Luke and Caleb's Birthday Party

Luke's birthday is May 28th and his best friend Caleb's birthday is May 30th, so Caleb's mom Ali (knowing that we would have a newborn) generously suggested that we throw a joint party this year. I'm so glad she did! Ali is a spectacular planner and has such amazing ideas. She took care of almost everything. All Matt and I had to do was buy the food! The party's theme was knights and dragons. We rented a shelter house at Blendon Woods Metropark--which I highly recommend. It was a great set-up. Every kid got a cape and real wooden sword. There was a dragon hunt and a castle cake and loads of fun! Here are some of the pictures, most of them taken by Ali.

The shelter house.

Sir Luke .

Sir Caleb and Lady Daniela.

Lady Jaden.

Even Little Lady Lola wore a cape.

The fearsome dragon.

Sir Luke attacks the dragon.

Sir Michael takes his turn.

But the dragon was resilient. It took whack from David, Caleb's dad, to sever the dragon's head. His body went flying---right into Alyssa. Still looking for a picture of that!

How Justin spent the party.

Cake time!

Perhaps the green icing was a mistake.

A pair of happy five-year-old knights.

Thanks Graham Family for helping us to throw a fantastic party!

Luke is 5!

Yesterday was Luke's fifth birthday. His party was today and I'll post about that once I've begged some pictures off my friends because I didn't get very many! Yesterday was pretty low key by comparison. Luke got some prehistoric animal figures, a lunchbox and swim goggles from mommy and daddy, a razor scooter from Grandma Carole and these from Poppy and Nan:
Poppy made the wand himself from a branch off the tree in his yard! Thanks Poppy, we love it!

Justin smiles.

At the Beach

It was hot today, so we went to Delaware State Park and hung out at the beach.

How Justin spent the afternoon.

Luke's Class Photo

There he is, right smack in the middle. Love it!

Luke's Last Day of Preschool

I can't believe that Luke's preschool experience is over. Luke started at SYC in September of 2007 when he was 2 years old. He screamed like a banshee for six weeks and, on the advice of the teachers, I stayed with him. Then, just before I almost pulled him out because I was NOT going to pay tuition for me to go to school with my child, he got it. He just figured it out. And now, he is a self-composed and confident soon-to-be-kindergartener. I can't believe how far he's come! Here he is on his first day at SYC (notice baby Michael in the backround):

And here he was this afternoon, after his last day at SYC:

And here he is with Josh, his best school friend. I love that they're both in Star Wars shirts. Congratulations, Luke, on a job well done! On to kindergarten we go!

Justin Takes a Bath

Justin hates getting in the bath and hates getting out of the bath, but he doesn't mind actually being in the bath.

Ahh, warm and cute.

Michael's Class Photo

Oh, hail to the brave soul (Stephanie, the director of the school) who attempts to get a class photo of ten two-year-olds! And, just for comparison, here is Luke's class photo from when he was in the 2s:

Michael's first year at SYC

Today was Michael's last day of school. He's had a great year in the 2's class at SYC. His teachers, Molly (who also taught Luke) and Susan gave us a folder full of artwork, pictures and notes. We also got a CD with over 90 pictures of Michael on it! It's amazing. I LOVE it! So here's Michael's year in pictures.

The Twins Come to Visit

Greg, Ange and the twins came this weekend! Greg and Ange are doing an amazing job with Kayla and Kyan, who are eleven weeks old. Yes, that means we had three babies under three months around the house, so we really didn't get as many pictures as we intended. There was a lot of baby gear, a lot of crying, a lot of spitting up and a lot of fun!

Three peas in a pod. This pea pod is theirs, but I'm borrowing one from a friend as well, I think we're going to love it this summer. The babies really seemed to enjoy it.

Happy babies! Yes, Kyan is twice as big as his sister.

Cousins! Yes, that's a pacifier in Justin's mouth, but that's another post.

SYC picnic

It was the family picnic at the boys' preschool last Wednesday. Fun, but as you can see from Michael, it was REALLY cold!

Don't Stop Believin'

The boys appear to have inherited their mother's fondness for singing in the car. Sorry for the shaky camera at the end, we hit some bumps on the road.

Mother's Day Church Concert

This is Luke's concert in its entirety--all 1 minute and 56 seconds of it. Short and sweet.

Poppy, Nan and George Lucas

Poppy made this Star Wars video. Too funny! Luke as Luke was predictably cute, but who knew Michael would make such a great Lando! Nan makes a pretty hot Princess Leia.

http://starwars.jibjab.com/view/AuRlWqTIClj2UcOvcoRR

Changeling

Apparently, Justin looks chubby in the 4-week pics I took the other day. Here are some more pictures just to show you that he is only slightly chunky up top and actually has little string bean legs. He is a funny baby though. Maybe it's the blonde hair, but he looks completely different depending on what he's wearing. I've always liked the bolder, darker colors better on my boys, but not Justin. I prefer him in the lighter pastels.