Jack and Peter's birthday 2013

Back to June to catch up a wee bit.  Oh how I wish I could  reverse time and still have my trip home to Scotland to look forward to again...

Jack finished his school year on June 12th; how is it possible that I will have a wee 1st grader in less than a month? Crazy.  

Grandma Liz, Auntie Rachel and her wee boy, Eli, came to visit with us for a few days to help celebrate Jack and Peter's birthday and spend time with us before we headed away for the 4 weeks.  

Peter greatly enjoyed teaching Grandma to play the Wii...specifically Smash BROS (I love the way he puts so much emphasis on the 'bros') his absolute favourite.  He gets very excited whilst playing; in fact I may need to post a wee vid of him playing at some point...it's mighty hysterical to watch him.

The girls got used to having Grandma around again.  They forget most of the time who she is due to their age, but I think they kinda remembered this time as it didn't take them so long to warm up to her. 

The wee guys decided they wanted a pirate themed party, specifically 'Jake and the Neverland Pirates'.  I wasn't sure I should even do a party this year with us leaving just two days later, but I figured it was a nice chance for them to see their wee friends one more time before we left.  The boys were so excited to get on a plane and see Granny, etc, but, as usual, there was months of excitement leading up to their birthday as well.   In fact, I'm already being asked by Peter how long it is till his next birthday and he's chosen a theme for the party already too....good grief! Ha.

It was nice having my sister in laws and Liz there to help me organize everything, as I was still getting last minute packing done for the trip too.  Callie iced the wee pirate cupcakes for me and made the toosie rolls into pirate ships.  I decided I didn't have enough time this year between having the family in town and packing to spend a day making a fancy cake....maybe I'll continue that tradition next year.  But I did kind of enjoy taking a break from it too.   

Cal getting the cupcakes ready.

Wee cute Eli was fun to have around, he was starting to walk at this point.

The birthday brothers were decked out in their pirate gear and eager for their guests to do the same! 

Auntie Rachel and wee Zo Zo were great company for the weekend.

Grandma Liz helped give some kids a mustache, while I handed out the hats.

The Platt kiddos came dressed as great pirates thanks to their Dad...they each had coat hangers turned into hooks! Ha. 

We played pin the eye patch on Jake (which I may have done for Peter last year too) and pin the flag on the pirate ship.

The we did some 'Jake' colouring in pages. 

And Grandma Liz read two pirate themed books to the crew! 

Next up we headed outside for the pinata! Jack and Peter were really pleased that we had been able to find a pirate one with a hook and a peg leg.

We concluded the afternoon with the cupcakes and gifts from their friends.

As usual they were very spoiled and so grateful for the fab gifts they received. (Jack hanging out with two of his best friends, Joey and Christopher)

The party was a hit with everyone and although having 19 children and 10 adults in my house for it was a little busy at times, we all loved celebrating these two wee pirate brothers.  

A June birthday late and some of July...

I think about sitting down and writing a blog post a lot, but here we are in July now and I've missed writing about birthdays and other fun-ish stuff that has happened as of late.  So here's a wee catch-up.  I was feeling a little like maybe I shouldn't even bother having a birthday party for Jack and Peter this year...maybe just because I always feel a little overwhelmed with my life right now! Ha.  But, dear oh dear, that boy, Jack, had been going on and on about his upcoming birthday since Christmas and how magical a time he was going to have...so I found it hard to disappoint him.  We have established a new rule now, however, that there will not be a birthday party every year.  Well, we'll have a party, but sometimes it'll just be a family one, which are just as fun. :) The Monday before their birthday we spent the evening at Bullwinkles...a happenin' place to go I tell you! The boys each took a shot speeding around a race track with their dad on a go-cart, brill fun! Then we played more arcade games than I have ever encountered in my life!  Ryan won them approximately 10 small toy dinosaurs..he won every kind you can imagine, except the pterodactyl, which, of course, Jack had his wee heart set on.  We'll be back for more arcade fun and that reptile one day! Friday was their actual birthday which was pretty relaxed and quiet.  They played contently with their new toys while I was ready to tear my hair out because I had decided at the last minute to try and make a fondant iced cake based on the "Avengers" theme I had going at the party.  It turned out a winner in the wee guys eyes, which is the most important thing, but if I do that again, I'll be leaving myself a wee bit more time to make it.

Jack and Peter got totally fab books from their cousins, Samuel, Isaac, and Ena and Auntie Margaret and Uncle John.  They insisted on reading them every single night for about a month...good thing Ryan and I loved them too!  

Another wonderful gift came from Auntie Alisa, Uncle Euan, and cousin, Eleanor.  Check out that amazing cousin memory game! My brother, Daniel, and his wife, Martha, welcomed wee Daniel after we received it so I'll need to make another card set of him to add to it.  All the pictures are so gorgeous...I look at them a lot! Ha.  

So, here's the finished cake.  I gained a whole new appreciation for the talent my sister-in-law, Margaret, has when it comes to using fondant.  It was really hard to manage and it took bloomin' ages! 

On Saturday (the day of the party) we had 12 wee energetic boys in our home under the age of 6!  Sheer madness I tell you, but it all went surprisingly well and I didn't feel as overwhelmed as I had expected.  We had 4 additional adults come along with their children and stay, so that helped greatly.  Peter really loves superheros too, but he also really likes a wee programe called, "Jake and the Neverland Pirates", so I made a "pin the eye patch on Jake" game for him and his wee pals.  We started with that, then pass the parcel, I read the new books(pictured above) to the group(which was a big hit!), then opened presents, ate the cake, and finished with a pinata.  Jack and Peter loved every minute...success! 

Moving on...the wee lovely twin girls are doing wonderfully.  Penelope started walking on June 7th and Olive took her first steps later that month on the 22nd.  Penelope really loves her new found walking independence.  She can climb the stairs at lightening speed, and if we are all downstairs during the day I find myself calling her name the most just to figure out where the devil she's walked off to.  She's got a really funny wee personality. She always has to have something in both hands...most of the time it's superheros, or a copy of "The Friend" magazine in each one, or a baby wipe.  My mum and I call them her "wee dusters"! She walks around with them like she's ready to do a spot of cleaning.  Unlike Olive, Penelope is fine playing by herself and isn't too thrilled about the occasional 'wrestle cuddle' she'll get from Jack and Peter (in the past she would cry immediately, but lately she seems to be getting used their boyish ways and doesn't cry). 

She's still very fond of being with me, but she's actually getting a wee bit better at going to others now without having a wee emotional breakdown or two.  As shown in the picture below, when Olive is close by, Penelope likes to be either holding onto her, grabbing for her hand, or when seated by Olive in the pram she'll always link arms with her...pure cuteness.   

Despite walking two weeks after Penelope, Olive was much more interested in crawling to get where she needed to go.  This behaviour wasn't something I was used to seeing! Ha. Both the boys walked so early too, so I never really got to see them crawling much.  She has since changed her mind though, and for about a week now she's been almost solely walking.  I've never had as social a baby as Olive either.  Smiling at everyone she sees gets her quite a bit of attention from strangers and friends alike.  She's always in the the thick of the complete chaos that Jack and Peter are having and usually I'm pulling her out from fear of her getting hurt...that's when her tears come! She can't stand being away from them.  The second they move to a different corner of the room she's right there with them and usually killing herself laughing at whatever they are doing.  Peter absolutely loves her.  He calls her "Ollie" and when he wakes up in the morning he almost always asks if she's awake yet.  Also, pure cuteness.

Other fun stuff that's been going on?
-My mum bought us a zoo pass while she was here in May (how lovely of her).  We've been making sure we get maximum usage out of it while this great weather has been hanging around.  I think we've been once a week for the last 4 weeks now! We take different friends each time we go and it's really great fun.  I really enjoy that I don't feel like I need to make it round the whole (giant) zoo each visit.  It's a nice wee leisurely visit that always ends in a picnic on the beautiful grassy area by the....stinky elephants. Ha.  Jack really likes those elephants!

-Ryan celebrated his 32nd birthday and we managed a nice night out by ourselves to play some mini golf and eat a lovely Mexican meal.  We almost didn't even go because that morning Olive woke up covered in hives! And we still don't know what caused them.  It was very strange...they lasted two days and then disappeared as fast as they'd shown up.


-On the fourth of July we spent the morning with some friends from our ward.  There was a baseball game going on, lots of wee children running around and some activities set up for those same wee children, but they mostly ran rather than sit.  We ate some great bbq and then retired home for a short while before heading back out for park fun, fireworks and blizzards..yum.  It was certainly the best 4th I've experienced here yet. 

Hopefully it won't be another couple of months till my next post!
p.s. I have no idea why some of the text is highlighted in this post and neither does wiz-kid Ryan... sorry!