hard too because we didn't get to visit and I miss them so much.

Per tradition, Isaac and I made a homemade cake — a Minecraft sword this year. There were presents to open — including Isaac’s first climbing harness. This gave Daniel a reason to rig up a temporary zipline in the back yard. Then he repurposed the rope so he could teach the boys how to rappel down the rock face in our yard. Jack was a bigger fan of this than Isaac but both had fun. 

Finally we celebrated with ramen noodles (Isaac’s request) and pizza. Followed by cake and a movie. It was a good day, even if we are missing our family and friends.


*Isaac had also requested a Nerf war and soccer game and he really wanted a Play Station with Minecraft (those are crazy expensive and hard to come by right now). We will make up the Nerf war and soccer game later.

Come Explore With Us │Jack's 5th Birthday Party

After celebrating Jack's birthday at both preschool and his favorite Mexican restaurant, we also had a friend birthday party on Saturday followed by a family gathering on Sunday.

 

It was a busy, but wonderful weekend celebrating our first born.

For Jack's 5th Birthday I decided we should just go with an outdoorsy theme. The weather has been really warm for this time of year and we have been in a drought, so I was fairly confidant it wouldn't rain.

I brain-stormed some basic ideas from Pinterest, but nothing over the top. I had a ton of paper bags in my pantry, so I decided that the kids could make Safari Vests and then go on a Treasure Hunt. 

I also decided to make a campfire cake, using this tutorial. I kind of winged the cake (from this recipe), nothing fancy (or pretty for the actual cake part) but it was delicious. 

I did feel a bit guilty that our mountain had been on fire for two weeks, but I didn't want to change plans last minute, so wildfire or not, we had a campfire cake! At least it was memorable.

I grew up helping to make (and decorate) my birthday cake every year, so we are keeping that tradition alive with Jack helping with the cake.

The Safari Vests and Treasure Hunt were a hit, but I made the mistake of giving the kids whistles during the treasure hunt. DO NOT GIVE KIDS WHISTLES. Sorry to the parents who got to take whistles home with them!

The end of the Treasure Hunt was a pinata – Jack's favorite.

We had a great time hanging out with our friends on Saturday, and then visiting with some of our family on Sunday for one more mini party. This year was low-key and a lot of fun. I didn't stress about the party and we all had a great time.

Thank you to everyone who was able to come and be a part of making Jack's 5th birthday memorable. Thank you all for the gifts as well (rookie mistake, I didn't manage to write down who gave Jack what), but know that we are incredibly grateful for you, your friendship with us and our son, and Jack is loving all of his gifts. Thank you!

 

Birthday videos can be seen in this post.

Happy 5th Birthday Jack!

I keep telling myself that there will come a day when I am all caught up. But the reality is, this is the season of life that we are in. Between being sick (or dealing with allergies) and the general busy-ness of the end of the year, I feel perpetually behind. The good news is that I am not stressed that I didn't sit down and blog sooner, I'm just thankful that I have a few quiet moments right now.

Five. That seems like such a big number. Jack will start kindergarten next year and we will enter into yet another season of life. I'm not ready. But ready or not, it is coming.

Jack continues to love people and never meets a stranger. For his birthday party, we actually had to limit his guest list, and even with some friends unable to attend, we had a packed house.

This little guy of ours, the one who first made us parents, continues to teach us so much about life and how to parent. I know we make mistakes with him but there is a lot that I think we are managing to get right.

Jack is enamored with numbers right now. He has been counting to 100+ for over a year now and in the last few months figured out adding and subtracting with his fingers. He especially loves to tell us what different numbers add up to.

Letters also fascinate him and he knows what sounds go with what letters. I need to be more intentional with his learning since he is expressing interest, but I know he will learn to read with or without me.

Jack learned to ride his bike this summer and has enjoyed perfecting new skills including hopping curbs and riding down hills that are scary to him. We are proud of him for teaching himself and also trying new things. Sometimes he falls down, but he gets back up again, and that is really all that matters.

We have tried several sports over the past year – gymnastics, T-Ball, and soccer. I don't know that Jack will be our athletic kid, but he definitely enjoys being active. He was more inclined to be distracted during group sports, but loves to ride his bike, run on the trails and hike with us. This summer he also discovered a love for snorkeling and paddling our kayak with us.

We are so blessed to have this spunky, loving child in our lives. We can't wait to continue to grow up with him.

My next blog post will recap Jack's birthday party. He had a bit of a prolonged week/weekend celebration. We celebrated with donuts at preschool on Thursday, at El Metate on Friday (his actual birthday), with friends at his birthday party on Saturday, and with some of our family on Sunday. It was a crazy week for us, but Jack loved every moment!!!