The Birthday Boys

Conner and Jude's birthdays are only a day apart, and this year we celebrated them mostly together. We pretty much let them call the shots as to what we did for a whole Saturday. So, here is what a 6-year-old's and 9-year-old's collaborative day of fun looked like:

1. Get up early and go to McDonald's for breakfast. Kind of a funny request, but one that has a bit of a back story. About two months ago Jude had a dental appointment at 7:00 in the morning. Chris was out of town, so I packed up all the kids and took them along, but wasn't able to get breakfast in them before it was time to go. So, in the few minutes between the dentist and school, we went through the drive-through at McDonald's for a quick breakfast (of champions). Jude wasn't allowed to chew anything, so he had to settle for orange juice and yogurt, but the other kids had the little McGriddle pancake and sausage sandwiches. Ever since then Jude's been REALLY wanting one of those sandwiches, so that was a birthday request.

2. Go bowling. Our kids love bowling - it's kind of weird because neither Chris nor I bowl. We took them once for fun and ever since they seem to crave it fort-monthly. The first half was cool because they had the cosmic bowling going with lots of black lights - another thing our kids are fascinated by - but for no apparent reason they turned those off midway. Oh, well. They all still had fun! And just because this is me, I HAVE to say how stinking cute Asher looked in his bowling shoes!! They should really sell them in regular retail stores!!

3. Had pizza for lunch. Enough said.

4. Chris took the three boys to the movie "Up" while Avery stayed home and napped. Of course popcorn and candy were involved. After all, it was their birthdays!

5. Had more pizza for dinner. They got to call the shots, remember?

6. Had cake and ice cream. Jude has been obsessed with Pokemon lately and knew immediately when I asked him what cake he wanted that it needed to be a chocolate pokeball. Speaking from a decorating standpoint, I was very pleased. Although, nothing could beat the ease of Conner's cake - he wanted to make his own "chocolate, chocolate cake." He made the cake, frosted it, and even decorated it by writing "Happy Birthday Conner" on it. I only had to give a little supervision and help. It was a beautiful thing!

7. The boys opened their presents from us - matching Super Soakers! It was a fantastic day, so we took them out for a trial run. Here's a picture of the birthday gift:

And here is a picture of a little boy whose two older brothers got Super Soakers for their birthdays (he was loving it, don't worry.)

And finally here is an adorable picture of Avery enjoying watching the merry chaos. She giggled so much every time the boys would let out one of the special super blasts of water.
8. Bed time. OK - so they didn't get to call ALL the shots, we still made them go to bed, but they all slept very well that night. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CONNER AND JUDE!!

Happy First Birthday, Avery!!

I can't believe our baby has already turned one! It really does go by so quickly. Watching her grow has been so fun, but I'll always miss those infant times, too.

We had a pretty low key birthday with just our family. We made cupcakes and of course opened her presents, which she thoroughly enjoyed. Asher chose pink cake, pink frosting, and princess themed decorations - I didn't realize that he associated those things with girls. It's kinda sad that the gender stereotypes develop so early even when you try to avoid them. However, it was also great to see a three-year-old step out of himself and think about what his baby sister would like, not just assuming that she would like whatever he thought was cool.

Avery got lots of clothes; a giant, blow-up penguin; a crazy chicken car that ALL the kids love; and a toy that has lots of little places to hide and find balls shaped like cute bugs. She must have remembered the whole unwrapping presents concept from Christmas because she dove right in when she saw all the presents in front of her.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AVERY!!

Asher's Birthday

So, it's a bit late but here are some pics from Asher's birthday. I'll give you one guess what the theme was! Of course - it's THOMAS! He had a Thomas cake (poor kid, it was pretty nasty allergen free cake - we won't be making that kind again!) and pretty much all of his gifts were Thomas themed as well. He got a bike, helmet, backpack, lunchbox, a couple of engines, and a magnetic Thomas play set. He was truly in heaven (if the Island of Sodor counts as heaven, anyway).

The whole day we had been telling Asher it was his birthday, but he didn't seem to believe us until we put him to bed and he asked if he could stay up since it was his birthday. He still does not believe that he is three. He says that he is two or four, but definitely not three. That's our little monkey!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ASHER!