It can be difficult when a sibling gets invited to a birthday party. It’s hard to watch him go shopping for a special gift and talk about the special event both before and after. However, the Draz boys and their cousins have solved this dilemma; they simply create a party of their own.
Last weekend Michael was invited to a classmate’s birthday party, so Tommy planned a party for the Draz boys. First he went shopping with his mom. When the time came, Tommy and his mom arrived pulling a wagon of supplies. After a dip in the hot tub, Tommy got everything set up. He had trophies and ribbons for a dance contest. He had ice cream cake for dessert.
Everyone had a great time. Papa poured cold water on the children while they were in the hot tub. After the dance party Tommy declared that everyone had done such a good job that they would share the biggest trophy. Of course, who doesn’t like ice cream cake!!
Thanks, Tommy! You plan a great party!
Enjoy the video:
Nana Barb
Everybody, everyday, has the chance to make the world a better place for somebody. ~ Mike Wigston
I’m not sure which of us was more excited when we discovered that Jen was having a daughter. I had four grandsons and she had two sons so this would be the first girl. We immediately began shopping for “girlie” clothes. After all, boys’ clothes are extremely boring, but little girls’ clothes are adorable. We anticipated putting together the most fetching, classy outfits for decades to come. What we didn’t consider was Karli’s “I Can Do It Myself” attitude toward life.
We had two really fun years of choosing clothes for Karli. A few months ago that came to an abrupt halt. Karli now chooses which clothes we purchase and puts together her own outfits every morning. The following video shows the outfits she has chosen for the last week or so. FYI the swimming suits and pajamas are mismatched; the tops and bottoms did not come together. As you view her choice of outfit for each day remember that she has put much thought into each selection. She stands in front of her drawers, even searches the laundry room for the clothes of her choice until she finds the perfect outfit.
Go, Karli! While I would love to dress you in perfectly coordinating outfits, I am very glad you have a mind of your own.
I couldn’t resist adding the following two images. The first shows Karli wearing her underpants on her head:
I can’t explain how it happened, but the other image shows a perfect imprint of Karli’s foot in a piece of bread:
Nana Barb
I don’t design clothes, I design dreams. ~Ralph Lauren
At the Draz house we always say, “We don’t do Halloween.” In the strictest sense, this is true: we don’t take the children out in the cold to go door-to-door collecting candy. However, this year the Draz kids had every bit as much Halloween fun as children in any other family.
It began on October 30 with a nighttime trip back to the amazing decorations in our neighbor’s yard. Papa brought flashlights that the boys wore on their foreheads. Back home, Ry drew Halloween pictures on Drew—on his forehead and his legs.
On October 31 we made a morning trip to Gillette. Drew has been having difficulty sleeping—both getting to sleep and remaining asleep. His sleep doctor has diagnosed Restless Leg Syndrome and ordered a blood test to check Drew’s iron so Jay, Karli, Drew and I headed to Gillette. We expected this to be a 15-minute visit; we had quite a surprise in store. As we entered the hospital we noticed that all staff members were dressed in costume. When we checked in they gave us a “Trick-or-Treating Map”. It listed the trick-or-treat stations set up all over the floor.
Drew decided that we should get the blood draw over so that he could enjoy the event. It is often hard for the technicians to find Drew’s veins and today was no exception. They made two failed attempts. At that point Drew asked whether they could do a finger prick. At first the technicians replied that they needed more blood than that. However, after checking they determined that a finger prick would be just fine to test Drew’s iron level. (That Drew is one smart kid!)
Once the blood was successfully collected Drew and Karli did the rounds of trick-or-treating. Some of the stations had candy; others had small toys. One of the examining rooms had been converted into a “Halloween Room” with decorations. Jay even sang a Johnny Cash song with a “cowboy” staff person. The kids had a ball. Thank you, Gillette for giving Drew the opportunity to have a Halloween experience!
Once home, it was time for a little homework with daddy. Then our traditional Halloween evening began. First the family spent some time in the hot tub. Then the children enjoyed some of their candy treats while watching a movie. At the end of the day Drew had treatments and Ry and Uncle Matt decorated Drew with more Halloween symbols. One of my favorite images is that of Drew’s Halloween pumpkin. No, it is not of a Jack-o-Lantern, but salute to his favorite football team.
Happy Halloween to all. I just hope that Halloween next year can be as much fun for the Draz kids as this year was.
Nana Barb
Double, double, toil and trouble. Fire burn, and cauldron bubble. – William Shakespeare
The Vikings play today at noon. However, I think I have a football game you will enjoy much more; you are about to watch Drew and Ryan play football, SMA style. Here’s how it works: each boy has a grownup on their team (in this case papa is on Drew’s team and mom is on Ryan’s). When it’s time to tackle, Drew yells “tackle” and Ry falls to the ground. Ry simply taps Drew on his vest. The end zones seem to change, each boy occasionally scoring a TD in the other’s end zone and no one seems unduly concerned with the score. The boys came up with these rules with no help from anyone. Here is a video of yesterday’s contest:
Let me know if you agree that the boys’ performance was more enjoyable than the Vikings.
Nana Barb
“You never know how a horse will pull until you hook him up to a heavy load.” Paul “Bear” Bryant
Drew and Ryan have been constant buddies for years. When Ry headed off to first grade in September Drew was sad, anticipating the long days without his best friend. However, lately Karli has been doing a good job of filling the void. Drew reads books to Karli, they play with silly putty and with animals, they go for walks.
They spend time just hanging out:
Last but not least, my personal favorite video of the sibs:
Nana Barb
You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them. ~Desmond Tutu
After a relaxing Sunday morning the Draz guys prepared for the Vikings game. Snacks were selected and the boys put on their jerseys. The game started out very promising. Here you can see the guys celebrating the very early touchdown:
Soon, however, the Packers had taken the lead and the Draz guys lost interest. The boys played with their iPads,
while daddy and Karli played Supergirl.
This time of year it gets dark quite early. The children decided to wander down the street to see some Halloween decorations in a neighbor’s yard. If you turn the sound all the way up about 56 seconds into the following video you can hear Drew’s comments on the adventure. Once back home Papa joined them for a football game.
The boys agreed it was a great Sunday despite yet another Vikings loss.
Nana Barb
Keep looking, don’t settle. ~ Steve Jobs
This year Ry had the brilliant idea to celebrate his birthday during the summer when the weather was beautiful, we didn’t have to worry about cold and flu season germs and we were able to choose a day convenient for friends and family. It was a great party.
Yesterday, October 21, Ry officially became seven, so he and his sibs had a small celebration. They began the day with a pancake breakfast, using food coloring to create unique designs.
They also put in an order for some birthday snacks.
Happy Birthday Ryan!
Nana Barb
PS Guess who chose Karli’s outfit today? Little Miss “I can do it myself” chooses some interesting combinations.
Last evening Ryan asked Jay to build a fort in the playroom. Jay immediately swung into action.
Before long the children were nestled inside the fort watching TV.
Soon daddy joined them.
Sometimes it’s the simple activities that children enjoy the most!
Nana Barb
“The best things in life are not things.”– Unknown
If you are a family member or close family friend you know that Karli’s birthday isn’t until December 29. However, the Draz Fam celebrated her third birthday on October 2. You see, we thought Ryan had a great idea when he decided to celebrate his birthday during the summer rather than in late October. Since Karli’s birthday is right after the busy holiday season we were worried that it might be difficult to arrange another family event. So we picked a date when everyone could attend.
Jen planned a day long celebration for Karli, beginning with a pancake breakfast. The rest of the morning was spent with the “girls”, the family party was in the afternoon and the post-party events included swimming and the hot tub.
Karli loves Kowalski’s where she can push a child-size cart and have a snack so we (Jen, Gaile, Karli and I) began the day there. Then it was time for some shopping. Karli is obsessed with clothes so Jen told her she could buy an outfit of her choice. We thought this would be a breeze; that Karli would find a couple of things that she loved, put them on in the store and wear them home. At least that’s what has happened in the past. Just goes to show that past behavior is not necessarily a good predictor in a three (oops, I mean) two-year-old. We visited three stores, all stocked with adorable toddler clothing, but nothing caught Karli’s eye. Jen even resorted to showing her shoes—her second favorite thing—still to no avail. We told her we were shopping for her birthday present, so we didn’t want to go home empty handed. Finally Jen wandered into the children’s book section. About twenty minutes later Karli settled on a Dora cook book. Whew!
When we arrived home Karli shared her new book with her brothers and received a few gifts, including a Hello Kitty blanket. Karli chose the Hello Kitty theme, and we had a few decorations to set out.
Soon it was time for the guests to arrive. Claire and Anna arrived wearing Hello Kitty shirts. Anna brought her face-painting kit and most of the guests soon had kittens on their cheeks. There were gifts, food, cake and candles and lots of fun. Karli wasn’t sure about the candle lighting, but appreciated help from her cousins when it was time to blow it out.
Finally everyone headed to the pool where a water fight ensued. It began with Ryan squirting Papa with a water gun. Papa brought out the hose and before long he was completely soaked.
I’m so very glad that this special little girl had such a wonderful day!
Nana Barb
“Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.” Dr. Seuss
A few days ago the delete key on my computer became loose. Although I couldn’t manage to secure it, I knew it would be no problem for the staff at the genius bar at the Apple Store so I made an appointment for the next day. That evening Karli and Jen were using my computer to read the latest post on this blog. All of a sudden Karli proudly announced, “I pulled it off!” Sure enough she had!
She examined her work…
and showed it to daddy.
When I arrived for my appointment at the Apple Store the genius on duty determined that some of the plastic had actually broken off when Karli removed the key. Luckily they were able to install a new delete key (for no charge).
It is certainly true that young children–even toddlers–have no fear when it comes to using devices! Go Karli!
Nana Barb
90% of what’s stressing you today will be irrelevant in a year. Get over it. Move on and enjoy your life. ~ Terrence J
