A Pirate Birthday Party

Wyatt has been obsessed with pirates these days thanks to the "Jake and the Neverland Pirates" cartoon that features three kid pirates that outsmart Captain Hook each episode so we decided to throw Wyatt a pirate themed birthday party.

I had asked Wyatt multiple times over the last month who he'd like to invite to his birthday party, specifically, which kids from the Sno-Valley Moms Group, and every time he would have the same response- "No kids, just my cousins." After about my third time asking I figured I would just plan a party like he wanted and we did a family-only party with Aunt Julie, cousins, Uncle Nick, Grandma Nancy and honorary Uncle Wood.

The night before the party, I made a pirate ship birthday cake with the help of a friend that owned her very own frosting kit. I found directions online and showed up at Lauren's house with 2 chocolate sheet cakes and all the fixing to turn them into a pirate ship. We spent 2.5 hours cutting, forming, frosting and decorating and in the end the ship turned out better than I had ever hoped. I added the finishing touches the next morning with sand (graham cracker crumbs) and mini pirates and the cake looked fantastic!






The morning of the party, Ross and I decorated the living room and dining room with a 50-foot pirate banner with Jolly Roger flags and a pirate "Happy Birthday" sign. Wyatt loved it and said it looked just like a pirate ship.

I gave Wyatt and Sam each a pirate hat and pirate tattoo to wear, and Wyatt had a special #4 pirate birthday shirt to wear. Here he is saying "Aargh!"



The cousins showed up dressed for a pirate party and had pirate hats, costumes and swords. Wyatt was absolutely thrilled and I love that pre-teen and early teenagers would put their "coolness" aside for the day to make their little cousin's birthday one to remember.

Wyatt loved the pirate ship birthday cake and loved his real pirate ship present even more. He gasped and squealed when he saw it and didn't take his hands off of it for the next 2 hours- even when grandma unveiled a fish tank and 3 guppies. That gift he noticed sometime later and of course loved as well.





It was one of my favorite days with Wyatt, ever. :)

Run, Wyatt, Run!

I entered Wyatt into the Cinco De Mayo Kids 1 Mile race in Snoqualmie and we had so much fun running together. The weather wasn't as cooperative as I would have hoped but a little drizzle never killed anyone. Only in the Pacific Northwest would you see kids running a race in galoshes but boy were Wyatt's feet warm and dry after splashing through the gutters and jumping on every storm drain.

I wasn't sure the race was going to happen this morning after Wyatt said "I don't want to run the race in the rain. I will wait until the sun comes out." Once I told him that the race was going to start at 9:15 and we could either run in the rain or miss it altogether he decided to participate and we headed over to the high school in the nick of time.

Wyatt did great! He ran the entire mile without stopping and with a perma-smile on his face. He loved chasing all of the other kids (there were 38 total with a lot of parents in the mix) and he placed 6th out of 10 overall for boys in his division (4 and under) with a time of 14:45. I was so proud of him and was so relieved that he enjoyed himself. As a finisher, he received a medal (which was more of a necklace) and then we hit the doughnut shop for some hot chocolate and treats to celebrate. Nothing says great job exercising like a big doughnut.

Fire Station Tour

Our play group took a tour of the Snoqualmie Fire Station last week and it was such a fun morning. Usually Ross doesn't tag along to these events but after working the night before Wyatt sweetly asked him if he wanted to go with us to the fire station and he couldn't say no to his son so we all went along. The firefighters gave us a tour of the firehouse and talked about fire safety and gave the kids a demonstration of Stop-Drop-and Roll.

Then a firefighter put on all of his gear to show the kids what he may look like if he was to rescue them during a fire.


Next, we headed outside for what the kids really wanted to see - the fire trucks!! It was impossible to get all 15 kids to sit still long enough for a group shot but I did get this snapshot of these four little cuties on the bumper of the engine.

All of the kids got to climb in the back of the engine and sit in the jump seat and try on the headphones.

Then we checked out the antique engine, which is a beauty!



The tour ended with each child receiving their very own fire helmet. We of course have quite a few of these at home but you can never have too many plastic fire helmets, especially with the abuse they take around here.

Happy Easter

Easter was a four day celebration in the Tucci household this year with two Easter themed playdates, a community Easter egg hunt and then Easter Day. The kids had a blast and it was fun to see Sammy partake in his first egg hunt experience and to see what a veteran Wyatt has quickly become.

We headed over to a friend's house on Thursday for an Easter egg hunt dry run to get the kids familiar with the whole process. Sam wasn't so sure about it and did not like the idea of having to move grass or branches with his hands to collect the eggs. Instead, he would find the egg and then point at it so I would do the dirty work for him.

This particular hunt included about 10 kids ages 3 and under and lasted for about 30 seconds. Wyatt picked up the most eggs of any kid and was a bit disappointed when he found out that some of the eggs contained small toys or stickers. What?! No Chocolate?! Apparently I have set the bar pretty high in the sweets department but that was only because he has been pretty young to enjoy toys and I could reap all of the Easter rewards with late night chocolate binges.



The next day we had a few little friends over to decorate Easter eggs and we turned them into sheep, chicks and bunnies with self-adhesive foam pieces. The eggs turned out adorable and were super easy, which made for a great craft.




On Saturday we headed over to the large grassy fields near Snoqualmie Elementary School for the community Easter egg hunt. Participating in it was a last minute decision but the sun was out and it was actually warm so we couldn't pass it up. And I am so glad we didn't because Samuel really shined this day. When the whistle blew to trigger the free for all he was hesitant to pick up any eggs but as soon as Ross told him there was chocolate inside he handed dad his basket and began picking up eggs two at a time.

Wyatt was also a superstar and didn't let a head on collision with another girl at the whistle slow him down. He ran like a madman from egg to egg and threw them in his basket as fast as he could. What a pro! Afterward the four of us finally found each other Wyatt congratulated Sam on his first real hunt and the kids enjoyed some candy at 10 a.m. Ah, nothing like the holidays...

Easter morning the kids enjoyed their Easter baskets complete with Thomas & Friends coloring book, James the Engine Pez dispenser, garden rake and shovel, sidewalk chalk and candy. Their favorite things were the Pez candy and gardening tools, which I think will get a lot of use this summer outside in the flower beds and sandbox.

After breakfast we headed over to Julie's house for a late brunch and egg hunt. The food was delicious! Afterward, the adults and Noah (who deemed he was too old to hunt for eggs this year at age 13) headed outside to hide the eggs while Grandma Nancy made sure the kids didn't peek through the blinds.

Then we headed out in our rain coats and boots and spent the next 45 minutes in the drizzle collecting eggs. The rain didn't stop us from having a great time as usual with the cousins and the older kids were so sweet to the younger ones and left any obviously laid eggs alone for Wyatt and Sam to find.

I think Easter has quickly moved into the #3 spot on my favorite holiday list behind Halloween and Christmas. I just love seeing the joy in their eyes as they hunt for eggs and pig out on chocolates.