Happy 4th, Benjamin!

This morning we wrapped up birthday week at the Shier household. Ben turned 4 yesterday, and his birthday party was this morning. He chose a Lightning McQueen theme, so the kids colored little Cars coloring books, had Cars tattoos put on, and did some scratch-off racing pennants for crafts at Ramone's House of Art. We then played "Lizard in a Piston Cup," where the kids dropped lizards (since Radiator Springs is in a desert...I know, it's a stretch, but just go with it) into Piston Cups. We played "Pin the Hook on Mater," and of course, ate cake and ice cream. I almost hated to cut into the amazing cake that Mom decorated! And last but not least, the Lightning McQueen pinata. It was a fun morning with with just the littler guys over for Ben's party.

This year was the first year we celebrated the boys' birthdays individually, and it's been interesting to see how each reacted when the other got his own celebration. Ben was a very big boy about it last week on Max's "big day," and Max was pretty gracious about sharing new toys on his birthday. However, I was surprised that Max had a hard time yesterday and today with Ben getting his own "big day." We've had some tears and frustration from Max when, for example, Ben got to go first for games this morning at his party or didn't want to share his brand new birthday presents immediately. On the flip side, Ben has been holding out on sharing his toys, knowing that he might be able to get away with a little bit more on his birthday. Brothers! It's not unique to brothers though, so maybe I should mutter "Siblings!"

It's been a great week though to celebrate both our boys and we had a lot of fun with their parties. Happy Birthday, Benjamin!!

Cowboy Up, Max is 6

Today we celebrated Max's 6th birthday, complete with a cowboy-themed birthday party. We did a couple of craft projects, coloring a little cowboy coloring book and decorating a paper bag cowboy vest. For games, we played "Snake in the Boot," which consisted of standing on the coffee table and tossing rubber snakes into cowboy boots. This was a big hit. In fact, Max & Ben played this most of yesterday afternoon also. We also played "Pin the Badge on Max," (Pin the Tail on the Donkey) where the kids stuck sheriff's stars on an enlarged, laminated picture of Max dressed up like a cowboy. Lots of giggles! We also "Roped the Pony" by chucking a hula hoop over a rocking horse. We had a cowboy boot pinata, a cowboy story, a double horseshoe cake and root beer floats. It was a very fun afternoon and now I think we're in for some early bedtimes! I'll yippee-kay-ay to that! Andrew even cowboyed up by growing a cowboy 'stache this week. Here's Maxwell this morning, playing with his new marble run. He played with it for hours, telling me it was "the best present ever!" Of course, once he opened his gifts from his friends, those were some pretty cool gifts too.

Happy 6th birthday, big boy!!

I Just Roll With It

The new bench at the end of our bed has quickly become one of the boys' favorite places to hang out.

Halloween Party, Delayed

Ben's preschool Halloween party was delayed until this morning due to the snow last week.

Serious business: decorating the cookie. Enjoying his cookie. Dancing machine. When the music stops, FREEZE. He told me later he was freezing "like the Statue of Liberty." I can totally see the resemblance.

And this picture is from Halloween night. He fell asleep clutching his Starburst. Ben and Halloween, two peas in a pod.