Noah J turns 11!

We finally got to a have a belated birthday dinner to celebrate our Noah J turning 11!  We were on vacation for his actual birthday and he was so, so sad to miss our normal celebration routine.  So now that things settled down and we were available we finally got to have some fun!

Of course the morning started with name pancakes and his favorite Orange Julius.  Even Owen ate a pancake which is not his fave.  He was super excited about all the decorations!

And then we had everybody over to eat dinner and open gifts.  You know I let them choose the birthday dinner without any interference.  So this year his choice was buttered macaroni noodles with cut up sausage in it!!  Yup.  His idea of gourmet!!  Homemade cornmeal crescent rolls, fresh fruit with dip and some Mist Twist topped it off and he was one happy boy!

Of course he had already gotten his gifts from us and from my parents on the trip so he only had a little bit but he was still thrilled.  He was super tickled with the stash of Star Wars themed origami Joseph made for him!  And then the big daddy of a new PS4 remote topped it off!  I think you can tell how darn tickled Owen was with that remote!  We had quite a time keeping him away from it cause he did not want to give it up after he got his hands on it!

We rounded out the night with some gaming, balloons, and of course some Star Wars masks.  Grandma makes the best wookie!!

Oh, and chocolate cake! He insisted he did not get an awful store bought cake, but a scratch made double decker chocolate cake.  So that is what he got! 11 years in and I know how to make this boy happy!

I adore him so much!  I constantly want to run my hands through his shiny hair and smoosh his little freckled face.  I'm so thankful he is mine to love!  I never dreamed that such a difficult little toddler would grow into such an understanding and precious young man.  I cannot wait to see what the future holds for this boy!

A Tea Party!

We began celebrating Annie's birthday today with a tea party at the American Girl Bistro!  With Owen coming so soon she has really gotten into playing with her babies again lately.  And her love of tea parties has never waned so a visit to the American Girl store for tea time seemed like the perfect fit.  She planned what she and her baby were going to wear for a week! :)  Even down to the matching hair flowers!

She was tickled with the baby high chair and was even more tickled with the teensy little tea cup and saucer they brought for her.   Trying to keep the affair small we allowed her to bring one of her favorite people in the world, her cousin Rebecca, and also pick one friend to bring.  She was so thrilled that Landrie and Tatem came to join her in the fun!

The girls were all so cute with their little dolls!  They each got to pick their own drink for their teapot and then they brought out trays full of delectable delights just right for a tea party.

Annie of course chose hot chocolate for her teapot!  And she was an expert at pouring it from all the practice parties at Grandma's house!  Some of the girls ate actual food - cucumber sandwiches, teensy hamburgers, pigs in blanket, fruit kabobs, etc.  But my dear girl ate sweets, sweets, and more sweets!

How could you say no to all this cuteness?   And to top it all off they brought out some little iced heart-shaped brownies with candles to help her celebrate.  We all sang and they got to enjoy a final dose of sugar before exploring the store.

Not surprisingly she says this was her favorite part - looking at all the doll stuff!  I think she made a list a mile long!

We had so much fun starting the birthday celebration today!  Hard to imagine this little muffin is going to be 4 this weekend!  She had a hayday running through the store with her friends saying "come look at this!"  Can't wait to finish up the celebration with gifts and dinner with the family this weekend!

My birthday boy!

I know I say this every year but I just cannot believe this big old kid is my first little baby! He is growing up so quickly it is really hard to comprehend.  And of course now that he is 9 he keeps reminding me he is "halfway to adult!!"  Ack!  It is really just beyond belief that half my time with him as my own is already gone.  OK, before I get super sappy and cry I just wanted to share his shiny little face on his birthday at the library.  I love that he begged to get to go to the library for his birthday.  This boy LOVES books! 

The rest of the gang was there too.  This is how Wyatt likes to behave at the library.

And this is how Miss Priss likes to sit and wait on her bubbas.  Isn't she hysterical with her legs and arms crossed so casually?  She is just so over the top girly all the time.  Love it!

Wy's birthday!

My little boy is officially 7!  Hard to believe we thought he would our baby boy forever and now we're having another one!  And this big guy is gonna be a great big brother!

We started off the morning with a decorated kitchen, name pancakes and orange julius, per our b-day tradition.  But of course we had to start off with presents!  In the past couple of years we have cut down to just 3 gifts for each kid.  One from us, and the other two from their siblings.  It is nice cause the kids know exactly what to expect and it is easier on me!  This year Noah got him this nerf ball he has been wanting.  You know Wyatt has been a fan of balls since he was a wee one so this was perfect for him.

From us he got the Nerf gun he has been wanting and was super excited.  So much of what we have for the boys are shared toys so he was pumped to have one just for himself.

Rosie got him a Turbo game for his 3ds which was a huge hit.  It was really sweet cause she honestly picked it out all by herself and knew this is something he would love. 

We finished up the morning with finally getting around to breakfast and then heading out to meet family for a special lunch.  Both the boys bdays fell right around our Disney trip this year so we didn't have big parties.  I personally loved this, although I'm sure the boys would tell you differently!  Ha!  Love this little guy!