Jude's 3rd Birthday Party

"Better late than never" should be my blogging motto...I mean, seriously.  I wanted to write a quick thank you to everyone for your birthday wishes to Jude and also to say how much he loved his birthday party.  He is such a precious gift to both Matt and I, and we are so grateful that he has such a wonderful support system around him.  We had a small, family birthday party for him on his birthday.  We picked a firetruck theme for the event.  He really loves all things transportation, but has a particular fascination with firetrucks.  We grilled out hamburgers and hotdogs + had way too many sweets.  But according to Jude sweets should make up the entire food pyramid. :)  If you would like to visit Jude's past birthday parties you can look here, here, here, and here.

 So he was a little frightened by our singing.  It took a few minutes to recover and blow out the candles.   Haha!

Jude is 3!

Dear Jude,

Today is your day.  You are 3!  We blinked somewhere in the last 3 years and when our eyes reopened you were no longer our little baby but our little boy.  Daddy and Mommy are so proud of you.  You are so thoughtful.  We love how you are always aware of our feelings and longing to please us (well, maybe not at bedtime, since you always say that you are awake and you don't need a nap *wink face*).  It is also pretty neat to hear you say your prayers at night and try to call all of the names of your family members and your friends.  We enjoy your passion for the outdoors and all things transportation.  You are the epitome of a boy.   Thank you for always cheering us up with your kisses, hugs and constant words of affirmation {e.g. "I want to see you"(aka I want to be by you) , "I want to hold you" (aka I want you to hold me)}.  We also appreciate the fact that you have a love for things that we like, for example...drinking coffee, going to church, going to Target, getting new tennis shoes, eating sweets, and spending time with family and friends.  You are learning to be polite and share, and we think it's pretty cool when we see you using your manners.  We notice how smart you are, too.  You often know how to operate apps before we do and you love to hear books read aloud and completing puzzles.  We are so blessed that God allowed us to be your parents.  We pray for you and know God has his hands on your life.  We love you, Jude.  Happy Birthday!

Love,

Daddy + Mommy

SuperBlayze's Birthday Party

My sweet nephew, Blayze, turned 2 last Friday.  I can't tell you how amazingly neat it is that my sister and I have two boys so close in age.  Birthdays of family members are always great to celebrate, but since we've had these two little guys around the partying has went to a new level.  My sister has done a great job with organizing his first two parties.  You can read about last year's birthday here.  This year we celebrated at Pump It Up.  With a superhero theme, yummy food, a crazy cool cake, and all kinds of inflatables, it was a party made from little kid's dreams.  Thanks Jordan, Chelle, and Blayze for such a fun time.  Oh and Blayze, you make me one proud auntie.

As you may see...Blayze & Cooper loved the wind tunnel.  As for Jude, well... 

A 2nd Birthday Party for Jude

We thought celebrating birthdays was fun, until our son had started having them.  We now realize they are kind of the BEST THING EVER!  We had a wonderful time last year celebrating his first birthday (you can revisit the party here, here, and here).  And for this year, we decided to scale back and just have a small family party at our house.  Jude is really into tractors and animals right now, so a farm themed party seemed to be the perfect fit.  He received a lot love and gifts...he's not spoiled or anything. ;)