Bike Party - Part 2

The next portion of Cody and Jaden's party was a series of bike activities scattered around the cul-de-sac. It was SO wonderful having multiple family members attending the boys' party so that we could have help managing each of these stations. To help the kids keep track of which stations they visited, we gave them all bike "passports." Upon completion of each activity, they'd get a star sticker to cover each number. 

When we first got outside, task #1 for the kids was attaching their new bike baskets to the front of their bikes.

Then, we sat the kiddos down for some instructions and safety rules. Don't they all look thrilled? :) A few of the boys' friends had younger siblings tag along too, if you're wondering why there are some extra kids in the picture...

Just in case of injury, we were prepared for some skinned knees or elbows! Cody and Jaden chose the band-aid designs.

And here are all the stations!

#1: FOLLOW THE SIGNS

My mom guided the kids through this one. The kids rode down the sidewalk and obeyed each of the following signs-- stop sign, school crossing (stopped and sang their ABCs), yield, RR crossing (stop and say, "Choo, choo!," curvy road sign (weave their bikes back and forth), do not enter (turn around and complete the signs one more time).

#2: BIKE DANCE

The kids followed the arrows in and out of the cones and tried not to get too dizzy! Uncle Andrew expertly managed this station while simultaneously keeping 1-year-old Ben happy in his stroller.

#3: BUMPY RIDE

Homemade speed bumps (made from pool noodles cut in half) made for a challenging ride in this station!

#4: PAPER ROUTE

This was one of the more memorable stations for Jaden and Cody. The kids were given a stack of mini rolled-up newspapers to put inside their bike baskets. As they rode along the sidewalk, the kids delivered the papers by tossing them into various containers.

#5: SUPER STOPPER

This station was more difficult than it appeared! From the starting line, the kids biked quickly towards this row of cones. The goal was to stop as close as possible to the cones without knocking them over.

#6: BIKE DASH

How fast can your bike (or in Zoey's case, your scooter) go? Daddy timed the kids as they raced from one line to the next, and the kids tried to beat their own time.

#7: BIKE WASH

At this stop, the kids could wash their bike in two different ways-- manually with soapy water and a sponge...

...or the drive-through car wash express!

#8: FIGURE 8

self-explanatory :)

#9: PARKING "BREAK"

At this final station, if the kids demonstrated good parking between the lines, they could take a break...

...with a cool glass of lemonade. It was a muggy morning, so some kids visited this station several times! I love the sign that Jaden and Cody created for this. :)

When the kids showed me their completed passport, they earned a piece of candy, either a Twix (Cody's favorite) or a Kit Kat (Jaden's favorite).

The kids seemed to enjoy the freedom to ride around the cul-de-sac, although some of them were a little flustered by the idea of completing the stations out of order. Thankfully, no injuries occurred, and all the kids successfully completed their passports.

Bike Party - Part 1

For Cody and Jaden's 5th birthday party, we decided on a bike theme. These two boys absolutely LOVE their bikes! Each time we go outside, bike-riding is nearly always their first chosen activity, so I knew they'd enjoy doing some bike activities with their friends. Most of our party ideas were borrowed from my talented party-planning sister who had a bike party for my nephew Ian a few years ago. Also, my sister-in-law Sarah gets the credit for taking nearly all of these fabulous pictures. 

Our morning was such a fun one! Here are the birthday boys, testing out the bike wash prior to their party. Note the bicycle T-shirts that they helped me pick out.

We chose to have the bike party at my parents' home because they live in a quiet cul-de-sac (perfect for multiple preschoolers biking around simultaneously). Thanks again, Mom and Dad, for your sharing your home with us! Here are a few pics of the party decor...

Cody and Jaden invited 6 little friends to their party-- 4 preK friends and 2 cousins. It was a cute little group of kiddos! When the kids arrived, they all left their bikes in the bike parking lot outside.

Once inside, the kids signed their names inside these two bicycle birthday books for Cody and Jaden.

Our first activity was creating license plates. Each child started with a foam rectangle piece and decorated it with markers, stickers, or gems. We had foam letter stickers for the kids' names too.

You can tell in the picture above that Jaden is filling his entire license plate with stickers. He almost ran out of room for his name! Cody, on the other hand, kept his license plate nice and simple.

My parents helped the kids attach their completed license plates to a bike basket (great finds at the dollar store!).

They all turned out quite cute!

This next activity was meant to be a time-filler as kids were getting done with their license plates at various times. As it turned out, all the kids finished at about the same time, so we all played the game together. We had rigged up the wheel on my brother's bicycle to be a sort of "spin the wheel" game.

We used two playing cards stuck together and taped to the bike frame to hit against the spokes and slow down the wheel.

The spokes contained various numbers that matched with a certain activity. Whichever number was closest to the playing cards when the wheel stopped spinning dictated which activity we did. Most of the activities were related to the number 5.... sing 5 words of a song, hop up and down 5 times, or do 5 jumping jacks.

This creative game was Jason's brainstorm. He did a great job of running the station too. The biggest hit for the kids was just spinning the wheel. :)

After this quick game, we brought the kids inside for a bike driver's license test.

Dani, Ryan, Jaden, Joshua

Zoey, Abby, Cody, John

I asked the kids various bike safety questions like what to do when crossing a street, what to do if they see lightning, how to stop their bikes, and what to wear on their heads when riding.

When everyone passed the safety test (which they all did with flying colors), we had the kids sign their names on the back of the license.

Grammy and Papa (who were just wonderful behind-the-scenes helpers with everything!) laminated the driver's licenses to make them look official.

These 4 and 5 year olds were finally ready to hit the streets! Bicycle stations coming up next....

Birthday Interviews

As per our family's tradition, I interviewed Cody and Jaden on their 5th birthday about some of their thoughts on life. I love comparing their answers from year to year. Some of their comments always surprise me! I also enjoy seeing the boys' expressions when I record the interviews. Just in case you can't understand their answers (or if you want to just skim over their answers rather than watch the videos), I wrote down their responses below each clip.

CODY'S 5-YEAR-OLD INTERVIEWS

1. How old are you?   5

2. Who is your best friend?  Zoey

3. What is your favorite thing to do?  play Outfoxed

4. What is your favorite color? green and white

5. What is your favorite food? bowtie pasta

6. What is your least favorite food? chicken (ironic that chicken is in the bowtie pasta...)

7. What do you like to do with your family? have gameathon

8. What is your favorite toy? Legos

9. What do you want to do when you grow up? get a job-- a garbage job

10. What makes you happy? when I think about Jesus' love

11. What makes you sad? when someone punches someone else

12. What is your favorite book? Ryan's Lego magazines and Skunkdog

13. What is your favorite show to watch? Paddington

13. (re-do) What is your favorite show to watch on TV? Curious George and Wild Kratts

14. What is your favorite movie? Paddington

15. Where do you like to go? the playland at church

16. What is your favorite treat? Twix

17. What do you think about before you fall asleep? How the morning will be so special

18. What is your favorite animal? Doggie

19. What is your favorite song? Fishers of Men

20. What is your favorite thing to wear? PJs

21. What are you afraid of?  the dark

22. What are you really good at?  Legos

23. What are you not very good at?  Fruit Ninja on my tablet

24. If you could change your name, what would you choose?  James

25. What is your favorite restaurant?  Old McDonalds

26. What do you like to do with Mommy?  play games with Mommy

27. What do you like to do with Daddy?  play games with Daddy

28. What do you like to do with your friends?  play at recess

29. What do you like about Sunday School?  that we get suckers

30. What's your favorite game?  Outfoxed

JADEN'S 5-YEAR-OLD INTERVIEWS

1. How old are you?  5

2. Who is your best friend?  Jesus

3. What is your favorite thing to do?  play Wild Kratts

4. What is your favorite color?  yellow

5. What is your favorite food?  bowtie pasta

6. What is your least favorite food?  broccoli

7. What do you like to do with your family?  have movie night

8. What is your favorite toy?  Legos

9. What do you want to do when you grow up?  be a fire fighter

10. What makes you happy?  people telling jokes

11. What makes you sad?  when people yell at other people and be bullies

12. What is your favorite book?  (wait for it......)

12. What is your favorite book to read?  Curious George

13. What is your favorite show to watch?  Wild Kratts

14. What is your favorite movie?  Finding Nemo

15. Where do you like to go?  vacation to the beach

16. What is your favorite treat?  Kit Kat

17. What do you think about before you fall asleep?  how good the next day is going to be

18. What is your favorite animal?  zebras

19. What is your favorite song?  Hosanna

20. What is your favorite thing to wear?  my orange shirt with the soccer ball on it

21. What are you afraid of?  monsters

22. What are you really good at?  making Adley happy

23. What are you not very good at? doing a 70 piece Magic Puzzle

24. If you could change your name, what would you choose?  Peter

25. What is your favorite restaurant?  Chick-Fil-A

26. What do you like to do with Mommy?  watch Adley do tummy time

27. What do you like to do with Daddy?  hug him

28. What do you like to do with your friends?  play games with them like tag

29. What do you like about Sunday School?  that we go to worship

30. What is your favorite game?  Monopoly Jr.

5th Birthday

June 2nd was a special day x 3 in our household. Adley turned 3 months old, and Jaden and Cody both turned the big 5. They are officially "one hand" old! Since this special day was a Friday, we had Daddy home to celebrate with us the whole day. Cody and Jaden requested that the day start off with breakfast in bed. We served them their favorites-- dry cereal and donuts. All week long as we finished off their pack of donuts, the boys referred to their chocolate and powdered donuts as "dark skin" and "light skin" donuts. So funny!

After breakfast, the boys were gung-ho about playing board games. They brought down a whole stack of games from upstairs and piled them up in the order that they wanted to play them. We made it through just the first two before the boys decided to move on to something else. :)

During the afternoon, Grammy came over to help Mommy decorate cakes for the boys upcoming birthday party. Jaden and Cody liked watching the process for a while, especially because they got to snack on some Skittles!

While Mommy and Grammy finished up the cakes, Daddy took Jaden and Cody swimming in our neighborhood pool. For dinner, the boys requested their favorite meal-- chicken pesto pasta with bowtie noodles. For dessert we had brownies decorated with some extra frosting from their birthday cakes.

Happy Birthday, Jaden and Cody! We are so thankful that God placed the two of you into our family. Your daddy and mommy love you bunches!

3 months old

On June 2, our little girl turned three months old. The past month has been such an enjoyable one with Adley! We love seeing regular smiles from her now and hearing an occasional laugh. She has become such a content, easy-going baby. We are so thankful.

And the 3-month outtake picture...

This is what happens when Mommy takes too long trying to get just the right shot! :)

Here are some current facts about our little one:

PHYSICAL

• 15 lbs, 13.5 oz.
• Can lift chin entirely off the ground during tummy time
• Transitioned to 6 month clothing!
• Tries to "climb up" Mommy and Daddy's chest during burping time, showing evidence of her strong legs

SLEEPING HABITS

• No more long, wakeful stretches in the middle of the night (hooray!)
• Naps best while in the baby swing (sometimes even 2 1/2 hours)
• Some days takes 3 regular naps, other days takes multiple catnaps (Poor child #3... Adley's naps are often interrupted or taken on the go. We are hoping this just makes her a flexible child!)
• Still likes to be swaddled before bed or naptime
• Sleeps for longest stretch (4-5 hours) at the beginning of the night in the Rock n' Play

SOCIAL

• Smiles daily
• Loves when people use "baby talk" voices with her
• Had first laugh
• Likes best being held facing outward so she can watch others
• Often coos happily in the evening hours

OTHER

• Loves sitting in the bouncer and will smile happily to herself there
• Messy month -- LOTS of drooling and diaper blowouts
• Sucks on fist regularly; occasionally gags on her fist
• Still dislikes car rides and will scream off and on during most trips
• Sits contentedly in Mommy's Baby Bjorn on shopping trips; often drools over the entire front!

Some days, Adley's thin, wispy hair has a mind of its own!

Adley likes to listen to stories with her big brothers. She can sit happily on Mommy's lap for 3-4 stories sometimes. 

Jaden and Cody love watching Adley during her tummy time. Jaden will often remind Mommy daily to give Adley this time. I love hearing the boys give Adley little pep talks as she tries to lift her head.

Adley's big brothers are so proud of her! They are so gentle with her and call her their "sweetie." They often ask to hold her (for brief intervals of time) and take friends over to her stroller at church, asking them, "Do you want to see Adley?" Jaden and Cody's genuine affection for their little sister warms my heart!

Thanks for being our sweet little girl, Adley Grace! We love you!