Keeping Up with the Kramers

Deciding the theme for Sam's second birthday party started way back in October! Since he seemed to be equally in love with fire trucks and trains, we couldn't decide if he should dress as a firefighter or a train engineer for Halloween.  A lucky trip to Once Upon a Child yielded a nifty pair of railroad striped overalls just Sam's size, and just in time for trick-or-treating! It was destiny!  So with Halloween covered, we decided to go with the fire truck theme for his birthday.

Cutie-pants railroad engineer at Halloween 2013

As January rolled around, we set to planning the fire truck themed party. In other words...a Pinterest board was created. We pinned party staples including flame decorations, games, favors, cakes and more. How did anyone ever plan a party before Pinterest? And our friend, Jill, just happened to pass down a really awesome toddler firefighter costume a couple of weeks before Sam's party. Once again - destiny!

The night before the party, we were hard at work pulling everything together. We could not have done it all without the help of our friend, Mary, who rolled the plasticware, hung streamers, got balloons, tied tags on favors, made the chili (of course there was chili!), and helped clean up! We've already reserved Mary for next year, in case any of you are thinking you can steal her. Because of her help, we were really able to enjoy our guests and the big moments of Sam's very special day.

Sandwiches, snacks and chili for our guests

Hand drawn flames in our new "fireplace"

Speaking of big moments, the one thing that we really wanted to do for Sam was have a real fire truck appear at his party. We had found websites where you could hire a fire truck for parties, but what a disappointment it was when we learned that pretty much all of them in the Orlando area had gone out of business. To add "fuel to the fire" (pun intended), Sam had broken his leg a few weeks before his birthday so we really wanted to cheer him up by doing something extra special at his party. We HAD to have that fire truck. So Shawn started by calling all of the area fire stations. The receptionists were quick to tell him that their trucks did not appear at birthday parties. But Shawn continued to explain that he was looking for connections to a privately-owned fire truck. "You see, my son is turning two and he has a broken leg..." And the sympathy card was played over and over again.

Finally, Shawn was able to get connected to a retired firefighter that had his own vintage Mac firetruck. This thing was PERFECT, as it looks a lot like Red from the movie Cars (also a favorite of Sam's). Sam was so excited when the truck arrived. He wanted to walk around it, get into the cab, turn the steering wheel, and climb all over it. The other children, and even the adults, were also very excited to see this classic machine. The owner was very kind and allowed everyone to explore every inch of his truck. He also enthusiastically answered all of their questions. As the cherry on top, he even took our little family on a spin around the block! We could have not have been more pleased!

In the belly of the beast

Toot Toot! Coming through!

Oh, and there was cake with loads of frosting! The baker put red, yellow and white frosting in the same bag and piped the cupcakes with the mix. They looked like they were on fire! Very appropriate for this party. Sam preferred to eat only frosting this year and we can't blame him.  It was delicious!



Overall, Sam's birthday was a giant success! We are 2-for-2 and looking forward to another great celebration next year. Any ideas for themes? My Pinning finger is itching!

At the end of December, we made our annual trip to Indiana. Thankfully, it wasn't as cold as it was during our visit last year, but it was still pretty chilly for at least one person in this Florida family (ahem.... Heather).

We wondered how Sam would do on the plane this year since he wasn't yet walking last year at this time. He's so much more active now and certainly doesn't like to sit still for very long. With a little help from our trusty friend, iPad, he did very well on the way up.

Happy child, relieved parents.

Our first night in town, Shawn's mom opened her home to us and cooked us a warm meal. There is nothing like Grandma Kramer's home cooking! Sam, of course, went right for her toy bin and the other kids were quick to follow. They all got along so well and shared nicely.

Sharing cars with Grayson

Eatin' good at Grandma's... and enjoying being the center of attention

Holiday hugs from Lleyton

We were so pleased that the family agreed to gather again at the Lighthouse Lodge in Monticello for a post Christmas, pre-New Year's celebration. We were very well taken care of again by our hosts, Mike and Bonnie, who opened their warm and inviting inn and filled our bellies with a delicious, homemade meal.

The Lighthouse Lodge

Our beautiful boy

Aunt Tina, Lleyton, Aunt Kim and Kyle

Aunt Shell, Uncle Butch and Uncle Rick

Grandma Kramer, Mandy and Heather

The Yahoos... and the lovely Debbie

Ben and Lleyton

Christian, and Arrick and Alex

As goes the Kramer family tradition, we received Grandpa bags filled with peanuts, candy and something a little extra for the little ones. Uncle Butch made sure everyone in the family got one. And "the princess" even got a special treat (an orange!).  Thank you, Uncle Butch!

A grandpa bag for Sam...

And one for Lleyton...

And one for the Princess.

After filling our bellies with Bonnie's delicious home cooking, playing cards and catching up, we packed up and headed out to visit with Shawn's nephew, Bucky, and his family in Coatesville, IN. We had a great time playing with their two boys, who have an unlimited supply of Legos, Matchbox cars and Cars toys which made Sam's little head spin. They also have a huge backyard where we got to go exploring and Shawn practiced shooting BB Guns with the kids (Sam stayed inside with mommy during the shooting part).

Winter Sam

Arrick, Sam (with Tow Mater) and Christian

The guys

Ready. Aim. FIRE!

Let's go hiking

Our last stop on our trip was to visit Heather's Aunt Linda. If you recall, she is a house mom at the Butler University Kappa Kappa Gamma house. She welcomed us into her home and made us a wonderful dinner which we shared with Heather's cousins Bart, Cathy and Jordan. Sam loved climbing the big staircase and running around all of the rooms in the house. He even cruised by the large fireplace, pointed to it and said "Santa! Ho-ho-ho."

Here one minute...

Gone the next.

Aunt Linda and us with the Kappa Kappa Gamma bulldog

Even though Heather usually complains about how cold she is, we usually leave saying how we need to plan longer visits. We love visiting with those that are so special to us and enjoying the great state of Indiana. Maybe we'll just need to add a summer visit to our calendar!

We kicked off our Christmas marathon with a ride on the Orange Blossom Canonball's Christmas themed train ride. We boarded this vintage steam train for some good ole' fashioned cookie eating, hot chocolate drinking, and Christmas carol singing. We even got to visit with Santa and his elves!

"All aboard!"

Santa's elves are very funny!

Hi Santa! HO HO HO!

Trying on the conductor's hat... there's room to grow into it

The Orange Blossom Cannonball

Grandma Ewen and Papa Mark came over for an early Christmas celebration. We had a great time sharing gifts and spending time together. Sam's favorite gift of the night was the Mater's Tall Tales DVD and matching book.

As tradition dictates, we spent Christmas Eve at Grandpa Ewen's house. We were joined by Heather's sister and her family. We gathered round the table for a delicious meal together, followed by tearing into a heap of presents. Sam received a Disney Planes book with 12 miniature planes from the movie. He LOVED these planes so much that any time you tried to pick one up, he would let out a shrill scream right in your face that seemed to suggest he didn't want you touching his planes. Luckily, after a week or so, he's more willing to share those planes.   The Mitchell's, The Ewen's and the Kramer's The coveted planes Christmas Day was such a treat for us. Sam is more aware of Santa Clause now and very into presents. It was a bit more challenging to get him to sit still for photos this year than last, but we still managed a cute stocking shot.

Loving his new fire truck