Swirly crayons!

Last week we had some kids over for a playdate to make big, swirly crayons. I've wanted to do this project for ages, and I've been faithfully saving our broken crayons. We pooled our "savings" with a few other families so we would have enough to fill up the muffin tin.

Make sure to grease the muffin tin with Pam or something similar, then add the broken crayons and melt them in a 250 degree oven for 20 minutes, let cool (we sped up the cooling process in the fridge), pop out of the muffin tin, and voila! Big multicolored crayons that little fingers can grip.

They're so cool-looking!

I found a cool site with tons more projects for broken crayons: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf666289.tip.html. Can't wait to try more.

Happy. Crazy. Fun.

I chose (well, B begged and I agreed) to have B's 4th birthday party at a local indoor jungle gym because I thought it would be less crazy than having it at home. You know--no cleaning beforehand, no clean-up, and you just have to bring the cake.

Turns out, a dozen preschoolers running around like little hooligans make for one crazy party--no matter where you are! We were SO wiped out afterward. But everyone had a blast. I'm so glad we did it.

Bianca was so excited for her party for weeks. The day of, she was so excited I thought she would burst. Steve commented that it's a good thing the party started at 11 am. She probably would have imploded from anticipation if she'd had to wait until the afternoon.

Picture of a happy girl!

Blowing out her candles.

The cupcakes--the Hello Kitty decorations were rings for the kids to wear.

In the jungle gym with her pal.

Baby races! Mia had a pal there too.

It was a wild little whirlwind of a day. And I can't believe we have a 4 year old! She's an amazing little ball of energy and she just gets more fun, and more interesting. Here's to another great year, Nonni! We love you!

Macy's parade

The day after Thanksgiving, we headed to downtown Seattle for the annual Macy's parade. We've been hearing about it for years from Gene and Julie...I'm so glad we decided to go this year! It was the perfect parade for little ones. Lots of bright, colorful costumes and fun stuff for them to look at.



I loved watching their faces as they watched the parade...too cute.

Sophia kept trying to give Bianca a lift to "help her see". Luckily B didn't mind too much. :)

Every holiday parade needs a Santa!

Warming up back at their hotel. Sophs was so cute with Miss Mia.

Later on that day, Steve's mom threw a sixth birthday party for Sophia (since she lives in Dallas and isn't here on her actual birthday).

Birthday girl

Pretty cousins in their holiday dresses. It was the end of a long day and they look soooo tired, but the dresses were too sweet and we just had to get a shot.

Happy Turkey!

We had a great turkey day at the Jacobson home in Redmond. Unfortunately, cousins Jillian and Holly were sick and had to stay in Arizona. So Mia and Bianca got to play with Sophia, their cousin from Dallas. Lots of good food and good fun!

Mia loved the toys in the playroom. We even caught a rare glimpse of Maya the reclusive cat in the background.

Julie, Sophia, and Dan's son Tommy setting out the new placecards.

Yummy!

Sophs was so sweet with Mia.

Two shirts

Our little fashionista doesn't miss a thing. Her latest observation is that adults often wear two shirts--so she's decided that's the thing to do. Today she went into her room to get dressed and came out wearing this: jeans, polka-dot skirt, polka dot socks, and of course, a short-sleeved top over a long-sleeved one. Both tops were backwards, but so what. :)

Mia was also styled by big sis. Two shirts, natch! I think choosing Mia's clothes is hands-down one of B's favorite parts about having a little sis. She's been picking out almost all of Mia's outfits lately. She likes to lay them out for me on Mia's changing pad. Mom gets final say over what Mia wears, though, since the outfit selections can get a little crazy.

"Two shirts, one shirt, who cares? I'd look cute in a paper bag!"

Delicious autumn!

I came across a beautiful quote about my favorite season:

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.
--George Eliot

We've had a gorgeous autumn with our girls and some great fall experiences. Here are some photos from last month that I never got around to posting.

We met Steve's folks at Remlinger Farms. The place is amazing--although, not so much a farm. It's more of a carnival for kids. I don't think we encountered a speck of dirt on our entire visit. Not that that's a bad thing.

Bianca's first ride!

We got more of a real farm experience a couple of weeks later at Schiltin's Farm in Olympia.


Hayride!

Pumpkin pickin'.

Finally, we had a park playdate at Wright Park (yes, Bianca opted to wear her giraffe Halloween costume from last year). I love the enormous, ancient trees at this park--we were standing underneath one, and it started "raining" acorns! We got bonked on the head a few times but we collected a bunch.


All in all, a practically perfect fall.

Happy Birthday Pumpkin!

Whew--a whirlwind birthday weekend! Two birthdays, one party, lots and lots of fun!

First, we celebrated Mia's actual birthday on Thursday. The girls both enjoyed some birthday pancakes:


Friday was Steve's thirtysomething birthday. :) He got his present early this year (a little shopping spree at the Nike employee store in Beaverton, Oregon) so we just had a quiet dinner at home. Unfortunately, his birthday was kind of sandwiched bewteen Mia's actual birthday and her party, so I was pretty busy with party stuff. Happily, he's a great dad and didn't mind letting his girl take center stage. LOVE you, hon!

Mia's party was Saturday. I had a lot of fun with the preparation and decorations, since I love fall, pumpkins, and the color orange.




The pumpkin patch cupcakes were so much fun to make! Pumpkin cake with Swiss meringue buttercream--YUM! I wanted them to look like little pumpkin patches, complete with signs. Thank goodness my mom and Kendra found the little pumpkin candies. They were absolutely sold out everywhere I looked.

Pumpkin hummus.

Pumpkin gnocchi with browned butter sage sauce.

Birthday girl!

Inhaling her cupcake.

Sweets table.

Bianca was a good gift helper. She's wearing another tutu (Grandma made tutus for both girls--thanks!)





We took so many photos and I don't want to make this post any longer. Here's the album with the rest. Can't believe our sweet little pumpkin is one! Thanks, everyone, for a fabulous time!

Onward--Bianca's party is a few weeks away!