Coen's Fourth Birthday Party

Pre-Party Prep:

 

 I knew I wanted to do a message in a bottle invitation.  A few craft supplies and some Jones soda bottles made perfect invites!  I just LOVE how they turned out!

(Tip: Turn an electric stove burner on high and hold the paper over it with tongs to get the aged look!) 

 I saw this cake and new I had to do it!  It was one of the easier ones I've done.  I made two 9" round cakes and cut the lump in the top off so they were perfectly flat.  Then I cut them in half, so I had 4 half circles.  Next, I frosted one side of each one and layered them.  I froze them overnight to make cutting easier.  I cut the bottom of the half circle just a little to make the bottom of the boat sit flat.  Then I used black piping to write on it.  I printed the sails and put them on dowels.  I wrapped a cake cardboard in blue cellophane and spread white frosting topped with crushed nilla wafer cookies to look like sand.  I used some Playmobil pirate stuff to decorate.

 

I spread pirate glitter, netting, and gold pieces out on the table along with other piratey things.

Party Time:

The first guests arrived and started entertaining Hudson and made him into Pirate Baby.  He ate it up!

We played some games including Pirate, Pirate, Captain (duck, duck, goose), Pass the Cannonball (Hot Potato), and of course had a Pin the X on the Treasure Map.

The 3 closest Xs were the older boys...who felt their way along the map.

  The mateys paused for a picture!  Everyone came in whatever pirate gear they had and I was quite impressed!  We also handed out hats, eye patches, and a red sash to the crew.

After the games we had a delivery at the door.  It was a letter that read: 

"Captain Blackbeard is missing at sea,

Where could his hidden treasure be?

Follow the clues and you will find

all the gold he left behind!

Clue No. 1: 

Oh ye swashbucklin' pirate band,

this is where ye wash yer hands!"

 

On the bathroom counter they found Clue No. 2:

"On your next stop to find the gold,

The Capn's blankets keep him out of the cold."

 On Coen's bed Clue No. 3 read:

"If it's treasure yer lookin for,

Look outside the front door."

From there the hunt was going to move outside, but the heavens decided to open up a royal downpour.  So out on the doorstep our bounty hunters found a treasure chest pinata!

 John was a huge help throughout the last couple days, helping me tremendously!  I could NOT have done this without him! 

I also want to thank my friend, Heather.  She took the pictures while I wrangled the scurvy lot from one activity to the next.  It was seriously so helpful!  THANK YOU!!!

 

 The boys found treasure in the form of beaded necklaces, ring pops, growing skeletons, gold coins, and lots of gold foil covered chocolate!

Present time:

 

The blowing out of the candles always seems so offical, like he's really 4 now.

Coen had fun batting the balloons around, then discovered he could pop them with his sword.

Coen and Marshall spent the remainder of the day playing with all the new toys.  Thanks to everyone who came and helped make this a special day for Coen!

Happy Birthday, Little Man!!  I hope this was a very special day for you.  We love you and the energy you bring into our family.  I'm excited to watch you continue to learn and grow this next year.

Hudson at 6 months

Time is flying by and I'm very, very far behind on the blog.  I just wanted to record some things about our little guy before I forget them.

He rolled from tummy to back at 4 months
He cut his first two teeth at 4.5 months
He rolled from back to tummy at 5.75 months
He cut the top two teeth at 6 months
At his 6 month appointment he weighed 19 lbs and was 27.5 inches

As soon as he wakes up he wants to be out of the bedroom ASAP or he fusses.
He is a wild sleeper and rolls from side to side until he gets comfy or does a spread eagle in the middle of the bed.
While sleeping on his side, he'll scratch at the bed sheet until he falls into a deeper sleep.
He sleeps in bed with me most of the night, though I am trying to transition him to the crib.
It's just easier for me to keep him in with me because he still nurses every 3 hours at night and I can just feed him while I sleep.
Luckily he goes back to sleep after each feeding.
If he's not done nursing and I start to pull away he gets MAD.
When he's done nursing, he's DONE.  No amount of prodding him to open back up will get him to nurse more (like if I'm still full).  I swear he's aware of what I'm trying to do, he's just being stubborn.
He has gotten used to the noise (aka: his brothers) while he's sleeping, luckily.

He is getting better at swallowing baby food purées.  Like any baby, it's taken time to adjust.  He likes pretty much all of it though.  We're still only feeding it to him once a day.  If he's too hungry, forget it, he'd much rather nurse.

He has started hugging his brothers back when they come to love on him.
He loves to grab my nose or mouth and have me tell him "nose," "mouth," etc.
He is really, really trying hard to scoot to reach toys just out of his reach.  He'll faceplant, stick his bum in the air, and use his toes to push up and forward.  He's a very determined little guy.
When he can't get what he wants or if you take something away from him or he drops a toy he was playing with, he WAILS!
He doesn't cry in the car while we're en route anymore, but as soon as we get where we're going, he wants out.  Immediately.  And forget about staying asleep in the car seat, he usually wakes up within 15 minutes.

He's HAPPY!  Everyone comments on what a good baby he is and aside from the aforementioned times, he generally is a happy kid.
He's super ticklish, which is fun because our other boys weren't at this age. 
When he is excited or happy, he'll scrunch up his nose and breath really funny.
Hudson has been such a PERFECT third baby.  He's a wonderful addition to our family.  He just lights up our life like only a baby can!  I'm just so in love with the little guy!

May 2012 Recap

 Marshall stayed home from school with a sore throat (strep?) one day.  Coen watched nearly the whole movie with his foot up on the couch like this.

 My BFF, Melissa, volunteered to watch Hudson while John and I attended the Kansas City LDS Temple dedication. 

 He had been smiling, but I couldn't catch it on camera, but she did!

 Melissa's daughter, Brookelin, just adores him!

 I'm making sure this baby knows how to take a {pumped milk} bottle so I can get away once in awhile!

 Marshall made a cool paper bag puppet for fun.

 Coen is becoming quite the little builder.

 Clothes?  I had other things to worry about.

 Like keeping Hudson happy while I made dinner.  Seriously, love this wrap!!  And so do my babies!

 I was hoping moving him from the wrap to his tummy would keep him asleep.  It worked for about 5 minutes.

One day while I was in the kitchen making dinner, I heard a small noise coming from the other side of the couch and arm chair.  I peeked over and down, hiding in the corner, was Coen.  He had stolen John's Coke off the counter and was chugging away.  Sneaky boy!!

Easter

 Easter happened.  John helped the boys dye hard boiled eggs.  The E.B. came and left a lot of candy.  We went to church then came home and had a delicious ham dinner.  Took some pictures, then hunted for eggs in the back.

The boys outfits: Coen is wearing Marshall's Easter outfit from when he was 3.  My aunt Lorie bought my cousin, Adam, the same vest from the same store.  Imagine my surprise when I opened the box of hand me downs and found it there.  And lucky us that they both fit Coen and Marshall the same year!  The weekend before I had Hudson, my mom and I went on a search to find a coordinating Easter outfit for Hudson and we scored on this sweet little polo/shortall set!