A Super Party

Sunday we went to Tommy's birthday party. Superman was the guest of honor. All the boys were just enthralled. (Personally, I thought Superman was a bit young and skinny.)



The kids competed in Superhero training - crawling through tunnels...

... hopping around cones...

... and were rewarded with their very own initialed cape.

Then they played Flash Says - the punishment for not following what Flash said - one push up.

Then Superman went outside with the kids and they practiced running with their capes and played tag and hide and go seek.

After being out of a game of hot kryptonite, Rudy practiced his flying skills on the swing.

The next game as find Green Lantern's ring in the melted Kryptonite- then, naturally, eat the kryptonite with your hands!

And, finally, pin the S on Superman.

It was a fun party and Rudy came home, put on his Superman costume and refused to respond to "Rudy" for most of the night.

Spring Fun

Some recent pictures:

We went to a Dr.Seuss celebration at our local bookstore. Here Rudy is drawing a picture of his favorite Dr. Seuss book - "Oh Say Can You Say, Di-no-saur?"

Last Saturday Paul and I had a night to ourselves, since Rudy went to visit his cousins. We went to dinner and did some shopping (much easier to do, but also much more costly because it's easy to do without a little one along). Paul's big purchase - his "camping" hat.



Friday was a beautiful. sunny day, so after school, we met up with Rudy's friend, Tommy, at the playground.

Alison taught Rudy how to play "Mother, May I?". He loved it!

When you ask two boys to stand together for a picture, they automatically break into superhero poses.

Today Paul's basketball team had a tournament, so we went up for some of the games. In between games, Rudy had fun running around outside.

Bill, Paige and Grandpa joined us at the game. Rudy really had fun talking to Paige and entertaining her- he even tried to share some of his peanut butter cup from his ice cream sundae with her!

Grandpa with 2/5 of his grandchildren.

When we got home after the game, we decided it was time to get Rudy's bike out of the basement and go for a ride. We just went to the end of our street, but he rode back and forth for more than 30 minutes.

Rudy and Lou checking out a log.

"Look! There's the bug that rolls into a ball!"

A Rare Warm Day

Yesterday's weather was predicted to be in the 60s and sunny. Since Rudy had a half day, we took a picnic to a playground and met up with some friends. The kids had a lot of fun running around for hours and we all enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine. Of course, today it is windy and cold again, but it was a nice reprieve.

Batman and Superman working together to fight crime.

The three kids played really well together. At one point, Rudy was a storm trooper, Tommy was Luke Skywalker and Jade was Princess Leia.

Rudy wasn't too sure I knew the way home, so he decided to consult the map book as I drove. He was very serious about his job.

Santa Arrives at Smithville

Friday night Santa arrived by fire truck in Smithville. This is the first time in several years that they've done this, so we were really looking forward to it. Paul wasn't feeling well all week, and we were babysitting Charlie for the night, so Paul and Charlie stayed home while Rudy and I went and met his friend Tommy.

Clothing note #1: See the hat that's a little large on Rudy's head - it's Paul's hat. We couldn't find Rudy's winter hat and before I could even look for an alternative, he grabbed Paul's and said, "Look, this one fits me." So that's what he wore.

As we waited for Santa, some characters walked around including Frosty



and a guy from Ya Gabba Gabba (who no one seems to know his name, since every child there called him Yo Gabba Gabba).
Clothing note #2: Rudy had his sweat pants from school on before we left, and I told him to go put a pair of pajama pants on under them. When he came downstairs, all I saw were the pajama pants and I told him he needed to go back up. After protesting from him, I realized that he had put the pajamas on OVER his sweatpants. It's not a great look, but I was happy he picked a plain pair of pant rather than one with prints all over.

Then he fire truck arrived with Santa and Mrs. Claus.

Although we were in a corner, we actually were in the best place because the fire truck came right up to us and Santa and Mrs. Claus sat in the cherry picker above us for several minutes.

The the ladder turned and they were let off on the other side of the lot.

But they walked around to greet everyone and made there way back to us.

After seeing Santa, we walked around and were able to have pictures taken with many of the characters.

We had some hot chocolate and cookies and then the boys went on the carousel before we left. Rudy didn't want to look my way for the picture...

... and then when he finally did, this is the face I got.

Chuck E. Cheese Birthday Party

Rudy's actual birthday is still two weeks away, but because of the holidays, we usually have his party early in November.
Here is my wondrous creation - the Spiderman cake. This was my first time using the decorating bags and really following a pattern- not too bad! I almost feel like an artist.

Rudy checking out his cake - I started the before he went to bed so he saw the very beginning stages but couldn't wait to see the finished product.

The birthday guests included the usual suspects - cousins,and a few friends. Rudy always asks to go to Chuck E. Cheese and Paul and I have resisted taking him. I even told him that you could only go there for parties, so when his birthday came around, he only wanted to go there for his party.

So first the kids had fun on the rides and playing games.

Sometimes even the big kids got involved (I know of a few dads that were there that snuck off at different times to go play a game they wanted to play!).

I promise these two were much happier than they look!

Paul's mom got to meet all the new additions to the A. family - and even held Charlie for a few minutes.

All the kids- Sanai, Max, Tommy, Rudy, Jade, and Lucy. The three youngest were sitting back with the parents.

Paige was either completely exhausted or completely bored! Either way she got comfortable in Bill's arms!

Rudy loved being the center of attention and he loved see Chuck E.

But all he wanted to do was finished his hot dog and he kept having to stand up or high five Chuck E. As soon as he sat back down, more of the hot dog got shoved in.

Chuck E. and the party guests.

As the Birthday Boy, Rudy got to go in the Ticket Blaster. I really expected him to refuse to do this or want to get out immediately, but he did it and enjoyed it (he later told me it was the best part of the day), and he even got a lot of tickets.

Rudy and Max are back to being buddies, after having a few rough visits.

Most of the crazy cousins - Charlie was smart enough to be asleep or pretend to be asleep while this was going on...

... Paige quickly realized what she had gotten into and decided she wanted no part of the chaos.

Chris, Patti, Max, Lucy and Charlie decided to come back to our house for a while after the party. Rudy loves riding with Max in Chris and Patti's car, which means Lucy gets to ride with me and Paul. When we got in the car and started driving, she stretched and yawned and we asked if she was tired and wanted a nap. She said yes, so we told her she could take a nap in the car. She said there wasn't a bed in the car so she couldn't do that. We tried a few other times to convince her she could nap but she said no. I should have taken a picture of her when we got to the house because within about 5 minutes after we finished talking to her, she was asleep!

Once we arrived home, Rudy opened his presents and Max showed off his awesome reading ability by reading the cards for Rudy. Then Max, Lucy and Rudy played with some of the new toys.

Although it was a crazy day (Paul said today he was still recovering from Chuck E. Cheese's), Rudy had a great time and we had fun hanging out with friends and family. I just wish we could find a place to have a party where the adults could just sit and socialize the whole time!