Berfday

At least one reader wants to know ... where have I been? What have I been doing?

Answer: Celebrating four funny years with this guy:



Who wanted to know every day for the past week, "Is TODAY my berf-day?" He finally got to celebrate last Thursday. The big kids had a half day of school (note to school board: one hour and 45 minutes is NOT half of a day), so they came to visit the frog room. Theo was all too cool for school, but Dora LOVED being around all the little kiddos and switched into full gear "teacher" mode.



Her five minute story took 20 minutes to read, because she str-eeeeee-tched it out. ("What color are his spots now? That's right! Blue! What is he holding here? That's right! A flower!") School was followed by lunch at our favorite diner, a movie at home, and dinner with our family (with Whoopie Pies for dessert, mmmmm.)



And yesterday, we had a little party for his buddies at the bowling alley. I loved these bowling cookies, they were so fun to make! This is my first time making chocolate cutouts (for my little chocolate guy), and they were excellent. 

A little note about the cookie cutters: I usually order from this store, because they have a big selection and very reasonable prices. But I really wanted a separate pin cutter, and they only carry a ball and pin combo. So after much, much searching, I found exactly what I wanted from this store on Bonanza. I've never used (or heard of) Bonanza, it's kind of like a mix between Etsy and Amazon. The prices in this shop were a bit higher, but the quality is excellent. The cutters are extremely sturdy and well made, and the sides are a good 2" tall. Highly recommended!

Next up: favors.



Clark got this mini bowling set in his stocking last year, and it's still one of his favorite things. We thought it would they a great goodie for his bowling buddies, each kid got one in a monogrammed bowling bag.



Clark was being a bit of a stinker about pictures yesterday, so consequently I have a group picture of all the party guests ... minus the birthday boy!



But I happened to sneak this one in when he was being goofy. The party moved outside after lunch ... I really didn't expect to be outside in mid-November!



And I snuck in a little mini-photo session after our friends went home. (Note the haircut between picture #1 and this one ... no more mop top!)