Andrew's Birthday Week

We celebrated Andrew's birthday this week. It was a great week of celebrating!

Andrew's request for birthday breakfast was hot chocolate, toast and birthday oatmeal, which is regular oatmeal with sprinkles on it. Sprinkles turn everything into a party.

Andrew wanted to help me make his birthday cake. He was such a great little assistant. Upon his request we used the red baking dish. We made a funfetti cake with homemade chocolate frosting. It was Yummy!

Once Dad got home from work we ate dinner, made some wishes, blew out candles, and ate cake.

Andrew enjoyed his cake!

We concluded his actual birthday with opening a few gifts. It was a great evening party.

Then on Saturday we had a few friends over to play games and hang out. The kids played put the symbol on the transformer and we even had a transformer pinata.

Andrew's cousin Simon was so excited here. He is showing everyone the transformer head that flew off the pinata. It was a great week for a birthday.

We are so grateful to have Andrew as part of our family. It has been a great 3 years. It is so fun to see him " Transforming" into a big boy. We love you so much. --Mom

Let the party begin

Andrew's Birthday invite!

Yes, that is a Andrew-Bumble Bee. --emily

Vampire teeth

Jacob went to a friend's birthday party this morning and look what was in the goody bag. I think this is Jacob's first pair of vampire teeth. He was sporting them all day.

Jacob thought it was cool that he could stick his tongue out through the vampire teeth. What a cute kid! --emily

Mail box fun!

This week the boys received this fun Halloween treat in the mail from Bat-ma and Bat-pa Mark. It was full of stickers, gum, candy, Halloween band-aids and much more. Thanks for the Halloween surprise. The boys love to get mail. --emily

Pumpkin Patch

The pumpkin patch that has been our tradition for the past few years was closed this year due to elk eating the pumpkins. So we tried another local patch. The weather was warm and sunny so we only needed a sweatshirt to stay cozy. I wonder if the weather is always this nice at this patch. ;)

Andrew followed Jake around the whole time saying. " Where are we going next, Jake?" Andrew was Jacob's little shadow all afternoon. It was so cute. They walked the whole patch looking for the perfect pumpkins.

This Patch had great pumpkins. I even wondered for a moment if they had some pumpkins brought in from California. Isn't that where all the big fruit come from?

I love this picture of Andrew. He sat nicely, allowed me to take a picture and then nicely asked if he could see the picture. Both kids aren't this way!

We bought hot, yummy doughnuts and watched them making them from scratch. Yummy . . . It was the perfect day for the pumpkin patch. I love impromptu family outings. --emily

Weekend with Grandpa

Grandpa Siple was in town for the weekend.

It's always fun to have him visit.

We went to the Salmon Days festival in Issaquah on Saturday. We got to see the salmon swimming up stream, we ate yummy snacks, and we visited the booths of countless vendors. I think it was too much fun for Andrew, who fell asleep while being carried by Emily.

We decided to take a trip to Whidby Island the next day. Our journey began with a ride on the ferry. Ferry rides are always fun.

We found a cool beach that was covered with old logs and beach wood.

Someone had built a fort with some of the wood. Jacob and Andrew had a great time playing in the fort.

The boys had fun playing with the wood on the beach. They found pieces of wood that looked like shovels, hammers, guns, telescopes, etc.

Here Jacob is modeling some wooden horns he found.

The boys love to dig. They used wooden "shovels" they found to dig for treasure.

On Monday morning we went to the golf course to hit balls at the range. Jacob and Andrew continue to display a lot of natural ability.

Grandpa impressed us all with his ability to hit the ball straight. Although he denies it, we think he has been taking lessons so he could impress us.

After golf, we went home to enjoy some birthday cake. Since Grandpa, Kelly, Jacob, and Andrew all have a birthday within a month of each other, we celebrated all four birthdays at once.

It was a great weekend. We're glad grandpa was able to come visit. --Kelly

Birthday time

This was Jacob's birthday week, and he is now 5. It is amazing how the time has passed so quickly. We had a small family celebration on his actual birthday. When Kelly got home from work the first thing Jacob wanted to do was open his gifts. So that is what we did.

Jacob wanted cookies for his family celebration. So we had a cookie pile for his "cake."

Yummy, Yummy!

On Saturday we had a few friends over for a kid party. They played kids games, open gifts and ate cake!

Jacob wanted a tall layered cake for his friend party, so this is what we came up with. It was yummy chocolate cake with the best frosting ever! Home made by mom of corse.

Happy Birthday Jake. We love you so much and are so glad you are part of our family.

Love, Mommy and Daddy

We're transformin'

Jacob's birthday invite, he helped me design it this year.

Isn't it fantastic! --emily

Soccer

Jacob's first soccer class was today. He was so not into it. He didn't join the group at all. As you can see, all his teammates are on the field and he is still standing on the sidelines. But I stood my ground as a mom and we didn't leave until the class was over. I hope for a better class this next week. We shall see! --emily

Pre-School

Today was Jacob's first day of Pre-School. My Friend Wendy Pynn has a pre-school out of her home. The class is a couple of hours on Tuesday and Thursdays.

I Love this picture, Jacob wanted me to take a picture of his new back pack. Look closely to find Mr. incredible aka Mr. Andrew. My boys are so funny! --emily