4th Fall Olympics

What, you thought there were only Summer and Winter Olympics?  Well around here, we have Fall games.  And we call them the 4th even if they're the 1st, because the Gold Medalist turned four!

Are you lost?  I'm talking about Katie Wynn's olympic-themed birthday party!  

Before I can go any further with this post, I must give a HUGE thank you to Beth and Patricia for taking pictures for me.  They were awesome to click away during the sweltering heat and got some great action shots of all the kids (over 700 of them combined!).  All photos in this post are credited to one of them.

The week leading up to Katie Wynn's party was SO busy, so I feel like it was thrown together very haphazardly at the last minute.  Late one evening, I stood at the kitchen counter and quickly painted signs for each of the six events.  

I did, thankfully, purchase a lot of decorations and supplies from Oriental Trading in advance.  The day before the party, Matt worked to construct each of the events and I baked the birthday cake.  Thanks to Anna and Lala for separating all the M&M colors for me!  (Pop quiz: guess which color had a LOT more than all the others...it held true for both bags that we separated.)

Not my prettiest cake ever, but it tasted delicious!  Three rings were vanilla, two were chocolate.  

We woke the kids up from their naps and got them dressed for the Olympics right before our invitees arrived.  Shout out to my Mom for making their shirts the morning of the event!

I really wanted this to feel like a real sporting event that our guests (participants) were coming to, so I fashioned our lemonade stand into a Registration Booth.  I had originally planned on having cute t-shirts made to hand out (like you would get at a 5K) but waited too late to get them done in time.  I did make bib numbers, though, so each registrant was able to pick theirs up from here.  On the invitation, we requested $4 donations to charity (Special Olympics) in lieu of gifts.  Those could be dropped off here too. 

In all honesty, I had a good little panic after our guests arrived when I realized I didn't really have a plan for the Opening Ceremony.  I was suddenly so mad at myself for not ordering the inflatable torch on Oriental Trading that I didn't think I would need.  Grrr.  But what are the odds that one of my mom friends had her daughter's paper torch craft project from pre-school still out in her car?  Winning!  We lined the kids up, handed one the torch (birthday girl didn't want to carry it), Matt hit play on the Star Spangled Banner, and we walked them around the yard and up to the edge of the patio.  

Truth talk: I've never seen an opening ceremony for the Olympics.  What the heck happens at them?  At ours, I gave a few little "Who's excited to play games today?!" cheers to the participants and that was it.  The original plan was to have Anna and Wyatt help take groups through the different events, but since they weren't able to make it at the last minute I didn't really have a plan B.  Panic started to set in again but our friends and family totally stepped in and helped out.  This was an all-hands-on-deck party if ever there was one.  

The original plan was to have Anna and Wyatt help take groups through the different events, but since they weren't able to make it at the last minute I didn't really have a plan B.  Panic started to set in again but our friends and family totally stepped in and helped out.  This was an all-hands-on-deck party if ever there was one. 

The Long Jump consisted of a line drawn in the grass (yard spray paint) and a board that I'd marked out four feet of measurements on.  I should've known that my older nephews and niece could jump farther than that.  Oops.

The High Jump was a last minute addition since Katie Wynn had just gotten the new trampoline as her birthday gift and it was going to be out in the yard anyway.  We just let the kids get in and jump around for this event.  And it was the event that was pretty much impossible to photograph. 

Matt constructed our Balance Beam out of a 2x4 and three blocks of wood.  We had no time to paint or pretty it up, but I'm pretty sure the kids didn't notice.  :)

For the Hurdles, Matt string pool noodles between two yard stakes about a foot off the ground.  They were perfect - cheap, easy to make, and didn't hurt the kids or break if they accidentally hit them.

One of my favorite parts of the whole event was during the 20 Yard Dash.  My group of three were the first to do it.  I got them in position at the starting line while my brother and nephew held up the finish line ribbon.  (See?  All hands on deck.)

I blew my whistle and they were off!

They ran as hard as they could!

Soon, they were approaching the finish line and then...

...they slid under the finish line tape as if they were sliding into home base.  

All three of them!

It never occurred to me that they hadn't ever seen a real race and wouldn't know to run through the tape!  As you can see from the picture of me in the background of the photo above, I thought it was hilarious.  Still do, actually.

And because I can't leave a perfectly in tact finish line alone...

The rest of the Olympians were properly coached to go through the tape instead of under it.

I purchased colorful rubber balls to use for the Shot Put and each participant got to choose two to throw.  Some of these pictures may look funny because in order to make it harder for the bigger kids, I made them throw theirs through their legs.  

Here are a few pictures of some other fun happenings going on at the same time as the events.

After the games, this silly girl enjoyed getting cold drinks out for everybody.  Did I mention that this took place on possibly the hottest September day ever??

Here is something I love about kids: they're instantly friends.  Look at how they're all gathered around this little table talking while waiting for the cake.  These are friends from school or church, and some of my friends' kids and they're all different ages but who cares?  They're all just hanging out.  Or maybe they all just want cake.  Whatevs.

This girl that had been running around playing all afternoon reverted back to her shy ways when we started singing Happy Birthday to her. 

It took a couple tries but she got those candles blown out! :)

And finally, you can't have Olympic Games - even Fall ones - without handing out medals.  All of our participants got to stand on the "podium" to receive their Gold Medal.  Honestly, I was surprised at how excited all the kids got about this part!

As our guests got ready to leave, Katie Wynn loved passing out favors to them.  

It was super hot, a little chaotic, and I panicked a couple of times, but in the end, it was a super successful party and the birthday girl had the best time ever!  We were all exhausted when we crawled into bed that night but the memories made were totally worth it.  

Four Years Old

Twenty-four days ago, my baby girl turned FOUR years old!  I feel like I'm still adjusting to being a parent in general, so how have four years sped by so quickly??

She was all giggles the night before her birthday.  We had been counting down til this day for SO long and I'm not sure any of us could believe it was finally here.  This girl loves a birthday!

She also loves taking turns with the camera, so I had to let her take mine so I could take hers.  :)

Just like last year, we woke her up the next morning with balloons!  She had randomly woken up at 4:00 during the night and ended up in our bed.  That doesn't happen often at all but we quickly adjusted and brought the celebration to our room.

I hope we are able to continue this birthday balloon tradition, but I tell ya, it's hard to get helium in balloons the day before and keep them hidden from your kids (while secretly praying the helium lasts)! And it will only get harder as we add more balloons to the count.

As luck would have it, Katie Wynn's preschool was closed on the Friday for her birthday (teacher in-service, I think).  So I surprised her with tickets to go see Disney on Ice that morning with her best buddy Addi Clare!

Last year's Disney on Ice show was all Frozen, but this year they did short snippets of four different shows - Tangled, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, and The Princess and the Frog.  Tangled was the only movie she had ever seen but she at least knew who Snow White and Cinderella were.  

When we got home later in the afternoon, she had lots of surprises.  Her Lala and Poppa had arrived for the weekend and her Daddy had her gift from us set up in the backyard!  We made her cover her eyes while he carried her out to it.

This picture cracks me up.  Poor Thomas just wanted to get in with us!

Somehow Thomas managed to get dirt all over his face while we jumped on the trampoline.  Typical boy.

Mimi and Poppy joined us for dinner too so she had all of her grandparents around for her special day.  She loved blowing out four candles on her cupcake!

Like most kids, her favorite part of the day was probably getting to open presents.  She got lots of cute new things - shoes, a watch, bathrobe and nightgowns, water table, and the coolest mermaid tail blanket made by her Lala.  

Her birthday party wasn't for another two days, which was such a long wait for her!  In between celebrations, she and Thomas "helped" me make her official birthday cake.  Those kids can smell a cake mix beater from anywhere in the house!  :)

I'll be back next with all the fun pictures from her birthday party!

August Phone Pics

August?  That was, like, months ago!

Typing quickly today because I want to get this post done but I don't have much time.  In August, we squeezed in one last Saturday of swimming.

We also played Olympics.  Thomas had a hard time being second place on the "podium."  He was cool with it if he could sit down, though.

These two pictures were from Open House night at Katie Wynn's school where we got to go meet the teachers and see her classroom.  (Photos actually taken at the restaurant we ate dinner at before Open House.)  Mostly, I just wanted a picture of her in this outfit because I love the back of it.  :)

I'm a sucker for matching jammies and bath time always goes more smoothly when I tell them I have new pj's for them.  If I could, I'd have a new pair for every night!

When Matt is gone and I have the kids for the evening by myself, my strategy is to bribe them to eat a good dinner and be good during the bath with the promise of popcorn and a movie afterwards.  Works like a charm and it's a huge win for me because they eat well, bathe quickly, and then sit still and are quiet while I do other things around the house.  :)

More new jammies and sibling love!  

Katie Wynn wrote her first letter during August and mailed it to her Lala and Poppa.  She was so excited about it!  I hope to make this a regular-ish thing because who doesn't love getting snail mail?!  And look at her name in the top corner - love it.

You saw from her first day of school post that she started gymnastics this month, but she also started dance class!  I was really against her doing dance too because ugh, extracurriculars, but I signed her up since she asked me to.  She was excited to try on her new outfit and shoes when they came in.

I may have been 100% against it going into it, but the second I saw her in her full outfit and that tiny bun, I was sold.  Have you ever seen a cuter ballerina?!  Goodness gracious.  She does both ballet and tap in her class and I got to watch at the end of last week's class.  So far, she doesn't care much for ballet but she LOVES marching in her tap shoes!

She is sweet and timid in her ballet outfit but she is a wild child when it comes to gymnastics!  She got a new leotard for it too and is also so full of energy in that class that her teacher has to repeatedly tell her to sit down and wait her turn.

Thomas.  This boy.  He is so funny and messy and cute and talkative and I just want to eat him up all the time.

I have no idea why he has chip clips on his shirt in the picture below on the left.  He did that by himself and was so proud.  He also told me he didn't get any of his ice cream on his shirt.  Liar.  I love the pic of him on the right.  They were sitting in the car watching Finding Nemo while Matt and I finished getting loaded up for church.  The sharks were on the screen and he got scared and wanted me to turn it off.  I told him to just cover his eyes.  I'm so glad I had my phone in my hand to catch what he did!  It's less scary when you watch between your fingers.

More ice cream.  More messes.  And maybe his first cone all to himself?  Courtesy of his Aunt Beth.  

When we get home from school/work for the day, he asks for two suckers (Dumdums, one will not do), wants to watch "Silly Monsters" (Monsters Inc. to the rest of the world), and then, after eating his suckers, jumps from the ottoman to the chair.  Over and over and over.  He's a blur.

New fascination = washing hands.  Or just letting the water run.  When did they get big enough to drag the kitchen table chairs over to the sink?  I never know what I'm going to walk in to find.

In non-kid related news, Matt and I got to go out to dinner!  We joined the Cooks and Earls for a birthday dinner celebrating Darrin.  It was nice to see them (without kids!) and enjoy good food and drinks!

We managed to knock out a project during August.  Normally I'd make this a post of its own but I took exactly zero progress shots.  We spent a full Saturday building this planter bench (following these plans from Shanty 2 Chic) to sit on the corner of our new patio.  

Ignore the half-dead plants I plopped in there for these pictures.  We love how the bench turned out!  This was one of those projects that I thought I would knock out by myself before lunch but it ended up taking me, Matt, Wyatt, and Dad all working together til late in the afternoon to finish it.  It's made out of cedar so it should weather great out in the elements.

That's a wrap on August!

Coed Bathroom

The last post in this "catch up on really old things" series is about the bathroom in Katie Wynn's room.  When we moved into the house just before she arrived, we decorated the room just for her.  It was very pink.

When Thomas came along (yes, over two years ago - I'm nothing if not fashionably late on things), we converted an office to his nursery but it didn't come with a bathroom.  He would be sharing this one with her.  And even though it is right off her very pink and girly bedroom, I at least wanted the bathroom to feel a tad bit more appropriate and welcoming for a little boy. So we did a big ol' switcheroo with all the accessories to make this space a little more coed feeling.

Here's how it looks now!

The pink shower curtain got switched out for a grey and white one.  I like this it sorta looks like water streaming down.  Kinda.  Ish. 

Do you remember the Splish Splash sign that I painted with marshmallows?  (Probably not since I posted it back in 2014 back when I was a little more "on time" with things...)  It now lives above the toilet - a space that was previously blank - and I love that it fills up the wall and adds some color.  

My design plan for this room was to just use grey and white - neutrals - for the shower curtain, rugs, and towels and then bring in bright colors with the wall hangings.  The splish splash sign does just that!

I apologize for the blurriness of this photo.  It's the wall opposite of the sink and toilet and previously just held monogrammed towels.  Now, while I love a pretty monogrammed towel, it just wasn't very functional to have "do not touch" towels hanging there and nowhere for the damp used towels to go.  (Funny side note - at first, I did switch out one of KW's monogrammed towels for one that had Thomas's monogram so there'd be one of each.  But his monogram spells out the word WET so it kinda looked like the other towel should DRY.  Haha.)

I bought the pallet rack with hooks from Target and it made the perfect spot to hang used towels and hold wash rags.  The kids can drape their towels easily on the hooks too which is a plus.  

I bought the matching mason jar holder because I thought it was cute, but it really serves no purpose.  I filled it up with cotton goods but still haven't gotten around to writing on the chalk labels!  Pretend like they have a really cute handwriting that says "Cotton Pads, Cotton Sticks, Cotton Balls" or something like that.

I purchased the the print at the very top from Little Life Designs on Etsy.  I thought the sayings were cute and love that the colors tie in with the Splish Splash artwork.  Katie Wynn often asks for me to read it to her and always questions why Thomas comes before her.  "Because I'm bigger?" "Yes, I'm sure that's why."

The mirror was one of the very last things to change in the bathroom.  In fact, I started the redo before Thomas even made his debut, but just found a mirror the right size a couple of months ago.  I was not a fan of the fancy silver one (see it in the before photos above) and thought that plain white was more fitting for a little boy and little girl.  In a perfect world, this makeover would have also included busting up that tile counter and adding a slab of granite, but that just didn't make the to-do list on this go-round.

I've saved my favorite part of the bathroom for last.  The art on this wall:

I found these cute little portraits on Etsy by Phyllis Harris Designs.  They are just stock drawings she had - not custom portraits - but I like that they resemble both of my cuties.  They are slightly customizable in that you can pick hair, eye, and shirt colors.  Since I ordered these when Thomas was less than a month old, I actually have the boy drawing as a brunette with brown eyes too.  Who knew he would be a blond?!  Since the color has stuck this long, I finally ordered a new one this past summer to more accurately represent my blue-eyed blondie.  

And that's a wrap on our really difficult to photograph, tiny coed bathroom that was updated a couple years ago!  Now we can return to more current events.  :)

Big Girl Room

Last summer we switched Katie Wynn to a big girl bed and made a couple of other little tweaks and I've been meaning to show you her updated room ever since!  The problem is that I still don't feel like it's done.  But, better to show it now than when she's in kindergarten...at the rate I'm going it MIGHT be done by then!

The first step of changing her room was obviously finding a bed.  I was pretty sure that I wanted a wrought iron day bed, but man!  The prices were high online.  Especially when you added a trundle bed, which was another thing on my wishlist.  I did lots of online browsing and pouting over prices when one day, I just happened to see on Facebook a sneak peek yard sale picture that was going to be taking place the next day in my neighborhood.  In that picture was what looked like a wrought iron day bed!  I held my breath and crossed my fingers and hoped that I would get there in time to see it.

Fast forward to the next day and $100 dollars later, I was the proud new owner of a used wrought iron daybed, complete with pullout trundle bed!  Except...it was hunter green.  I didn't let that stop me; I knew a can or two of spray paint could work wonders.

I was fine going the spray paint route until I read a blog post somewhere where the blogger had had something powder coated.  Curious, I did a quick search and found a place that did powder coating in our area and the price to have my new daybed done would be $100.  SOLD!  Powder coating would be a much more durable and smoother finish than what I could have done with spray paint and spending $100 sounded a lot better than standing out in the hot sun working on it myself.

Here are pictures of the finish after the powder coating.  I chose a pewter silver color that was similar to what her crib had been.  Much better than hunter green for a little girl's room!

If finding the perfect bed was step one, then step two was acquiring bedding.  I did not want to have to repaint the room or change the curtains for this upgrade, so it was important to find bedding that was the same color scheme that her crib bedding had been - pale pink and white.  And our local Pottery Barn outlet had just the set!    

I knew their pink and white polka dotted sheets matched because she'd been using a pillow with that pillowcase in her crib for a while.  And I immediately fell in love with this pink and white quilt when I saw it in the store.  One mattress, two sets of sheets, three european pillows, two standard shams, and five pillow inserts later, she had bedding!  (It is not lost on me that she has a full Pottery Barn bed set up while I sleep under Steinmart covers...)  My mom made the bedskirt out of fabric we found to match.

I really wanted to keep the tall pink bookcases that flanked her crib in the room and thankfully, they barely fit with the bigger bed in place!  It's a tight squeeze but it works for now.  I love how the paper dolls fill up the space between them.  

Speaking of bookcases, they are part of the room that doesn't feel finished to me.  I just can't find the right accessories to style them with.  

As you can see from the pictures above, one shelf has just one polka dotted bin while the other has three.  That's really hard for my symmetrical-minded brain to accept.  But, the sole reason for doing that is what sits on the second shelf (from the bottom) on the left bookcase - this tea set:

The tea set gets played with ALL the time, both by Katie Wynn and her brother!  In fact, every friend that comes in her room plays with it at some point.  So it would have been foolish of me to move it for a bin just so the bookcases would match.  

One of Katie Wynn's teachers painted this Minnie Mouse canvas for her when she became potty trained.  She loves it.  I think it was sweet, but it doesn't go with the room.  :)  But, it's on the shelf for now and probably will be for a while since I can't seem to find anything to replace it with!

In addition, we still have small child accouterments (monitor, sound machine) that have to fit on the shelves and picture frames that haven't been updated and a big blank space in the top cubby.  So that's why they don't feel super cute to me.

The last "big" change in the room is that we no longer needed a changing table so this piece has converted to just a dresser.  It needs cuter adornments too but right now the lamp, lion bank, and fan are doing just fine.  

The tiny shoes that sat on the pink shelf in her nursery are long gone, sadly.  Right now three McCarty's Pottery bunnies sit there but I think I'd like to get a mini porcelain tea set to go there.  Still haven't decided.  Above that is still the Barbie gowns that my grandmother crocheted and even higher up is her name, also crocheted (knit? I don't know) by my grandmother.  

Flanking the sides of that dresser are two cute baby doll toys she got for her second birthday.  To the left is the baby bed that is always full of babies and stuffed animals.  I love that my Mom made matching bedding for it. 

On the other side is the matching stroller.  Or pram, as it was called at Land of Nod.  Katie Wynn's other grandmother, Lala, knit a tiny blanket for babies to use!

Her rocking chair still sits in the corner of the room.  I'm just not quite ready to part with it yet.  Plus, her clothes get laid out on the ottoman every night for school the next day!  I think the only change here since I revealed the nursery are the two frames that were added to the wall. 

And the wardrobe wall is still the same too, no changes there.

Some people have really cute growth charts in their littles' rooms.  Us?  We can tell how tall Katie Wynn is by how far up she has tried to erase on this chalkboard sign.  :)

Here's a view of that side of the room so you can see where that sign is.  It's between her bathroom and closet doors.

So that's how her rooms looks these days.  Probably the next time we make big changes to it will be when it converts to a guest room and she moves upstairs!  I'm not ready to think about that yet...