A Bumble Bee & Batman Party!

A couple of weeks ago, we celebrated the kids' birthdays. I REALLY wanted to do single parties for each, but come on, joint makes much more sense. So, joint we did. My biggest obstacle was finding a them they could share. Colors, characters, whatever worked. Colors worked this year. I decided to use black and yellow for a bumble bee and batman theme. I started with the invitation and then worked all the other stuff out. I bought most of my decorations, and made a few. To my surprise, the Batman theme gave me the biggest headache since now Batman dresses in blue. Who knew? So, I just used the logo through out, and made my usual centerpieces. I also made the cupcake toppers and candy labels. We had a last minute candy buffet that looked sooo cute! Glad I did it, but we're still eating candy. Besides the candy table, the kids also got a favor basket. I bought yellow baskets at the Dollar Tree, and I filled them with a ball, sidewalk chalk, water guns, a nifty whistle, and bubbles. The cakes! I loved them too. They were from Sam's Club. I had no idea that Sam's Club had so many licensed character cakes. Way more than Costco. For the bee cake, I just asked them to decorate with flowers and I bought sugar bees separately. For the Batman cake, I bought sugar sheets from Michaels and had my niece cut out a bat. I also bought batman rings separately and added those to the cake. Side note: Sam's had really cute Batman cakes BUT they were in blue! I didn't want the blue so I went on my own for the décor. We had a taco guy, love them! They're so easy since they provide just about everything. We all had a good time and all the kids enjoyed the pool party! I say it now, but I don't want to do another party next year! I might change my mind. Maybe.

Black and yellow candy table.

 

 

 

Bumble bee cake using sugar bees.

Batman cake.

 

Bumble bee centerpiece.

 

Batman centerpiece.

 

Bumble bee and Batman cupcake toppers.

 

Happy Birthday!!!

 

Isabella's 3 Years Old & Jacob's 5 Years Old!

I know, I know, I'm way behind! But Isabella is 3 now! We celebrated her birthday twice! On her actual birthday and a joint party (post coming soon!) for her and her brother. So, my baby girl is no longer a baby. She's a big girl. She still loves Minnie Mouse but she also loves Hello Kitty, My Little Pony, and anything pink and girly. She loves her brother to pieces, and she loves to annoy him too. They play together a lot more now. Her current shows are Peppa Pig, My Little Pony, and Sophia the First.

We also had her annual checkup. Isabella is 37.5" tall (50th %) and weighs about 40 pounds (90%). My girl loves her sweets! Her favorite is cookies. She loves to steal cookies from her grandparents' house. And her grandpa is her favorite person. We also had Isabella's first dentist visit. She has one cavity that we have to keep an eye on, but we've on top of it, and the dentist doesn't see a problem.

I love my spunky little girl to pieces! She's crazy, curious, and so cute! Everyday is different with her, and I'm very lucky to say that I am her preschool teacher this year. I can't wait to see what my baby learns this year!

A couple weeks ago, Jacob turned 5! We celebrated his birthday at the joint party and we also had a cake on his actual birthday. He's sooo big now. He's into all kinds of boy stuff. He like pirate ships, airplanes, rockets, and Batman. Oh, and anything villain related. He's so smart, and ready to start kindergarten! Yup, he's in school now.

We had Jacob's checkup last week. He's now 43.25" tall and he weighs about 43 pounds. The doctor asked him all kinds of questions about school, and he got 2 shots! He had his finger pricked, and a hearing test too. It was a big trip. He cried more when I ripped of the band-aids from his shots than he did for the actual shots. Go figure.

Jacob is a sweet, sensitive soul. He's very caring, and sweet. He's definitely momma's boy. I love with all of my heart, and I can't wait to see what this year brings for him.

Puerto Rico Summer Vacation

A couple of months ago, end of June beginning of July, me and my entire immediate family went on vacation. I was totally and completely apprehensive about this trip. Most specifically, the flight. We flew to Puerto Rico with one stop in Miami both ways. We had not been on a big trip since Isabella was 9 months old and we didn't fly, so it was the first plane ride for both kids. And let me say, it was all for nothing. My kids did wonderfully! We were even complemented. Yes, Isabella had a few outbursts but no crying for mor than a few minutes. I was so relieved! This was the beginning of an amazing trip!

We've been to PR a few times but it was the first time with the kids. We usually stay in a house and this time was no different. Our house was in San Juan and just 20 feet from the beach. The house was nothing stellar but the beach more than made up for it. And my goal for this trip was to relax. We did!

We did a lot of beach time, food eating, and family visiting time. Yup, we have family there too. But let's talk about the food! We had only one bad meal the entire time, which was 8 days (10 total), and it was from some buffet joint similar to Sizzler. And we also prepped for food places by watching some travel channel shows like Andrew Zimmern's show and Man vs Food.  We visited a market that Zimmerman went to and we also went to an ice cream shop he stopped by. The market was boring, but the ice cream shop was interesting. I was too chicken to try the flavors they offered like rice and beans, corn, oh and garlic, among many others. My brother bought garlic for us to try and that thing should not be made into ice cream. Oh, but the recommendation from Adam Richman was it!

In his PR episode, Richman visits a sandwich truck called El Churry. These sandwiches looked amazing and we all wanted a try. Lets just say we tried them twice, and we wanted a third try! So good! It's just a skirt steak sandwich with chicken, bacon, cheese, ketchup/mayo, and potato sticks shoved in. We are going to try and recreate them very soon.  The rest of the meals were filled with authentic PR fare.

Besides the amazing foods, we went on several day trips. Some of these included visiting family but we also hit up an amazing beach called Playa Sucia (Dirty Beach). It gets its name from the kelp that washes ashore, and I can guarantee that it was no dirty beach, but one of the prettiest beaches we visited. It's also tricky to get and somewhat hidden, but my brothers are great at finding hidden laces.

We also visited the Caverns/caves of Camuy, I hadn't been in probably 10 years, so we diced that it's been awhile, and not everyone had seen the caves, we would go again. This place is magical but oh so slippery. I nearly fell 2 times and I wore the most appropriate shoes - water shoes. Jacob loved the cave especially since it was a bat cave.

We made some local stops. We made a short trip to old San Juan and we went to a flower festival. We'd been to Old San Juan quite a few times, but we went for the kids. My brother played the Pirates of Caribbean theme song as we drove past the forts, and we found Jacob a pirate ship he'd been begging for. Oh, and some amazing stuffed churros who are a close second to Disneyland churros. Yum!

Most memorable event of our trip? On one of our last beach trips, my husband and I were holding onto each one of our kids. Suddenly, a huge wave hit us and wiped us out. We lost our glasses! Me, a cheap pair of $ store glasses that I loved, and him a nice, new pair of prescription glasses! Yes, I know. Why! We thought they were gone. I mean a pair of minuscule glasses lost in a giant sea. My husband was MAD! I was too. Until my brother showed up with a pair of glasses. What luck! He had been shuffling his feet and following the current when he happened to find my husbands glasses! We were so relieved and he they were in perfect condition. Whew! That was crazy. I can't wait to go back and neither can the kids. They still talk about going back. Maybe in a few years.

Now, here are a ton of pictures...

Our first day in San Juan.

Our first dinner.

 

My husband's dinner. El Turbolino.

Our first beach day at Park Place.



 

Taking a break in Old San Juan.

 

Playa Sucia.

 

Lighthouse at Playa Sucia.

 

 Above the clouds at a relative's house.

 

 Our favorite sandwich, El Churry.

 

Local flower/garden festival.

 

Last day of the trip.

On our way home.