Sixth Birthday

taken:
day eight two
09.09.12

It was my youngest son's 6th birthday. A day to celebrate with a few of his little friends! Even though my son says, "he doesn't eat cake", I made mini cupcakes for the kids. I didn't frost all of them since the frosting is what he doesn't really like. What??? I know, isn't that the best part? It's my favorite part anyway. Along with a few other treats we also served Kit-Kats, my son's favorite candy bar. I jazzed them up by dipping one end in melted chocolate and speckling them with sprinkles, transforming them from average ol' Kit-Kats to birthday Kit-Kats...yum!

Week 18: Fiesta or Siesta

Last Friday my youngest son and I went to my parents house to help my mom with some garden work. While we were there my son found 2 caterpillars. One long and creamy yellow, one short and grayish. My mom put them in a small jar for him and we brought them home. The next morning I brought out a large canister glass jar and in the rain we went outside to fill it with sand from our sandbox and various leaves and branches from around the yard. It turned out to be a fancy looking habitat for 2 caterpillars!

Finally came the exciting moment, to introduce the caterpillars to their new home. 

When my son opened the little jar and pulled out the leaves we discovered that the small grayish caterpillar had morphed into a shiny brown-reddish cocoon overnight. The shiny new cocoon twitched and wiggled when we moved it. It was a bit creepy! The yellow caterpillar didn't appear well and healthy. The sluggish little guy seemed to be fading away.

{ Project 52 Week 18 Fiesta or Siesta }

We placed the caterpillars in the jar side by side and kept peeking in on them all day. The yellow one never moved again. My son thought it must be "napping" because "maybe he didn't feel good". By the next day it was clear that the yellow caterpillar was taking an eternal siesta. Too bad. Maybe we didn't move it to it's bigger home soon enough and it got cramped in that small jar? Or maybe we didn't have the right kind of leaves in there for him to munch on? And the other guy, in the cocoon, well, hopefully his siesta is only temporary. I'm not sure what it'll turn into if it pops out of it's cocoon, a butterfly, a moth or something else? But we're keeping an eye on it and excited to see what happens. We're also keeping an eye out for more caterpillars to add to this fancy new caterpillar home.

Week 10: Be Still

{ Project 52 Week 10: Be Still }

It's Week 10 and I'm linking up with Life With My Three Boybarians for Project 52. This weeks theme is: Be Still.

Spring seems to have sprung abruptly here in MN, with record shattering high temps. The snow that piled on us a couple of weeks ago is nearly gone and puddles are forming everywhere. In that case, it's literally IMPOSSIBLE to be still when there are perfectly good puddles to jump into...at least for this little preschooler of mine. He's drawn to puddles like a moth to a flame. He did stand still though, if only for a moment, briefly filled with anticipation before the first big SPLASH. Hello spring, we are so happy you are here early!

Week 9: A Great Leap

{ Project 52 Week 9: A Great Leap }

It's Week 9 and I'm linking up with Life With My 3 Boybarians for Project 52. I had no idea what I was going to photograph for this weeks theme: A Great Leap, but then it happened, our first big snow storm of the year. So on leap day, the day of the snow storm, my elementary schooler had his first ever snow day…NO SCHOOL! We spent a lot of time out in the fresh snow. Later in the day, after the snow plows had been through the neighborhood, big piles were left behind, irresistible to this little stunt guy. He leapt and leapt and leapt, doing twists, turns and kicks to his hearts content. Many GREAT LEAPS on leap day!

Week 3: I Dreamed A Dream

{ Project 52 Week 3: I Dreamed A Dream }

While watching the movie Tangled with my sons this week for the first time I was inspired by the message of {following your dreams}. Perfect timing! 

I couldn't wait for the bright-eyed Rapunzel to fulfill her dream of seeing the floating lights that appeared in the sky every year on her birthday. At last free from the tower, she wasn't going to let anything get in her way. She was feisty yet vulnerable. Once Rapunzel knew she would reach her dream she struggled, in one moment she worried that the floating lights might not be everything she'd dreamed, then the next moment she asked, what if they were everything she'd dreamed, then what next? I loved Flynn's comforting response, "That's the good part I guess. You get to go find a new dream." 

So here's to achieving dreams and then finding new ones! 

The branches above, covered in a wintery mix of ice and sparkles, remind me of the beautiful and magical lights in the floating lanterns scene when Rapunzel finally accomplished her dream. 

Week 2: Made With Love

{ Project 52 Week 2: Made With Love }

My youngest son loves loves loves when I sit down and play with him. Most of the time we play games, puzzles, "guys" and lately lots of legos. He's so happy when I join in and build masterpieces right along with him. 

This is a cozy little house I "made with love" for him this week.

I love the constructing part of playing with legos, my son loves the pretending part. We build houses and cars and then our lego guys go visit each other. Our creations usually only stay intact for a short time though, because let's face it, it's so much more fun to demolish something, isn't it!!! Especially when you're preschool age! It's usually some wacky lego guy driving one of his lego cars that loses control and crashes or some mean old lego monster that stomps down onto our little lego homes. But that's totally ok. It just gives me a reason to come up with another {always color coordinated} lego work of art. So much fun!