Daniel the Socialite

I came home from work a few weeks ago and found Daniel planning a party. This isn't the first time he's had a party when I was at work. It's actually fairly common for me to find the "happy birthday" banner hanging up, adorned with balloons when I come home.

But this time, he had set out appetizers and everything! There were Cokes (I was told they were for the adults) lined up as well as his plastic cups filled with water (for the kids). There was a bowl of wheat thins, a bowl of Chex (chex mix perhaps?), and even triscuits topped with sliced apples and a sprinkling of cinnamon (a resemblance of a frequent party appetizer of mine).

He wouldn't let me take any of it down because he insisted the neighbors would be arriving soon. That's when I found out he had actually convinced the sitter to let him deliver homemade invitations to three of his friends' mailboxes! 

He was disappointed when nobody showed up, but I convinced him that it was probably just too short notice. I probably set myself up for early invitations next time!

The Trinity

Tonight I was clearing the table after dinner.  Catherine was finished eating and was yelling repeatedly, "Help me, Mama! Help me, Mama!" because she wanted down from her highchair.

I said, "Just a minute, Catherine. I'm only one person!"

Daniel piped in and told her, "Catherine, you should ask for God's help."

He then added, "He's three people!"

Time-Out!

The other day Daniel was throwing a fit.  He was throwing a fit because his sister wanted to play with her stuffed kangaroo, but he wanted to play with it too.  I told him that he could either choose to give her the kangaroo back or he could give her one of his stuffed animals.  Reasonable enough, right?  :) 

Apparently not for a five year old.

He was kicking, screaming and, in general, throwing a good-sized tantrum after I gave him his two choices.

That's when Katie got up, pulled out the time-out chair, started pointing at it and saying, "Mama, Mama!  This!  This!"

Even she knew it was time for a time-out.  :) 

My Little Helper

Don't get me wrong. 

I appreciate the fact that Catherine helps me unload the dishwasher.

But this is what the silverware drawer looks like when she's done:

Retro Kate

This was an outfit that I wore as a little girl.  I wish I had a side-by-side comparison, but I don't have a pic of me in the outfit!

Halloween

We had a fun Halloween!  Daniel dressed up as an astronaut, and Katie was a princess.  The kids got to wear their costumes several times.  We went to a neighborhood party on the Friday before Halloween and then trick-or-treating on Halloween night.  Both kids LOVED trick-or-treating.  I didn't know if Katie would really like it, but she figured it out pretty quickly and loved following Daniel around.  We went with a few neighbor friends, and that made it even more fun for Daniel.  Katie might have ended up with the most loot because people would see how little she was and give her two! 

My proudest moment came the next day though.  Daniel went through all his candy the next morning, and quickly separated about 1/3 of it to give to people (no prompting for me!).  He said he probably had too much candy and thought others might like to have some too.  He packaged up one bag for Abuela, Uncle Luis, Ms. Marcy, and Ms. Ashley.  Not sure how he decided on who got a bag, but you might have to put your name on the list if you want one for next year! 

We also hosted a small pumpkin carving party, and that was fun too!  The neighbor kids had fun running around. 

Pics!