Kindergarten Show

Last week, Brayden (and half the other Kindergarten classes at Paine Primary) had their Spring Show and Open House. The theme of the show was "going to the zoo," and they were very excited about it. Here are some pictures AND a video of the big night!

Waiting in their line for the show to start

The big show

Doing the chicken dance

A quieter number

With some friends after the show

After the show, it was off to his classroom for the spring Open House. We saw all the hard work Brayden's been doing and got to speak with his teacher, Mrs. Barnes.

Brayden and Mrs. Barnes

Other Spring Break Fun

Although Layna's birthday was certainly the focus of most of our Spring Break trip to Florida, we did have a bit of fun on the side.

Sito (Gido's mother) traveled from Pittsburgh for most of the week to see Jackson and celebrate Layna's birthday. Jackson had a great time with her (and I know she had a great time with him!).

Walking with Sito

Sweet boy!

And the kids got to play with Gigi and Gido, too!

We had some fun at Nama and Graddaddy's house, too, including a few lively rounds of Pass the Pickle (think Hot Potato, except with a pickle...). Last time we all played it at Christmas, Jackson was not very happy with the pickle, but this time, he seemed to just watch it without getting upset (he still wasn't interested in touching it!).

Ready to play

Hello, pickle! (no, still doesn't like it!)

We also had a chance to play in Gigi and Gido's pool one afternoon. Even though it wasn't quite warm enough, we made it work anyway. Since the kids have had their first round of swimming lessons, it was a good time to practice.

Brayden practiced with his tube first...

...then went out without it.

Layna wanted to play with Jackson

Jackson and Mommy

Later,  he played with Aunt Nicole

Layna started jumping in from the side and jumped and jumped and jumped... she had a great time!

More Birthday Fun

We continued the party with more games -- next was Mia's treasure game. In order to get to the treasure, four people had to do something funny. First, the ladies helped Layna get her treasure.

Explaining the game

Making fish faces

Then the gents helped Brayden.

Doing the hula?

I think this is an octopus, but I can't remember exactly

Doing the crab walk

Then it was time for cake! This year, Nicole made a great Little Mermaid cake for Layna with a fresh strawberry filling. It was delicious!

We headed outside for one more of Gigi's games -- a relay race to fill cups with "ocean" water from large seashells, and included lovely "mermaid" tails of crepe paper, tiaras, and green leis. Too funny!

Finally, we came back in to open all the presents -- Layna's favorite part!

The haul

Brayden and Jackson played during gift time

Cool girl!

Thanks to everyone who made Layna's birthday week such a blast! She felt very loved!

The Big Party

Finally, we've reached the big party! On Saturday, we all gathered at Gigi and Gido's house to celebrate Layna's birthday (if you're keeping track, this is party #3...). Lots of family joined us for a very fun day full of good food, games, and presents.

The mailbox was marked for all the guests to see

The theme of the party was The Little Mermaid, so the food was sea-themed, too. Take a look at our creations, along with note cards written by Brayden and Layna (that's really the reason I'm showing them to you -- the note cards are super cute):

Watermelon lemonade

Octopus (hummus) dip

Shrimp cocktail

The main table

Seashell pasta salad

Kid sushi

Seaweed wraps (grape leaves)

Popcorn shrimp

Tropical fruit salad

Edible aquariums (jello molds)

After lunch, we played birthday games. We began with Pin the tail on Ariel (Gigi made this whole game -- doesn't it look amazing?!).

And here's a little video of the game -- so fun!

More birthday fun to come!