We're Another Year Older

As you get older, birthdays aren't quite as big of a deal.  With that being said, we still try to make them special for us grown ups!  On Brad's birthday, the kids said we needed to get him balloons.  So we did that and got some cupcakes at Puffy Muffin.  And he had cards from all of us and some giftcards (including one for a massage)!  I'd take that anyday!

I think he's excited for his birthday, don't you?

We did get together with family to celebrate a day or two later.  I sure love this picture!  Daddy with his crazies - and his favorite kind of birthday cake! 

That weekend, we headed out to watch the Tennessee game just the two of us!  That's a good gift too - uninterrupted game watching!  And I'd like to think his date wasn't too shabby either :)

After the game we ended up going and having dinner at Tanja and Nick's!  She was making dinner and had enough for us to join them - so fun and delicious!

And a couple of months later, it was my turn!  We had dinner at Newks to celebrate my birthday and then all came back to my house for some cake!  Love all of these pictures!

On my actual birthday, I got to enjoy a run outside on my favorite trail.  I can't wait until it warms up enough to be able to get back out there and run!

And I got to get away for my girls' trip to the beach.  That's definitely an amazing gift!

We make such a big deal about the kiddos' birthdays that I wanted to do a separate post to show that we do treasure our birthdays as well :)

Jack + Ryan: The Joint Birthday Party

I think the boys' party was the first I have done that I didn't feel the need to get everything coordinated and matching a certain theme.  It definitely felt nice, but I did feel like I was forgetting so many things!  The boys did wear matching shirts.  And the cake was delicious.  And the party place provided the paper products - I figured since we were already paying for the party, we might as well take advantage and not spend extra on cute stuff!  What on earth has gotten into me?! HA!

Here are the boys when we first arrived and took everything into the party room!

And the cake! I got it at Publix...and I almost forgot - oops!  But it was perfect!

And rather than buying a bunch of stuff that would end up in the trashcan for favors, I had cookies made!  They were amazing - she did an amazing job!

I did buy a few balloons - that was about the extent of things!

It turned out cute despite me not spending extra!  And I would imagine the boys didn't care too much :)

My mom had somewhere to go, so she came at the beginning for just a few minutes...and we actually got a decent picture together!

Action shot!  Sydney helping the boys (mainly Ryan) get to the top.  It took Ryan a bit to warm up to playing, but once he did, there was no stopping him!

Jack and his buddy Carter!  Sweet friends!

And a group shot!  Love all these kiddos!  It also didn't include at least 2 teeny babies.  Whew!  I'm so glad my kiddos have a village of people that love them so well.

Ryan was soaking up being the center of attention...he kept standing up and jumping and landing on his rump and then just laughing and laughing.  Everyone else found it entertaining too, so of course he kept doing it!

Then it was cake time!  Jack joined Ryan in the big chair so we could sing and blow candles out!

Action shot!  Poor Ryan didn't stand a chance with blowing those candles out!

I love that friends I have had for over 25 years are now at my kiddos' parties!

And a family shot - not too shabby!

And they sort of cooperated for a group picture with Tanja and Nick...Ryan was ready to get back to playing I do believe!

Jack with some more buddies!  Love this picture!

We went to eat dinner after the party and I managed to get this picture of the kiddos.  They were exhausted after such a fun party!

When we got home, we told each of the boys that they could each pick one present to open!  So they picked one to play with!  And then they got to open their goodies from Grandma too.  Ryan got into opening presents this year...he was excited to dig through the tissue paper and see what was inside!

And obviously Jack is a pro - he had that paper flying in the air for sure!

They finished opening their goodies the next day - here is Jack modeling his new rain boots from Tanja and Nick!  He loves them!

And we had to get all of the transportation toys out of the packaging immediately so the boys could have races and figure out all the buttons.

Such a fun celebration of these boys!  It was nice to have a joint party too!  They loved seeing all their friends and getting to eat cake together :)

Jack Turns FOUR: The Big Day

It is unreal to me that Jack is already four years old!  It really does not seem that it has been that long since he was a new baby!  I feel like he celebrated his birthday for a week - from Ryan's actual day to his own actual day.  Thatta boy!

This was the scene on his birthday eve - donuts, a balloon, and his presents ready to go!  And just look at that angelic face sleeping.  His last picture as a three year old!

And then poof!  He turned four!  He started his day by running into our room with a concerned face and asking if he was four yet.  Once I said yes, he immediately looked relieved and climbed into bed with me to snuggle for a few minutes before we had to get up to start the day.  I will take snuggles anytime!  Just look at that sweet boy!  Newborn and then at each birthday!

He started the day with a donut and some milk!

And he is FOUR!!!!

And a quick picture with his crazy crew before we left to take Katie to VBS!

After we dropped her off, we headed to his swim lessons.  He is doing so well!  And at the end of class, he now likes to jump off the diving board...look at him flying!

Then we stopped at the Y for me to exercise for a bit before we headed to pick Katie up!  We ate lunch at home, and Tanja came to eat and visit!  What fun - and what a great picture she got of all of us!

After some quiet time of a movie and puzzles, we met Brad for dinner.  Jack picked Newks, so that is where we headed!

Once we got home, it was present time!  He was so excited to tear into them!  I think his favorite thing is his own Leappad.  He keeps calling it a Pup Pad like on Paw Patrol and I don't have the heart to correct him! Ha!

I'd say this dude had a great birthday!  I'll post more about the joint birthday party soon - it was fun!  And even better that it wasn't at our house :)

Ryan turns TWO: The Big Day

This past week has been all about the birthday boys!  We started last Wednesday celebrating Ryan's second birthday, then had a joint party on Saturday, and then today is Jack's fourth birthday!  Unbelievable!

Just look at these sweet pictures of Ryan!  Newborn, first birthday, and then second birthday.

We started off the morning singing happy birthday to him!  Can't you tell by looking at Brad? Ha!

Just look at that sweet thing!  The only way I can get a good picture of him is if I let him climb on things.  Oh man.  Of course the third child would be a climber!

And I got a picture of the brothers together before we headed out for the morning!  Not too shabby - and I apologize to my neighbors if they happened to drive by and witness me acting a fool to get a smile!

While Katie was at camp, I took the boys to the zoo!  Ryan loved it and actually did a great job walking a lot of the way!  Next time I will definitely be taking the wagon so both boys have a spot to sit - Jack got hot and tired quick!

I let the boys ride the train for the first time since it was Ryan's birthday (and since I added unlimited rides on things to our membership - will come in handy!)...they thought it was great!  Mom found it to be lame, but as long as they were happy.... :)

There was a big alligator in the tank this time and the boys had a blast looking at it!

Cee Cee went with us!  We ventured over to the giraffe area and took a little break -- here she is loving on the boys!

The boys had had enough, so we headed out.  After we took Cee Cee to her car, we went to have a quick lunch with Brad!  I figured Ryan would enjoy lunching next to the train at Centennial Park, so that's what we did!  They were both too distracted to eat a good lunch, but at least they had fun!

Daddy walked over to join us!

And I snuck a picture with the birthday boy too!

After we got a little food in them, Brad walked them over to check out the train.  That never gets old for little boys!

When Ryan got up from his nap, he walked right on over to the presents and helped himself.  Ha!

Katie picked out a new book for him - he wanted her to read it to her immediately!

That night it was Jim and Nick's for dinner - Ryan loves their cheesy biscuits!  Here he is stuffing one in!  We actually did that on his birthday last year too - but we picked it up to have at home because the weather was awful.  I called the restaurant because they forgot to put the cheesy rolls in -- and they had someone DELIVER A TRAY...to our house...in the rain!  Somehow it came up that it was Ryan's birthday and they wanted to make it right.  How amazing!  I didn't even call for that reason...I just wanted them to make sure whoever was packing bags was sure to pay closer attention to others' orders! 

What a great birthday this dude had!  More to come - including a little 2 year post with his stats and a few other things, Jack's birthday post, a party post...lots of fun!