Westyn is pretty difficult to get to sit still for pictures so we're rather limited on pictures to choose from. He knew exactly what he wanted for his birthday party and made sure I knew every detail. Will said it's my fault for setting the bar high from previous parties I've done for Lilyanah. When Westyn started asking for a lego batman cake with every color of the rainbow I knew Will was right. Instead he got a white cake with a road coming off it so I could set his Lego batcave & batcar on it. We put the candles on the corner so less pieces were ruined by his blowing them out spit. : ) Since we were doing a little party we decided to all dress up like superheroes or villians mostly from Batman. Daddy was Superman again but Lilyanah dressed like Cat girl, Ethne like Harley Quinn (who the kids called "Harry Queen" up until about a month ago because they thought that was her name, Westyn was obviously Batman & I'm Robin Girl wearing Ethne's tank top which explains why the R is so low. I just love Westyn's serious face, that's what he does when you tell him to pose like Batman. I think he's captured his essence quite well. : ) The costumes arrived a couple of days before Westyn's party and the kids spent hours running around playing hero and villians. You can see Batman and Harley Quinn battling it out in one of the pictures.
We had a few of Westyn's friends over for a dinner party on Sunday night, the day before his birthday. Grandpa made an obstacle course for them to go through downstairs including a red yarn 'laser field". It was a great way to get some energy out and entertain 5 highly energetic boys. I don't know how we made it without getting pictures of all of them. Mason Hinman is the son of one of the women that comes to Bible study at our home. He and Westyn are adorable and get along perfectly. Jackson, Trace, & Ty Sorensen also came and dressed as Captain America, Ironman & baby Superman. Westyn loves having them over. That's Mason in his Spiderman pajamas. He and Westyn were taking turns trying to throw something through the ring.
I probably don't need to point out that Westyn's costume is at least one size too big! It should fit perfectly next Halloween, so spoiler for our next Halloween post. I had to include a picture of Ethne in her costume with her eyes open. With five people in our family it's nearly impossible to get a picture with everyone looking at the camera, eyes open, let alone actually smiling! I just love her costume, the reviews on it were awful on amazon but apparently we got a good one that you'll also be seeing next Halloween. : ) Fortunately, the costume Lilyanah chose is very versatile. She can be Bat girl, Cat girl, a super spy, a thief, a panther. . . . the possibilities are endless, so you'll just have to check in next Halloween to see what she chooses.
The final picture is Westyn covered in his birthday cake. I'll admit I had a little crumb on my chin too but nothing like his face. : ) I'm wearing a shirt that Will and I got after completing my first 5k & our first 5k together The Workforce Challenge in downtown Albany, NY.
I can hardly believe our little Westyn is already 5 years old. On his actual birthday I gave him the choice of what he wanted to do
and as result spent over 4 hours playing Batman Lego on the Wii that Dad and
Mom gave us for Christmas. Four hours was my limit,with a headache
from looking at the tv for too long I had to quit! Needless ot say, his favorite thing is anything Batman. When I asked him his favorite colors he said yellow and black.
Westyn is such a laid back little boy and such a joy to all of us. I am so immensely blessed not only to be his mommy, but to get to spend every day at home with him. He has so much joy in his little heart, laughing through most of our days and most importantly will tell you how much he loves God. In fact, when I talk to him about how much I'm going to miss him when he leaves for kindergarten next year he says, "don't worry Mommy, God is with you, you won't be alone." If I teach him nothing else but that God is always with Him I will have done my job. . I feel so humbled to be raising a little man who will some day have a family of his own. We are doing our best to try to teach him to be a gentleman and good helper around the house. He takes being a gentleman quite seriously but REALLY does NOT like doing housework. : ( I have my work cut out for me. He is a very talented chef. The kid can break eggs and stir things without spilling them all over the place. Just the other morning he mixed pancake batter up for himself. I was supervising of course. Mom measured him and he and Ethne are separated now only by 1/2". He is 45 1/2" tall and weighs about 53 lbs. He's our little cuddler and can melt my heart as much now as the day he was born. Thanks be to God for blessing our family with our Westyn Jack.
For Lilyanah's 8th birthday party we had a combo party planned for her and Ethne to which they both invited friends. Unfortunately, Ethne woke up sick and I had to call and cancel with her friends who were going to attend. So the tea party that we started with was just Lilyanah and her sweet friend Ayumi. Lilyanah requested Gigi's coffee cake which I made and a lot of fruit, cinnamon rolls (thank you Pillsbury Dough Boy!) and muffins. It was a serious spread, the girls loved being proper, and no, that is not a paper plate on the side of Lilyanah's head. Ethne picked that headband "hat" when we were visiting Oklahoma in Nov/Dec. So very English! After they were sufficiently filled the model party began. We made a runaway out of twinkle lights and the girls did their makeup and changed outfits to model them at least 10 times. They were adorable! Ayumi gave Lilyanah a beautiful purse that was part of every ensemble she tried on! Ethne started to feel a little better so I let her join and model some outfits. 
Ayumi left around lunch time and Eva arrived. The kiddos had pizza for lunch and made rainbow cupcakes as part of their baking party. I attempted shaping the pizza like a birthday cake, however when all your children want is cheese it doesn't get decorated cool with olives and such.
Lilyanah's friend Mattie came over next to do crafts with her. We
bought a cabinet the day before the party to go over the toilet in the
1/2 bathroom on the main floor and had some couch shaped Styrofoam left
from it's cushioning. So we went in the basement and found some fabric
they liked and the girls worked on making couches out of them. Now,
when I say the girls worked on them, I really mean they tried for about a
minute and then said, "Mommy, will you please make this for me".
Maddie's mommy, Lisanne, was a rockstar and not only got it covered but
also made half a dozen pillows to accent the piece. I, did not fare so
well!. Lilyanah quickly moved on to making Barbie veggies out of
clay. She did a very good job, I have yet to cook them . . . more on
my "to do" list! Last, but not least, was sweet little Francessca! She
is such an adorable friend to Lilyanah. They were in kindergarten
together, they just play so well together I love when she can come
over. The girls had a spa party. Francessca gave Lilyanah the
Bejeweled game for her birthday so the two played with that while their
feet soaked. Little girls just do not fully appreciate what it means to
get to relax and soak your feet. Will filled all the tubs for me and
even Westyn got a little soak in. : ) All in all it was a wonderful
day celebrating 8 years of Lilyanah! She is such a blessing! She loves
to plan things, ANYTHING, she's already a list maker and is determined
that when she grows up instead of being a scientist we three Mathias
girls will own a party-planning business. She'll be the head decorator
and I'll be in charge of baking. I think she just plans on having
cookies at our events thus far. : ) Ethne is unsure of if she wants to
do the photography or be in charge of flowers. Such ambition! : )
Lilyanah is deathly afraid of the dark & often has Westyn escort her
upstairs to her bedroom or even when she's on the main floor, to the
bathroom, mudroom or front room. All places that are just too dark. :
( I maybe shouldn't have talked about how God is the light and satan is
darkness. . . . . . lesson learned too late. She does LOVE God though
and that makes my cup overflow!
Unforunately I only got one picture of little Westyn in his costume. I had a full outfit for him including a black batman shirt and black pants but he was comfortable in what he was wearing.
Trick-or-treating has changed significantly over the years. This was the first year that we had to chase the kids down vs. leading them from house to house. The kids never did seem to learn that you're only as fast as your slowest team mate. The youngest little guy Jack was only 2 so they were waiting A LOT. : ) Once they got t to the door they all wanted to ring the doorbell so we had to have them all take turns which worked out well. It was drizzling the entire time but fortunately held off the hard rain until we were almost done. You can see all the rain on Will's shirt where he was photo bombing the picture of Ayumi 
and Lilyanah. Ayumi is one of Lilyanah's best friends in her class.
She moved here from Idaho this year after being there for 2 years (like
us). Her family originally came from Japan and she has been very sweet
to Lilyanah writing her notes about how kind Lilyanah is. She has also taught Lilyanah quite a bit of origami. I think she was a pirate.
Grandpa was helping cut the pumpkins open and when he cut open Lilyanah's they found little black bugs crawling all around inside of it. Lilyanah was DEVASTATED. Grandpa did everything he could to make it right, driving all over to try to find a pumpkin for her but there were none to be found. I had what I thought was a brilliant idea to set the pumpkin on fire and have a Halloween bonfire in the front. Kill those nasty little buggers! Lilyanah warmed up after quite a few "MYYYYY PUMPKINNNNNN" sobs. The kids all roasted some hot dogs before calling it a night. I told the kids anyone can carve a pumpkin but how many people do you know having a pumpkin bonfire!?
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