Trace's turns 6! Part 1 - Birthday Celebration

Hey Bug, You're 6!  It's almost 2 months later and that still hasn't quite settled with me yet.  Although I'm a little behind schedule, I wanted to take the time to document how we celebrated your special day.  So, here's how it all went...

Thursday, June 27, 2013 - You woke up and asked me how tall you looked; and to me you looked every bit a 6 year old.  You got dressed (Fisher & I stayed in our PJ's, but we couldn't convince you to go out in public in your PJ's) and we all went to get donuts at Mary Lee's before Daddy headed off to work for a morning meeting.  You ordered an "LSU" donut with purple & gold sprinkles and had chocolate milk. 

Then we (me, you, and Fisher) packed up and went to a playdate at Jack's house.  Mrs. Cris set up the slip-n-slide and sprinklers for you and all your friends to play in the backyard and have a picnic lunch.  We brought an ice chest full of water balloons and they were gone in 60 seconds!  It was a great way to spend your first morning as a 6 year old.

After lunch, we headed back to BR to meet Daddy for a movie.  We went to see Monsters University!  You had popcorn and a Coke Icee and couldn't have been a happier camper. 

After the movie, we walked over to the bookstore where you picked out an ant farm. And later, we met up with Parrain Jamie and all went to Frankie's Dawg House for dinner.  It was a new experience for us; but we all know how much you love hot dogs, so we couldn't have picked a more perfect place. 

After dinner, we stopped at the snowball stand to get you a rainbow snowball, then we headed home to open presents, which included your first "Big Kid" Bible with chapters/verses, some math flash cards, Jenga, & Battleship. 

We immediately opened up the games and attempted to play Jenga, but realized very quickly this was not a game to play with Fisher in the room.  So we switched to Battleship.  You and Jamie played against me.  I wish I could say I let you win, but my competitive spirit took over.  You had so much fun learning how to play that I don't even think you noticed.  

We had a great day together with our family and friends and I know for sure you went to bed that night with a smile on your face, most likely dreaming about your party on Saturday... (to be continued.)

Fisher's 3rd Birthday!

So, Fisher, you had a birthday and it was a month ago and I'm sorry.  Life has been busy and crazy and fun; so the blog sometimes takes a backseat.  But here's how it all went down.  We had your 3rd birthday party at Pretend*Play*Party (a mini-children's museum) and by far one of your favorite places to play!  We invited all of your friends for a Candyland-themed celebration:

 Your favorite game to play is Candyland; and well, you love candy, so it just seemed fitting.  I made this fun Candyland cake which you seemed to enjoy: 

You loved your Mr. Mint (pronounced Misser Mint) shirt & party hats. :)

Oh, and we had a candy bar with all your favorite candies!  

It didn't take long for your brother to make his way over to check this out. 

There were lots of friends who came to play with you.  Here's a pic of you Eli & Quinn playing in the "dirt". 

Of course, Pap & Maw Maw came too.  Here's a pic of Trace giving him a run for his money at checkers. 

Here's another pic of you playing tools with Joe & Eli. 

Let's get ready to sing! "Happy Birthday to You!"

Surrounded by your family and friends! 

And even more family/friends. You are loved, Little Buddy.

And now, it's time for PRESENTS!

You had a blast opening each one. 

That hat from Mae Mae kills me, you're so darn cute. 

It took awhile, but we finally got 'em all opened.  Now, for a family photo. 

And maybe one last visit to the candy bar before we go. ;)

Fisher, I can't even type the number 3 without getting choked up because I really cannot believe it's flown by so quickly.  You've added more love, life, and personality to our family than we ever thought possible.  You're too smart for words.  You're only 3 and not only to are you able to identify all your letters, but you know all of there sounds and you're even starting to put them together.  You can put together puzzles way faster than Daddy and you love to build things, whether it's with your blocks or your tools.  You're fascinated by animals, especially bugs and "callapillars" are your favorite.  You love to play dress up in all of your costumes and you sometimes feel lost without a hat on your head.  You love to swing "higher and faster" and you love for your juice cup to be "taller and bigger".  Team Umizoomi is your favorite show on TV, but I can occasionally get you to choose Daniel Tiger or Jack's Big Music Show.  You love stealing your brother's iPad and you love "exploring" his room.  Now if I could only get you potty trained, we'd be good to go.  Take your time, Little Bug.  We're certainly not in any rush for you to grow up.  

We love you!  -Mom, Dad & Trace

Hope Everyone Had a Happy Easter

Happy 3rd Birthday Fisher!

We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

Happy Halloween

Trace Fishing

These speckled trout didn't have a chance:

Trace's Super Sonic Birthday!

It's hard to believe that our baby boy Trace, the same baby we've talked about since the start of this blog, turned 5 this week, that's right...FIVE!  I get teary-eyed just typing it.  To celebrate this milestone, we allowed him to choose this year's theme.  After scouring through birthday party catalog after birthday party catalog (his favorite piece of mail), he finally settled on Sonic the Hedgehog!  And after several mid-June birthday parties under our belt, we knew we had to pick someplace cool, like our favorite park/splash park!

  Keeping cool at the splash park

 Trace loved his new Sonic shirt and wouldn't take it off.  

(He's even wearing it now, actually.)

 The birthday boy!

    Pap & Fisher enjoying some birthday grub. :)

  The cake table 

    The cake!

 Let's dig in! 

 Fisher, post-cupcake consumption.  He looks like he might be in a sugar coma.

  We rented a "slush" machine to keep cool.  They were delicious!  Here's Trace triple-strawin' it. :)

 Pinata time!

 Candy Free-For-All! 

 Check out my bag o' goodies!

 Opening presents! 

 Mommy showing off my new tray with my name on it!

 Stick 'em up!

 Sonic race cars! Woohoo!

 A new Sonic school bag just in time for Kindergarten!

 We tied balloons to Fisher to serve as a tracking device! :)

 This kid had fun today! 

  Post-party present play and Dad finally gets in a picture! 

 The loot.

 Trace photo-bombed by Dad.  

 Happy Birthday, Bug!  We love you more than words can say.  You bring so much action, excitement and energy to our family and you are too smart for your own good! ;)  You're all boy and you love superheros, sports, video games, and anything outdoors.  You're an awesome helper and you're a really great Big Brother!  We love each new experience with you and seeing the world through your eyes.  You've made the last five years the best five years of our lives.  We look forward to many more years to come! 

Love - Mom, Dad, & Fisher