The Big Party

As far as parties go, we were pretty excited about this one. We planned to do the same thing we did last year for Jack's birthday - bouncy castle and playing in the backyard. There's always a chance of rain, of course, but when I checked the weather Friday morning and saw it wasn't supposed to rain until late afternoon Saturday, I didn't worry about our morning party getting rained out. Even when I woke up to an overcast morning I didn't worry about getting rained out. In fact, I didn't really accept that we were getting rained out until about 10 minutes after the party officially started. Since I was too busy scrambling and trying to figure out how to fit 22 kids, plus their mommies and daddies into my house, I didn't get great pictures. Things were a little more squished and a lot more chaotic than I pictured, but we still had a great time!

The birthday boy with his Daddy showing off their plaid.

Plan B involved moving the bouncy castle to the front yard so the kids could run in and out without getting soaked. Marshall, Mason, and Pop were trying to get it dried out before the kids got in but once they saw it blown up they were having a hard time being patient!

It was definitely worth the wait!

And Marshall was the ultimate Daddy, staying in the slippery castle, continually drying it off so that no one would get hurt.

Meanwhile, there were kids playing all over the house.

And Granny got some snuggle time in with her youngest grandbaby.

Eventually it was time to decorate the goody bags, with none other than Lightning McQueen on them.

One part of the party favors included Cars themed bubbles. (They are supposed to be for weddings, but if you slap the right stickers on them they are just perfect for a four year old's birthday party!)

The kids also got lots of Cars stickers in their goody bags, as well as several other treats but I didn't take pictures of everything.

While they were decorating the bags and waiting for cupcakes, they got to munch on snacks. I hate that I didn't get a better picture of the snack buckets because they were pretty cute. (I used static cling stickers and buckets from the dollar store. That and the dollar spot at Target were definitely my friends while planning this party!)

"Happy birthday to you . . . ."

As you can see, there was a run on the cheese puffs!

Yep, this is the best picture of me with my birthday boy. Apparently he's already high from all the sugar!

She was thrilled to get more icing in her system!

Grandy and Pop hanging out with their boys and our sweet friend, Jonas.

Sam was in a terrible mood all day and got lots of snuggle time from everyone.

Mommies of Jack's school friends watching the kids bounce.

Grammy trying to distract Sam from his terrible mood.

The party was a lot of fun and I really think everyone had a good time despite the wet weather. After everyone left, we enjoyed lunch and Jack finally got to tear into his gifts.

This particular present came with two things wrapped up. Anna saw that and immediately snatched one and ran away with it. Here she is keeping it away from Jack and he's whining for her to give it back.

Now he's just taking it from her, even though she's resisting with all her might!

And now Daddy is trying to console her and explain that Jack gets to open the gifts today.

Ahh, but Granny came to the rescue and gave her a little something to entertain her while Jack continued on with his present opening.

After the gifts, it was time for more cake for the family.

We managed to celebrate this birthday for an entire week since his real birthday was Sunday and we didn't have the party until the following Saturday. I never need to see another cupcake again, but Jack is thrilled to be 4 years old and that makes it totally worth it!

11 Months

- Pulling up on everything
- Getting into everything
- Cruising a little (no more than 4 steps)
- Grins when you tell him no and continues to do whatever he was doing, but with more force

- Says "mama," "dada," and "uh oh"
- blows raspberries constantly

- still has only six teeth, but will eat anything
- gets 3 bottles and nurses once a day but is much more interested in real food
- naps twice for about an hour each
- consistently sleeps from 8pm - 7:00/7:30am without waking (finally!!)

- loves the book "Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb" or any book with a beat
- rubs his favorite white blanket on his face every time he goes to sleep
- likes the paci but doesn't love it like his sister and does not suck fingers or thumb
- loves to play outside and cries when we walk out briefly but don't stay to play

- seems to be a Mama's boy, but his Daddy still makes him laugh the hardest
- adores his siblings when they aren't pushing him away
- has a bit of a temper when aforementioned siblings push him away from where they are playing
- such a joy and a blessing

A year overdue, but still ok . . . .

Jack had his first dentist appointment today. I know he should have done this a year ago, but we don't have dental insurance so I just never made it a priority (I know, Mom of the Year here). It actually worked out really well because I don't think it would have gone as smoothly this time last year. He did a wonderful job today and had the best hygienist ever! Everything checked out great and they even deemed him mature enough to get fluoride. All in all, it was a successful first visit.