Jedi Training Academy (aka 5th Birthday Party)

Brady's birthday party was a success! I spent many hours planning and preparing for this so it was very satisfying for it all to come together so nicely! Brady was ecstatic and all of his friends seemed to have a really fun time too! I borrowed many of the ideas off of various sites on the iternet and made up many of my own!

A few weeks prior to the party Brady and I personally handed these invitations out to his friends. I thought that it was a very clever way of inviting kids to the party and getting the excited!

We started the party by welcoming the kids to the Jedi Training Academy and giving everyone a Jedi Training Badge. They were each given a new Jedi name (their name spelled backwards) and tasks that they had to complete in order to become a certified Jedi Knight!


Task #1 Lightsaber Training: We played "lightsaber limbo," and hitting an "asteroid ball" (a ball of tinfoil) with the lightsaber. The kids loved this and took turns doing each of these tasks. I was amazed at how well-behaved they were! (Chris made these cute lightsabers out of pool noodles that my awesome friend Charlotte "donated" for the cause...since there were no pool noodles to be found in any stores yet!)


Task #2 Learn to use the force: "R2D2 has fallen off of the spaceship and is floating in space! We must save him by using our force to float the life-saving ring over R2D2's head and bring him back to safety!" (R2D2 is our shop-vac and the life-saving ring is a hula-hoop!) The kids loved throwing the hula-hoop over "R2D2." I was really impressed that 90% of them got it on their first try!

Task #3 Sharpening your listening skills: This game was "Yoda/Vader" and would have been a lot cooler if I had a red and a green lightsaber to use as I had planned. I also had planned for Chris to be dressed up as Darth Vader and Livy to be Yoda but that fell through...the kids were a little confused by this game (played like red light/green light so I think it would be better for an older age group)...

Task #4 Save Princess Leia! "Princess Leia has been taken by the Storm Troopers and buried in one of the orbiting planets. We must destroy each planet to see if she is trapped within!" I had a ton of balloons and each of them had a piece of paper inside, only one of them with a Princess Leia picture. They had to sit on the balloons and "pop" them (as I cam efrom behind them and popped them with a needle) and see who could find Princess Leia first! They LOVED this game!

Task #5 Destroy the Death Star: "Darth Vader plans on using the planet Death Star to detroy the good planets in the galaxy! We must hit the "x" and destroy the Death Star before Vader has a chance to use it against us! (The kids threw a tinfoil ball at the target)

Task #6 Clean up the Galaxy! We have detsroyed the Death Star which has caused thousands of pieces of the planet to float freely through our Galaxy as asteroids. We must recover all the dangerous asteroids to keep our Galaxy safe and clean!

For this game Chris wrapped up a bunch of mini "Milky Way" candy bars in aluminum foil and we hit them all over the living room. The kids thought this was pretty cool!


They got to take home their candy, their training badges (with stickers from each completed task), a glow in the dark bracelet that I made for each of them and their lightsabers.

After we completed training we went out side for a while and had some fun jumping in a bounce house that my friend Melissa so kindly let us borrow! The kids acted like crazy Jedi Knights and attacked each other with their noodle light sabers! They had a blast!

Erik- Brady's other TRUE STAR WARS FAN friend.

Erik is actually the one who got Brady hooked on Star Wars when he had a

Star Wars party last spring! It's all Brady could talk about ever since!

Brady's friend, Joshua

After that we cam eback inside and had PADAWAN PIZZA (english muffin pizzas), Princess Punch (Hawaiian Punch), Yoda Soda (green fruit punch with sprite) and wookie cookies (no-bake cookies). The kids all seemed to enjoy their lunch a lot and then we had GIFTS:

Brady LOVES his new STORM TROOPER costume!!! and wore it for THREE days after his party!

His big gifts from us were a TON of Star Wars action figures (Thanks EBAY!!!) and a new bike!!!

CUPCAKES: I made lightsaber cupcakes (mini pretzels dipped in colored white chocolate) and Princess Leia cupcakes (using Oreos as the hair) These were so much cuter in person and a cinch to make...I had to say I was quite proud of myself!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

...And MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!!!!

Throwing a Baby Shower...

Before I post all of the birthday extravaganza pictures this coming weekend I thought I'd finally post the baby shower pictures from a few weeks ago. My good friend Nicole just had her beautiful baby Sophia and I was able to throw her a surprise baby shower! It was so much fun to plan! (I didn't actually get any pictures of the people at the baby shower because my camera chose to die...but some other friends have taken some that I'll get later)



I did a lot of research on the internet for decorations that I could make that would be friendly on my budget. My friend, Laura in Maine had made me the cutest little onesie card when I had Olivia and I had come across it recently and decided to make up a bunch of onesie decorations using a bunch of the scrap ribbon and embelishments that I've saved over the years. I enlisted my friend Charlotte and we crafted our hearts out making these little cuties!



As you can see we made a TON of them and used them to decorate everything! I already had some clothes pins so we used those to hand them up everywhere!


I covered these picture frames with scrapbooking paper that I had and we played a game by placing people's baby pitures in each square and then guessing who each baby was. It was really fun to see everyone's baby pictures!


I decorated my entry-way bookcase with baby gifts that I had gotten and made for Nicole and I also made her this diaper cake! I was really proud of myself that I pulled this off! I read a few tutorials online and then just winged it and I think it came out so perfect! It was by far my favorite decoration and a perfect baby gift too! (Who doesn't need diapers???)

Brady's birthday celebrations...phase I

My morning on Brady's birthday started out early with a wake-up call from Miss Sunshine who "helped" me make star and teddy bear pancakes for big brother. Brady was greeted with "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU..." and a special suprise birthday breakfast! he was really excited and felt very special indeed!



He'd been talking about his birthday for MONTHS and MONTHS so I didn't want it to be a let down in anyway!

After breakfast we cleaned up and hurried along our way getting ready for the day. I had to work so Brady and Livy went to my friend Melody's house where he was treated very royally. Melody is so sweet and she made him rice crispie treats with green sprinkles (his favorite color), gave him a puzzle and filled his shoes with treats while he was napping (with help from the "nap birdie!!!) Brady was so excited when I went to pick him up that he was talking a mile a minute! Thanks so much for making my boy's day special!!!

On the way home from work I had picked him up some balloons and a pizza and cinnamon sticks for special birthday dinner. We love having movie nights with pizza, rootbeer and popcorn and that's what Brady had requested. I called Chris on the way home and asked him if he's set up all of Brady's stuffed animals along the window sill in the livingroom so we could have a big "party" for him with all of his stuffed animal friends (he was bummed that his birthday party wasn't going to be until a week after his real birthday). When we got home he was suprised by the balloons, all of his stuffed animals and his Grammie and Grandpa Graf (who stopped by with some special treats to say hello!)

(Funny story: I got him a #5 birthday balloon...or so I thought...when I got home I realized it said Happy 50th birthday! I couldn't believe that I hadn't seen the zero! Brady thought it was pretty funny and said, "that's okay mom, we can just cross out that silly zero!")


We enjoyed our pizza and rootbeer and then Brady opened one gift from us (actually two) a couple of movies. He got "G-Force" and "Ice Age III." We watched "G-Force" that night and even Livy got to stay up late!


Brady also got a birthday card in the mail from Auntie Nickie, Uncle Nick and cousins Lexi and Chloe who sent him a cute Valentine's Day picture, an awesome Darth Vader Star Wars card and 5 bucks!!! We were even suprised by a birthday phone call from Auntie Nickie and Brady loved talking to her!!!

On Saturday we had big plans to go down to Burley and meet up with Chris' folks to enjoy the day together bowling and having a little party at their house...unfortunately, things don't always go as planned and I woke up with the flu! So, I stayed home and got some R&R and Chris took the kiddos down by himself! They had a fabtastic time with Grammie and Grandpa Graf and Aunties Shawnae and Chelsae!

Olivia even bowled with some help from Daddy! (we got that on video!)

After bowling they went to a family favorite Al's Pizza where they enjoyed yummy pizza and playing on some pretty "antique" games (that Chris used to play when he was a kid!) They had a great time though!

Birthday party at the Graf's: Grammie and Grandpa got Brady an awesome red bike helmet and a new Book of Mormon. Brady was very excited! He also got a $5 gift card to Walmart from "Great Grandma Opals" and a little cowboy calendar.

They ended the night with a delicious OREO cake (or so I'm told...I haven't had a chance to try it yet since I've still been a bit queasy!!!)

Thanks for making Brady's birthday sucha a fun time!!! More fun and games await us as he is having his first birthday party with friends this weekend! He is so excited it's all he talks about (and practically all I've thought about in my spare time for the past month or so!) Let's hope no one gets sick....

Brady Boy turns 5!!!

Braden Christopher was born on Feb. 5th, 2005 on Super Bowl weekend!!! Brady has blessed our lives so much. It is hard to know what being a parent will be like until you experience it for yourself, and although there are many trials, there are also many joys. I have at times felt inadequate as a mother and exasperated at my child, but whenever I take a step back and watch my son I feel nothing but true happiness as I have been blessed with stewardship over his little soul.

Right from the beginning Brady was precocious and alert to the world around him. From birth he always liked to have his head held up so he could look at everything surrounding him. He had no choice but to become a Red Sox fan as he has a die hard sports fanatic father and Yankee blood in his veins!

From a young age he knew that he was a very cool dude!

Having a child lets you see life in a whole new way; everything becomes magical and inspiring. A pile of leaves is a child's playground and a forest is a magical fairy land. Brady's imaginative personality has enlivened the world for me as I see his excitement and the sparkle in his eye when we are playing make-believe.



From hiking...


... exploring ...

....playing at the beach...

....mini-golfing.....

...even to snowshoeing, we love all of the FUN TIMES we've spent with our little buddy!

(More to be posted later about the birthday festivities)

18 months

Livy is 18 months and changing so fast I can hardly keep up with her! These pictures were actually taken back at Christmas but I've been saving them specifically for this post. She came up to me one afternoon with her baby doll and a blanket and gave them both to me. I wrapped the baby doll up like a burrito and then laid her on the floor. Livy then brought me her blankie and laid it out on the floor next to the baby doll and then smiled at me and said "see baby" and pointed to the baby. Then she laid there and just waited for me to come wrap her all up too! My burrito baby!

Things Olivia is saying and doing at 18 months:

“hi daddy!”
“no Brady!”
“hi mommy!”
“where daddy” (or brady, or mommy)
“ no wan dis” (I don’t want this)
“wah-weeze” (water)
“drink”
“sleep”
“ah nigh nigh” (go night night)
“halt!” (sticking hand out)
"dirt"

"horseee" (horse)

climbing on top of everything! (including onto the kitchen table!)

taking socks and shoes off every time we get in the car

laughing whenever anyone else laughs

laughing whenever I pick her up after I get out of work

calling every other little baby or child her age "baby....(insert name)"

throwing food on the floor and refusing to be spoon fed anything

loving to play with her brother and tag along with mommy and daddy

be our cute little love bug, giving us kisses and hugs and slobbers!

My Little Rascals

We gave Brady the movie "Little Rascals" for Christmas and he's been asking me if he's my little rascal, to which I say "YES!" Here's my kiddos being my little rascals!

Who needs new toys when you can play with bowls?

This little LEGO boy needs a "get out of jail FREE" card!!! Brady had a grand-old time building an elaborate prison for all of his LEGO people.




And last of all, little Miss Livy created these freaky little potato heads all by herself...

Into the working world I go!

I thought I'd just update everyone really quick and let you all know that my blog may be in a sorry state of distress for a while because I have gone back to work FULL-TIME!!!

My friend Charlotte's husband, Jon (who is also my friend) is a physical therapist and was able to refer me to an opening as a medical transcriptionist/office assistant at his agency. I was thrilled at the chance to put my new skills to use and make some money!!!

I intended to post my New Year's resolutions earlier, but as my week became busier that idea fell by the wayside. One of my top goals for this year is to BE DEBT FREE by 2011!!! So, I am taking a hit for the "GRAF TEAM" and going back to work! I intend on paying every penny that I can towards debt this year and also squeezing every extra second of my now precious time at home to be spent with my husband and kiddos. (Debt free is NOT including our mortgage of course...yeah, wouldn't that be awesome!)

The kids have adjusted well to "working mommy" and I am very, very, very lucky to have two wonderful friends providing daycare to my babies. (THANKS Char and Melody!!!)

I am also issuing a PLEA to all MOTHERS WITH GREAT RECIPES to give me ANY and ALL TRIED & TRUE FAST FAST FAST or CROCKPOT dinner ideas!!! So far this week I was 2:4 in the crockpot division...so we need some definite winners!

(*THANKS*)

Ringing in 2010

CHEERS!!!

Here's to a great 2009!!!

We threw our first party in our new home to celebrate New Year's Eve and had a blast with a few friends. We wish we could have invited ALL of our friends...but I think we'd need a bigger house for that!

(L-R: Jason and Jenny Urry, Charlotte and Jon Gardunia, Ryan and Nicole Wells and us!!!) P.S. Brady took this picture and did a great job! He got everyone in the picture and it wasn't blurry!

We played Apples to Apples, Nertz, watched some comedy and ate some DELICIOUS fondue!!! (I'll do a post about that another time!)

The Kiddos

The kids had their own little party! They ran around like crazy little monsters, ate TONS of goodies, watched some movies (or at least glanced at them every now and then) and drove us all crazy! What else are kids hopped up on sugar supposed to do into the wee hours of the night???

Brady had a blast with his friends: Annie, Colin and Sam (sleeping! He finally crashed!)
Olivia and her baby friends partied for a little while before hitting the hay at around (9:30-10pm) Her little friends were Alivia and Mckay.

Our past year was filled with so many changes and so much fun! We can only imagine what 2010 will hold!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

For all of those with private blogs...

Hey there friends! So I know that several of my readers have gone private recently or have private blogs that I haven't been invited to (sniff! sniff!) If you'd like to invite me to your blog my email address is:

h.m.graf@hotmail.com

I also recently added a map of visitors to my blog and see that there actually are people (besides my parents and my sis-in-law) who regularly look at my blog! And there are people from many locations where I don't believe I know anyone, so...

If I don't know you feel free to leave a comment or an email so I can get to know you! There must be some reason why you're so fascinated with my life!!!!