more birthday fun

Miller's 5th birthday weekend was the final stop on the celebration tour. For almost a year, these buds have been scheming for a spend the night adventure. We kept putting Miller off and telling him he had to be five years old to have a friend over to spend the night. It's amazing how your kids listen and remember these promises when the time comes. For Miller's actual birthday we invited Grant for a night out and spend the night party back at our house. The boys and Eliza Kate had a fun time spending their tokens and redeeming tickets all afternoon at Chuck E Cheeses. They could barely touch the accelerator pedals on the racecars which cracked us all up! Laying down in the seat and stretching for the pedal while handing on to the steering wheel for dear life seemed to be the winning strategy.

Monkey see, Monkey do. Eliza Kate wanted to sit and "drive" like the big boys!

One thing's for sure about these boys...They love to compete at everything. When I say everything, I'm including seat belt buckling in the car. Whoever clicks the belt first makes a big announcement. Today's competition involved who won the most tickets after each game. They've gotten pretty good at egging each other on about who's going to win each little competition;) Boys!

We went to eat at Los Bravos restaurant (a favorite of Grant's) & then had present time back at the house. Grant was so sweet to bring a gift over.

 Can you handle the cutest of a bro hug? Grant drew Miller a birthday picture inside the card and it inspired an impromptu neck squeeze. What a surprise to open up a Razor scooter! Now that was quite a birthday present.

Miller opened a little happy from us too....The Toy Story 3D Wii game. It didn't take too long for the boys to try it out in action. I thought the glassss looked presh as they participated in a pie throwing contest. They launched pies at Woody and Buzz' moving targets.  

It didn't hold their interest for too long. But, Landon sure did like trying his Wii hand at the pie throwing game.

They did enjoy the pop out 3D effect. But, it was back to Mario Kart race cars on Wii for these two before long. Hide and seek, racing cars from CARS 2 around the couch, and lots of snacking entertained them for the rest of the evening. The best part of this spend the night rite of passage for Miller and Grant is that he lives across the street. Any ounce of homesickness or missing a favorite item can be solved quickly. At this age, you just never know if they'll sleep through the whole night.

After a splashing good time in the bath (yes, these two requested fun in the tub), They shared their first teeth brushing experience.

They made sure to brush their tongues. Fresh breath is a must at a spend the night party.

Miller was excited to slide the trundle out from under his bed for this  sleepover occasion. We made it up with Cars sheets for our guest. Although, Grant decided he would rather sleep up above on Miller's twin. Miller was thrilled about sleeping lower to the ground.

Before lights out, these two had fun reading to each other and hopping once or twice to the mattress below. Our only hiccup before bed was Grant missing his special blanket after seeing Miller's prized minky dot friend from his babyhood. Carter, G's brother ran over a blanket for Grant to use. Turns out, Grant doesn't have an attachment to anything at bedtime, but wanted to be just like his spend the night buddy. What a hoot!  It wasn't long after that these boys lost the stay awake battle and fell fast asleep cuddling their special blankies close by:)
The big 5 has already afforded Miller a brand new privilege and we're excited for other new growing up adventures this year. Happy Birthday Miller man!

first game

Our little t-ball champ sure does look like he's rising in the ranks. Something about the way too big orange jersey stuffed into his baseball knickers makes my momma heart swoon. Or is it the royal blue socks peeking out over his new cleats? The one accessory that he's already attached to is his Upward hat that makes an appearance weekly on errands. Something about a little man in uniform. Yes, he's the one whose made me transform into a sports mom on the bleachers. Our Saturdays will never be the same again...in a good way.

Even little sister knows she's standing next to Mr, Hot Stuff.

 

On Saturday, March 24th, Miller had his inaugural t-ball game. With an extra pep in his step in this shot, you can see his excitement. Even daddy coach was sporting his orange Mets jersey. After a 15 minute warm up drill, our little team was ready to take on the Hooks. It didn't take me long to figure out that we're going to invest in our fair share of stain sticks this season by the look of his pregame grass stains.

I must add that their shocking shade of vibrant orange is blinding. Landon smiled from ear to ear when he found out that our team colors were orange. He's a BIG orange fan, ya know. This was the view of all the action in the dugout. Keeping track of your own bat, glove and water bottle is a task of its own, Each player could really use their own assistant.

 

My favorite game viewing perspective was peering through the chain link fence. Oh the preciousness of Miller and his buddy Hahn bumping helmets and playing silly games in an effort the make the time go by quickly. It really is all about having fun, right?


I love how Miller was working it with the most handsome first base coach I've ever laid eyes on ;) So far, he's taking Landon's leadership and little lessons all in stride. I wish I could have soaked in every play a little more, but I was a little distracted from our littlest of fans vocal demands to watch Elmo on Youtube. These games drag on and on for the younger siblings.

Finally, it was time for Miller man to make his way out of the dugout & up to bat. Coach Warren stayed a healthy distance away. I'm sure he was mentally rehearsing "eyes on the ball, bat up high" to make bat to ball contact. Sure enough, Miller hit it hard down the center and had enough time to run to first. It really is all about running in the right direction around the bases at this age and knowing which base to throw the ball to. They are all learning!

 

 Snack time couldn't come soon enough. We all know that the boys work so hard out there for their prized post game snack. Let's Goo Mets!. Looking forward to a great spring season cheering on Number 4 from the stands.

Turning 5

The big 5 was a birthday that streeeetched out over two weeks this year. A countdown of small celebrations is what I like to call it. It was special to take cupcakes into Miller's classroom this year during snack time. Since it was snack time, we did sing a round of the birthday chorus to serenade his half decade. What really put me over with sentimental memories was the birthday crown that Ms, Cayla proudly placed on his head. A wave of birthday crowning nostalgia swept over me.  Miller's at the age to don the classic candle crown. And, it couldn't have been cuter on his five year old head.

Of course, the way he swallowed his matchbox car cupcake whole resembled his first birthday. Is it just Miller or is he exceptionally messy when it comes to cupcake eating?

I breezed in and out. It was a Friday, so their classroom routine was casual. Spirit day Fridays are like that from what I remember. But, I was thankful his teacher let me personally escort his birthday treats in to give her kiddos a sugar rush topped off with an apple juice box. I know Miller felt special. Such a treat for me too!  Happy Birthday Miller man!

 

Day 4: Magic Kingdom at Night

Just as we walked onto Mainstreet USA early evening, we caught the last 10 minutes of the Move It Shake It Street Party. Leave it to Disney to always greet us with some kind of celebration! Our curbside viewing spot was awesome.We spotted all our familiar characters in party attire.. It was everything a street party should be. The music was so happy and everyone was moving and grooving.

 

We spotted Jessie and Woody for the second time on our last day. It's always fun to greet a familiar friend. Our last character dinner was at the Crystal Palace inside the Magic Kingdom. We had reservations at 6:30p.m. We still had to wait a little longer. It was a popular spot for dinner. Winnie the Pooh and friends were the hosts on this night. Miller was never into Pooh, but he sure did like posing and collecting autographs from the characters. He had that down.

 

Photographing inside with tight spaces proved challenging with my cropped lens, but we made it work. Eeyore greeted our table first.


Followed by Pooh.

 

Hugs with Tigger.
If you look really closely, you'll notice Miller's leftover eyeliner from his Stormwater disguise. I scrubbed him silly in the bathtub before dinner. He was thrilled with all the washcloth action tidying his face. All that thick, black makeup was hard to remove. I guess I should be thankful that his moustache finally came off!
 

And, we topped it all off with some Piglet love.
 

The real entertainment at dinner was watching Miller play with his new fleet of Disney buses. While some children request stuffed animals & other themed happys...our child picks the transport bus.
 He was the driver and collected a long list of announcements throughout the week from all of our bus drivers to use in his imaginative play Miller made sure that he let his passengers know they should sit down, no leaning on doors, and no smoking inside. I nonchalantly asked him what smoking was and he informed me that it was something grown-ups blow outside of their car windows.  Growing up way too fast, I tell ya!

When we left the sun was setting in the park. We soaked up the beauty of the castle changing colors as the sun was going down, down down...
Cinderella's castle all lit up at night is breathtaking. The whole scenery changes at night.

 

Not a great angle with horizontal stripes, but this is our one family shot in front of the castle.

We had hoped to squeeze in the Barnstormer ride, but the crowds were already scouting out their parade spots on the street. We settled in and claimed our real estate admiring all the balloon bouquets and activity on the streets. Grandmama and Poppy ventured out to find a coveted light stick for Miller. I brought along my Dollar Tree glowsticks in my bag, but they didn't hold a candle to all the fun he saw other little boys having twirling their light up sticks. We aren't ones to spoil Miller man with what he wants, but it WAS Disney afterall. And, his grandparents did the spoiling :)

The best $10.00 spent in the park! The neatest feature of this stick was the three different LED flashing modes. It wasn't just any light up stick.

Miller was in search of a friend to play with. He can't go too long without peer conversations. Before long, he met another little girl & traded the "what's your name?" exchange. Before we knew it they were passing eachother's parade toys back and forth and having a blast.

It didn't matter to him that her light spinner was Princess themed. He was into the cool effects!

 

Having a big time in the dark!

 

Then the lights on Main Street were turned off. The crowd cheered in anticipation and everything was black. Before long the monotone robotic voice announced the parade & the excitement in the crowd was truly electric. Then we spotted the choo choo weaving its way down Main Street all aglow with twinkling lights. The pictures don't do it justice.
The coordinating music to the parade put the experience over the top!

It was fun to introduce Miller to some of the Disney classics. I think my favorite float was Cinderella riding in her carriage with her lit stagecoach and crew. Even the stepsisters were in attendance. I was too busy oohing and ahhing with Grandmama to capture her beauty with my camera. I'm pretty sure she waved to us;)

 

By 10:00pm, a wave of exhaustion hit Miller man. We walked a little towards the park entrance after the parade to take in the Magic Memories and You projection show on the castle. We wanted to secure a fast exit spot to be among the first back on the bus to our resort. It was special to see that they include photos from park goers that day on the castle walls during the show coordinated to music.

Mom's lap always makes a good pillow.

We finally made it to the closing fireworks production. Aaaamaazing show! By this time it was nearing 11:00pm. You've heard the story about midnight and Cinderella's castle, right?

 

Then we called it a day. Poor Miller man was beyond done from all the FUN we subjected him too that night.  A fantastic magical evening in the park that we'll never forget. The perfect finale to all the memories!

Day 4: Edward Stormwaters

Day 4: The Pirates League

Before we even booked our accommodations at Disney, I took the advice from friends to reserve an appointment at The Pirate's League for the birthday boy. This is basically the boy version of the Bippity Boppity Boutique. I had success four months out with a great time and we kept it under wraps until right before our check in time. Miller didn't know what to think. Too many surprises for this boy to handle!

 

The first step to becoming a pirate in the league was to spin the wheel to roll the box that held the dice that would tell him his very own pirate name. With the numbers on the dice (and by looking up his birthday in the official book), he was given his pirate like name…
Edward Stormwaters
sounds like he could brave the rough seas if you ask me! 

 

When our Edward Stormwaters was summoned to the transformation room, his little fan club followed behind him to see the whole transformation.
In no time, Pirate Stormwaters was starting to look like a real rough and tough pirate. Miller was stoic as his makeup was going on his face. Either he was smitten with the cute pirate maiden making him over or he was thinking about how we got him into this mess. She never broke character and was speaking pirate talk the whole time. Maybe Edward couldn't understand her lingo.

 

Edward picked out his look from several selections. My goal was a friendly looking pirate. Nothing scary for our almost five year old. The black eyebrows made him look like a member of the Adams family.


 

Checking out his new stache. He gave his new look a thumbs up.
 

Bandana time with his fresh stubble. Somebody needs a shave! Arrgh!


There's that smile. I had visions of Miller in later years with facial hair. We'll take our fresh faced five year old for now.

 

After a lengthy pirate oatch that Miller couldn't repeat word for word.  He tried the best he could to participate.
He received his pirate sash and had one more step to pass the test.
 

The last stop was to knock on a solid oak door and be let in the secret room to see the captain’s library! No photographs were allowed inside. Miller was sworn to secrecy with a golden coin necklace. We got a professional picture taken of our official pirate. He was now inducted into The Pirate's League.


Of course, Edward needed to stretch and show his pirate strength outside of the transformation room. He was instructed to play swords with other little pirates around the park, but NO fighting darling little princesses.

Yo Ho Ho, A pirate's life for Edward.

 

Thankful for a special birthday surprise for our little boy. It truly was a special treat for all of us. We loved how as the day wore on, Miller shed some of his pirate accessories only to have his daddy steal the look. Landon left the park with one earring and a sash. Where's my picture? :))

 More pirate adventures awaited our Edward back at "The Pirate House". He was jumping from golden treasure quilt to golden treasure quilt mimicking all the new pirate lingo he picked up dodging alligators between the beds. Happy Birthday little man!