Aaron Turns 2 & It's Party Time!

So you may have noticed I didn't post anything last week.  Well, that is because we had an excellent birthday party for the boys at the new house, but everyone, myself included, was totally wiped by Sunday night.

Let's start with prep we did on Friday to get ready for the party.  First, we went to pick up the giant bouncy house (which barely fit in my car), and then, since it was on the way home, we stopped by Trader Joe's to get some food for the party.  We went home to empty the car, and then we had to head out to Market Basket to pick up the stuff Trader Joe's doesn't carry.  By that point we were all a bit frazzled, so we popped into Papa Gino's for lunch, and the boys were so well behaved.  I baked all through their nap, and then sent them outside to play with Auntie Andrea in the bouncy house (which they loved) so I could bake some more.  I was up until 1am making the Scooby Doo cake Mudgie requested, but it came out awesome and Mudgie was so happy about it!

On the day of the party, the kids were all wound up, and it was hard to keep them contained until after their nap.  Somehow we managed, and at 3pm the party guests arrived.  All of their friends were there, and all the kids had a great time.  We were lucky that much of our family could join us too, and we had a great crowd of about 50 people!  Mudgie was such an enthusiastic tour guide, showing all of his friends his new house.  The kids had a blast playing on the bouncy house and the slip and slide, and of course, eating cake and ice cream.  Our family stuck around for a barbecue dinner, and then it was present time.  It was like Christmas morning for the boys.  They got so many presents! Mudgie got an electric train set and was in heaven.  Aaron, surprisingly (or not), loved all the clothes he got and wanted to put them on immediately, and over the clothes he already had on.  His favorite present, however, was his sandals, which according to him were "just like Mudgie's!"

Sunday morning was spent playing with the new toys.  Mudgie had his whole train set put together by 7am!  That afternoon we went over to Grandma Mary's and Grandpa Steve's house for another barbecue and a swim in the pool.  Aaron is not really into the water yet, but Mudgie is a little fish and loves the pool.  We all had a lot of fun.

Aaron's actual birthday on Tuesday went by without much fanfare.  Unfortunately, I was still so spent from the big party that I didn't have it me to do anything else (bad Mommy!).  Fortunately, I don't think he really noticed.  On Friday, the boys had their annual doctor's visit.  Aaron is now 27.4 lbs and 34 inches tall.  He was lucky and escaped the visit without any shots.  Mudgie, however, was not so fortunate.  He weighed in at 35.4 lbs and 40 inches tall, and he had to get 4 shots before he was sent home.  It did not go over well, but the anticipation leading up to it was far worse than the shots themselves.

On Saturday, Talia, Mudgie and Aaron's friend from daycare, came over for a "sleep under."  It was basically everything a sleepover entails without the actual sleeping over part.  Mudgie had been excited for this all week, and apparently Talia felt the same way.  The two of them, and at times Aaron too, played so well together.  They were both really kind toward each other, and it was so nice to be able to let them do their own thing and not have to referee the get together.  After dinner, all the kids changed into their pajamas, and Mudgie and Talia both had Superman jammies.  They thought it was great, and they looked adorable!  They cuddled up on the couch and watched Scooby Doo...Talia picked it out at the library just for Mudgie.  Watching the two of them together was really the highlight of my week.

On Sunday, we went to One Stop Fun (think indoor hamster maze for kids) for a birthday party for one of our new neighbors.  The family is the only one on the whole street with small kids, and it was so nice of them to invite us.  It was a great chance to meet them, and while the kids didn't socialize with each other very much, Dave and I enjoyed meeting them, and I'm sure we'll be seeing more of each other since we live so close.  Mudgie was a great little explorer there, much more independent than he had been in the past.  Aaron was great and probably would have gone through the entire place by himself if we let him.  The difference in personalities between Mudgie and Aaron is really highlighted by a place like that, but more importantly, they both had a great time and we made some new friends.