Birthdays Galore!

Catanzaro craziness starts in October with Halloween and ends in January with Jessica's birthday. In between October and January we manage to fit in a trip to the east coast, 2 major holidays, and 3 other birthdays. In previous years we've also done a ski trip but this year we will be staying home. Whew! Here are the exciting details from the birthday parties.

Olivia's birthday is celebrated first on November 30th and then Jacob's falls on December 15th. This year we decided to host a joint birthday bash for all their friends on December 1st. Sadly Olivia spent her 2nd birthday home sick but recovered enough to make it to the last half hour of their party. This year we decided to move the party away from home and had it at "Pump It Up". This is a giant room filled with inflatable jumpies and slides. Not only did the kids have fun but the adults did too! We had about 15 children and their parents jumping around and then we finished with cupcakes and breakfast treats in the party room. It was quite chaotic but everybody had a wonderful time.

After a quiet afternoon the festivities continued with a family party for Olivia. The birthday girl was sufficiently recovered to enjoy opening presents and having dinner and cake with all the family. She picked Baby Einstein (Baby Stein to her) decorations and loved that she got to blow out candles and have people sing.

Jacob has a hard time understanding why his sister got to have a birthday before he did since he is older but he finally got his turn on Saturday the 15th. With the friend party out of the way we had a family party for him on his actual birthday. He picked Bionicle decorations and managed to tear through his presents in record time. The rest of the evening was spent watching Dad, Grandpa, and Uncle Sean try to put together all the presents that required assembly. While all the construction was taking place Jacob sat on the couch enjoying his new Leapster!

Wait we did say 3 birthdays didn't we. Michael celebrated a birthday on December 6th with a lot less fanfare. He rang in the big 35 with PF Changs takeout and some homemade brownies. Jacob wanted to go back to Pump It Up but it was a weeknight! Somehow we didn't even manage to get a picture of the big event. Sorry Michael!

Here is the birthday boy at Pump It Up.

The birthday girl made it for a little while at the end.

Jacob loves frosting!

The love of frosting runs in the family!

A good amount of the gang but not all of them!

Livie's Baby Einstein cake

Money, money, money!

Jacob's Bionicle cake

Jacob is five! Where does the time go?

Eastlake Christmas

Every year our Eastlake homeowners association sponsors a Breakfast with Santa. It is a great community event that also doubles as a toy drive. Olivia and Jacob get to see Santa and have a fun morning while also doing their share by picking out a toy to donate.

The morning starts with Santa arriving by fire truck. Our clubhouse is across the street from the fire station and since it doesn't snow here that's the best way for Santa to make his grand entrance. We then wait in line to receive a number so that we don't have to wait in line for our visit with Santa. The association provides a continental breakfast that we enjoy while waiting our turn. The nice part is Santa takes a lot of time with each child and makes the visit very special. I guess it's nice if you are early risers like we are and get a good number otherwise people do have to wait a long time. This year the talk turned to Santa telling Jacob he knows exactly where he lives and will make sure that his gift gets under his Christmas tree. Jacob politely explained that we won't be home and that Santa should go to Great Grandma Moon's house instead!

After visiting with Santa we enjoyed the carolers, ate our candy canes, and the kids got to do some crafts. Jacob made a Christmas light frame and then both kids decorated gingerbread cookies. The hard part was getting the decorations onto the gingerbread man and not into their mouths! Later they were having story time with Christmas books but it was chilly and the kids are fighting colds so we called it a day. We look forward to going again next year!

Santa's big arrival!

Jacob is an old pro at posing with Santa. He told Santa he wanted a telescope which was not a surprise to us, thank goodness. We are always a little nervous that by Christmas Eve he will have completely changed his mind about what he wants.

We snapped one of the two of them because we didn't know if Olivia was going to sit by herself.

Olivia didn't have much to say but she wasn't afraid once she saw Santa had candy. She did mind her manners with a nice "Tank You" and a high five. She even attempted a Merry Christmas but wouldn't tell Santa that she wanted a pink car. Jacob made sure Santa knows what to bring for her.

Here is Livie putting the finishing touches on her gingerbread man.

Jacob is just about done with his decorating.