Happy Birthday Hunter!

Hunter turned 4 years old on June 14th, also Flag Day.  I never even knew Flag Day existed until Hunter was born on the same day!  Now I remember it every year!

We started his birthday off with swimming lessons.  He was excited to bring a treat to share with his swimming friends.  We brought some fruit snacks.  Easy to transport and pass out, plus the heat doesn't affect them!  His class sang Happy Birthday to him and he got to pick out a treat when he was done. 

On the way over to swimming lessons, Jacob was a little jealous to say the least.  He does not like to pass the spotlight onto anyone, especially his younger brother.  He was pouting and telling us how it was the worst day because Hunter was being mean to him!  Sometimes I don't know what to do with that boy!

We signed up to have the Boy Scouts put a flag up on the patriotic holidays for us.  It was fun to tell Hunter they put it up for his birthday!  It made him feel special.  That night when we came home from dinner he discovered "his flag" was gone!  Nauni (Trevor's mom) stopped by to deliver Hunter's birthday present.  I don't know why I didn't get a picture of them together.  ARGH!

Hunter was really excited about his dollars.  One of our traditions is to take those dollars to Toys R Us and he gets to spend them any way he wants!  It really is a treat for my kids.  I don't buy them much at the store on regular shopping trips unless it comes from the dollar section!  It is going to be a tough trip with Jacob in tow when he is not the one that gets to pick out a toy and bring it home!  Hunter is always so happy for Jacob when it's his birthday.  It's funny how different they are! 

The Happy Birthday Boy!

Hunter's present got delivered on his birthday.  I was hoping it would come at least the day before so we would have time to assemble it before he woke up on his birthday, but I waited too long to order it.  He really wanted one of these Cozy Coupe cars.  He is almost too big for it, but I really wanted to get him one thing and not more little toys to add to our overgrown collection in the basement closet.  So it arrived that afternoon and Trevor snuck it into our room to assemble it.  We had the door locked while trying to put it together and all of a sudden the boys were knocking on the door.  We told them we were busy and couldn't open the door.  I squeezed out the door and past them to get Trevor a tool and Hunter asked who that car was for.  I asked him what he was talking about and he told me he saw it under the door!  Sneaky stinker!

Adam got to help deliver the present.

Hunter was waiting here with his eyes closed.

He was excited..until we told him the car was for Adam.

He didn't like that one bit!

We finally stopped teasing him and let him have his birthday present.  He LOVES it!  When he was going to bed that night, he resisted because he wanted to play with his car still.  I told him he could play with it tomorrow.  He asked, "I get to keep it forever??"  Awh!

Dinner did not turn out like I planned!  I had planned for us to go to Chili's.  They were having a special where kids ate for free that night and I thought that would be the perfect place for Hunter's birthday dinner.  I had been looking forward to it all day!  Somehow right before we left, Hunter was asked where he wanted to go for his birthday dinner and he decided he wanted McDonald's.  We could not do ANYTHING to change his mind, unfortunately.  Trevor even offered to have Chili's that night and then go to McDonald's another day.  He didn't budge.  I was VERY disappointed, but finally stopped having a bad attitude about it.  The Birthday Boy should get to choose where we eat on his birthday!  Blah!!

Gotta have a birthday cake on his birthday!  Not as fancy as the one I made for him, but it was free!!

I love this picture.  It just catches the essence and simple pleasures of a child. 

I am trying really hard to remember to take a family shot on all of our holidays!  I like having one with everyone together.

Happy Birthday Hunter!  I hope your 4th birthday was a good one!  We love you!!

Firsts

Adam enjoyed his first sucker...a cherry Tootsie Pop.  He did not make it to the center.  I had to finish the job for him.  I have to do everything for my kids!!  I guess it is just one of the delicious parts of being a mom!

Hunter's Birthday Party

We celebrated Hunter's 4th birthday with a Cars/Water party.  Hunter LOVES cars & about the only outdoor activities you can do in June need to include water. 

Kimball, Hunter's friend from church, arrived before we were dressed.  He wasn't able to come to the party but dropped by early to give Hunter a present.  

We started the party with coloring a Cars character.  It was a good distraction while I finished up some last minute party preparation!  The kids were more excited to color their pictures than I thought they would be!

Trevor asked me if the only reason I throw parties is for the pictures.  I like to take lots! 

It is my new tradition to get a picture with all of the guests so my kids will remember who was able to come celebrate their birthdays.  I decided to get one with Hunter & each of his guests as well.

Chase

Alek

McKenzie

Zachary

Up until this point I was making them pose nicely & smile.  Then I decided it would be more appropriate to let them pose how they wanted.  It turns out I like the silly poses better!  It shows more character.

Favorite Older Brother

Chase

Blake

The only one who posed nicely without even being told to!  He's obviously older!

I turned our ordinary slide into a water slide with a slip 'n slide at the bottom.

When I asked Hunter what water games he wanted to play, the first request was the Water Balloon popping game where you sit on a water balloon & pop it.  We played this last year and it was a big hit.  Obviously my kids like to repeat things!  Notice in the back how there is only one balloon on the fence?  They were popping like crazy!  Must have been the heat!

Grandma & Grandpa stopped by to deliver a birthday present for the Birthday Boy.

I am pretty proud of how this cake turned out.  I found the idea online and figured it would be easy enough for me, a complete amateur when it comes to decorating cakes.  It was very easy and I didn't regret taking this journey even once while I was doing it!  (I usually wonder 'what was I thinking?' during the creation process for major projects).

Present time!

EVERY present was (Disney) Cars related.  EVERYTHING!  He was a very happy boy!

We even had a Cars pinata.  It was one where you pull the strings to set the candy free, but it seemed like the strings were all falling out so easy.  I just opened it for them and shook all the candy out like rain falling on their heads.I heard a few cry "ouch!" while I was doing this. 

Another game we brought back from last year, the Pop Your Friend's Balloon Game.  They all LOVED this game!  Some of the guests had already left before I remembered to execute game, but it worked out since some of the balloons had popped during the party.  It ended up being an exact amount for the kids who were left!

I wanted a family shot, but Adam had settled down for a nap during the party.

Hunter had such a fun birthday party!  Thanks to all the family & friends who came to help us celebrate!  It's fun when Hunter gets a turn in the spotlight that Jacob frequently steals for himself!

My Little Fish

Hunter started swimming lessons again.  He has already gone a few times in our pool and is a bit rusty from last year so we wanted him to have a refresher course.  He was excited to start lessons.

He was excited last year as well, but his excitement quickly vanished when he found out exactly what swimming lessons included.

Last Year = Not happy.

This year = HAPPY! 

It probably helps that this year our lessons began in June and last year they started at the end of April when the water (albeit heated) was FREEZING!!

This little guy LOVES the water so far.  He gets so excited and splashes his arms like crazy when he's in the bath or pool.  It probably helps that he has such a laid back and easy going attitude!

Jacob is our little fish who is swimming like a pro all over the pool.  It is a relief to have one kid able to navigate the water without worry!

Nostalgia

I know someday I will look back at this and realize I miss finding random things tucked in the refrigerator by my children.  Jacob put these Batman characters inside because they were left out in the sun and they were starting to feel "soft".  He was worried.

Baby's Growing

Trevor noticed that when Adam sits in this chair now, he won't put his feet down.  They just suspend in the air all by their lonesome.  It is fun to watch him grow and enter a new stage of feet grabbing and rolling over (he's only rolling half way over so far..still trying to make it onto his tummy).  Where did these last 5 (almost 6) months go?  I remember it felt like a long time for Jacob to grow up.  Those first 2 years had long erased from my memory what it was like when it was just me I had to worry about.  When it was time to have our second baby, I dreaded the long period it would take for the baby to grow and turn into my favorite toddler stage.  It turned out that Hunter's first year flew by.  When he turned 1, I couldn't even believe it had already been a year.  Adam's first year is flying by at even a faster rate.  It is so amazing to me how fast these little babies grow up!  Now my first baby is getting ready to start 1st grade.  It makes me sad that I'll have to let go of him even more as he ventures to all day school.  We've avoided it for as long as possible!!  I used to dream about the day that all my kids were in school all day.  Imagine the wonder of having about 6 hours all to myself..oh the things I would get accomplished!!  Now I am OK if time wants to take a break and slow down for a while.  

       

Funny Jacob Story:  Today we were at my friends and the boys were going outside to play.  I told Jacob to be sure and close the door behind him.  "Don't worry," he told me sounding almost sarcastic, "I know how to use a door."  It made me smile.