LIAM IS ONE!
I can't believe that Liam is one year old already. The year honest and truly did fly by. Liam accomplished a lot in that year. Within his first year, he learned to roll, sit, crawl, walk, and climb. We got seven teeth, and a lot of "head bonkies." Liam loves cars and making toys move. He also loves swaying and grooving away to music and knows how to say "Mama" and "Dada" pretty well. He also likes to mimic me when I yell out, "ELLLLLIE!" Liam is pretty clingy to his Momma, and is nervous around a lot of people but it's improving day by day. Liam loves to eat and taste things. He also likes to blow raspberries on our tummies. We had an "out of this world" birthday party for him, complete with rocket ships and space aliens. Shayne's sister, Sarah, made a couple of really cute cakes, and we had a blast watching him enjoy his presents and smashing a piece of cake.
Ellie is getting so much older, it's hard to believe that in only nine more years she could possibly be on her way to college, a mission, and managing the responsibilities of adult life. I hadn't thrown a big party for her in a couple of years, so I decided to shake off my party cobwebs and what we could do to make her feel extra loved this birthday. We really got into the movie FROZEN this winter, so I wasn't surprised when she picked this for her party theme. We invited about five friends and all her many cousins to come over for a party. We played "Pin the Nose on Olaf," and "Do you want to build a snowman?" which involved kids wrapping each other up in toilet paper and the first team to make a snowman won. There was a lot of laughter and despite Liam being pretty sick, the day was perfect. A few days later on her actual birthday, she proudly wore her birthday ribbon to school, and I loved bringing her class treats. Shayne and I took her out to a nice Chinese food buffet later that night, and we celebrated as family with cupcakes. It was a wonderful day.
KAITLYN TURNS FOUR
As if being the middle child weren't bad enough, poor Kaitlyn had to wait her turn for birthday fame. For months she had been saying, "May 7th!" as her birthday and she knew that she would be turning four years old. Kaitlyn really wanted a FROZEN birthday like her sister, but accepted her title as "birthday princess" and was royalty for a day with a princess party. Kaitlyn was so happy to finally be the center of attention and she loved all the gifts she received that day. For her actual birthday it was raining, so we ate McDonalds in the house, watched a movie, and let her blow the candle out of her own personal cake we had created at Macey's. Even though it was hard waiting her turn, Kaitlyn loved her birthday and that made it all worth it to her in the end.
After Shayne's birthday last year, I told myself that this year I would throw him a surprise birthday party. It seemed weird to me that after being together 14 years that I had never surprised him on his birthday. It must be the "planner/talker" that prevents me from really keeping surprise birthday parties a secret or something because I haven't been able to really pull one off before. About a month before his birthday, I planned for our families to meet us at Los 4 Amigo's for a surprise birthday dinner. A week before I bought decorations and noise makers. Finally the day had come and everything was set. Our mom's carried a brunt of the work by decorating and making the cake. Getting Shayne to go to Los 4 that day was not easy. It was his birthday, and he wasn't in the mood for Mexican food. I told him that I got he kids all excited about going and wondered if we could still go, and even though it was his day, he agreed to go.
Driving there was slow and painful. It seemed like he was looking for anything else for the family to get excited about, other than Los 4 Amigo's. We were running late for his own party and I just hoped that he would be happier once we got there. Finally as we turned into the Los 4 parking lot, we both noticed a car that looked like Jessica's (our sister in law). Then I noticed the rest of the family cars. I was worried he would figure it out before it was time. Then we came up the the door and he noticed the big birthday mural on the wall. He claims at this moment he thought, "oh shoot, it's already someone's birthday here" but didn't add up that it was for him. It wasn't until everyone yelled "SURPRISE" and he saw his family sitting there that he realized it was a surprise party just for him. We ordered some nacho's to share with the group, and had a wonderful meal of 'usual's.' Shayne seemed very pleased with the day and I was happy that I finally got to surprise him.
Now that we've wrapped up four out of five birthdays for the year, I can relax until it's finally my turn in September. Birthday season might be over for my family, but it's only begun for our combined family. We are sincerely thankful for our families who showed their love and support for us during these birthdays and birthday parties. We are so blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives.
I love it, Laura!
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