Yo Ho Yo ~ A Pirate Party

Arr mateys, this Mommy is going to have to break this Pirate Shin-dig up into a couple different post so it isn't quite so long.  Thinking it will go a little something like this...

Yo ho ho ~ A Pirate Party for Me

My Matey Family & Friends

Cake & Gifts

Our Pirate Boy

So let's get this party started me hardy.  These pirate parents swabbed the deck for a while to plan the perfect little pirate party for our littlest buccaneer.

The invitation that invited all Gavin's mateys to the swash buckling fun at sea.   This year we cut our invitation list in half and it ended up being the best thing we did.  Not that we do not love having lots of folks join us to celebrate our kiddos, however it just got very chaotic having so many people and left little time for us to enjoy our kids and the company.

Gavin's big gift from us was this pirate ship that is so detailed and so much fun.  Daddy spent a couple hours assembling it and is convinced he is capable of building a real ship after this one.  Our little man loved this and it served as a great centerpiece for our craft table during the party.

Every year on our kid's birthdays we put this wooden cake in the yard and tie balloons to it.  It has become a special little tradition and I look forward to passing it down to them one day when they have children of their own.

Our foyer was decked out in pirate loot from the top of the deck to the bottom.  The great thing about this party was having so much of the decor.  We have been collecting stuff for over a year to create the perfect big boy pirate room for Gavin, so all of it came in handy when he declared he was having a pirate party.

A party would not be complete at our house without a candy bar with lots of junk.   The jars were filled with gold coins, gummy sharks, animal crackers, pirate booty, eye patches, compasses, skittle, M&M's and more.  I ordered these chocolate gold coins and had one side stamped with Happy 3rd Birthday and the other side stamped with a whimsical pirate ship. 

The cake table is always my favorite part of our parties.  I love cakes, cupcakes, ice cream and all the little details that make it complete.  I was so excited when I found the weight that had "3T" on it, the perfect finishing touch.

We had the cake done to coordinate with the invitation and it turned out so stinkin' cute.  Our cupcakes were from Sam's and we even had the little blue ones (water) in the pirate boats floating around.  I love all the details that bring a party together, can you tell?

I went the simple route on food (and cheap) this go around.  We served our guest pizza, Pirate Island fruit in a pirate ship (waffle bowl),  Pirate Canons (cheese balls), cake, cupcakes, ice cream, juice, IBC Root Beer and milk.

We decorated our crooked house like a pirate shack and the little pirates were able to "Walk the Plank" right outside their front deck.  Emma is secretly hoping we leave the plank outside all summer, she thought it was the greatest thing ever. 

"You, my little pirate Arrr the treasure" and indeed you are Gavin Thomas Frazier.  We had this sign made for his room and it worked out perfect for the mantle on his special day.  

Check out that balloon pirate ship that we were able to get inside of during the party.  Our pirate face painter/clown made it and delivered it to Gavin before the party.  She was scheduled to do a magic show and treasure hunt for pennies, but we ran out of time after all the face painting.

Each little pirate made their way to get dressed in the cutest little pirate garb and grabbed a sword for a huge sword fight.  It was a blast to watch all the kiddos and adults play with these.

Every good pirate needs a treasure map and balloons, right?  We had these little maps all over our fence line and at the end of the party the kids were running around looking for the hidden treasures.

We turned our Rainbow play scape into a pirates ship that allowed the kids to sail the seven seas.

Last, we had a Pirate Dig set up for the kids to dig through the sand in hopes of finding a golden treasure.  Balloons, balloons and more balloons.  Check out that net full of dinner for all the little pirates to chow down on before bed time.

This my friends is what life is all about at the end of a birthday party.  A happy little PIRATE, super excited to be THREE years old and so thankful for the special people who joined him on his magical day.  Gavin's party actually fell on his real birthday this year, yay!

  Gavin, it was a JOY to do all of this for you sweet boy. 

Happy THIRD Birthday!

We celebrated Gavin's 3rd Birthday today with our closest group of family and friends and it was the PERFECT day.  My little man was so happy and truly enjoyed every second of his party.   This is the 7th birthday party I have thrown for my kids and it has been one of my favorite by far.  Instead of our usual 80+ guest, we had about 40 people join us and it was awesome.  It was so nice to be able to visit with everyone and play with the kiddos, especially the birthday boy.

The last 3 years has gone by way to fast and I remember every detail of March 3rd, 2009 like it was yesterday.  I was so eager to meet this little boy and obviously he was eager to meet me, since he broke my water and joined us earlier than we expected.  Little did I know THREE years ago today how much this little boy would change my life forever.  He has taught me to be a better Mommy, wife, educator and christian, for that I am grateful.

Yo, Ho, Yo..A Pirates Life for Me! Yep, it was a fun little pirate party filled with good food, sweets, costumes, sword fights, friends, family, gifts and facepainting.  The little pirates even got to walk the plank and dig for gold.  

Oh Matey, what a blessing it is to be a part of The Frazier Four and be loved the way these folks love me.   My little boy was so sweet today as he played, blew out his candles, thanked everyone for coming and kissed me night night. 

To say I am smitten is an understatement, I am down right crazy about this kid and admire his love for life.  I hope you had the best birthday ever my little pirate, I am so glad God picked me to be your pirate Mommy.  It is a big job, but one that I am so proud to do day after day.

Happy THIRD Birthday Gavin Thomas, I love you more than you will ever understand.  It is safe to say that you are my very favorite pirate that the rough sea has to offer.

Go Texan Day @ MDO

My sweet babies were happy to gallop out the door this morning in their Go Texan gear.  They were not really wanting their Mommy to have the camera in their faces this early, but I had to get a couple shots of all their cuteness.



Oh sweet girl, remind me to tell you the story about this little dress one day (2 trips to the post office, homeless people and 5 o'clock in the morning).  It was worth it because no doubt you will be one of the cutest little cowgirls in the pasture today.  

You my little man continue to put a smile on my face daily.  You exemplify what it means to love life to the fullest and you love being a cowboy.   When I saw you in this outfit my heart hurt because it made me realize that I miss my Daddy so much and he would have been beyond smitten with you and your sister.  Oh Gavin, you look just like him, act just like him and love life the way he did.

I have said it hundreds of times, but I would have given anything for you guys to have known the "GREATEST MAN I HAVE EVER KNOWN" this side of heaven.   My Daddy was a real cowboy and so today would have been special for him to see you guys honoring the life he lived.  No doubt he is smiling in heaven today and probably has the crowd around him laughing hysterically.

After numerous attempts it is safe to say that sibling pictures are almost impossible these days.  Gavin was yelling "giddy up" in this one pretending to ride a horse and Emma was trying to be the Momma hen and make him stand still.

Thanking God for my little cowpokes today, praying for so many and looking forward to celebrating Gavin's THIRD birthday tomorrow with those we love the most!

Happy Valentine's Day

These two little LOVE BUGS have been super excited about Valentine's Day and looking forward to their friendship parties at MDO.

Emma helped stuff all the goody bags for her friends at school and even stuffed her brother's too.  I can not help but think about this being her last Valentine party at MDO.

Gavin could barely stand still long enough for me to snap this picture and I am certain he will be on sugar overload today.  Good thing he is so stinking cute and I love him so much, huh?

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

-1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Happy Valentine's Day 2012

Casa de Chaos

Our house has been a wild place for the last couple weeks and it does not seem to be slowing down much.  Our days have been packed with Dr. visits, fighting infections, sleepless kiddos, work, parties, MDO, church and a constant "to do list" that helps keep us organized.  

Emma started out two weeks ago with a horrible ear infection that kept us up all night and found us sitting at the Dr. on a Sunday morning at 9am.  The Dr. convinced us her ear tube had fallen out, so we left there with 10 days of antibiotic and had to see our surgeon.  Thank goodness the ENT was able to locate the tube that is still intact with his surgical microscope, so we are currently on 10 days of ear drops with a follow up visit scheduled soon.

Gavin got sick the next week with a horrible case of Strep and a double ear infection.  He was not happy with the Dr. at all when she tested him for strep, but the results came back in seconds. Thank goodness we only had 5 days of antibiotic with him because he spit out 6 doses.

No matter how busy or chaotic our life & house might get at times, we are still so very blessed and  continue to add chapters to "Our Story" one day at a time.

Emma is turning into a big girl one day at a time and her vocabulary increases weekly.  She likes to use words like obsessed, actually, appropriately, seriously, usually, appreciate, inappropriate and so much more.  She talks alot about science, species,  patterns, the weather, using your senses, journaling and reading.

She has taken a great interest in her Bitty Baby lately and carries it everywhere.  She told me and her Daddy that she had a C-Section 3 days ago and Mia is a newborn that needs alot of extra care. Yesterday Curtis and I both had to take turns holding our new grand baby and being taught how to take care of her appropriately.

Emma continues to dance her heart out week after week and has recently moved from Preschool Ballet to Primary Ballet with the older girls.  She is going to have to work really hard to catch up and be ready for recital in June, but her teacher is confident she can do it.  They have been asking her to move up for a couple months, but this loyal little girl did not want to leave her original teacher.   She finally made the decision on her own and talked to the teacher about her plan.

We are thankful for the change because this will allow Gavin to start Soccer on March 24th (yep, he is signed up and it's gonna be fun) and her to join our community swim team in April.

Emma's reading log continues to grow weekly and she is doing wonderful learning new sight words.

Mia is asleep in her bed for the night, I am sure she is exhausted since Emma took her to church with us this morning.  When we picked her up from class, Mrs. Courtney told us that her husband even helped hold and take care of Mia during Bible Zone Adventure.  Emma had to give her a bottle during worship, but Mrs. Courtney understood since we explained to her that Emma had just got out of the hospital from having Mia.  This girls imagination runs wild daily and we just go along with it, what choice do we have?

Gavin still has the energy of an entire class filled with toddlers.  I promise his pants are not high waters, it is the way he is standing, like a "super hero" of course.  It has become impossible to get a picture of  these kiddos together, it usually involves some sort of bribe.

Very hard to believe that in 3 weeks this little boy will be THREE years old.  Seems like yesterday we brought him home from the hospital wondering how we would ever survive having a newborn and a 20 month old.  We did it and I think we have done a pretty good job. 

We allow our kids to choose their own birthday themes and this year Gavin opted for a pirate party, so I am tyring to get that pulled together and I am feeling so behind.  I have come to the realization that no matter what, we will have a cake on March 3rd, we will sing Happy Birthday and we will celebrate Gavin's little life with family and friends.

Our boy is still loving Toy Story and could give Andy a run for his money when it comes to bringing these guys to life. 

We spent this afternoon getting our goody bags ready for the  MDO Valentines/Friendship party.  Our bags are stuffed with sweet treats, bubbles, a bouncy ball, tied with ribbon and a personalized valentine card.  Daddy joined the assembly line, so it did not take as long as it could have.

It is time to put the littlest Fraziers in bed for the evening so they can recharge their batteries and be good and ready for another week at Casa de Chaos.  Between us, I kind of like crazy and I can admit that I would not know what to do with myself if we were not constantly on the go. 

Tonight when I go to bed I am going to thank God for the chaos and for allowing the Frazier Four to live the "chaos" we are living.  I love my life and would not trade it for anyone elses, it is a good life and a life that I sometimes take for granted!

Merry Christmas to Me!

My final Christmas present arrived yesterday and I love it.   We ordered this frame with a 12x12 opening from our photographer before Christmas and it finally arrived.  Worth the wait for sure, along with the chalkboard in a red frame that I have very special plans for someday soon.

Organic Bloom creates a wonderful product and I am so thankful my AMAZING photographer has decided to sell their product.   This also happens to be one of my most cherished family photos of the Frazier Four.  I have the itch to do some redecorating, so no telling where this will end up.   So grateful for a creative photographer, with wonderful ideas BUT even better than that, she is on of my favorite FRIENDS!

Happy 100th Day!

Today is the 100th day of MDO for my kiddos.  The PreK class celebrates and parades around the school for all the other kids to enjoy.  Emma has been talking about this non stop since she found out that her class would be participating this year and she would not have to be an onlooker.

We decided to glue 100 buttons on a shirt.  Emma counted the buttons out, placed them where she wanted them, told me where to put the hot glue, she stuck them on and then pressed them down with a Popsicle stick.  She was super excited about doing this and insisted on doing it all by herself.  I love that Emma is so independent and takes such pride in her school work.

Last night as she was taking a bath she started talking to me about Antarctica.  I was amazed at the information she knew about the climate, where it is located, the life that exist there and her knowledge of Penguins.  The kid told me how many different species there were, the names of them, how they survive, lay eggs, how far down they can swim, how they get their food, how they protect themselves and so much more. Her favorite part went something like this, "Mom, did you know that the Daddy Penguin has one very important job?  His most important job it to supply food for the Mommy and baby at times.  Are you sure you are ready for this Mom, it is really gross.  The Daddy will go store up on food which is in his stomach behind his blubber and then he comes and throws it up for them to eat.  He really does throw it up Mom."  I must be honest and tell you that she had me puzzled about this, as well as her story about the Daddy carrying the egg around on his feet.  As soon as she got out of the bath we googled it and sure enough every bit of the information she said was TRUE!  We enjoyed watching some online videos we found and watching a penguin hatch out of an egg.  She was so giddy about all she knew and learned about Antarctica and shared it with her Daddy as soon as he got home.  It was so cute to see her so excited about the information she had retained from this weeks unit plan at school.

Happy 100th day of school Emma Lu!  You are such a special little girl and we will always be thankful for the wonderful foundation that you and Gavin have been given through an amazing MDO program.  I hope that your love for learning never stops growing.

Our Big Boy

Our big boy decided that tonight was the night to tee-tee in the potty for the first time.  We ran by Ra-Ra's tonight and she was giving him a hard time about wearing diapers.  She told him that every time he went to the potty she would buy him some candy. Seriously, is that all it took?

We came home from Ra-Ra's and it was time to take a bath.  Daddy took his diaper off and he darted towards the potty shouting, "I need to poo-poo."  He jumped up there and I sat in the floor talking to him for a little bit.  Next thing I know he was tee-teeing, so I invited Daddy & Emma in to celebrate with us.  We were all so super excited and jumped up and down screaming, "yay Gavin, yay Gavin."  Of course I had to make a mad dash for my camera to capture the milestone.

This has been a long time coming and every time we talked about it Gavin would tell us, "nope, I a baby Momma."  Guess he decided that he better get rid of these diapers since he is turning THREE in a month.  I am not a fan of naked pictures, but I could not resist this one. We are so proud of you Gavin Thomas.  Keep up the good work buddy!

End of the Day

The end of every day usually looks like this around our house.  Everyone is fed, clean, smelling good and settling down for bed.  Tonight Wall-E is the movie of choice and my kids are begging for a pet cock roach, yep you read it right.  There will be no pet cock roaches in this house, period the end!

Daddy gets used as a punching bag, a pillow, a wrestling partner, a referee, a comforter and whatever else these two kiddos can dream up in their little heads. 

Gavin is in desperate need of a haircut, but those eyes melt my heart every single time.  He loves to rest his little head on his Daddy when it gets closer to bedtime.  I have never seen a kid crazier about his Daddy than this little boy right here, he literally has nothing to do with me when Daddy is around and will not let me help him with anything.  I do good to steal a kiss and a hug at bedtime as he is closing his bedroom door while Daddy is holding him. Makes me proud that he has a good Daddy that loves him, meets his every need, prays with him and tucks him into bed every night.  There are days I wish it could be me, but I have seen first hand the importance of a hands on, active, affectionate Daddy and for that reason, I am okay.

This little girl on the other hand is my shadow, will not go to bed if I am away at bedtime and misses me like crazy when we are not together. She loves me on my good days and on my bad, yep I have those. 

So no matter how busy life might find us in this season, we are moving right along with our heads held high, smiling, thanking Jesus, loving life and looking forward to change.  At the end of every day...we are happy, we are in love and we are the Frazier Four.

Bahia Grass & Dust Mites

I saw a side of my sweet girl today that I did not know existed.   We were on our way to the Allergy Specialist today when she started working herself up into a tizzy!  She said, "Mom, I do not want to get allergy testing, it is going to feel like a shark eating me alive."  I sort of giggled because I never expected her to say that and then she said, "it's not funny, it is gonna feel like Scar is scratching my back too."  Scar is Simba's uncle on Lion King according to Emma.

They got us settled into a room and it went downhill from there.  The little nurse doing the testing was about 7 months pregnant and I was scared to death Emma was going to kick and hurt her.  Let's just say she said some really ugly things, refused to cooperate, screamed at all of us and kicked her feet.  This Momma was in shock and super embarrassed.  Emma had obviously been worrying about the test, but never expressed to us that she was scared to death, instead she decided to let the entire clinic know during her test and after. 

Would you ever think this sweet face could throw such a hissy?  This was after an hour of fit throwing.

At one point she was so out of control that I told her I was going to video it for her Daddy to see.  She told me, "you better not video me or try to pray to Jesus about it either".  I ended up having to give her a couple spats on the hiney, attempting to get her to lay still and calm down. It ended up taking 3 of us to hold her down and restrain her during the test. I felt horrible, but it had to be done.

We found out today Emma is highly allergic to dust mites (don't judge, supposedly they live in every ones mattresses, pillows and stuffed animals) and Bahia grass (hay).  We will be meeting with the specialist next week to get more detailed results and discuss the next step in testing and treating her condition. 

As soon as I got in the car, I called Mr. Frazier and informed him that he would be chaperoning his daughter to any future testing.  Bless her heart, I know she was so scared but she was OUT OF CONTROL to say the least.

55 Months

Happy 55 month birthday Emma Lou!  So hard to believe that you will be 5 years old in 5 more months and headed off to kindergarten when summer comes to an end.

You are still our little dancing girl tapping, jazzing and balleting your way through life.  You love everything about dance and look forward to attending classes each week.  You often put on your dance clothes here at home and pretend that you are at the studio.

You are over~confident in all that you do and this makes me so proud.   I pray you will grow up and believe in and love yourself as much as you do today. 
 

You have enough sassyness to share with 10 other little girls, sometimes that is a good thing and sometimes it gets old fast.   There is rarely a time that you are not talking, you are such a chatter box (it comes naturally sweet girl). 

You are still in love with MDO, animals, coloring, reading, writing, playing school, your babies, playing outside, your cousins, dressing up, your friends, parties, Jesus, make up, jewelry, Gavin and so much more.

Our home is filled with so much JOY because of you and every single day you surprise us with something new.  There is not one single thing we would change about you or your amazing little personality.  Everyday I pray that God continues to bless you in all that you do and uses you in a big way. I love you with my whole heart Emma Caroline.

Miss Independent

This morning before church Emma went missing for a little bit and then came back in so proud that she had completely picked her own outfit out, gotten dressed, fixed her hair and put on her shoes.  She came in our bathroom where we were getting dressed and said, "Mom and Dad, look at me."  Not wanting to hurt her feelings I said, "Oh Emma you look wonderful, but you can not wear that to church."  Her little feelings were so hurt and I felt so bad.

She stomped out and a couple minutes later I went to find her and she was crying.   It took me a while to talk her out of sandals in January (that were too small), pants that were too short and too tight and this shirt.  Yikes!

It was a teachable moment for sure, but one that took me a while to explain.  She did such an amazing job dressing herself and was so proud, but this was not working for me.   Emma eventually changed and afterwards said, "I look so cute."  Needless to say, that outfit is being sold before she gets a chance to wear it again.

Operation Kaleidoscope

I was in the restroom this evening and Emma came running in screaming, "Mom, Gavin has that thing stuck on his finger."  I did not know what she was talking about, so I walked towards the kitchen and Gavin is in panic mode and Curtis has him sitting up on the island with a can of Pam cooking spray out on the cabinet.  Yep, Gavin's hand was stuck in a Toy Story Kaleidoscope he must have gotten from a MDO party.  He had been playing in his backpack and got it out of there. 

This little boy pushed this crazy kaleidoscope all the way down on his finger and it was stuck and starting to swell.  The Pam that Daddy sprayed on his finger did not work, nor did the Vaseline that I tried to put on it.   By this time I have him in the bathroom trying to run cold water on it to get the swelling to go down, but he is in panic mode and so am I.

After seeing it continue to swell, I knew we were going to have to restrain him and get it off with a pair of pliers.   I was so afraid his finger was going to get hurt in the process and by this time I just kept saying, "do  we need to take him to the ER?"

Slowly but surely Daddy snipped and snipped and 47 minutes later he was able to snip it close enough to finally break it off.  We had to let Gavin take breaks, scream, cry, play and eat a candy cane during the ordeal.

At this point it was half way off but Daddy was having a hard time getting those pliers as low as he needed them to go without Gavin screaming, "don't hurt me, don't hurt me."

Daddy finally got it off after working slowly from 9:37 - 10:18.   The entire time Emma kept saying, "we should have thrown that thing away." Honestly, tonight was the first time I have ever seen that thing.

The final result and the boy is finally in bed, thank goodness.  I was so worried and wanted it off his finger quick and it was not a quick process.   So, if you have these at your next party do me a favor and do NOT give them to my kids.

Daddy was not happy that I got my camera out in the middle of the craziness that was going on over here, but I had to get a few pictures (and dirty looks) to remember it all.

Oh this boy is all boy and he makes me a nervous wreck, which reminds me I need to post about his last adventure in Academy that had me embarrassed and in tears.

Good Night! 

I love this boy!

Getting ready to FINALLY post our summer vacation and I ran across this picture.  I love this boy with my whole heart and thank God for his little life every single day.

I am not sure it gets any cuter than this right here, to this Mommy anyway.   So much of Gavin reminds me that the legacy my Daddy left behind will live on for years to come.  So proud the Frazier name will carry on and so proud that his middle name was my Daddy's first name, Thomas.  You are one very special little boy Gavin Thomas Frazier and I love you more than life!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year from our family to yours.  We are excited to welcome 2012 and look forward to another wonderful year together as a family.

We rang in the new year with sparklers and junk food.  Emma loved doing them, however her little brother was scared to death and wanted no part of it.

Gavin is TERRIFIED of fireworks after our trip to Disney, he ran to the door and inside the house when we lit the sparklers.  He would pull the blinds back and look out occasionally, but otherwise he was content playing his harmonica waiting for us to finish. 

We are looking forward to a new year and all the great things God has in store for our family in the months ahead. Praying he will keep us healthy and promote us in all we do, while letting us be a blessing to others.