Noah's 5 - AGAIN!

And now for Noah's final birthday party of the year. Well, almost. I guess he has ONE MORE celebration, but we will get to that later. Daddy and I were having an unheard-of childless vacation at the end of March. Grandpa and Grandma Campbell were going with us, so Grandpa and Grandma Randolph came down to stay with the kids - and to return Noah. (Remember he went to their house for spring break? I realize I am a little slow in posting, so I am trying to keep you all in line...) Turns out a week away from each other actually made the boys miss each other. (They actually talked to each other on the phone a couple of times but it mostly just turned into a giggle/screamfest.) But it was fun to see them back together again.

With everyone here, we decided to have Noah's family birthday party. Which meant one more cake. And more presents. Grandpa and Grandma Randolph gave him a scholarship to Star Wars camp this summer. His picture doesn't show it but he was very excited. He has asked daily about when it would finally be time for camp. He also got a countdown calendar from his mommy and daddy. He doesn't know what it is for, but he knows that 72 days from then he will be getting something special. My mom can't believe he is patient enough to wait that long to find out what he is getting. (Apparently she thinks his mom never would have accepted that idea. Maybe he just trusts us more.) But the waiting might actually be harder on mommy and daddy - we know what is coming. So, like I said, one more birthday activity for the big five-yr-old. Stay tuned!

Merry Christmas!

Ok, last holiday post. I promise. This was just too fun not to share. Do you remember me talking about the BIG Christmas program that our choir does? While Christopher and I have not been a part of it yet, Noah was this last year. We went the year Benjamin was born but Christopher was hesitant. Our OB goes to our church and we wanted us to buy her the seat next to us just in case.... I was sort of hoping that my water would break during the 'Hallelujah Chorus'. Not because I wanted that to happen, really, but just because I thought it would make for a great story later on. That didn't happen. Benjamin was born 4 days later. But this year... We are going to get our big story this year... When we announced our pregnancy to the choir/orchestra last week we jokingly asked about 'Baby Jesus' auditions because IV will be just about the age they like to use for the show. Well, when our weekly 'Joys & Concerns' email came out today, this is what it said:
Christopher and Stephanie Campbell are pleased to announce they will be expecting baby #4 around Halloween. They asked Kevin when the Baby Jesus tryouts are for Christmas at Resurrection. There will be no tryouts - Baby Campbell will be Baby Jesus 2010. How neat is that? Baby Jesus' parents both beng involved in the Music Ministry. It doesn't get any better than that.
Sooo... you should probably put it on your calendars now. Tickets go on sale in August and I just know they are going to sell like hotcakes this year. You won't want to miss it!

Happy Halloween!

No, it really wasn't 7 months between posts - it just seems like it. If your children are anything like ours, Halloween in a subject that comes up quite regularly. We decided to take advantage of that and get a head start on the planning. Yes, we know full-well that there is a good chance opinions will change between now and then but it never hurts to try. Last year was a first for me in that I let everyone pick their own costumes and didn't make them follow a theme. It was no surprise that Benjamin followed in his big brother's foot steps at the last minute and gave up his ghost idea to be a Transformer. Now Noah already has his next three or four years of costume ideas picked out. It is no surprise to us that he can remember these ideas and lists them in exactly the same order every time he talks about it. (One little problem, he really thinks his vampire costume should come with green teeth. So, should you ever see any while you are out, please pick them up for him. We will all be eternally grateful.) This year, he hopes to be a Ninja. Lucky for us, Santa brought him a ninja costume last year. Again, no surprise, Benjamin has decided he would also like to be a 'Minja'. Only problem? He wants to be a "Grey Minja." Santa brought him the same RED costume. Halloween happens at night, right? I can tell him he looks grey in the dark, right? I'll keep working on it... Now Abby is going to be a little bit more difficult. There really is not much she doesn't love. Except for the weed whacker. She doesn't love that, so we will toss out that idea. She could easily be any animal. She can make every animal sound, although my favorite would probably be a cow. Or a wolf - she does a great howl. She also really likes Elmo right now. She calls every Sesame Street friend Elmo. Even Abby Cadabby! So, we still have her to work on. But, really, it is the last one that is throwing us for a loop. We just can't decide. A wee 'Casper'? Or a mini 'Jack'? Which do you think is better?


PS. Special thanks to BIG SISTER Abby for allowing us to use her sonogram picture. "IV" (read Ivy) hasn't had any pictures yet. :)

Happy Easter!

A little bit of a posting time laspe... Sorry about that! Someday I'll get all caught up - maybe then you will understand. For now, let's get on with Easter. We had a perfect day! Daddy had to be to church at 6:15 this morning. It's a bummer for daddy AND we don't get to do the early morning Easter stuff, but it all worked out ok. The bunny left some goodies for the kids on the breakfast table but he hid all the eggs at Grandma's for the kids to find when we went for lunch. It did not take Abby any time at all to catch on. There was a little confusion as to why she had to move on when each egg seemed to have something worth shaking inside. She was pretty quick to learn how to break in and get out the goodies. The boys were all about numbers this year. It was too quick but everyone seemed pleased with their spoils. After lunch, we had some outdoor time for the new bubbles and mini kites. Mostly the kids just loved running outside. Boy, it feels good to finally be outside again. Next up was cousin Nick's birthday. Noah picked a whole bouquet of daffidils for Nick. Not sure if 13 yr old Nock was as pleased as Noah and I can't believe I forgot to take a picture of them together. When will I learn?!? Lots more time for playing then the TV came on. I got to watch 'High School Musical' and do this... (my favorite part of long, holiday, no-nap days!!) while daddy and Grandpa took the other two to the park. All in all, it was a beautiful day!

THE Road Trip

Last Thursday I had this great idea that Noah should go to Grandpa and Grandma Randolph's for spring break. Two days didn't leave a lot of cheap options for airline tickets - especially when it would have included a ticket for someone to fly with him. So, with our computers handy, we set off to devise a Plan B - driving. Springfield, IL proved to be about halfway for both me and my mom and avoided I-70. (A BIG bonus in my book...) First plan was that we would leave early in the morning, hand off Noah around lunch and then head back home. It's only 5.5 hours. No problem, right? Then we wised-up a little and opted to spend the night. Christopher had to work so that left me and three kids to fend for ourselves. I got everyone fed, pottied, loaded, and underway. All was good until 35 miles in to it I HAD TO GO POTTY!!! So, we made stop #1 and all unloaded. I put Abby in the baby carrier and we all went. Abby thought that was pretty fun until we had to pick Benjamin up to wash his hands - she got a little squished. Back in the car and off again. Noah and Abby rode without making a peep. Benjamin would ride quietly about 30 minutes and then scream because he needed to get out of his seat. "I won't get out of the car, I just want to get down!" Good an argument as that was, I didn't fall for it. So, we just had to listen to him cry a lot. A lunch stop and another potty break along the way and we arrived in Springfield in time for dinner. Promised the boys if they were good I would take them swimming when we got back to the room. Got our suits on and realized I didn't remember seeing a sign for the pool. Checked the hotel book and sure enough - no pool. Oops! (Note to self, ALWAYS check that BEFORE promising your children swimming...) Thankfully Phineas & Ferb was on and they were not too upset with me. A good night's sleep and some yummy breakfast under our belt and we were back in the car again. Noah was sooooo excited to be going to Grandma's ALL BY HIMSELF. I tried to talk him out of it at the last minute but he would have none of it. He was going to Michigan and nothing was going to stop him. So, Abby, Benj and I headed back home alone. Sniff. Sniff. We made just one stop for lunch and potty and trucked on through. We were home about 3:30. Abby slept the last 25 minutes and Benjamin screamed the last three hours. Raise your hand if you were happy to be home..... And now it is Wednesday already. Just 5 more days until my baby comes home.... I can make it, right?

Oh, and want to see what you're missing out on by not travelling with us? Just a watch at this little version of "Crocodile Rock". Oh, and sorry about the crooked picture but I was driving down the highway, remember?

So, tell me. What is more surprising? That daddy let Noah go away for a week OR that I drove over 12.5 hours on the highway ALL BY MYSELF???

Fantastic Five!

Our sweet boy is FIVE! Seems like just yesterday I was hoping to be the lady who accidentally had her baby in the bathroom so I wouldn't have to actually deliver one. As you may already know, that didn't happen. Truth be told, I could not have been happier. If you have ever experienced childbirth, you can appreciate that there is truly nothing like it. And to think that most incredible experience was 1,825 days ago. Look at that number again. 1,825. Wow. That is a lot of days. Each with its own challenges and moments of immense joy. Those are too numerous to count. Looking at him now, it is kind of hard to believe he was ever a newborn. It seems as though he has been grown forever. (Thank goodness for pictures - our remembrances of long ago.) I realize I am making it sound like he is forty or something but five is such a BIG number! We have a lot of big changes coming this year. Not to get all depressing but it is true. So, I am feeling a little sentimental. Now I'll be the first to admit this kid can push my buttons like no one I have ever met, BUT his other moments warm my heart as no one else can. I love his hugs and kisses first thing in the morning and his, "So what are we going to do today, Mom?" I love that he loves Michigan (and Ludington) almost as much as his mom. I love to hear his giggles and hearing him make his brother and sister laugh so hard they can barely breathe. While I am usually unable to answer the majority of them, I love that he can ask questions all day long. I love that he loves books and is always willing to let me read to him. I love that he is always up for an adventure and is willing to go to Target with me daily - as long as we stop in the toy aisle. I love that he loves his daddy and follows him like a little puppy from the moment he walks in the door until he is forced to put his head on the pillow - usually in our bed. I love that he still sleeps with his nite-nite (and secretly hope that he always does). I love how he attaches himself to every new item that he gets whether it is wristbands, a keychain, or a new book. I love that he is so willing to forgive his mommy when she messes up. But most of all, I love that he is all ours. And while I hate every minute of his getting older, I love watching him grow up.

Now, enough of the mushiness, here is how we spent the day. Birthday party at school.

I have to include the video because I love that he had to sing along with his own birthday song. (It is kind of catchy, no? Who wouldn't want to sing? Sorry it starts out crooked, by the way. I kind of forgot I couldn't rotate it.) Next was opening birthday presents in the church parking lot before music class because we wanted to use it in the afternoon but daddy wanted to be present for the big opening.

Needless to say, he loved it.

And last on activities for the day was dinner with the neighbors at T-Rex.

And here is another example of those crazy cupcakes making a big old mess. (Thanks for modeling, Claire!)

Totally a fun evening. Totally a fun day to celebrate our first born.

Happy Birthday, Noah! We love you!

Take a Good Look

at this sweet little face. The next time you see it, HE WILL BE 5!!!!!

Let the Celebrations Begin

It occurred to Noah at lunch on February 28 that the following day was MARCH. He jumped out of his seat, ran to the calendar, changed the page to March and started singing 'Happy Birthday to me...' And he has taken every opportunity since then to remind us that SOMEONE we know will be turning 5 very soon. Well, his month-long celebration kicked off last night when he had his friend Eric over for a Star Wars sleep over. When Noah decided he wanted another Star Wars party he was pretty certain we needed to do it all the exact same as we did last year.

Surprisingly, he was pretty receptive to the idea of something different.

I think we are pretty lucky that he loves sleep overs with Eric so much. He requested pigs-in-a-blanket which I could totally do. I included Jedi Juice and tried some homemade 'Light sabers'.

(Again, I am lucky that 5 yr olds - and younger - are pretty easy to please.) With a couple of different parties this year, I wanted to do something different in the way of cakes.

This time around was a cupcake tower complete with StarWars characters for each boy.

And can I just mention that I am ever amazed with the amount of mess a tiny little cupcake can make?

The boys did bouncing, bouncing, and more bouncing.

There was the inevitable LEGO-athon.

And, of course, presents.

Then it was time for THE event of the evening. We had told him all along that you had to be 5 to watch 'Star Wars'. Even though he never really put two and two together, we decided it was time. So daddy spent the last week having to watch the movie (Episode IV) to censor a 45 minute portion for the party. (Poor daddy, right?) He decided to start at the beginning. He had made a list of parts he wanted to edit out but had some VCR difficulties and had to just fast forward or cough really big at parts instead.*tag* (That means it is daddy's turn to take the reins.)
I don't know who was looking forward to the event more but I was pretty excited about it. As it happens I was essentially the same age as Noah when my Grandmother took me to the theater to see this movie. Noah didn't appear quite as excited as I might have expected but that might be in part due to the fact that Noah started asking about watching a Star Wars movie at dinner time. So the unveiling was pretty low key but it was finally underway. I read the opening intro to the Noah and Eric but I don't think they were all that interested in the plot. At this point I just sat back and watched to see how they reacted to the movie. It's hard to explain what happened. I'm not sure that Eric said anything the entire time, though I don't know that he actually watched all of it. (I think maybe he might have been underwhelmed by the 1970s special effects. Notice his expression in the video. It didn't change the whole time we watched the movie.) Noah on the other hand could not keep quiet.

At each major scene change he would ask what was happening. ""Is this when the Jawa's show up?" "Where are the Sand People?" A bit of background. While we had not yet let Noah watch any Star Wars up to this point we had listened to the soundtrack. A LOT! And while we listened to the sound track I was asked about every ten seconds, "What's happening now?". So I suppose I must have answered those questions with too much detail. Anyhow it was pretty cool to see him watch it. I think his favorite part had to have been when all of the droids were on display. He loves robots. Forty-five minutes of the original movie doesn't really get you that far necessarily. I ended the viewing just before they arrived at the Cantina. Too bad really, I know that the Cantina will probably be one of his favorite parts. Check back for Noah's review of the second installment of Star Wars - A New Hope. Surely the space battles will get him going, right?

One party down, two more to go...