Lincoln's 4th Birthday!

I don't know how four years have could go so quickly, but Lincoln is definitely four!!!  He has been looking forward to his party for weeks.  We hand delivered the invitations to our friends, and he practically beat people's doors down because he was so excited!  When the big day finally came, he was so ready to begin celebrating.  Linc was outside ready to greet each guest as they arrived and let them know that he was officially 4!!

The kids did lots of playing right away.  Lindsey and Erin loved the see saw so much that I asked their Mom if she wanted to take it home.  They couldn't stop squealing!!  Such sweet friends.

Lincoln was super excited that Ethan came all the way from Houston for his party.  (Actually they just came to spend Easter with the Hogg's, but Linc didn't need to know that!)  Ethan was so kind to the little kiddos.  He and Linc did some serious bonding!  Ethan definitely noticed that the boy/girl ratio was not even.  He yelled, "Lincoln, you got all the chicks at your party!"  So funny! 

We took a break for lunch, and everyone really enjoyed the food.  Lincoln's favorites were on the menu.  Of course we had Chick-fil-A nuggets!  Fruit and veggies are always a staple. 

Since pizza has become so popular at our hose, Campisi's was a must.  Cheese, pepperoni and supreme gave everyone plenty of options.  I think the Dads were the most excited about the food.  Apparently, nuggets and pizza are the best party food ever!  I kept finding Dads sneaking around the food table before lunch was served!! 

The kids were happy to take a lunch break and all sat at the little tables eating quietly.  (I was kind of shocked!)  I guess nuggets and pizza is a winning combination for multiple generations.  Beau and Graham were sitting together and learning to be friends.  Lincoln's best buddy Will (who moved to Fort Worth) wanted to sit with him, and Linc was happy to have Will close.   

We also had a fun snack mix of pretzels, goldfish and M&Ms (no peanuts) to go with our yummy lunch.  Three fourths of the Brosnahan kids sat together to eat.   I think Emily and Connor were busy on the swing set, even though poor Connor was limited due to his broken arm.  He was a trooper though, and we were so glad he could still join us.  

The Eoff girls were sweet as always.  Clare shares a birthday with Lincoln and calls him her "birthday buddy."   

Of course we had a Cars bounce house, and the kids jumped for hours!  Even the little ones (Beau and Graham) were determined to be jump with the older kids.  A bounce house is always worth the money to me  . . . they deliver it a few hours before the party so we can jump in advance, and they don't pick it up for a few hours after the party so we can jump after a nice nap!   

Jackson even got in on the bounce house action when the big kids were busy.  Lincoln and Beau thought it was cool that he could be in there too.  Beau was super proud that Jackson took a nap in his crib during the party.  He says over and over that Jackson slept in his bed with Ernie, Elmo, Melman, Bear, Charlie Brown, Bobster, Grover, and Giraffe.  It's amazing that Samantha found room for Jackson in a bed full of friends!

We took one last break to have cupcakes and sing "Happy Birthday" to Lincoln.  Stein's cupcakes are the best, and everyone loved the treat.  Luckily, there are a few extra for us to enjoy after the party! 

Beau was especially interested in his cupcake, and he was using the toothpick as a scoop (not very successfully) to eat the icing.  He takes cupcakes very seriously and eventually abandoned the toothpick for a fork! 

Lincoln's fourth birthday party was a blast!  Everyone had fun playing, eating and celebrating.  We are so thankful that our friends could come for Lincoln's special day.  Minnie, Bubbles, Nana and Pops (and Marte and Terah) were so amazingly helpful.  Lincoln had so much fun with all of his friends and family, and he was so excited to give the goody bags as his friends left.  He personally selected each item (via text pictures with Nana!!!), and he was so proud that he could send fun things home with them.  Beau was convinced that there were two parties going on . . . a party in the front yard with the bounce house and outside toys (tricycles, roller coaster, soccer goal, etc) and a party in the backyard with the swing set and food.  I'm definitely sure I know which party he liked best!  Lincoln ran up to me a few times and gave me a quick squeeze and said, "Thank you for my fun party, Mom!"  I almost burst into tears each time.  What an amazing celebration on my sweetest Lincoln.  I can't believe that he is four, yet he continues to amaze me with his maturity each day.  Lincoln is definitely the best four year old I know!!!

Easter Egg Fun

This Mommy is so excited that Lincoln and Beau love to dye eggs!  As a child, I loved everything about Easter eggs . . . to dye them, to hide them, to hunt them, etc.  The boys share my passion, and we have had a few fun times lately with eggs.  They wait (im)patiently for the eggs to boil, and even more (im) patiently for the dye to dissolve in the cups.  Finally it's time to get busy!  We had two different dye kits, and they picked the train kit first.  We dyed the eggs bright colors and put together seriously complicated cardboard train cars, and they loved selecting which cars the eggs would go in then rearranged the eggs a million times.  There was also a lot of "choo choo-ing" going on!  

The second event was more hands-on, and they really got into the spirit.  I put the dye cups in baking pans and let them do it (almost) on their own.  In case of the inevitable spilled cups, the pans would greatly lessen the mess!  They cared for their eggs really gently and were so proud to be more involved.  Once the eggs dried, the Mickey Mouse stickers came out.  They both had fun selecting the stickers and decorating their eggs.   

Stickers are serious business, and they wanted to make sure they picked the right ones.  Their decorated eggs turned out super cute, and they were really proud! 

I am no fool . . . we don't EVER hide the real eggs.  The last thing I want is a lost egg in the house somewhere.  Smelly!!!  The decorated eggs are temporary, and the real fun is the plastic eggs.  The boys got new Easter baskets, so they are ready to hide and hunt for the fun eggs.  Now all I have to do is convince Daddy to get the Easter box down from the attic so the fun can begin!

Video Game Night

Lincoln is always asking Daddy if he can play the Cars video game, and he is so excited if Daddy opens up his office.  Beau is excited just because . . . he doesn't get to play but knows that something really great is going on that he doesn't want to miss!!!  The boys brought in their little chairs and sat so patiently while it was getting set up.  I hear that Lincoln is getting way better at driving the cars in the game.  While he always comes in 10th (which is last), we cheer because he finished it with a great time!  

Beau discovered that his pants had pockets as he was watching the game.  He absolutely loves pockets, and we think it's too cute!  He stared at the action without needing to interrupt because he was busy with his pockets - a win for all! 

Lincoln really gets his entire body into the game.  If he needs to make a hard right with the joy stick, he turns his whole self to the right.  Same with the left.  Occasionally he gives a serious forward lean if he gets going fast on a straight-a-way.  A wreck or crash is a hilarious thing, and he almost loves crashing as much as he loves driving!  (Beau still has his pockets!!) 

After a 10 minutes or so of watching Lincoln, Beau crashed with Daddy on the couch.  They had fun laying together and being silly.  Beau is a 99.9% Mommy's boy, so I love for them to have time together.   

A Cars video game is really fun for the whole family.  I'm sure Lincoln wishes he could play it more than once a week, but he seems to have plenty of fun without it.  I was cleaning out the spare closet, and the boys  snagged a Monster Mash musical book.  They giggled, sang, danced, acted scared, made monster sounds, and had a blast with a Halloween book in the middle of March!  

A Saturday in iPhone pics

Everyone was happy to sleep in on Saturday, and the rainy weather gave us a nice excuse to just hang around the house for the morning.  The boys took over Daddy's iPhone because he didn't have hundreds of silly face pictures like Mommy's iPhone does.  They did their best to make silly faces, and I snagged a couple of them.    

It was so much fun to stay in our pjs and watch Mickey and college basketball until almost lunchtime!  And now Daddy's phone pictures will be super fun to look at.  I'm willing to bet that Lincoln and Beau can both get to the pictures faster than either of us . . . how do they just know about technology??? 

After lunch and lots of playing, it was time for naps.  Beau is sure that only Lincoln can read his naptime story these days, and they chose the new book Auntie got for Beau.  He loves "If You Give a Cat a Cupcake" almost as much as he loves "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie."   

Lincoln and I made a sneaky trip to the birthday store (that's what Lincoln calls Party City) while Beau finished up his nap, and we picked up few last birthday party things.  The new Play Dough set from Marte and Scooter was super fun this afternoon, and the boys made so many things.  I gave them several lectures about the fact that even though the box says they are making candy, it's not real candy and not for actual consumption.  I'm pretty confident that they got the message and no one ate anything.  Daddy provided a yummy treat after dinner, and the boys got their first Drumsticks ice cream cones.  Lincoln was super excited for about 5 minutes and ran off to play.  Beau was determined to eat the whole thing.  I asked him at least 20 times if he was ready to be done, but each time he responded, "Not finished yet, Mommy!"  He tried his best but finally gave up when the ice cream fell out of the cone on the table.  What a sweet mess!  Daddy told them they each owed him $2.00 for sharing (wasting) his treat, but he accepted two hugs as payment instead.   

I love spending Saturdays together at home, and everyone had so much fun.  Lincoln told me several times that the next time it is Saturday, it will be his birthday.  He's definitely got the countdown going.  The best days at our house means lots of playing, yummy food and tons of fun.  

Eagles Baseball!

We are taking a break from partying - Beau's birthday parties were super fun, and Lincoln's party is in less than two weeks.  To entertain ourselves without birthdays on the brain, we headed to the Richardson High School baseball game for a little fun.  Oh.My.Goodness.  These two were soooooo excited about being at a real baseball game for the first time this year!  (Full disclosure, Daddy and Linc stopped by a game while running errands one night.  This was the first one for Beau!)  While the players were warming up, my guys were super busy with their chips and lemonade and and crazy dancing to the music over the PA.  They were crazy!!!!!

I asked them to stop and say cheese at least 72 times, but I never got them to stay still at the same time!  At least I'm sure that they had fun!    All of the parents that arrived early were treated to the Crazy Linc/Beau Show, and we had lots of fans! 

Once the game got started, the boys got serious about what was going on.  As each player was announced, they cheered loudly.  It didn't matter if it was for our team or the opposing team . . . we gave lots of support!  On Beau's first high school baseball outing, of course the lead off batter for Lake Highlands was named Beau.  He told me over and over again, "They said my name!  They said Beau!  Yay for Beau!"  I hope we didn't anger any RHS fans by cheering for Beau, but it was too cute.  I think we'll stop by the ball field any time they have a game!

Beau's 2nd Birthday Party

After our family birthday celebration for Beau on his actual birthday, we had a lovely birthday party on Saturday afternoon.  More family and friends came to Beau's party for lots of fun and food.  Nana made the cutest signs to hang outside.   With Curious George as our theme, it was sure to be super cute!

There were plenty of yummy snacks that Curious George would surely approve of!  I had a great time putting the table together, and it turned out really cute.   I also found a few Curious George books to share with our guests as favors.

We had popcorn, white chocolate covered Rice Krispies treats with red sprinkles, cupcakes with yellow and red sprinkles, fruit salad, little Hebrew National pigs in a blanket and chips with queso.  What a festive and delicious spread!

I am definitely sure that the cupcakes, hot dogs and queso were the winners!  Everyone wanted more and more hot dogs, so we baked another batch.  There might have been a few smoke alarm beeps, and Beau had to stop opening gifts to investigate.  He continued to discuss the beeps for the rest of the party!

Luckily, Beau's gift from Nana and Pops was a fire truck.  He was prepared to help if need be!  Beau kept shouting out, "I got a fire truck!" over and over!!!I'm not sure who was more excited about this party . . . Beau or Lincoln!  Lincoln was such a supportive big brother, and he really encouraged and celebrated Beau for the whole day.  Linc made sure that Beau was ready to blow out his two candles, helped show him how to best unwrap the gifts, and even offered to clean up the wrapping paper and tissue paper mess.  Lincoln knew that it was Beau's special day, and he was so sweet to make sure Beau was making the best of it!

We headed outside to ride on the new tricycle and working so hard on peddling makes Beau's tongue stick out!  (Lincoln used to do the same thing!)  Our little friend Tomas learned to enjoy the roller coaster with Linc and Beau.  We were blessed with a really warm and sunny March afternoon. 

After lots of playing outside, it was time to really inspect all of the gifts.  The fire truck was a hit, as was Bubbles gift of an airplane that has removable parts.  The boys have really paid attention and learned to use the drill to take (and put on) the wings and propeller.  They have also sampled many books, two play-dough kits, a ring toss game, a new alphabet game, and lots of art supplies.  

What a special birthday party for Beau, as he was surrounded by people who love him!  I don't think he had any little two year tantrums, and he just enjoyed the day.  Thanks so much to Minnie and Bubbles and Sarah and Cheryl for making the drive from Arkansas (we missed you, Ally!).  Nana and Pops, Marte and Scooter, the Robisons and the Whiteners were so kind to give us their afternoon.  March is full of birthday celebrations for our family.  Beau is first on the 14th, Minnie is next on the 22nd, Bubbles follows on the 29th, and Lincoln wraps up the fun on the 30th.  Basically, we spend our entire month with lots of presents and lots of Stein's cakes!  Round 2/3/4 will take place together on Linc's birthday weekend, and we are happy that the Freemans can come back so soon.  We will try to get back to a little normal life in between all of the parties, but these guys are definitely in full birthday mode.  What a blessing to have so many people to celebrate!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Beau!

Beau turned two on March 14, and he was the happiest little birthday boy ever!!  Excuse me, he would correct me to say that he was the happiest little birthday toddler ever.  He's seriously not letting go of his toddler status . . . whatever!  Beau got to pick his birthday dinner, and of course he picked pizza!  We went to Carmine's and had a lovely dinner.  When I woke Beau up in the morning and told asked him what day it was, he responded, "Cake Day"!!!  He was so excited for us to come home from dinner and have cake!  We all sang and loved our yummy chocolate cake.  

Lincoln was especially excited for Beau to open the gift from him.  Earlier in the week the boys were playing baseball outside, and they had to take turns with one bat and one ball on the tee.  Lincoln gave Beau his own bat and ball, and he was so proud! 

Linc cruises up and down the sidewalk on his tricycle, while Beau has to ride in the push car or sit in the Jeep.  Mommy and Daddy gave Beau his own tricycle so he can keep up with Lincoln.  He was sooooo excited! 

Seriously, Beau was totally thrilled that he had his own big boy tricycle like Lincoln.  I barely got a "cheese" from him because he was so proud to go after Linc on his new tricycle.   

Turns out, it's hard to pedal and keep up with Lincoln on your first day on the tricycle.  Beau had fun though, and he tried to pedal.  He's terrible at steering, so Mommy or Daddy needs to push and steer at this point.  We kept shouting for Lincoln to slow down so we could catch up.   

Perhaps the best part of Beau having a new tricycle is that he gets to collect rocks from our neighbors' yards to fill his own tricycle basket.  Collecting rocks is serious business for both Lincoln and Beau.  I hope our neighbors just think it's cute and not that my kids are weird rock clepto-maniacs!! 

Beau had a super fun little family birthday party, and he doesn't even understand that he's having another birthday party on Saturday.  He definitely loves the Happy Birthday song, and he loves his gifts and CAKE!!!  More birthday fun is ahead for Saturday . . .

Outside Fun

This early bit of spring is soooo welcome!  Lincoln and Beau have really enjoyed the extra time outside in the evenings.  I guess Daylight Savings Time has added to the longer sunlight hours, and we have been taking advantage of this sneak peak of spring.  Last night, we played out front with our tricycle, jeep, baseball tee and soccer goal.  While Daddy was grilling tonight, we had fun in the backyard.  Lincoln had fun reminding Beau how to use the toddler swing.  Such a helpful big brother!

Beau was happy to play on the toddler swing as Linc had demonstrated for a while.  As soon as Lincoln moved on to the slide, Beau had to do some sliding of his own.  He flew down the slide so fast and loved it!! 

There were a few dandelions that Lincoln had to blow on.  He took this really seriously and made sure that every fiber was blown away before he was done.  Such a little weed-killer - thanks buddy! 

Beau found a pretty yellow weed/flower and tried to blow the petals off like Lincoln was doing . . . it didn't work out so well, but he had fun doing it!  Linc finally told Beau that the yellow ones were actually flowers for Mommy and not to hurt it anymore.  So yay for me, as I get another believer in weed flowers.  I guess weed flowers are better than no flowers! 

Speaking of flowers, Lincoln had planted a little flower garden last spring that seemed to die a slow death and never produced an actual bloom last year.  Magically a few flowers have appeared in the last couple of days, and he was SUPER excited to water them!  Poor guy doesn't know that we've hired a guy to lay grass in the backyard, and his little flowers are about to be covered up.  I'm sure that he'll enjoy a bed of grass instead of dirt, so I'm thinking he'll get over it!  He can water our newly planted grass instead of his random flower. 

Beau headed for the see-saw while Linc was watering.  He was brave to hold on and "go high" as he said!  Lincoln joined him quickly on the other end of the see-saw, and they had so much fun. 

Oh, backyard . . . we have missed you!  We will love you so much more when we get our new grass planted.  Oh, and we will love you so much more when we get the instructions to keep the june bugs from destroying everything.  I'm waging a serious war against june bugs this spring.  Anyone remember the Mommy vs. The Squirrel story??? . . . Yeah, that's how I feel about the june bugs right now!  We are ready to reclaim the backyard!!!

New Orleans Trip

There is so much fun at the Kuhlman house on a daily basis, and we are definitely a busy group.  Mommy and Daddy decided to take a little vacation to the Big Easy to get away!  Nana and Pops were here to take care of the boys, so we jetted off to New Orleans for a few days of food and fun!  

Luckily our hotel elevator had a mirror that provided lots of "selfie" picture fun!  I'm not sure Kev was always excited to pose for these endless shots.  We had so much planned and headed down to the streets for lots of fun.

Our first stop was for lunch at Acme Oyster Company, and it didn't disappoint.  It's on everyone's "must" list, and I'm so glad we waited in the block-long line for a yummy lunch.  The shrimp poboys and gumbo were spectacular! 

We walked around the French Quarter for quite a while, shopped a bit and saw so many amazing things.  A visit to Cafe Du Monde was on our list, and we stumbled upon it just in time for an afternoon snack.  It was more than delicious!!!  I may never go back to plain (decaf) coffee, as I've ordered a cafe au lait (decalf/skim) everywhere since then.   

There were so many beautiful buildings in the French Quarter, and we loved walking around just looking at the amazing surroundings.  I think we loved everything about the French Quarter expect Bourbon Street . . . it was crazy, loud and smelly!!!  When I saw a 'local' dig a half consumed daiquiri out of a street trash can and take a giant drink, I decided we were probably ready to find a new place to explore!  We walked along the Mississippi and enjoyed the views.  The waters were peaceful (yet brown!), and a few tug boats and river boats made their way past.  The breeze was strong, and we met a few characters as we walked.  Kevin  got his shoes shined by a crafty fellow, and we listened to resident musicians along the way.

Dinner was at the world-famous Dragos, and it was fabulous.  We both had shrimp dishes, and Kevin even ventured out and tried the grilled oysters.  Sneaking by the kitchen provided me with a few pictures of the grilling process, and it definitely got hot on the grill!

Our brunch stop was Mother's Diner, and it came highly recommended.  Another block-long line to wait in, but it was worth it.  We hopped on the street car for a trip to the Garden District to check out some amazing homes. Such old southern charm!  It was so convenient to take the street cars instead of cabs, and we got to see a lot of local flavor!

After a bit more shopping and walking (and a break for blister care), we tried out The Napoleon House for dinner.  Legend says that the house was built for Napoleon to escape to before his untimely demise!  It is now a restaurant serving some of the best food in town!  I had the jambalaya, and Kevin had the roast beef poboy.  This may have been our tastiest meal of all!

We tried to hit everything on our list but also stay relaxed, and we succeeded on both.  It was so nice to visit a new place and see all we wanted without being in a hurry or worrying about timing and schedules.  The people in New Orleans were so nice, and everyone was really welcoming.  I bought a few cute souvenirs for the boys, and they loved them!!  They haven't let go of their new decorated cups, and Lincoln has memorized every page of the New Orleans book I found.  While we were off having fun, the boys were having plenty of fun of their own!  Nana and Pops were great babysitters, and they did lots of playing, reading, painting, eating, shopping, snacking and laughing.

We were welcomed home with great big hugs, and we quickly got back to the routine of things in Dallas.  Our first stop was Mi Cocina, of course!!  As if we hadn't eaten enough over the last few days, we had to get our Mexican fix.  I missed my little guys, but it was a wonderful weekend away.