Happy Birthday Eve - Day 1

Our friend Eve turned 1 year old on March 16th! We decided to take the opportunity to head up to New Jersey to visit and celebrate with her! We left early in the morning on Friday so we could get up there in time for plenty of play.

When we got to Cole's house he was ready for fun with Parker! It was still mid-morning so we started off with a very special breakfast of eggs, strawberries and a green donut!

 Eve was munching on the same, except she was traded a croissant for the donut. She didn't seem to notice this time, but I don't think that will last for long!

Cole and Eve's grandma Lani and grandpa Bruce were visiting for Eve's birthday too! While the mommies chatted the ladies got in some visiting time too. Eve got to sit with Daddy and Riley got some grandma time.

Grandpa Bruce entertained the boys with a great train alphabet puzzle. They went through all the pictures and the letters together.

We told the boys that they were going to get to go on a special big brother outing. We were keeping the location a surprise. Ram helped the boys head out to the porch to get their shoes on. Two kids up and ready for big hugs!

 We ended up at BounceU! Parker was so excited to show Cole all about the bouncy slides and how much fun it is to jump around. They started on the giant slide. The initial climb did not excite Cole much. He was thinking Parker may be out of his mind.

So they convinced the parents to head up the slide with them. Ram and I came crashing down with the boys.

Of course grandpa Bruce was not going to be left out of the action! He also went up with the boys.

I think he was having just as much fun as they were!

Riley had been napping in her chair when we got to BounceU, but she soon woke up from all the racket and the sounds of big brother fun!

We soon moved into the next room of boucies and there was a huge obstacle course. The boys that it was great! They started off needing a little help from the grown-ups to climb the big walls, but they soon got the hang of it.

Of course when the parents have to help the boys around the obstacle course they are forced to come down the same way as the kids...

 Riley quickly decided that she wanted to be a little more in on the action.

 Helping mommy take pictures of all the other crazies.

 Ram got in on the action back in the big slide room. I think Parker almost took him out.

Wild man - you can see Cole at the top probably wondering what on earth is wrong with that kid.

 Explaining to the boys how not to run into each other seemed to be a lost effort.

 Aunt Heather also checked out the big slide and taught the boys how to jump and land on their bottom to go faster down the slide...it ended like this.

 The ladies were of course too little for the bouncers, but they checked out the riding stuff instead. Riley was happy on the rocking dog. We weren't sure if Eve was trying to help her or if she is showing early signs of toy hoarding.

Eve was nice enough to share her bunny with Riley. She liked to hold on to the ears. Fun stuff for baby girls.

 Back at the house the girls got in a little more action. Eve practiced her walking in the kitchen.

Riley had brought her swing from home and was happy to swing in the kitchen while others cooked and chatted. She also looks adorable in Eve's bunny ears!

 Parker wanted to show us ladies that even though Daddy wasn't there with us, Man Chores could still be accomplished. Using Cole's table saw to fix the door.

 Aunt Andrea had given Parker some fish hand tattoos for his birthday. Parker had put one on the day before and we had brought them with us to Cole's house so he could have one too. He picked out a great pink one.

 We played some CandyLand while Riley observed. It was a great game to practice our colors and counting.

 Eve was very interested in Riley's swing. She knew it was a great place for babies to hang out. She put her baby in it while she sat on the potty.

 Soon she decided that this looked like so much fun she would just climb in herself. She was backwards, but didn't seem to mind - just very proud of her climbing accomplishment.

 With all the BounceU excitement followed by a late lunch the boys missed out on naptime. So, we allowed some evening relaxation with Parker's newest Thomas adventure: Blue Mountain Mystery.

Awesome grandparents, willing to watch Thomas movies for some snuggle time with the little men while little sisters headed up to bed.