CHIPS OFF THE OLD BLOCKS: abe's 2nd birthday

saturday. june 12, 2010. so we billed abraham's 2nd birthday party as a way to BEAT THE HEAT. it's june in arizona. it made sense. we set up our 2 large pools. were going to put out a sprinkler sprayer. we bought squirt guns. necklace squirters. a slip n slide. otter pops. we were ready for the party to get wet and wild with fun. the weather, however, did not cooperate. we had a full on THUNDERSTORM start four hours before the party started. levi and abe were so excited to be running in the rain, but i was FREAKED OUT a ~~little~~ lot! levi kept telling me not to worry!!! he said we could have everyone stand under the large umbrellas papa's acquired or hang out inside. and the ever optimistic joshua thought it would just blow over. and like usual, he was right. it was a lot cooler than we anticipated, but it made it much nicer for the parents to enjoy a nice day out doors. i did feel super bad for the kiddos though because they were freezing when they got out of the pool. we also decided not to do the sprinkler, the slip n slide, and the otter pops. but, we will have plenty of time to use those for summer play dates!

levi asked me to get down his pens and scissors so he could draw. then he came out and told me he drew a picture as a decoration for abe's party!!!

abe with his crafty PRESENT from levi.

a true ARTIST with a ginormous heart and pen behind his ear.

levi wanted to put them on the tree with tape, but he learned that didn't work. we used twine instead. i love how he tries to DRAW PEOPLE features.

levi just hanging out.

lil monkey.

abe wanted in on the action.

levi all smiles as we listen to the THUNDER!

REALLY? today?

the boys running in the RAIN.

levi ran the whole time with his TONGUE out to catch the rain drops.

still running.

and running.

all WET.

levi requested his JACKET. it was super chilly.

catching drops from the roof.

brothers.

abe. one hand in pocket, the other catching rain.

back to running.

levi loving it.

abradoodle.

levi turned a gas pump into a gun. such a boy.

abe's party decorations. water, fishy, summer theme.

necklace squirters.

tatoos. always the biggest hit of any party.

bubbles and squirt guns.

party favors and blow outs.

friday, june 11, 2010. abraham's actual birthday day was pretty low key. we spent most of the day cleaning up the back yard in prep for his big party the next day. lots of time in the water keeping cool. it was a good day.

one of abe's favorite things to do. swinging. at 9:29 am we sang happy birthday to him. it was exactly 2 years ago at that moment he was born. he is an incredible child. we are so fortunate to be able to claim him as our own!

levi the digger.

levi hooked up the string contraption that allows him to swing abraham.

swinging.

levi was way more into it than abe was.

levi decided he was gonna help clean the windows. we never even suggested it needed to be done.

he used one of our old laundry squirt bottles that we had converted into a water toy.

mr. clean.

sorting toys. we do this about once a year. there was a method to the madness when we came up with this storage system idea, but the order doesn't last long.

we took some of the larger toys out front to clean the dirt and cobwebs off them.

levi pretending to be a fireman. putting out tree fires.

and squirting his brother.

the birthday boy all wet.

riding around.

levi cleaning a toy we are giving to our new little neighbor boy. he is a little over a year and already came out to play on it with the boys earlier. it's just his size.