Nov is always a fun month at the Banks house as we celebrate the birth of two out of the three cutest kids ever born.  Josh turned 6 and Halle turned 9.  The festivities start with Josh.  He was the happy recipient of lots of legos, a razor scooter and cold hard CASH.
Later in the afternoon we took Josh and his 4 little buddies to Chuck E. Cheese.  The sole purpose of this party was for Josh to enjoy the TICKET BLASTER.  And he loved all 30 seconds of it.  He ended up with about 500 tickets, which is a lot of tickets in my family!  We decorated the car with window markers saying things like, “Happy birthday Josh” or “Josh turns 6 today.” 
Up next….Halle girl. 
 
She’s getting a little big for the birthday chair, eh? This year she didn’t have a lot to open.  That’s because Grandparents sent her $$ to spend in an all expenses paid trip to the American Girl Store.  Denver this year.  Not quite as magical as NYC, but a little closer to home 🙂

I checked her out of school at lunch time and we drove down. She chose Kaya, a beautiful Native American Doll.  She had planned on getting some of Kaya’s clothes, but the store was sold out.  Not to worry….there was an adorable pet bath set that instantly won her over. Now all her AG pets (and she has many) will be neat and clean.  After our shopping spree we headed to the White Chocolate Grill for lunch.  They have special chairs for your dolls, which was a must.  Kaya, Halle and I enjoyed a yummy lunch followed by a massive piece of white chocolate raspberry cheesecake. 
But the festivities didn’t end there.  Saturday night was DISCO night at Dance Space.  Halle and her friend Nieve share a birthday.  We invited 14 little girls to join us for a night of disco fun.  The party included games, a cute craft, cupcakes and snacks, and the highlight of the evening—the disco dance.  The girls learned a dance, and performed it for the parents when they came to pick them up.  It was a really fun night. 

IMG 5044 from Tara Banks on Vimeo.

I’m proud of my kiddos this year. With a little gentle suggestion from mom, they decided instead of their guests bringing birthday presents, that they bring toys to donate to Toys for Tots.  We’ve done this before, and it is such a fun experience for my kids.  And guess what?  They don’t even miss not getting presents themselves.  Not even a little bit.