A Bowling Alley Cats Party: A lengthy birthday post for posterity

I think it all started with Milo and Otis.  

Then, Lucy got a Hogwarts Castle Lego set that came with some cat figures.  The castle was soon placed on a shelf and the cats became the catalyst (pun intended) that initiated L and H's imaginary cat world that consists of a number of special cats: Milo, Joy, Bequeath, Milo Jr., and Stripey, to name a few.

There are also Webkinz.  Lots of Webkinz cats that have the same names as the Lego cats.

They spend a lot of time thinking like cats.

In our house, we talk about birthday parties for months before they actually happen.  There is a lot of brainstorming and planning that goes into each one.  I consider birthdays a main maternal priority and responsibility.  I mean, if your own mom-- the person responsible for your birth-- won't make every reasonable effort to make you feel super special and celebrated on your birthday, then who will?  So, no matter the party request, I try my best to execute their vision.  Henry first wanted a Transformer party, which suited me just fine since I knew I would have my hands full with newborns.  Transformers would be easy-- you can pretty much let Party City take care of the details.  Then, he remembered (with Lucy's help) how much he loves cats. 

So, an alley cat party was requested.

I wasn't up for a full-on party at my house, with aforementioned newborns, so I suggested bowling.

Bowling Alley Cats.

If you Google "bowling alley cats", you will learn that there is a Tom and Jerry episode with the same name.  I dislike Tom and Jerry.  A lot.

With Mom's help, this is what we came up with:

Lucy and Henry made alley cat goodie bags.

We had fun, but a full game of bowling proved to be about 30 minutes too long for our average party goer.

Today is Henry's actual birthday.  We celebrated with a low-key family day, starting with breakfast in bed: and "h" shaped pancake and half a pear.

Presents followed.

We rounded out Henry's 6th year with lunch with cousins, cupcakes, two trips to Walmart (and a few new Lego sets), corn dogs for dinner, followed by a bonfire and s'mores.

Henry is a smart boy.  He is a thoughtful friend and very giving.  He loves to get compliments.  He is kind of sneaky- if something is misplaced, H is the first person we ask. He is a protective brother and cuddly son.  His laugh is infectious.  His imagination is immense.   

And we love him a ton!

All About This Boy

For the past couple of days, we've been celebrating Henry's first five years.

And, it's been great.

We kicked off his birthday with traditional breakfast and presents in bed.

The birthday boy's request: granola and an apple.

He wasn't really interested in the food as much as the presents.

We spent the rest of the day playing with new toys and getting ready for his Ninjago party.

We baked a cake (Funfetti was his choice) and made a pinata.

Larry's Pizza was Henry's pick for dinner.  And we were pleasantly surprised to find the Hot Springs Larry's even better than the Little Rock Larry's.

...

The Party

...

We started out with Ninja headband decorating. 

We roasted hot dogs, munched on brownies and chips, and chatted with friends.

Game time was a scavenger hunt for the four Weapons of Spinjitzu.  

Don't know what Spinjitzu is?  Click here.

First, the Nunchucks of Lightning in a tall tree.

Then the Scythe of Quakes, in a deep dark cave/crawl space.

Third, were the Shurikens of Ice, hidden in something that resembles an igloo.

Then, on to find Kai's Sword of Fire.  

After all the weapons were found, the kids had to save Nya from the evil Lord Garmadon pinata.

Cake and presents followed.

I think Henry had a really good time, which was the whole point.  

We sure love this boy.

What a Weekend

This has been a very long, busy, exhausting weekend.

Henry sums it up best.

It's a Dog Party!

Tomorrow is Henry's birthday.  

I can't believe that he is going to be FOUR!  

Hooray for four!

We celebrated early with family and the gang at Larry's Pizza last night for dinner.  It was a double party as our sweet friend Ryli's b-day was yesterday (she turned the big 0-8)! 

 Henry requested Dirt Cake, so that's what he got.  Even if I forgot to bring it and Billy had to run back home in traffic to get it.  And even if I forgot the camera, so I have no pictorial proof .  And even if I forgot a birthday candle.  Lucky for forgetful me, I have a rememberful/sharingful friend who let us borrow Ryli's candle.    

Today, we had a little party with Henry's preschool friends.  He requested a DOG party.  Easy enough, now that we have a dog.

First, we made doggy ears.  

In the midst of our cutting and stapling, one little girl gave herself a haircut (or grooming as we call it at a dog party) with her scissors.  I got a pretty good laugh over the wispy blond curls that fluttered to the floor.  Luckily, her mom is a hair dresser, so she can probably make it work.

We played "Sit" (which is a lot like musical chairs, but without the chairs).

 There were cupcakes that looked like this:

And candle blowing that looked like this:

 And lots of great presents.  We are so lucky to have such generous friends!!  Henry played with all his new toys the rest of the afternoon.

When it was time to go, these little guys went home with our friends:

Henry said it was a "good" party, which is always my goal.

Tomorrow will be a low-key celebration of the actual turning of years for our buddy.  I think breakfast in bed, a new bike and dinner at Cracker Barrel are in order.  

He just loves their peppermint sticks and 

I just love my darling, wonderful, clever, spectacular, fantastic boy!

Reverse Appliqué Tutorial: Boy's Valentine's Shirt

While working on Lucy's Valentine's dress, Henry expressed an ardent desire for a Valentine's dress of his own.  It's hard for him when 98% of the things I sew are for Lucy.  Not wanting him to feel left out, we worked together to make him a Valentine's shirt.  He picked the fabric for the heart and watched eagerly as I sewed and cut and trimmed.  

He was very happy with the result. 

I embellished this t-shirt using reverse appliqué.  It's a very easy process and I thought I'd share how it's done, just in case you have a three-year old boy in need of a Valentine's dress. 

1. I took one of Henry's t-shirts and removed the pocket with a seam ripper (hence the little hole on the right).  That small hole actually acts as a guide later on.  If you are working with a shirt that doesn't have a pocket, cut a small hole in the front of the shirt where you want the heart to go.

2. Cut a piece of fabric into a heart shape.  This heart is about 4" x 4".

3. Turn the shirt inside out and pin the heart over the hole you made in step one.

4. Using a straight or zig-zag stitch, sew around the edge of the heart.  Turn the shirt right side out and cut away the fabric that falls inside your stitching.  Cut close to your stitches (about an 1/8" away from the seam), but be careful not to cut through them.  

5. Baddabing-baddabang! You're done!  AND you have a happy boy!

The Adventures of Apron Boy

Thanks, Grandma J, for the apron with red bowling balls on it!  It fits my big-helper-super-Henry-golden-knight-puppy-dog perfectly.  It came in very handy when we decided to make some chocolate chips cookies to warm up our wintry afternoon.
You'll have to post about the pattern, because I don't know what you used.

Sugar Cookies with Henry

With Lucy away at school for most of the day, Henry and I have had some long over due alone time. We made cookies as an after school surprise for L. Even though Henry ate half the dough, we still had plenty of cookies to go around. This is a great sugar cookie recipe, a little different from Mom's. Hope you like it!

Henry's Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter (2 sticks), at room temp*
1 cup sugar
3 eggs, at room temp
3 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups flour, + more for rolling out the dough

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cream butter and sugar together in a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time. Beat in vanilla. Slowly mix in baking soda, salt and flour on a low speed until combined. Turn out dough on floured surface. Roll out evenly with floured rolling pin until it is about 1/4"-1/8" thick. Cut into desired shapes. Place on cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes, or until edges are golden. Cool cookies on a wired rack and frost to your liking. Makes approx. 4 dozen. *Note, if your butter is not a room temperature, place both sticks in the microwave for 45-60 seconds on the defrost setting.

cooling

tasting

sprinkling

voila!