Ring Pops and Silly Bands

When my husband and I had had our son we decided to move back to Buffalo, so that our child could experience the benefits of growing up with his extended family.  We never anticipated what an amazing experience it would be for us to grow old with our extended family, specifically our nieces and nephews.

The entire family was over on Sunday and the kids, true to form,  were wound up and crazy.  I had spent the better part of the week, cleaning the house, shopping for cocktails and cooking, cooking, cooking.  My husband, as usual, thought of the kids.  He is so good at that.  He makes sure there is always a special treat for the nieces and nephews.  It has gotten so that our little niece Helana calls him "Uncle Matty the Candy Man".  This party the treats included giant marshmallows, ring pops and silly bands.

The fun started with a conversation with the 5 year old Christel who informed me that she was using her play phone to call Noah.  When I asked if that was her boyfriend, she very sternly said " No Auntie Bonnie, I have a crush on him that does not make him my boyfriend".  Nice.

Next our dancer Avery came, still in her dance recital make up.  I was able to lift and spin her a little before she saw the eldest girl Cameron.  Everyone loves Cameron as she is the mother figure to all the girls. The boys Ethan and Gavin let me kiss their beautiful faces while they pretended to hate it.  It's the price they have to pay to get to play video games with our teenager.  I adore these guys.

Here is where it gets crazy.  My adorable little nieces (3 and 4) came in and were in fabulously talkative moods. The little ones Nathan, Helena and Sophia found our son's play lazer guns and decided to attack.  My brother had one on his leg, my husband battled with one on his arm and I was trapped in the kitchen.  We were all laughing and falling down being attacked by the toddlers.  I could not stop laughing.  The only way to stop them was to throw giant marshmallows at the little rebels.  So much for a clean house or a quiet evening - this was so much better.

The highlight came when my husband brought them all out to stand in line and bid for silly bands. The rationale of a 4 year old is incomparable. 20 minutes later they all had a bunch of bracelets and a bunch of ring pops.  We love sending the kids home jacked up on sugar.

I truly hope the kids remember these parties fondly.  As my son gets bigger, his cousins provide an excuse to act like a toddler.  The same excuse they provide to us adults.  Guess moving back to Buffalo was the right decision.  Thank you my sweeties!