Sam wanted to have a Lego party this year, and once again we held it in our front yard. My Aunt J was in town to watch our local C cousins (her grandkids), and my Ant Bee and her family drove up from Oregon to see everyone. Sam was thrilled that his cousins M and Z stayed at our house. We had a fun time having a party and a family reunion on the same weekend! I didn't get to visit with everyone as much as I would have liked - I was scurrying around making sure the party games/food were in order, and then I had to leave to perform with my choir - but it was still fun to see everyone for a little bit.
Sam wanted doughnuts served this year instead of cake. We got some Lego brick and Lego figure molds and made white chocolate treats with them. We also used the molds to make crayons for the kids to take home in their goodie bags.
Guests included my visiting family members, plus Bop (and Gram, who was behind the camera for this shot)
The kids built towers out of candy lego bricks and also played some Lego Movie activities (crossword search and a maze) while waiting for the guests to arrive
"Pin the Head on the Lego Guy"
J was the Master of Ceremonies and helped to make sure that all of the activities ran smoothly. Here he is coordinating a Lego relay race.
Right now Sam is into Legos, Minecraft, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, "Magic Treehouse" and "Secret of Droon" books, and playing "Hall of the Mountain King" on the piano. We have started piano lessons in earnest this summer (J and I are teaching him), and Sam likes to play a few tunes on the piano (which also includes Star Wars theme music and the beginning of "The Sound of Music"). He still loves to read and goes on "binge reading sessions" whenever I make a trip to the library. He also still loves to pretend, especially with his BFF Lewis. A few months ago, Sam and Lewis had a running imaginary game at school that they named "The Legend of the Ruby of Fire."
Lucy's birthday was a multi-day event, because we had a little dinner celebration (J's brother B was also in town visiting) one her actual birthday but then took L to the zoo later that weekend.
We thought she would be excited to open her present this morning, but she was more excited to see Sam come into the living room while carrying a stuffed animal.
This is the little yellow chair that we gave Lucy. The bottom of the seat lifts up to reveal a small storage compartment, and today Lucy spent several ten minute stints placing her stuffed dolly (a darling hand-me-down from Cousin Z) in and out and in and out of the compartment.
Sam wanted to be the same as Lucy, so he brought his green stuffed chair downstairs and sat next to her.
Sam is showing Lucy the book that he gave her as a present
She loves her new Elmo doll!
A birthday girl in her party dress and party shoes
She was very interested in the candle and after we lit it she opened her hands with the palms upwards, which is her way of querying, "What is it?" or "Where did it go?"
I remember that Sam was very timid and didn't want to eat his cupcake - he didn't know what it was, since I had never given him a sugary treat before he turned one. That wasn't the case with Lucy, though! She had already had some treats and knew exactly what we were giving her. She dug right in! In fact, she saw me make these cupcakes and smacked her lips together when she saw them sitting on our kitchen counter before the party!
These pigs are the first animals at the zoo that Lucy saw up close. She got so excited and couldn't believe her eyes. Pigs!
She loved the penguins! She laughed and kicked her legs in delight when they dove in and out of the water.
Lucy was somewhat bewildered by the carousel. She liked the horses and kept pointing them out to us, but she was was a bit overwhelmed by the lights and music.
Lucy is crawling around everywhere right now. She still likes to practice walking by holding onto our fingers, but she is also content to crawl. She likes to have her hair combed (she makes a little "ooooh!" sound when we brush her hair), but she also likes to run her messy food-laden hands through her locks while she eats during meals.
The word she consistently says is "Bam" ("Sam"), and she says this word almost immediately after she wakes up from sleeping. She wants to be near Sam all the time. We think she may have also said "Dad" a few times. She also says "uh-oh." She also understands a lot of words: hi, hug, pat-pat-pat, kiss, eye, nose, where, uh-oh, no, spit, bath, milk, and bye-bye. She tries to make the noises of a few animals: horse, sheep, cow, bunny (sniffing), fish (gaping mouth), monkey, and dog.
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