Happy Birthday!!

3 out of 4 of our birthdays fall within a month of each other.  Jackson gets to start out the celebrations.

May 17, 2014  Jackson turns 3 years old.  We started out the morning with 3 balloons for the birthday boy.

He was very thrilled with the balloons.  Side note:  This outfit was the same outfit Carter wore on his 2nd birthday.  Although Jackson is a year smaller than Carter was, I still like the nostalgia of birthday outfits and memories:)

The morning was spent at Carter's soccer game and playing.  The "Big" party wasn't until after nap time.  Unfortunately Jackson wasn't feeling top notch but he didn't let it ruin his big day.

At the start of the party Aunt Linsey showed up with an Olaf balloon that was bigger than Jackson.  He is obsessed with the movie Frozen and especially Olaf.  I thought for sure he would love this balloon.  And he did, and then he didn't:)  When he first saw it he squealed and then said "Ok, take it away now."  It made him very nervous.

It took a lot of coaxing to get him to sit near the balloon.  And every time the wind would catch the balloon he would jump a little!

Here he is watching Olaf from a safe distance.  Fascinated by it, but not wanting to get too close.  He was sure to point Olaf out to each guest as they arrived though!

Jackson's best buddy Evan came to the party and they greeted each other with a big hug.

Present opening was first.  This little boy is very loved by many people and each gift was specially picked out with him in mind and he loved all of them!

One gift from us was a monster truck shirt.  He was thrilled and it has gotten good use this summer at all our redneck events.

He got the frozen movie, soundtrack, stickers, books and so many Frozen things.

Lots of outside toys to dig with and move dirt with.  Every boy's dream:) And plenty of bubbles to last a lifetime.  Or a couple weeks with 2 boys around.

Another big hit was a card from Grandma Susan.  When you opened it there was a flower and when you blew on the flower it started playing a country song.  Jackson thought it was the best thing ever.  He would jump every single time the card would start to play but he would giggle and shriek with delight.

Here he is showing Evan how cool his new card is.  Both my boys love birthday cards that make noise and both grandmas always make sure they get plenty of them.

Time for Cake!  This was the first year I had made an actual cake for Jackson's party.  Not being able to eat much sugar sure makes things tricky.  But I figured he could at least have a couple bites.

He knew just what to do with the candle and blew it out quickly.

The best part was licking the frosting off the bottom of the candle.  He's a fast learner:)  All in all, he really only licked the very thinly spread frosting off and didn't bother much with the cupcake.  Guess I didn't have to worry too much about eating a lot.  He sure did enjoy the chocolate frosting though.

Family Picture.  Jackson had already needed a change of clothes thanks to spilling bubbles all over himself.

The next morning we lit another candle on another cupcake and let him blow it out.  Once again, he enjoyed blowing out the candle far more than eating the cupcake.

                                                

Although blurry, this picture shows what Jackson did when we told him to give Olaf a hug.  Each day Jackson got a little more fond of giant Olaf and would get closer and closer to him.

 Jackson received some new Lightning McQueen underwear for his birthday and he was excited to wear them the next day around the house.  He has no interest in the potty yet but hopefully in the next couple of weeks we can figure that out!

He kept himself dry the entire 2 hours he sported this awesome look.  Hopefully McQueen can be a great motivator!

The next birthday was Neil's.  Turning the big 3-2

We started off his big day at Kneader's for some yummy french toast.  We all love the french toast so it was a great excuse to eat 4,000 calories to celebrate a birthday.

Later that night we celebrated our favorite dad with a cake from Cold Stone.

Then the boys rode their horse dad around and showed him where his presents were hidden.

Group shot!  Neil's birthday isn't as elaborate as the boys.  Which is just fine with both of us:)

Next up came Carter's 6th Birthday in June.  He had been waiting so patiently for this big day.

He got to celebrate a day early while Aunt Linsey was in town.  She made him her famous banana cream pie.  Which was really a present to myself since I ate most of it:)  jk

Complete with candles and everything.  He even saved these candles to put on his birthday cake the next day.

 We let him open one present the night before his birthday.  They were Mario Kart sheets from Grandma to go on his new bed in his new room.

We started the day by going to the park and inviting a few of his friends.  I decided I didn't have the strength to do a friend's party every year so this was in place of that.  Playing at the park and then ice cream cones at McDonald's was well received by the boys.

Then home so I could make his cake.  When asked what kind of cake he wanted he initially said an ice cream cake from Cold Stone.  But then decided he really wanted a Ninjago Cake more.  Which means my mean decorating skills got to make an appearance.  It actually turned out almost exactly like the one I found online!  I was so proud of myself.

Next we headed to Texas Roadhouse.  Birthday boy chose this place and I'm not sure if it was to eat dozens of their yummy rolls or to ride the saddle and get free ice cream.  

 He was a little nervous at first to be the center of attention but quickly got over that and enjoyed the minute on the saddle.

 Jackson however was not impressed by their BIG LOUD "YEEHAW."  It freaked him out and he started sobbing.  Once he finally calmed down, he got down on the floor and slipped and fell on some spilled water a waitress spilled.  The manager immediately came over and basically asked if we were going to sue them.  We decided not too:)

Then home to open presents.  The only thing Carter asked for was Legos.  I decided that he needed a few other things than just Legos.

 He got a new picture for his new room.  He has been wanting a picture of the USA for a long time so was thrilled with his picture..

Jackson was more than willing to help with the present opening and Carter was a good sport and allowed him to help.
                                      

                                      
He got several Ninjago and Chima lego sets from his Grandma and he was thrilled.

                                      
Carter has been very into Science Experiements lately and so I got him a book that is filled with fun experiments to do at home.  We have been having fun trying new and crazy things together.

 After all his presents were open he wasted no time building something with his dad.  They both love putting together Legos.  I especially like cleaning the tiny pieces up each day and stepping on them.  Oh wait, no I don't.:)

Carter was able to break away from Lego building long enough to have cake and ice cream.  He was downright pleased with his Cake and kept telling me how it was "his favorite cake he's ever had!"  That was my favorite part of the day!

Happy 6th Birthday Carter.