The Adventures of Hayden, Eliza & Molly

Sunday, April 24, 2016

More baseball

More pics from the game as I learn how to blog thru the app. Pics are in reverse order. Eliza ate as much blue food as possible - cotton candy and snow cone. We got to see back to back home runs for the Bulls which meant the bull lit up and blew smoke!

with the Durham Bulls bull sculpture on the way out. Everyone is still smiling!

Molly was very excited by the bull doing its thing!

Durham Bulls!

Trying a quick post while at a baseball game on a beautiful spring evening. Girls are all excited, mostly about getting to try cotton candy.

Monday, September 28, 2015

Super Six!

Eliza turned the big SIX last Thursday! It has been a whirlwind of celebrations - and we're not yet done! I think she was most excited about getting to be the birthday helper bee at school. She woke up early with tons of energy which carried through the whole day, including dinner at a food truck rodeo at a park near her school.

early morning birthday girl

The trucks were donating some of their proceeds to their school and it was something we'd always wanted to check out. We weren't quite sure what to expect but it ended up being a lot of fun. The kids ran around crazy for a bit with lots of friends. We had a wide variety of foods for dinner - Korean BBQ tacos and dumplings, cheese quesadilla with rice and beans, and a fried shrimp plate - all of which were pretty tasty. And there were frozen things for dessert! What could be a better way to celebrate your birthday!

her helper bee birthday crown

frozen treat finale (the best part!)

Then on Friday night, we had our family party, with Grandma and Popop joining us for dinner and presents. Dinner was stuffed shells, roasted broccoli and yeast rolls. It was DEE-licious! Eliza had wanted ravioli (like the kind you buy in the fridge section of the grocery store) but I wanted to make her something (and I wasn't quite up to making raviolis yet.) I asked her what she liked about them and she said the cheesy inside. So we went with stuffed shells. I was a little nervous, since I felt like I'd been too directing with her choice birthday dinner but she LOVED them. She has had them twice for leftovers since Friday and gobbled them up! For dessert we made dirt cake. To no one's surprise, that got gobbled up as well. :)

She was the best present opener ever. She had the perfect response to just about every present. "That's what I wanted!" "I love it!" -runs to give me/Jason a big hug- *giant grin* "Can I open it now?" etc. Her presents were perfect timing too b/c the weekend was very rainy. There was a lot of time for playing with new toys, even sharing them with big and little sisters.

the loot

we have already made TWO headbands - she wore one to school today (in the pic, she is wearing a princess head piece - a souvenir from Grammy and Granddad from Paris - it's great!)

with Neptune, her new seahorse stuffed animal (he went to school with her today, I think she'll keep him)

The birthday party was supposed to be on Sunday, but we postponed it till next weekend - when the weather might be a touch better. We're headed out to Jordan Lake for a morning of outdoor fun and picnic food for lunch. Here's hoping for sunshine!

can you tell what we're cooking up for her birthday party? stay tuned!

Regardless of the weather next weekend, I know my Eliza Sunshine will be shining bright with her big grin and sunny disposition. I can't believe how she's grown up over the past year -both literally (dr said she grew 3 inches from last year) and figuratively -she's reading! she's in kindergarten! She's pretty darn awesome, with a fabulous fashion sense that's all her own. Love ya Birthday Girl!

E, my thumb, her tongue, and the faux glasses she's been wearing lately

my birthday Eliza-boo

Family birthday picture!

P.S. One of her birthday presents was to go decorate a cupcake at a Stop Hunger Now fundraiser. We took a much needed trip outside on a rainy weekend to go participate. Can you tell she was quite delighted by her creation?!

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Marvelous Molly

Molly really is just marvelous. She is a whirling dervish of energy. She drives you batty with her lack-of-listening and bouncing-off-wall behavior and then melts your heart with a well-timed "I love you" or cuddle and book reading request. She is truly growing up into a kid (just learned to ride a bike with no training wheels!) but also plays "the baby" pretty darn well. She talks a mile a minute at times and has entered into the "ask as many questions as possible about EVERYTHING" phase. Plus, she's had some big milestones lately.

I bet you can guess one of the big moments...

At the end of August she turned 4!!! We celebrated as a family on her day and then on the weekend, we had our first ever Molly birthday party. I managed to take absolutely no pictures (except the cake) during her friend party, but I think she had a blast. It was the quietest birthday party ever, since we invited all school friends whom she hadn't seen all summer. They are friends, but not close friends. She greeted everyone at the door, but said not a word. And none of the kids were very chatty either! But the obstacle course we set up in the yard, and the water play we did after cake, made sure everyone had a good time. Molly got two of her favorites ways to play at the party - a bounce house borrowed from a friend and our slip-n-slide - so she had a great time.

blowing out candles

Check out her cake! She designed it all - all the color requests and choice of sprinkles and gummies. A perfect four year old cake! You should have seen the eyes of the little guests when we pulled out the first slice - RAINBOW!!!

Isn't it lovely?

rainbow!

As for our family party, Molly chose hots dogs, specifically Nathan's, broccoli and roasted potatoes. We had tried Nathan's a week or two earlier (after not really having hot dogs most of the summer, because they are HOT DOGS, with little nutritional value or tastiness according to the one who buys the grocery. Nathan's were randomly on sale and spontaneously bought - they were an overwhelming hit with the 4 hot dog lovers in the house and have been requested ever since! Then for dessert, Molly really just wanted ice cream when asked, so I had convinced her to have brownie sundaes. I make homemade brownies, Molly had helped pick out ice cream flavors (strawberry and birthday cake!), and we sang with candles. Then Molly decides she just wants a popsicle for dessert. So the rest of us enjoy delicious sundaes and Molly has a homemade strawberry popsicle, completely content. Such a goofball!

brownie birthday candles

opening presents. loves the squeaky pogo stick

popsicles are the best!

Then after all the partying, she got to start preschool! Tuesday after Labor Day was her first day and she did great. She's back in the same class (a 3/4 combo class), so she knows the teachers and some of the students. She's been a little shy but quite happy about school this week. I know it will be a good year. Can you believe she'll be headed to kindergarten next year?!!!

2nd FIRST DAY!!

doesn't she look so grown up?!

Happy Birthday my marvelous Molly!

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

First Day - 2015!

Can you believe that summer is over (in that school has started) AND that Eliza just started KINDERGARTEN!?!?! I can't. The first day went great. She declared kindergarten to be "awesome" and is upset that she doesn't get to go on Wed or Thurs (they do a staggered start).

Kindergartener!!!

with a princess sidekick

Kindergarten and Third Grade. Who believes it?!

Hayden started third grade and also had a great first day. She says her new teacher is very funny and is happy to be back in school.

about to head into school!

I miss the kiddos but they seem very happy. We've done okay trying to get back on school schedules - it will just take a bit for the exhaustion (and extreme grumpiness) to subside. Molly starts back after Labor Day so we've got a bit before that starts up. (Molly told me today that she likes me home with me by herself!)

So here's to a new school year! Kindergarten and third grade - we've got a new principal who's involved and excited to be at Club. Here's hoping it's a fabulous year!

Of course we celebrated with ice cream. (E and M both picked grapefruit sorbet - it was surprisingly delicious!)

Success! And she wanted to go back the next day!

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

OBX

You might think I've give up on the blog... I mean the last entry was in April... and it was about snow in February! But I still think about it and still take pictures for it. I just need to find time to upload them to the blog. I'll keep trying... at least for now.

Ignoring all the catch-up blogs that I need to do (do blogs really need to be in chronological order?), let's do something recent - the Beach! We went to the Outer Banks for a week with Grammy and Granddad. It was warm and sunny and fun. Yes, some of us saw sharks. No, we did not get bitten. Yes, the shark bite in Avon was a scant 13 miles away from us - on the day we finally decided to take the kids in the water past the waves! The kids had a blast playing in the waves, the sand, the pool, and various historical landmarks. A great vacation!