A Night Under The Stars

Can you believe that little sweet Max is almost 5!! Hard to believe...but he will be starting school and officially turning into a little man in the fall.  I couldn't believe the transformation of Aiden during Kindergarten...I was not prepared for the little man he became.  But now that I am prepared...I'm looking forward to seeing how Max grows and matures during his Kindergarten year. 

 

Happy Birthday my sweet Max!! You are truly one of a kind and I am so lucky God picked me to witness your life!  You make me one happy momma!

 

As Justin and I started joking, "our baby only turns 5 once"...we wanted him to have a great party but something not too hard for us since we have a big vacation planned only a week after the party.  So...a laid back outdoor movie theatre themed party seemed to be perfect!  All except the anxiety about the weather!  We ended up moving the party forward one night...but luckily it didn't ruin plans for many people and his party went off without a hitch...only a few light rain drops during the movie.

 



 

I just love, love, love details!  So...an outdoor movie didn't seem complete without some old-time touches. There's just something about soda in a bottle that makes it sooo much better!

Who doesn't love popcorn!?  I thought about doing a concession stand...but my mommy voice spoke up and she told me giving chocolate to a bunch of 5 year olds right before bedtime (on top of juice, cake and ice cream) might not be the best idea around.  So we stuck to popcorn and it turned out to be just enough to keep them munching away and content during the movie.

Cute and colorful straws add such a cute touch to the soda bottles!

I tried something new and added a bit of color with the pom pom garland.  The kids loved them and they will look cute in my craft room after the party too! They are super easy (and cheap) to make!

 

The patio lights added just enough lights to see where you were walking, but didn't interfere with the movie.  And a few paper lanterns added their special touch too!

Having to move the party up a day definitely changed my plans for the cake, but we were still able to get Wreck It Ralph on top the cake for the birthday boy.  The cake was definitely just for the birthday boy...vanilla cake with nutella buttercream.  He eats nutelly every morning...so he was super excited!!!

I don't think he has removed the cake since the party! Thanks Travis for the awesome batman cape!

We even remembered to sing Happy Birthday to him this year!  Last year was a bit hectic and we cut right into the cake.  So mommy made sure we sang this year :)

We made a blanket for each child with their initials sewn on.  They loved them and cuddled all night with their blanket.  Some even slept that night with them!  Knowing they loved their blankets made them worth all the time I spent on them.  I just love a party favor that can be used again and again!

Happy Birthday Max!  I hope you had a blast and we can't wait to celebrate again for the 'big part' of your birthday when you actually turn 5 on the 14th!!! I love you all the way to God's outerspace!!

Blonde??

 

I don't know what happened!?  Last night Reid came home from Awanas and his hair looked several shades blonder than it was a few days ago.  Do we have another blonde on our hands??  Believe me..he's going to break hearts regardless of his hair color...but I must admit I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Max's blonde hair...so I'm secretly hoping to see some more blonde locks on this babe.  Looking back in pics...this IS about the time Max's hair color changed!  We'll see what the summer brings....

 

 

This is Reid's half 'cheese' face...his full 'cheese' face reminds me so much of when Aiden used to scrunch up his face and say 'cheese' every time he saw the camer (which was A LOT). I hate to always compare Reid to his brothers...but he really does have a lot of each of them in him.  Or maybe it's a bit of Justin and me...but whoever it is, he's SOOO cute and I wouldnt' trade him for anything! Even his stubborn little rants when he throws whatever he's holding down and then throws himself on the floor to cry.  I'm pretty sure he got that from his daddy! (However I do remember doing that a time or two when I was pregnant)

Reid Monster

Wow!  You blink your eyes and there you are....your baby is 19 months old!  I ask myself..."How did this happen?"

We are always so busy running after the boys that we don't think to stop and grab the camera.  I tell myself i WILL have as many pictures of Reid as I do of Aiden...but I probably failed at that.  So we just won't count them right!?  But lucky for me, I had the camera in my purse while we were at lunch and he was ready to cheese it up!  And a little peek-a-boo too!  Who can resist a game of peek-a-boo?  Not me!!

Reid is as precious as them come.  Always willing to give plenty of hugs and kisses for his momma (and daddy too....who he calls momma a lot...we THINK it's a joke), jumps into the wrestling action faster than you can say Reid and just LOVES hanging out with his big brothers.  As sweet as he is, I can definitely see a little temper within him, so I think he's going to give us a run for our money! But I'm sure with this sweet face, he'll get away with ANYTHING!
 

 Can you hear him?  He says, "ee-a-boo" to you!

Yes...we're extremely busy (hence...infrequent blogging), but life with 3 boys is so much fun I wouldn't change a thing.  I love our hectic life. I love the constant laughter and squeels. I love all the wrestle piles. I love the mounds of laundry, toys scattered about, one growing teeth as the oldest loses them, running from here to there for cub scounts, baseball, church, soccer, etc. (ok...I could do without the mounds of laundry)....but most of all...I love looking at those three precious faces at the end of the day knowing our lives are so much better because of them. There is not one area of my life that has not been blessed because of them. So...when I'm tired and frustrated, I will remember this precious face and his 'ee-a-boo' and carry on...because they are worth every single fun, sad, mad, happy, stressed, overjoyed, sweet, and exhausting minute of every day.    

Little Mermaid

I keep waiting for everything to slow down...I even picture myself having some free time to sit at the computer (maybe even with a cup of coffee) and get caught up on blogging. Such a nice thought right!?  But with 3 boys, full time job, remodeling a craft room, soccer, etc...I think getting 'caught up' is a nice goal...but not very realistic. At this point, I think sharing halloween or Christmas pictures are sort of pointless, don't you??  So I'll start with what's current instead.  We'll start with a recent cake project and in a few days I'll try to get everyone an update with the boys :) 

 

 

So, here she is...one of my favorite cakes to date.  Thanks to Hana...she comes up with great cake ideas and I get to bring them to life, so to speak!  And the opportunity to do a 'girly' cake...how can I pass that up? The Little Mermaid is one of my favorite Disney movies and Hana created a wonderful party for Halle with the most perfect little details.  Visit her blog and you'll fall in love with all the little details and ideas....complete down to the dinglehopper!

 

For all the other 'cake peeps' out there...I achieved the ombre effect by starting with the dark fondant and gradually adding white fondant as I went.  Each scale was placed on the cake individually to get the right look.  The coral elements were made with royal icing piped onto wax paper.  After they dried, i flipped them over and piped more royal icing on the back to make them thicker and I loved the way they turned out!

Reid's First Birthday - Cheerio Style!!

Sweet baby Reid...one year old.  I enjoyed making your special day all about you and your love of Cheerios!!  Thank you Lord for picking me to be his mommy.  We are so truly blessed!  We hope everyone enjoyed his day.  It wouldn't have been the same without everyone celebrating with us!

 Instead of digging into the cake, Reid very patiently picked off all the cheerios to eat before the cake!!  Silly boy!

 Reid loved the cheerios and balloons much more than the cake :)  He'll learn...

 All nice and clean after his bath...wrestling with daddy!

 The birthday boy has to get in the bounce house too!