Weekend fun

Well, every night we get a few things done around the house that gets us closer to being totally moved in.  Of course, we have to take some time out for fun too! 

This past weekend, we went to Natalie's BFF Gaby's 3rd birthday party at Build-A-Bear in the Natick Collection mall.  The kids were so cute.  They all got to pick out a bear, and have him stuffed.  Then they put hearts inside the bear before it gets sewn up.  Instead of a heart, Natalie picked a shamrock, appropriate for her Irish roots.  Then they have the bear sewn up tight before going to "wash" the bears.  After, they get to pick out an outfit and dress the bears, complete with bows for their ears.  Here is a picture of Natalie with her completed project.

I thought it was funny that each of the kids picked an outfit that really represented their personalities.  Gaby is more of a princess, and she got a very frilly outfit for her bear.  Natalie is a t-shirt and shorts kind of girl... and that is what she picked.  (Something she would have picked to wear at home, no doubt).

Next we snapped a few shots of Natalie- one with Gaby, and one with the whole group.  Notice how much TALLER Gaby is than Natalie.  She's only about 3.5 months older than Natalie, but is way taller.  We just bought Natalie a pair of size 7 shoes, while Gaby wears an 11. 

Aaron is on the left (he is Gaby's big brother).  Then Natalie, Nicole, Matthew, and a kid who's name we couldn't remember, so Todd named him Rourke, which made me hysterically laugh.  I think his name was Ian, or Eli, or something like that.  Of course, birthday girl Gaby is on the floor in front.  Matthew, Gaby, and Natalie all go to Miss Maureen's daycare.  Aaron and Nicole are graduates.  :-)

After we stuffed the bears, we went down to the food court for some cake and juice.  I think I might have one of the only kids in the world who doesn't care for juice.  For those of you who's kids are addicted to juice, we attribute this to not giving her juice for the first time until she was about 18 months old.  The kid LOVES milk.  She won't drink anything else, except water.  In this picture, notice Gaby is posing nicely for the camera, while Natalie has only one thing in mind:  CAKE!

A good time was had by all!  Now we have to start thinking about Natalie's birthday party this summer!  This will be her first party where we actually invite other people.  :-)  Actually, last year, we went to the Stone Zoo with the Morris family, but we didn't have a party per se.  If anyone has any good ideas for a fun party, please let me know!