The Crayon Party

As mentioned on this Blog this time last year, I LOVE party themes. I like to pick something that really captures the year the child has had. For year 1, we did Baby Einstein because she loved those DVDs and the caterpillar. Last year was ice-cream cones. And this year we chose crayons because she loves to colour.

So, here we are waiting for friends to arrive:

We had the kiddie-pool out in the backyard, which this age group love:

Dancing after swimming - what a party!

And, you might not believe this but in only five hours on a Friday night, Jake & I turned this pile of ingredients:

.... into this box of crayons cake!

It was the talk of the party!

The next morning over breakfast she opened this pile of presents (do you see the 2 giraffes!)?

And she was quite shy in trying on her first princess jewelry:

Wonderful presents, wonderful friends & family, wonderful party, wonderful little girl. Happy 3rd Birthday Sweetheart!

Abigail turns THREE

Yes, last week the mini-Madonna turned THREE. Not so mini anymore! Here she is at school having cupcakes with all her friends:

And here she is at home that night, her actual birthday the 23rd, having birthday cake:

Conversation at the Pool

Abigail to Stranger: "I'm having a crayon birthday party"
Stranger: "Ooh, that sounds nice"
Abigail: "I'm gonna be three"
Stranger: "Oh, wow, when are you going to turn three?"
Abigail, with pained face: "on my birthday" (stupid woman)

Childrens Museum of Phoenix

Last weekend Jake needed 23 uninterrupted hours to tile our bathrooms. Not a project for a perfectionist wife or a helpful toddler to be in on. So, Abby & I had to make ourselves scarce while he pulled all the toilets out & took over the house with dust, grout, tile saws & swear words.

We went to the Childrens Museum of Phoenix (see my 'Staycation' post of September last year - same place). It is a fabulous place for Abby's age group, she played for HOURS and had much more confidence than that September visit just six months ago.

Painting: "it's gonna be for you mum"

"Ooh thanks Abby, what is it?"

"It's a ..... air conditioner"

Painting the castle:

Concentrating on cutting:

And, the Noodle Room. This time, she loved loved loved it:

Making me a salad:

And I took this photo next to the ice-cream just so that I could get home & compare it to the September picture at the same spot:

It is true that you don't really notice the growth because you're with them everyday.

Fifty Degrees & Raining, Raining, Raining

That's not a forecast we see often in Phoenix but it's what we had this past weekend. So, while I have been known to take six months to finish a book, when the weather is like this, I polish one off in a weekend:

This was a good book, not great for me, but good. It's about an average modern-day family and the silly stories the five main characters find themselves tangled up in. Nothing heavy, just comical & light. With a good deal of social comment which I always enjoy. All in all, a good read for a rainy weekend.

And what better way to end the cold Sunday than with a leek & potato soup with fresh ingredients from the farmers market?

Winter Olympics

Miss Abigail Madonna gets the GOLD for "dramatic crying & whining" this morning:

Reading Actual Books

I'm trying to read more instead of waste hours on crappy TV shows. It really does come with a much bigger satisfaction, it's just that little bit more effort than mindless television at the end of a long day. So, I'm going to post here every time I finish a book to see how many I get through in 2010.

I just finished SuperFreakonomics, the follow-up to the hugely successful Freakonomics I read last year. These guys are brilliant. And funny. And a little odd. But brilliant.