Backyard Birthday 3.0

We were blessed with no rain on Saturday morning despite a dismal forecast for the weekend and Dagny got to have her backyard birthday party with all her little friends!

We had a soapy water and sponge car wash.

 

The big blow up pool was hit with the bigger kiddos but Dagny took a couple trips in and out.

 I made some homemade bubble solution (dish soap, water and glycerine) and had a bunch of fun bubble wands.

 

The structure was fun for all and Dagny shared her beloved swings much better than I anticipated!

 Here is Dagny with her long lost twin sister, Sadie. Sadie's a year old and a preschool buddy and the fact that they both wore pink coverups over their bathing suits to the party was hysterical.

And our sandbox got some excellent raking, digging, and dumping time.

 Before we knew it, it was pink cupcake time!

Can you feel her excitement?

Happy Birthday to you, Dagny!

She blew out her candles with some assistance from me and couldn't have been more thrilled!

The cupcakes were pink inside and out and the reviews from the crowd were quite positive :)

 The kids played more after the cupcakes and eventually the play moved to the driveway where Dan played basketball with everyone (big and small) and then after most guests had left, Finley, Dagny and her friend, Himika, "played" baseball. It was terribly unsporty but awesome to watch!

All in all, a great party as it low key and no hassles and resulted in  a perfectly satisfied birthday girl! Her real birthday will be here soon enough and she'll be, gulp, 3!

Finley Says Goodbye to Preschool

Finley has had a great two years at CBE ELC and we have come to find school like a home away from home.  Our dearest friends and our kids' dearest friends are there and we love all the teachers like family.  While Finley is more than ready for what's next, he was a bit sad to say goodbye.  The night before his last day, there was a wonderful all school picnic and Finley's class performed two great songs for everyone.

We were so proud of Finley and all his buddies!  Then, the Rabbi came up to offer some special blessings to all the "graduates."

 

Dagny watched all of this very intently.

After many thank yous to all the teachers and our beloved director, I got to go up on stage to accept the role of President of the Preschool Advisory Board.  Yikes.  This also gives me the fancy title of Vice President of Early Education on the temple board.  Time to print volunteer business cards and clear my 3rd Sunday and 4th Monday nights of the foreseeable future.

Finley and all his friends had fun running around the playground and enjoyed popsicles together one last time on school grounds.  Since Dagny has two more years at ELC, Finley will certainly be back on these stomping grounds here and there but it just won't be the same.

The next day was the official last day of school for Finley and he kindly posed with his teachers, Dawn and Sam at pick up time.

 And one more with his boys.

 At home that afternoon, we celebrated both kids being done with school for the year with rocket pops.

Here they are together on their first day back in September. Time sure flies.

The following week, the kids went to school camp since I was still teaching but Finley got to visit me one day and he seemed just the right size for kindergarten.  He really liked the spaceship project we did with the class and the book we read about a boy and an alien getting stuck on the moon.

 And Finley's love of space inspired me to make this bulletin board for my new class that will begin in the fall.  My current kiddos decorated all the letters and Finley helped me design the foil ship.

On Finley's last day of school camp (i.e. his second last day in two weeks...), I snapped this photo as we left.   

Thank you, CBE ELC, he'll miss you!

End of T-Ball Season Fun

Finley had an absolute blast playing t-ball this season with ABYB (Acton-Boxborough Youth Baseball).  He had coaches who knew what they were doing, a good mix of players on his team, plenty of fun snacks, and a pizza and trophy party to wrap it all up!  This past Saturday was his last game and he already told us he wants to play again next year.

It was a gorgeous day and the other team's coach had brought some great baseball tunes to play in between innings (Centerfield, Sweet Caroline, etc) and the kids had a great time.  Finley got to play short stop, left field, and first base.  At first base, he fielded well and impressed the coach at home plate with his throws home :) Here's out number 14 at bat for the last time this season.

In classic America suburban style, we headed to a local pizza joint for lunch and trophies after the game.  

 (I love Dagny's excited expression in the above shot.)

He loves his new trophy and would probably sleep with it if it wasn't kind of pointy.  It even says his team name and his full name on it (and "it's golden, mommy, really gold!").

While she didn't get a trophy, Dagny certainly earns the MVP spectator award this season.  She LOVED going to Finley's games and practices (far more than I did, at time).  GG can attest to this reality when the three of us were out produce shopping after Finley, Dan and Grandpa had gone off to one of Finley's games and Dagny broke out into tears when she realized she wasn't going, too.  She truly enjoyed packing up a bag of stuff to bring, setting out our blanket, and sitting in our fish beach chairs.

"I can see Finley and his blue shorts and green cleats."

 "This is Finley with his glove and this is me saying, "Go Finley Go!"

She's chomping at the bit for her turn to be on the field and I can only hope Finley will be as good of a fan as she has been for him!

Dad's Day 2015

Since you can't take a frisbee from Dan or Dan from the game of frisbee, Dan spent most of Father's Day weekend at a local tournament.  Lucky for him, we zoomed over after t-ball to watch some of rounds 2 and 3 on Saturday.  I think we brought his team good luck since they had lost their first game and were down by 2 in the second when we arrived, but they went on to win that game and the one after!

In between rounds, Dan and Finley went out to toss and it looked pretty darn good.  Finley's catching skills have really improved lately in that Dan can throw it a little bit higher or to the left or right and Finley can still snag it.

His lefty throws are shaping up nicely, too.  (Dagny with the photo-bomb.)

Father's Day weekend also included outdoor Tot Shabbat on Friday night...

 and dinner at The Cheesecake Factory on Saturday night.

Plus gifts of mint chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches (hidden in the basement freezer) and Connect Four.  Happy Dad's Day to one of the best...especially ours that finds fun just about anywhere, even the Costco diaper aisle!