kyle

A winning night at the Dogwood Festival

May 19, 2012 By Colleen Padilla Leave a Comment

There’s nothing like a local summer fair. We hopped over to Phoenxiville’s annual Dogwood Festival on Thursday evening for a fun night out with the kids. The excitement of the crowds and the transformation of our ordinary park into a giant carnival atmosphere was thrilling for my kids.

The expressions of pure joy on my children’s faces was priceless and non-stop during our 90 minutes of glorious fun.

And we’re still living the Dogwood Dreams after our surprise win of a goldfish at the fair on Kyle’s very last Ping Pong Ball toss. The kids are beyond ecstatic with the new life in our home and the fact that they now officially own a REAL LIVE PET.

Introducing…. GOLDIE KAY DOGWOOD. Named Goldie by Kyle, middle name Kay by Kenzie in honor of Great Aunt Kay and Kenzie’s own middle name Kay, and I had the privilege of selecting the last name – Dogwood, in honor of the Dogwood Festival where we won the little guy.

Let’s pray Goldie lives a long life as the kiddos are very attached and each night swap turns sleeping with his little fishbowl in their room

Filed Under: Kids Tagged With: dogwood festival, Kenzie, kyle

Mother’s Day Tea

May 12, 2012 By Colleen Padilla Leave a Comment

I live for these moments. Mother’s Day Tea is just the cutest thing of the year at our preschool. This age is so adorable I want to bottle it up and keep it with me forever – especially someday when I’m all old and alone – I’ll be able to remember and return to that time in my life when I was the center of the world for a sweet little kind, energetic and imaginative 4 year old boy. The days are long…..but the years sure are short.

At our very special and lovely preschool set up on a hill nearly 1/2 mile into the woods, magic happens every morning for the little people. And once a year us Moms get to totally become a part of it when during our special time at Mother’s Day Tea.

The teachers work so hard to prep it all up and the kids work hard to help. From making us special “desserts” that the kids help make- pudding, cool whip, crumbled cookies, and fresh strawberries, to all the decorations and crafts we get to bring home with us. Plus the kids all planted us marigolds from seed in little planters and gave all the Moms a beautiful single rose. And let’s not forget the concert singing songs full of love for Mommy. Really I live for this stuff!

Filed Under: Kids, kyle Tagged With: kyle

Video: 4 year old Kyle is riding a 2 wheeler

April 23, 2012 By Colleen Padilla Leave a Comment

How do you teach your kids to ride a bike? Apparently the easiest way is to not teach them at all!

This weekend with little Kyle it seemed he picked it up almost all by himself. Awesome! Amazing how what can be so easy for one child is difficult for another. We popped off his training wheels, showed him how to do it once and then pretty much ignored him as were focusing on helping big sister Kenzie master riding her bike.

Next thing we knew, Kyle just decided to start riding on his own. We weren’t really paying attention to him and then looked over and saw him tooling around all over the playground on his bike instead of riding the scooter we brought to entertain him. Awesome! Here is his video:

My advice on why it’s so easy for Kyle – forgetting he obviously has always had great athletic ability of course.

1. Buy the kids a super small bike so they can learn young. Be sure they have mastered pedaling obviously (usually have to be 3 to do this!)

2. Buy a Balance bike so the kids can tool around on it to get the feel for balancing on 2 wheels. I think our Kazaam bike really helped him master the bike riding 2 wheeler thing naturally.

3. Take of the training wheels off and keep them off.

4. Watch other kids riding bikes. Yes, it looks so easy because as we all know it really is once you can do it!

5. Believing you can do something is more than half the battle. After showing him how to how to do it and told him he was great, he believed us. Hooray!

Filed Under: Kids Tagged With: kyle

Channeling Harry Potter

February 15, 2012 By Colleen Padilla

I said the kids were obsessed with Potter and I meant it. Take a peek at Kyle sporting his scar & home-made glasses. Doesn’t he look like Harry Potter?

He has also now requested to start wearing a tie which looks totally adorable. He wants to buy the official “Harry Potter” tie when we visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter next week along with a wand so he can take the look to a new level.

Looks like I’ll be out a ton of money as Kenzie and Kyle prepare to hit the shops of Diagon Alley……. You can buy a bunch of these Harry Potter props online too it looks like but certainly the experience of shopping in Diagon Alley will be the kids shopping excursion of a lifetime.

Filed Under: Kids, kyle Tagged With: harry potter, kyle

My Boy Has Spikes!

January 12, 2012 By Colleen Padilla

Finally! I’ve been waiting for the cute boy hairstyle for years – and looks like the little guy (and his hair!) are ready for Spikes.

Mission accomplished yesterday at Snip-Its. With the help of some spiky sticky gel

We caught Kyle last night quickly glance at himself in the mirror – pause, and then look back and say, “Wow! I’m handsome. ”

Love it. And I love my sweet boy. I can’t imagine life without this cutie.

Filed Under: Kids Tagged With: Kids, kyle

Merry Christmas!

December 26, 2011 By Colleen Padilla

Merry Merry! Are you exhausted? Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! I’m exhausted but at the same time totally exhilerated by all the excitement and happiness. Can’t wait for 2012 and more new adventures!

After a fabulous and non stop week of entertaining out of town guests, hosting parties for friends and family, and volunteering in Kenzie’s Kindergarten class to build gingerbread houses and help out another day for her holiday party – we are ready to just FINALLY relax.

Today we just stayed in our PJ’s till 2 PM before going for our runs – and now we’re off for a family movie – to see Chipwrecked with the Chipmunks. The kids can’t wait! Here’s them enjoying some of the fun during Christmas.

Kyle FINALLY received his 1st boy dress up – a knight costume I bought him in London. Now maybe his sister will stop dressing him up as a princess or fairy with wings! Kenzie is holding her most cherished and requested gift from Santa this year – a stuffed “Girl” Gingerbread Man – Only $7 at Barnes & Noble so Santa was VERY pleased with to fulfill this request!

And here are the kids with their cousins for their annual holiday “show” – Kyle starred as a Santa and showed up on stage with a big surprise – wearing a full beard – made out of shaving cream. Quite a memory!

Kenzie and her cousin Lindsay loved dressing up as some kind of pirate bandits – they must have paraded up and downstairs some 25 times in different get ups. It’s so fun to see all the kids having such a grand time together with their relatives- what family is all about!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Kenzie, Kids, kyle

Riding in a Fire Truck – Totally the Best Birthday Party Ever!

December 13, 2011 By Colleen Padilla

Did you know that your local Fire Engine Volunteers will likely come to your house – with the Fire Truck -for a birthday party?

Simply incredible. And every little boy’s dream.

I’m pretty sure this was the best gift we could ever give to my son Kyle for his 4th birthday and truly it was a gift to ourselves too as we got to experience his joy & wonder – and that of all the little preschool aged kids celebrating with us. Seeing the Fire Engine pull up to your house – for a good reason of course – is VERY exciting Even for the Moms!

The kids were in awe of the demonstration with the Fireman as he showed the kids all the tools and pretty much let them touch everything. As if that wasn’t enough – every single kid was able to RIDE in the fire truck for about a 10 minute loop in our neighborhood and the surrounding vicinity.

The birthday boy even got to ride 2 times ..and on his 2nd trip I was able to ride with him in the Front Seat. It was super duper cool and was Kyle’s favortie part of the entire experience.

After all the glory of the Fire Engine – the kids all went back inside to continue with our original party plan – that of an “Elf” style Birthday party complete with candy canes, cookie decorating, pin the nose on the reindeer, cupcakes, and hot chocolate.

This was all Kyle’s idea and inspiration. Very cute!

Kyle blew out his candles – with some help from his buddy from school Nate. As you can tell, Kyle is struggling to master the candle blowing out skill. He practices hard – and seems to be able to do it correctly- but fails miserably under the pressure of the real deal in his excitement to puff out those candles.

His efforts make for some memorable moments and photos!

On top of the Elf-like festivities, I just added in the Fire Engine as a fun extra activity and was never sure I’d be able to talk to the right people to make it happen -luckily 3 days before the party I was able to connect all the dots and get our local Valley Forge Volunteer Fire Co. to agree to come. They were FABULOUS! And we are beyond grateful for their service to the community and their willingness to share their knowledge and rocking Fire Truck with our kids.

If you’d like the Fire Engine to visit for your son or daughter’s birthday party, just call your local Fire Company. Most likely they will agree to do it – they just request you make a donation. Makes for a super party and gives you a chance to donate to a good cause too. The older kids loved it too as Kenzie, age 6, is now asking for her 7th birthday party to be a Fire Engine party too.

Filed Under: Kids, kyle Tagged With: birthday party ideas, featured, fire engine birthday party ideas, kyle

Santa Before Thanksgiving…….Yes or No?

November 15, 2011 By Colleen Padilla

We had snow before Halloween so why not Santa before Thanksgiving?

Yes, kind of crazy I know. I’m not so about rushing life, but my cuties are only little once so I’m embracing the holiday spirit and going full steam ahead with their excitement this year.

I do hate Christmas stuff out in stores before Halloween is over, but once Halloween is done, I’m okay with ramping up the holiday mood. So when I heard that our local Exton Mall was hosting a big welcome Parade for Santa Claus that included music with the “Mummers” we were all over it.

The kids were thrilled to see Frosty, Rudolph, and Mrs. Claus along with the celebrity of the fest – Santa during the parade. (And only from the festivities as we wouldn’t allow an official “sit on Santa’s Lap” visit yet!)

From a kid perspective this party was fabulous and totally surpassed my expectations – free Santa hats and elf hats for everyone – even the parents!

Free Hot Chocolate galore, chocolate chip cookies & fresh baked cinnamon rolls.

Men on stilts, silly clowns, and holiday tunes played live from the Mummers.

Mix all that fun together and share it with friends and Kenzie & Kyle were living the dream. What more could a kid want?

Filed Under: Kenzie, Kids, kyle Tagged With: christmas, Kenzie, kyle, santa

Live in the Studio with the Kids for Neighborhood Toy Store Day

November 10, 2011 By Colleen Padilla

Woohoo! The kids did their first live news segment with me on Fox 29 in Philadelphia today. It was a super experience and Kenzie and Kyle loved getting to play with super cool specialty toys all morning long to their hearts content.

Even though we had time to kill in the green room, I never once heard a complaint about boredom! And Kenzie loved the big mirrors and activity of being in the studio.

And we all had a ball surfing around on the Spooner Board. An absolute must have that I never had the opportunity to test out prior to our prep for this segment.

Doing this piece was extra special since it supported buying locally from your neighborhood toy store. We were able to celebrate the best toys from specialty toy manufacturers versus the “big box” brands – these toys don’t get the commercial air time but are seriously incredible for imaginative play – my kids never tire of toys like these!

As a bonus – the kids were both so excited that their “must have” toy – the Calico Critter Camper made the Best Toy List from Astra Toys for Neighborhood Toy Store Day. Here’s the full list of “Best Toys for Kids” if you click this link or the badge.

The Pretend and Play Teaching Cash Register was a huge hit with both kids too. What kid doesn’t love counting money or charging credit cards? I love that this currency actual looks real too -especially the coins!

We topped off our exciting day with a trip across the street to get up close and personal with the Liberty Bell. I can’t believe we did all this before 10 AM this morning!

Filed Under: Kenzie, Kids, kyle Tagged With: Kenzie, kyle, neighborhood toy store day, tv segments

Mega Bloks Toys for Everyone!

November 8, 2011 By Colleen Padilla

What a day! Yesterday was Kyle’s “special day” as we were invited to host a Mega Bloks Thomas the Train party for all Kyle’s friends. My little guy 3 year old guy was able to shower his entire preschool class with a new set of Thomas Mega Bloks. The kids were obviously THRILLED with the chance to get a new toy and the Moms appreciated that our 3-4 year old kids are now old enough to just enjoy playing together while we can casually supervise the building games.

After preschool, everyone caravaned back to our place for Pizza, Juice Boxes, and Mega Bloks. All 9 kids from his were able to attend plus a few siblings.

Take a peek at our pics. Kenzie is missing thanks to PM Kindergarten - and yes she was v. sad to miss the festivities, but we explained this was Kyle’s chance to host a fun Classy Mommy party since so often she’s the one who gets to reap the fun.

Here’s Kyle and I before we opened the DieselWorks Thomas & Friends Mega Bloks set.

All the Mega Bloks waiting for curious kids to explore and open them up. We loved this kits. They sell for about $15 and the box stores the blocks but when you flip it upside down it is literally a train track set – complete with an awesome hill for the trains to roll down.

Dislcosure: Thanks to Mom Select and MegaBloks for providing us with these toys to host a party for our friends. I wasn’t paid to host this event, but we love working with great brands for children and couldn’t resist this opportunity to shower our friends with fun. AS always all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Filed Under: kyle, Toys Tagged With: kyle, mega bloks, mommy parties