Birthday boy...

We celebrated this kid this weekend. He's our favorite oldest boy! :)






Things we love about Hunter.

He's content. He is happy to play by himself and he's typically so quiet you forget he's there.

He's an animated story teller. He can't just tell a story using words - he has to act out most of the story.

He's mechanically minded. It's why he does so well with Legos. It's why he takes things apart and puts them together. It's why he often beats his sister in games and it makes her so angry.

He's playful. He is great to play with his siblings - sometimes he skates a very thin line of playful and teasing - he has them laughing one minute, crying the next!

He loves "scratchies". From the time he was little, he could be calmed by gentle rubbing my hand up and down his back. It still works today.

He loves sports. He's not participated in a single organized sport, but you wouldn't know it. The kid is athletic and loves to throw the football, kick the soccer ball or shoot hoops.

He loves to scare people. He's the one who hides the rubber rat in the cupboard in a cereal bowl. He's the one who walks into the house first and hides only to scare the next person coming in. He's the one that creeps up behind the sofa and grabs your arm. He gets a kick out of it and then he laughs the most contagious laugh.

He's been telling people he's seven for over a month now, so I suppose its about time he's no longer lying about his age!

Happy Birthday Hunter.

Happy Birthday...

Happy Birthday to my better half. The man who gets up early with the kids so I don't have to. The man that always caves when the kids ask for one more song before bed. The man who is constantly looking to serve others. The man who recognizes people that are hurting and struggling. The man with the contagious laugh. The man who doesn't believe that anyone should have to work on their birthday...yet went to work today because things had to get done. The man who gets cards like this from his co-workers working in a pet friendly environment:


Although plans of an evening at the lake were high on our priority list - we just couldn't pull it off with his work schedule - so we're post-poning that fun until the weekend. We like to stretch birthdays out! The kids decorated the kitchen with the birthday bucket and Steve requested spicy chicken avocado enchiladas for dinner and our friend who is wifeless this week joined for the fun.



Steve busted out his new spikeball game (that my brother introduced to us in Idaho) in the living room just to break it in. The weather will need to cool before we will want to play outside. Between spikeball and his new ladder ball game we are ready for backyard lawn entertainment...in three months!

Having the oven on for the enchiladas was torture enough - we skipped baking a cake and instead had rootbeer floats.


He's older and wiser and I love him so.

Birthday fun...

Before we talk about Steve's birthday tomorrow - I'll address my *half* birthday - which is celebrated as if it's my real birthday. (My birthday is around the holidays along with our anniversary and it became too stressful for Steve, my half birthday has become far more enjoyable to receive gifts and for Steve to give gifts!)

My half birthday was while we were gone, and I came home to a fully decorated kitchen and presents. Steve is awesome.


We didn't actually open the presents until two days after we got home - we like to stretch birthdays out around here - and we were busy with family gatherings. And it was killing the kids to see those presents sitting there not being opened. I'm actually surprised that Cannon didn't open one with all the time he sat at the table playing with them.

Just for a glimpse of real life - this picture was taken just after breakfast one morning. There was milk spilled on the table and Cannon is just outside this shot with just a diaper on screaming at the top of his lungs. Steve was laughing while he took this picture, "It's a good thing this is a photo and not video!" Such is real life!

Steve is a smart and resourceful man. I'm not sure if anyone is like me but I have pages and pages of my Amazon cart. Anytime someone mentions a product I want to check out or I come across something interesting, I add it to my cart so I can take a look at it later and then Amazon lets me know when the price goes up and down. Steve got into my Amazon account and sorted through my cart and shopped it for my birthday. It was a complete surprise to me - love him for that. Not to mention the Home Depot gift card which I will never turn down and it always gets put to good use!



It was a lovely morning. And although I fully planned to share the cotton candy with the kids, I selfishly snuck a little bit at a time and before long the whole bag was gone. When Hallie saw the empty bag she was convinced Hunter had eaten it and she was quick to point fingers. I finally confessed to eating it myself and she looked at my with eyes of betrayal. "You ate the whole bag by yourself?" Why yes I did. It's my birthday and I'll eat cotton candy if I want to.

The birthday bucket...

Here's my post from HowDoesShe:

Who doesn’t love to celebrate their birthday? Or in my husband’s case his “birthday week”. Years ago, wanting to make birthdays fun and exciting without breaking the bank, we started the “Birthday Bucket” tradition or “party in a bucket” as our friends have referred to it as. It’s a bucket that contains all the things you need to decorate for your special birthday morning without any planning or ever having to run to the store

Here’s what it entails.

A bucket:
Use vinyl letters to designate it as the family birthday bucket. Our bucket, from Pottery Barn Kids is large enough to put a box of cereal in.

A fake birthday cake:
We’ve had this felt cake from the beginning and it’s often the only cake the kids get on their birthday, so it always makes an appearance on the table.

Disposable camera:
I know this is totally old school but trust me your kids will love it. Keep it in the bucket and let them take pictures each birthday. It may take two years before you use the film up but it will be worth it!

Balloons and Balloon sticks w/holder:
I would love to have a helium tank at my disposable but since I don’t, I use these sticks (purchased at your local party store) to create a balloon bouquet on their special day. Added bonus is you don’t have to tie off the balloons so you can use them over and over again.

Ice Cream Cone Pictures:
These were picked up at a teacher supply store and they get hung all over windows and door of the birthday boy/girl

Birthday Banner and Runner:
We have two Happy Birthday banners, a boy and girl version made out of fabric with a coordinating table runner.

We store all these decorations in the bucket.

The night before a birthday, we pull out the bucket and the kids (all except the birthday child) do all the work. They blow up the balloons, they hang the banner, they hang the ice cream cones…and they love it. It’s almost better when its not your birthday because you get to help decorate!
Once the area is decorated, the only thing left to do is leave a couple surprises in the bucket – it’s a like a Christmas stocking on their special day. We keep it really simple – It’s a box of their favorite cereal and another little treat and a little toy or movie or book…depending on the kid.


For one day – the kitchen is transformed into a party and taken down the next night. Everything goes back in the bucket and stays there until it’s the next birthday.

It’s cheap – it’s easy – and it’s not too late to start, no matter how old your kids are!

Retro Superhero Party...

History says my kids get their first birthday party with friends when they turn four. I had all intentions of doing the same for Bennett but we got busy. Steve was finishing up school. We were out of town. Steve was out of the country. We had visitor after visitor. And before I knew it his birthday had come and gone without a party. And I was okay with it. On his birthday he kept talking about seeing his friends (luckily we saw one of them). Two days after his birthday he asked when his friends were coming over for a party. I'm not sure what kid reminded him that he hadn't had a party yet but it was enough to make me feel a little bad.

Bad enough that I threw a party together in no time and it was just as fun as the ones I spend weeks planning!

The best part is we didn't tell him until the morning of - just two hours before his friends arrived. You can't tell that kid anything too early or else you spend days fielding the same exact questions, he's relentless. Even two hours was questionable but he was so excited it was more funny than annoying!

For the invites I took a picture of Bennett and drew it on the computer to turn him into lineart.












Steve led the superhero training. They learned how to fly.


They learned how save people. We froze superheroes in blocks of ice and they used water guns to free them.





I used the same drawing from the invite and printed a large poster (engineering print from Staples for $4) for a party game.


We colored and decorated superhero journals with their own emblems.





How great is one of his friends that brought a superman balloon guy. That's talent!



Sources:
Gift bags from Amazon
Round stickers used on drinks from Amazon
Cake toppers - Used a paper punch, attached round stickers attach a toothpick
City background made from cereal boxes wrapped in black paper (I found the paper at a teacher supply store)
Blank journals from Hobby Lobby in a pack of six. I printed an emblem for each kid on a sticker and put it on the cover.
Invite - designed by me
Comic pennant made from old comic books from a local store - they sell old comics for 25¢ each.
Cape for Bennett (he received for Christmas) from TJMaxx
Blue and Yellow tablecloth from Target several years (Used first at one of Hallie's parties)

Birthday Rewind...

Bennett's birthday was the day we were traveling home from Catalina. The nice thing about a three year old turning four is they really have no concept of time and consequently really have no idea when their birthday is. Hallie was the only one who caught on and she willingly played along. We pretended as though the day after we returned home was his big day and he knew no different. The birthday bucket made it's appearance. He took treats to preschool and got a special crown.

We took his friend with us to lunch at the restaurant of their choosing: McDonalds.


He opened up presents that night: Big Hero 6, a foam plane, a book and a set of superheroes figurines. He was on cloud 9.



And of course the traditional growth chart pictures...I've got 1 picture of a normal smile and the rest are silly faces! He keeps me on my toes and keeps me laughing.


Love this kid and all his silly shenanigans!

Four...

We're celebrating this cute kid.

Bennett - Mr. B - Buddy

He might be our most social and personable child at this point. He makes friends everywhere and usually doesn't remember their names, but incessantly shouts "buddy" until they respond to him.

He's silly and funny. He is our daily comedy act and loves the attention and making people laugh.

His favorite color is blue. And his next favorite is "another blue".

He always asks to go to Old McDonalds.

He wakes up way too early and we're currently clock training him to only leave his room when he sees a certain number on the clock. We've been at it for a while and we're starting to see improvement.

His best friend is Anna from down the street and he gives her big hugs every time he sees her.

He requests the same three songs every single night. Que Sera, I love to see the temple and I hope they call me on a mission.

He loves all food. His favorite food is pizza and he's gets excited to eat carrots with his lunch.

He is energetic and loving and he keeps me on my toes. It seems as though he's been a four-year-old for a while now. In fact I'm pretty sure he started telling people right after Christmas that he was four when Anna turned four.






It's good to be four. Happy Birthday Buddy!