My baby is 7

Ryan's seventh birthday... my baby, my first-born. Seven. How did that happen?!?

We had his party yesterday afternoon. A Spy Party. It was supposed to be more of a superhero-detective-secret agent-spy conglomeration party but life got in the way. So we had a Racinez Spy Academy Party-in-a-box, complements of the internet. Admittedly it was nice to have everything pre-planned with a script (unlike doing at all from scratch like I did for the Rainbow Fairy party). I did miss bringing some of my great ideas to fruition but there's always next year, right? And I did sneak in a couple twists of my own. The kids all seemed to enjoy themselves and I've gotten positive feedback (saw Claire's mom at the library and she told me Claire had a great time) so all is well.

It was surprising to me which activities were a hit (trying on disguises out of the dress-up box) that I was worried about and which activities didn't go as I planned (apparently not everyone in first grade can read/write as well as Ryan can nor do they all understand what a secret identity is). But all in all, things went well.

And the biggest surprise to me was how much Bella has enjoyed the spy gadgets (the classic mustache/big nose/glasses disguise and the handcuffs) since the party ended.

As an added bonus, Aunt Lana and Mike were in town for the weekend. Mike wasn't feeling well so he hid in the bedroom. Lana was a big help. Like I found at Bella's party, an extra adult (other than Ron and I) can make such a BIG difference. Thank you Lana!

And in case you are wondering, boys are definitely louder and more chaotic than girls. This party just reconfirmed it!

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The Family Celebration

We went to dinner at Outback. Because Ryan LOVES Outback! Melissa was able to join us which was nice. Now that she's a big 16-year old she just doesn't have much time to hang out with us anymore. :)

Before dinner, Eleanor brought down some gifts for Ryan. The globe has been the big hit so far but he hasn't had the time to get into the Body Book yet. So many gifts, so little time! At least he shouldn't be able to complain of boredom until at least January!

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Christmas Decorating

We put the tree up after dinner tonight. I was able to avoid excessive screaming - "Stop it! Just wait a minute! Quit dropping the ornaments!" so it went better than last year.

Sad news... we lost 2 playdough ornaments this year. Bella's advent wreath from last year, and my painted Christmas tree from about 1980. Needless to say, I was very disappointed, mostly about MY ornament!