ashford's 5th birthday, ice skating, christmas prep

merry christmas (eve)! i'm popping on here this morning to give a recap of our weekend and then i'll be back after the holiday :) 

on friday, our winter solstice baby turned 5! i'm still trying to wrap my head around that one. and the fact that in just 9 months he will be off to kindergarten. 5 is such a big year! ashford is the biggest lovebug i've ever had the pleasure of knowing and he makes life so sweet (and in many ways more challenging, let's be honest)! ;) here is a collage from the last year: 

he got to celebrate his special day at school (the last day before winter break) and at home. this is the first time in 3 years that we weren't in minneapolis for his birthday. he picked out a treat to share with his class (not cake or cupcakes - but blueberry muffins). pretty cute. there were only five kids there on friday and only three by the time i showed up with the muffins 15 minutes before the end of the morning. but they put on party hats and sang to him and he was a happy boy :) right now we have no plans for a kid party - it's hard so close to christmas, our apartment is small and renting a place is so expensive, but maybe we'll think about it in january. 

friday night we had vanessa, ewan, and matt over for dinner. we told ashford we could go out for dinner with them anywhere he wanted and he told us he wanted to have them over to our house for tacos and cake :) so we did! we had a fun night hanging out with them. thatcher made him a batman cake that turned out really well. 

he opened his gifts...lots of super hero stuff

his big gift from us was a new bike! he's had a balance bike for a couple years, so we got him a big boy bike! 

we also talked on the phone/skyped with lots of family who wanted to wish him well on his big day. now onto to 5 year old life!

saturday morning we hung out at home. in the afternoon, we went ice skating for the second time at highland ice arena in shoreline. vanessa, matt, and ewan came too. it had been 2 years since the last time and the kids did great! they both managed to skate without holding onto our hands or the wall after some practice. i think i'm good for a few years again now ;) 

we didn't feel like cooking that night, so we took the kids to uneeda burger in fremont for dinner. it was delicious and super filling as usual. thatcher went out after dinner to do a little more christmas shopping and the kids and i watched "the wizard of oz" (their first time). i love getting to experience their first time seeing classic movies. 

sunday morning we spent at home. in the afternoon, thatcher set out to do more shopping and the kids and i went to the indoor play place at the mall in lynnwood. yes, we are a bit crazy going to a mall 2 days before christmas. it was insanely busy, but they had fun. we grilled for dinner and had a cozy night in. 

wishing you a wonderful holiday!