::mama fishes::

(I drew the heart, he drew everything else)
See why I love this boy? Aren't those the cutest fish you've ever seen?

::more mama fish::

So, as if Max didn't have enough fish already, he put in a special request that I make him a mama fish. At first I thought the request was pretty ridiculous, but then it caught my fancy and I started working on it.
I found this pattern that I figured I could start with. I found about four different colors of yarn that I thought sort of matched up with the real fish. And then I went to work.
And then:



I'm really happy with how she turned out. EXCEPT that in trying to be smart I used some rice on her insides to give her some weight. Was I thinking about how if I ever had to wash her the rice would get all gross? NO. Oh well. Too late now.
The colors worked out well though, and my pattern modifications turned out great I thought.
Want to compare New Mama Fish with the original Mama Fish?


Not exactly the same, but pretty darn close.
And the verdict?


He likes her. And I like him. Good deal.

::fish family photo::

All the fish came out together the other day and insisted on Max taking a family photo.
There's been a new addition to the family.

It's the "mama mama fish." She's Mama Fish's mom. She was given to Max quite a while ago by his Grandma Kathy, and was pretty much ignored until he came across her the other day and realized who she was. She has been going around with Mama Fish a lot lately. They both came with us to see the Earth movie a while back. They're basically inseparable. And they're pretty well inseparable from Max too. In fact, he took mama fish, mama mama fish and daddy fish with him to the father's and son's campout last weekend. Only daddy fish was allowed out of the car, the two moms had to stay. And I was in charge of the baby fishes.


So are some of you wondering how we ended up with 5 of the same fishy? I'm not sure I really want to tell the story, but I'm going to. For posterity's sake at the very least.

Mama fish is third from the left here. And yes, I can tell the difference. We gave her to Max for his first Christmas. And boy was she ever a good present. He started taking her everywhere. Chewing on her eyes and fins and tail. He loved her. And when he got big enough to talk he named her Mama Fish.

When babies chew on stuff, the stuff tends to get gross and stinky. And he never liked to give up Mama Fish for a washing. So I had this really bright idea. I'd buy another mama fish! Then I could swap her out and wash whichever fish wasn't being used. Brilliant, right?
What I didn't realize is that the boy would know when his best friend was replaced with a look alike. He knew immediately. And thus, Daddy fish was adopted into the family. So now he had to have two fish everywhere he went. Daddy fish is 2nd from the left in that family photo.
THEN...
We were shopping at the bookstore--Borders I think? Anyway, one of those bookstores with pluffy animals. And who does Max find but another fish! And before I realize it and can stop him, he's sucked on one of the fins, and stuck it in his ear. Arrgh. I still tried to separate him from it, but it was like I was breaking his heart. So I just gave in like a good sucker mom and bought the adorable thing. That was Baby fish. Baby fish is 5th from the left (or 2nd from the right, whichever you prefer.)

THEN...
I was made completely insane at this point, I didn't know right from wrong or have any sense. So when I was someplace and saw two adorable pluffy fish I had to buy them. I put them high up in my closet. I think my thought process was that if Mama, or one of the other family members was permanently misplaced I could do something about it. And that was/is a valid concern. Mama fish has been lost more times than I can count, and seriously lost several times. I've always found her though, lucky for Max!

When we moved from our first house in Kansas City, the fish were unearthed by Max. I didn't know it. I came into the room and there he was, snuggling and rolling around with FIVE fish!! I was shocked. It was too late though. They were all his, and they joined him at bedtime. They've also all taken trips with us before, though luckily now we're down to just one or two on big trips.
I can't tell who's who in the photo, Baby Brother fish and Baby Sister fish look very similar. The only way to tell the difference is that Baby Sister fish still has a plastic tag thing through her fin.

So that's the story. Max loves his fishies, and I love him.

::max's partay::

Max loves fish. That's all there is to it really. So naturally, when trying to work up some sort of theme for his birthday party (besides just kid birthday party) I thought of something fishy.
I made a bunch of fish and such to hang from the ceiling for decor, and we also hung blue balloons, hoping they would look like bubbles. So it could feel like we were all hanging out under the sea with the fish.

The green crepe paper is a stand in for seaweed.

The fish cake and Grandma Kathy's fishy quilt fit in quite nicely too.
A quick pre-party photo with the grandparents:

I think it was really fun for Max to get to spend his birthday in UT among all the family. It's so special for him to be there anyway, then to add his birthday into the mix it was just super exciting.
Instead of birthday spankings we thought we'd make sure he got some upside down birthday tickles. Much more exciting.

Max was just so excited to see Kris, he flew in just an hour or so before the party started.

We had lots of fun family at the party.

It was so nice of everybody to be there. And Max got a few fun presents too. Kari got him the stuff so we could get him a fish. A little tank, and all the necessaries.
Grandma and Grandpa got him a remote control car (that proceeded to break pretty quickly) which he loved so much. And he got other fun stuff from the rest of the fam (including us).
We played some fun fish games. Hot and cold with the hidden mama fish. Except the closer the kid got to her the "wetter" they were, the farther away the drier. That was pretty fun, though Derek just couldn't figure out why we were all yelling at him all the time.

We also played pin the fishy in it's home. Pretty plain, but functional. The kids liked it.



The highlight of the evening for Max though I think was blowing out the candles. He felt so cool. And the cake was so adorable. Since we made the cake the day before it was a little like torture for him to have to wait so long, but he did a good job.





He's very proud of himself.
What a fun night. I feel so lucky to have such wonderful family members on both sides that love and support us. Thanks so much for making Max (and us) feel loved and special, and happy birthday to my sweet five year old!!