Messy Party

Easton turned 3 in July and we thought it very fitting for him to have a 

"Messy Party" since he is our own personal Mr. Messy. 

Seriously, no matter how many times I tell him that his shirt is not a napkin and offer him a real napkin, his shirt still ends up looking like he lost some sort of battle after a PB&J lunch. Not only that, he goes straight for the mud, the puddles, the dirt and the sand when given the opportunity 

(or really, when given a second out of my eyesight, to be more accurate). 

So, here's our recap of the Messy Party:

 First off, Spaghetti Relay! 

The kids split into teams and had to grab handfuls of oily spaghetti and run with it to the other side where there was a bucket to measure which team got the most without spilling. These little ones could not have cared less about winning, as a matter of fact, there were some putting there noodles in the wrong bucket. We called it a tie (if anyone cared!).

 Next up, Conquer the Donut!

We hung powdered donuts by string and tied them to a low tree (with varying heights). Each child had to put their hands behind their backs and attempt to bite the donut using only their mouth. This was actually hilarious. The older kids really got into the this. The younger ones just grabbed their donuts and started eating them. Several did that before the game even got under way!

Cheerios Face-Off: We spread icing on their faces and they had to (without hands) stick as many Cheerios on their faces as they could in 30 seconds

We had several stations that kids could help themselves to, such as 

Painting, Rock Painting and Body Painting (made with shave cream):

   

   

 

   

 And, the Dirty Dig = kiddie pool filled with dirt, play snakes, trucks and shovels

 

Can't forget the Washing Station (some kids didn't want to stay quite as messy as my Mr. Messy)

Messy Cake-Eating was the highlight for my little man! 

 

The kids had a fantastic time and the adults agreed that next time, 

we want to have a grown-up messy party! Now, that will be truly fantastic!

Easton Brooks is 3!

I always write my kids letters on their birthdays. It's just a tradition that I think will bless them later on in life. I usually read it to them and print it out for their journals. Here is my letter to Easton today, on his 3rd birthday:

(picture from his 2nd birthday)

(current)

Easton Brooks...

Can it possible that you are three?

Maybe it's because you are the baby in the house, but you still seem so little to assume the title of 3-year-old...

We have had so many fun, difficult, joyous and overwhelming experiences with you in your third year of life. What a crazy year it has been! There have been moments where your Dad and I have wanted to pull our hair out and check into the looney hospital because of your fits and anger. We have lost our cool, we have messed up, but ultimately we have entrusted you to God. We have had a substantial amount of joyous memories that make us forget all about the trials we have been through with you. We have had so many opportunities to praise God for the work He has done and is doing in you.

We praise Him that you are eating dinner, even salad! (those who know our struggle with this know this is a HUGE deal!)
We praise Him that you are going tee-tee in the potty!
We praise Him that the fits are considerably less and God is helping you with self control.
We praise Him that you are a great helper at cleaning up and cooking with Mommy.
We praise Him that you are becoming more of a friend to T & B and less of a destroyer, at times.
We praise Him that your personality gets bigger everyday and you keep us in stitches.
We praise Him that you are asking questions about God and sing to Him with all your heart.

Moving you from the crib to the bunk beds was a funny process and is still going on. One day last fall, you climbed out of your bed and were scared to death. I have no idea if you landed on your head or what, but you were shook up and never tried that again until the spring, when you began to do it every day. We set up the bunk beds for you and Beckett and we have gone through many phases:

Phase 1: E gets out of his bed 10 times a night every night
Phase 2: E gets out of his bed 2 times a night every night (thank God! I was having to sit outside of your door and constantly tell you to go to sleep)
Phase 3: Getting up into Beckett's bed and sleeping with him
Phase 4 (current): Finding you sleeping on the ground next to the door (when we ask you about it, you say that it's "too comfy." We don't know if you are saying the bed is too comfy so you have to sleep on the ground or the ground is too comfy so you are sleeping there.)

We have enjoyed all the talking you have done this year. I didn't think the personalities in our home could get any bigger until you started talking more. You talk non-stop and in the most precious way. You are the center of attention and you most certainly know it. Your Easton-isms have left us in stitches and yet we have captured so few of them in writing. Thank you for making our home a place of great laughter and fun. I have no doubt that you will be our clown through the years and I look forward to watching your personality continue to grow.

Happy 3rd Birthday, precious! Life is better with you in it - it's fun, it's unpredictable, it's entertaining and it's a blessing bigger than words could articulate.

I love you, Easton Brooks!

Love,
Mommy

Vintage Sports Theme Boys' Room

He started climbing out of his crib and we knew it was time.

Time to get rid of the crib and get him a big boy bed. Welcome bunk beds. Welcome a chance at re-decorating the room! This room seriously needed an update. It was the same as it had been since we were pregnant with Beckett.

Check out the before:

Now, feast on the after:

The boys are super-thrilled about their new bunk beds! I figured a sports theme could last 

awhile with little boys, so I opted for that. I made the pennant banner with scraps of fabric I had around that house that *mostly* matched but I wasn't all too concerned with that...

MADE beds! Ha! They never look this good. Don't be fooled. I did this myself.

I customized this cutie pie canvas print on Paper Coterie when they were doing a freebie.

I absolutely love. it. 

Now if only the boys could understand the greatness of brotherhood. 

Allen's parents bought this chest of drawers for us from craigslist and I refinished it with paint and a little distressing. I love how it turned out.

My sweet friend, Misti, works at Beckett Sports Media and acquired these 

awesome magazine covers for me to use on these canvases. I used the inside pages of Allen's old baseball magazines as the background and the covers Misti gave me on the front with some scrapbook paper to frame it. Modge podge was a great and difficult friend through the process. 

Great find at IKEA. Beckett has loved having a place to put his favorite 

treasures so he doesn't have to keep going up and down the ladder.

And finally, the boys enjoying their beds for their intended purpose. In case you can't tell, that's Easton on the right side of the picture. He has a reputation for sleeping anywhere BUT his bed. 

We're counting that part of it a work in progress. ;)