Octavius Octopus OctoBirthday!

What a wonderful celebration of a wonderful boy! 

Alexander opted against a big party in favor of a small sleepover and indoor skydiving (in the near future).  He invited his two best friends, Zayn and Mikel, and the boys had a blast staying up late and playing at the house.

Late night Starry floats, after pizza, cake, and ice cream

The brothers stayed in the guest room on Thursday night so they could wake up together on Alexander's birthday

We started the day with our elf, Boba, throwing a party for Alexander with a dilophosaurus and the Ninja Turtles

At school, his friends celebrated Alexander with cookies and by pretending to be child-sized candles, put out for extra luck in his eighth year!

 

A birthday bike ride before our buddies came over

When planning our cake, Daniel had the idea for an octopus cake.  It was the perfect celebration for Alexander Octavius turning Eight years old!

The boys had a great time adding the little sucks on the octopus legs

Shanae stayed and hung out while the boys played.  Good times!

 

Each boy took a turn reading from our Advent calendar.  We may have read ahead to give everyone a chance to read.  It was so wonderful to hear the journey of Bethlehem read by such sweet boys.

Brushing all the sugar from their teeth was a must!

In the morning, Boba was hanging out amongst our Christmas cards.  He was holding Mikel's card, clearly letting Mikel know he would report to Mikel's elf should the boys decide to run amok!

As a big surprise to the boys, we extended the birthday celebration with Disney on Ice

Mikel had already seen the show that week, and had another party to attend, but Alexander, Niko, and Zayn had a blast.  They honestly enjoyed it more than I was expecting.

Niko looked over at me saying, "This is so cool, Mom!!"

Special memories with special friends

With all the friends and fun, Alexander never asked about presents.  Two days later, we have begun opening gifts.  He has been excited for each one, diving into Armor of God Go Fish, Tornado Tumbler remote control car, and, pulling a super special Pokémon card from a set Niko picked out.  We have a few more to open, but are enjoying each present as we open them.

Our eight-year-old continues to amaze us with his math brain, his artistic abilities, his love of reading, and his natural athleticism.  His favorite sport continues to be rock climbing.  He is reading lots of Roald Dahl books, but has a variety of interests in reading, both novels and non-fiction.  He is the absolute best big brother.  My favorite moment of his birthday was when he invited his little brother to sleep in the room with the big boys.  I had already made plans for Niko to bunk with me, so he didn't feel left out, but big brother wanted him to be a part of every part of his birthday celebration.

We are so blessed to have this boy call us Mom and Daddy.  Here's to an amazing year!

Hello 40!

So, this is 40!

I've heard this is a tough birthday, but I feel so excited.  Maybe it is because my kids are still young, or that I am healthy and still feel very young, but I am excited to have forty years of life under my belt.

With Daniel away for the moment I took time off to drive home and celebrate with my family and my oldest friends.  TopGolf was the perfect celebration spot!

My beautiful besties from college.  We have been friends for two decades and even if we go a while without seeing each other, every time we get together, it as if there is no time or distance between us.

Weston brought her whole family and they made the party!  Bruce was amazing with helping all the kids with the game.  Alexander was so proud to get the top spot on the leaderboard!

The ladies of the group.  So blessed by my fabulous friends and family!

Took me a little bit, but I soon got the swing of things.

Heidi made my absolute favorite, rice krispies instead of cake.  This did not make it to the party, because I was not willing to share!

TopGolf took care of the party food, though.  The party package included so much food, we had enough for our cookie decorating party the next day!  Heidi also brought a cookie cake to the party, so there was cake to share with everyone.

Leaderboard Kid

Uncle Craig helping Niko

Gammie planned to take the boys home early, but they all stayed until the end, even when we extended my party for another hour!

The sweetest!

Daisy was so excited to see her cousins, she did a trustfall into their laps in a huge embrace

Letting my baby stay up so late he fell asleep in my arms

This trio has my heart

Cookie decorating party

Meticulous!

We made the most of our short trip, to include a national lights show that happened to be in Marietta this year

The lights danced with the music and had us all filled with the joy of the season

We let the boys hang out of the sunroof, and Niko kept asking Uncle Craig why he was driving so slow.  He wanted speed!

My best cousin-in-law Heidi celebrates her birthday the day after mine.  It isn't every year we get to celebrate our birthdays together, so this was a very special treat.

Heidi has amazing friends.  We had a great time eating too much and laughing hard.  I couldn't hang as late as the crowd, but I definitely enjoyed celebrating one of my most favorite people.

Photo Drop!

Between Heidi and my birthday weekend and Alexander's birthday this weekend, we added some fun seasonal spirit!

Alexander had a very special gift for Gammie this Christmas.  He bought her a story anthology so that she can continue to have new stories to share with his class.

Niko loved his wizarding bathrobe that Jan brought him from Mexico

Getting into the Christmas spirit

Christmas hat day at school

Christmas tag, where all the kids from Niko's class try to catch Alexander.  The perfect way to burn some energy before I bring my monsters home!

Preschool Christmas musical

Red and green spirit day

A Great Wolf Grand Adventure!

 

With Daddy leaving for a bit soon, we decided to make our Christmas and birthday memories early with a trip to Great Wolf Lodge, Concord!

Gammie has wanted to take the Crew for a long time.  After some struggles with sportsmanship, Alexander and I created a behavior chart mural based on one of his favorite books, Deep, Deeper, Deepest.  If he was able to stay 'above sea level' for the entire first semester of school (and soccer season), then we would splash our way through GWL.  He has matured so much, I was thrilled to accept Gammie's offer to treat our family for a joint birthday and Christmas adventure!

He stayed above sea level!

Our room was ready even though we arrived early.  The boys immediately set up their space in the Bro Cave

We spent the next two and a half days splashing, sliding, bowling, mining, and gaining magical powers.  This was our first time to a GWL, and it did not disappoint!  Every moment, every corner, had adventure and family fun.  Gammie was such a trooper.  She slid down slides, raced through quests, and did the Adventurer's Workout with us.  She also gave Daniel and me time to get out just the two of us, an idea Ryan and Mary set up as our Christmas present.

Hopping the lily pads.  Alexander didn't need hands, he skittered across like that water walking lizard!

Mining

Niko found a giant quartz crystal!

Magi Quest fun

Master Magi Ceremony

Proud to have successfully accomplished Master Magi status!

Adventurer's Workout

Mini Bowling

Ropes Course Excitement

This little one has been clinging to Daddy big time.  We are gonna be hurting when Daddy says goodbye.

Letters to Santa

Alexander: a watch and a wallet

Nikolai: "the same as Alesander," an acorn, and deer poop

The back story on Niko's items makes them actually very sweet.  We always collected acorns with G-Momma and then she would throw them at the boys.  Niko has been talking about G-Momma every day for the past few weeks.  He wants to make her presents for Christmas and bring them to her.  He does not quite grasp the concept that, once in heaven, you stay there.

Last year, two days after Christmas, we went to play in the back yard.  I was cleaning up Zoey poo, and found something very, very strange.  We had eight piles of deer poop, in a line, in our backyard.  We have a tall fence.  Never before had we ever had any deer droppings.  All of a sudden, right after Christmas, there were eight piles in a perfect line.  You can't make that up!  It was magical poop, and Niko wants the magic to happen again, it seems!

Showing off our wolf ears

Gammie was by far the coolest grandparent in the lodge!!

The cutest little wolves around!

We could not have written a better trip.  It was magical!

We also enjoyed a quiet Thanksgiving with our friends Mikey and Bekah, and their little cutie.  We sure missed Mikel, but had a great time!

I am so very grateful for the extended family time I got this Thanksgiving!

And a special thanks to Zachary for taking such good care of our princess.  Zoey was calmer than she has ever been with us out of town.  He is a true dog whisperer!