Hershey and a Half Birthday

Yesterday Jonah decided to wake up at the normally quiet hour of 5:20 a.m. Since my alarm was already going off at 5:30, I got myself ready for my run and grabbed him out of his crib. He was mostly content playing with toys in the basement while I ran on the treadmill, but I did have to hop off at one point to help him get his princess heels on, and then again to assist him with his Cinderella dress. Oh the joys of having an older sister and wanting to copy everything she does!

This past weekend, my roommate from college and her husband decided to fly into Harrisburg, PA at the last minute to visit us and our friend who lives in Hershey. It was so much fun seeing all of them, and catching up since I hadn't seen my roommate since her wedding. We went over to Hershey World to do the factory ride (and get our free candy of course!), and then grabbed treats in the Hershey cafe. Noelle was sick with a super runny nose, so she mostly kept to herself, and Jonah only took a short nap on the way there and on the way back, but considering all that, they both did really well!

Last week we had a MOPS play date at Storyville, which is a really cool play area for kids at a library. It's free, and they have so much! A pretend store with pretend food and cash registers, a play house with kitchen and dress up clothes, a little tree house, mailboxes with pretend mail, and so much more. Luke had taken the kids when I was on the women's retreat, and Noelle has always reminded me that she's been to "Stoweyville" with daddy but not me. It was fun, though a little chaotic trying to keep up with Jonah and still keep an eye on Noelle.

On Tuesday last week, Noelle got to celebrate her half birthday at school. All the kids with summer birthdays get the opportunity to celebrate sometime around their half birthday, and the parents and siblings of the child are invited to come that day during the special snack (provided by the parent) and to sing Happy Birthday. Because of allergies I was given a specific list of what was allowed, and Noelle decided she wanted Oreo's (as well as Elsa and Olaf napkins.) When Jonah and I got there, they were having their play time in the big muscle room (where they go when it's cold or rainy), and Noelle ran right over and gave me a hug. She was proudly wearing her birthday crown, and it was fun watching her class play. Then we went to their classroom, sang Happy Birthday, and she blew out four candles. I'm so not ready to have a four year old- thank goodness I still have over five months!