The Celebrations Continue

It's been an exhausting, but fun, birthday weekend in the Reichmann household.

Saturday afternoon, Aunt Lori, Uncle Sam and Cousin Ozzie came over to wish Alex and Arielle a Happy Birthday. Alex and Ari ran all over the house playing with Ozzie and loved their gifts: a pretty bracelet for Ari and a sprinkler for Alex (who will obviously share it with Ari once the weather gets warmer). But the gifts they seemed to love the most were the number 2 cookies Aunt Lori made for them.

Later in the afternoon we had a playdate with friends Riley, Marin and Cayla. After the playdate we all headed over to Nana and Poppy's house for a birthday dinner. Alex and Ari enjoyed spending time with Nana and Poppy and were delighted with their birthday gifts: a doll named Arielle(!) for Ari and a workbench for Alex.

Today we had lots of visitors: first, 2/3 of the Arking clan came over to wish Alex and Ari happy birthday and bring them their gifts. Alex and Ari were disappointed that Zack and "Big Alex" didn't come over, but were happy to see their friends Vivi and Ella and their mommy and daddy. Ari, who's new interest is playing dress-up, was so excited to get an entire princess dress-up set, complete with jewelry. Alex's eyes lit up when he saw his gift: a huge Play-Doh set!!
After the visit from the Arkings, Cousins Denise, Jason and Ayden came over for one last visit before they had to head back to Arizona this afternoon. Alex and Ari miss their Cousin Ayden already- when they woke up from their naps, they were still asking for him!

Finally, this afternoon was Alex and Ari's birthday party at My Gym. With 25 2- and 3-year olds running, jumping and climbing around (not to mention hyped up on sugar), Mommy was very glad she decided to have Alex and Ari's party outside of our own house this year. And Alex, Ari and all of their friends had a blast-- they had two great instructors, Mr. Aaron and Mr. Nate, who kept all of the kids entertained for over an hour. Alex and Ari were so happy to have so many of their friends in the same place: their cousins, their classmates, their neighborhood friends and their twin friends. Kira, who was due for a nap, was wide awake and just fascinated with everything going on around her.

Ari and Alex get the party started

Ari with Matan and Jeremy Alex and MommyKira joins in the funBubble time with Cousin Naomi, Macey and Riley Time for MORE CAKE!Ari and Adam have a chat over pizzaAlex gets a ride from Mr. NateAlex gets a birthday hug from Cousin NaomiAri playing with the puppets under the parachute

Needless to say, we're all pooped tonight and ready for a relaxing week spent catching our breath and, for Mommy and Daddy, getting used to saying we have 2-year olds!