We Have (Thoroughly) Celebrated

From his actual birthday on Monday to his Toy Story birthday bash today, Little Man has lived it up. And mommy is tired!

Monday morning we had our traditional breakfast cake. Nothing like a bunch of sugar to start the day off right.


Since his birthday fell on President's Day, David was off of work. Yipee! We all went to Red Lobster (Jonathan's pick) and played with toys from Grandma & Grandpa Pecos (this is what my boys call David's parents), Brian & Beth and Great Grandma Dominguez. I always think that you should open a few gifts on your actual day when your party is another day! ; )


Today was the day of the par-tay. And I was so excited that Jonathan chose a "Buzz & Woody" party. There's just SO MUCH you can do with it (and most of the decor can be found in your toy box)! A big THANK YOU to my good friend, Jami, for her help from afar! She did the same theme a year ago for her son, Jaxon!


I learned how to make tissue paper pom-poms...and used them everywhere I could think of! Tried to stick to Buzz's colors.


Celebrate Banner


Barrel of Monkeys banner....there are small monkeys nestled in the points of the triangles.


I even found a place for my oops item! I ordered two etch-a-sketches thinking they were full size and this is what arrived. They hung out in the bathroom.


Pizza Planet Pizza, T-Rex's Dino Nuggets, {Mr.} Potato {Head} Chips & Dips, Rocket Ships (fruit skewers) and Planetary Pretzels were on the menu!


We served tea for the moms & dads and "Jessie's Juices" (Capri Suns) for the little Space Rangers.


I found the idea for Buzz's Rocket Ships somewhere online.


Pez Party Favors


One of my favorites....the Photo Booth!
Woody & Buzz


Our friends, the Bolays


John Paul


The Stewart Brothers


Abriella


Avery & Jenae


Artem


Andrik


The Army Men Hunt! I stole this idea from Jami. It was like an Easter egg hunt, but with Andy's Army Men from the movie. We told the kiddos that Andy's mom was bustin' out the trash bags before he was leaving for college. They could help save the army men from their doom by collecting them all and taking them home! I was also super excited to find all the camo buckets at Dollar Tree!



Susan, Andrik & Artem hunting


John Paul even dressed the part!


Annie


Originally I created a poster for a "Pin the Badge on Sheriff Woody" game. Long story as to how that got scrapped...had to do with hours uploading to print! So we played HOT {Mr.} POTATO {Head} with music from Toy Story.


Passing the potato!


Jonathan & his cake


Opening some super thoughtful treats

He slept through the whole thing!

It was a fun time. I love home parties. They're a bit more work (cleaning, planning, etc.), but totally fun. I dread the day when the boys are too old for me to plan a fun party with lots of neat details and such!

The Big FOUR!

Tomorrow we celebrate four years of Jonathan Miles. It has been a wonderful four years with a spunky little boy full of personality and love. We love you, Jon Jon...you've completed our family in a way we could never even dream of! ; )

"May God bless and keep you always
May your wishes all come true
May you always do for others
And let others do for you...



May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung
May you stay forever young...



May you grow up to be righteous
May you grow up to be true
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you...


May you always be courageous
Stand upright and be strong
May you stay forever young...


May your hands always be busy
May your feet always be swift
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift...


May your heart always be joyful
And may your song always be sung
May you stay forever young."

(lyrics from Forever Young by Bob Dylan)

Because my camera isn't in the shop...

...I'll be forcing more soccer photos on you.

Today we have not one but two soccer games. Whew. We are on a little break at home and I thought I'd get these up while I can.

And....BREAK!



Doing his thang.







Benjamin's not actually in this photo. I just loved the other team's goalie mom. She didn't put that Starbucks down for anything. A mom after my own heart.


Benjamin (under arrow)...getting in there and turning it around toward our goal! WTG!


That bench isn't going to keep itself warm, people.


Jonathan had a little sideline game going on.


"goodgamegoodgamegoodgame"

Break. My. Heart.

Living in a military-dominated town, we're painfully aware that people come and go. And come and go. And come and go. Our previous Life Group was full of favorite faces that are now in new places. It's just kind of the way it is.

But, today, it's breaking my child's heart. Up until August, the majority of our friends were based in Belton since our church is there. And that's been great...not too many moves so far. We're keeping somewhat tight-leashes on our friends. : )

But our new schools over here in K-town have brought with it some wonderful new friendships. And for Jonathan, it's brought a best buddy in the little boy pictured above with him, Artem. He spends every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday getting to hang out with the bff at school. We've gone on several play dates and just really soaked up what little time we have left with our friend.

Today I picked Jonathan up from playing at Artem's for the afternoon. We started on the way home and I mentioned how Artem's family was only two weeks away from their big move to Dubai in UAE.

And then it happened. Jonathan wept. And wept pretty hard over the fact that his buddy would no longer live close by. We've chatted about the move before, but today was a bit different. Being at Artem's house, seeing the boxes, chatting with his mom about how there's just two weeks left. I think it just felt a bit more real.

I was also telling Jonathan how far away Dubai is. I mean having friends move to San Antonio is one thing...we can see them when we go see Shamu. But, we probably won't be making a lot of road trips to the UAE.

So how do we deal with this? I know this is probably the first of many BFFs moving away since this is where we plan to stay (until everyone has graduated from Ellison at least. Did you read that David? Until EVERYONE is through Ellison). But, will it get easier?

My heart's just hurting for my little buddy who is losing his little buddy in a couple of weeks. Sniff, sniff.

Artem....you sure will be missed, sweet friend. We hope to Skype with you as soon as we figure out how! ; )

Snowpocalypse 2011

While a lot of you have had it MUCH worse than we have (I keep reading of frozen pipes, no electricity or water and roads covered in slabs of ice), we got our first real snow late last night. All week, Benjamin has been hoping and praying for a snow day, and he got it today! (And this year, Daddy did, too-- YAY!) When David's phone rang at 4:30 am to tell him of the district closing, I knew our kindergartener's wish came true. It was nice seeing as how all week the temps were below twenty...kind of nice to have the fun part of the cold, too!

And as quickly as it came....it went. We took these photos about three hours ago. And now, it's all melted and gone. That's kind of how I like to enjoy snow. Fast and furious. And then on with the show.

We frolicked, played and then came in for hot chocolate. A lazy afternoon is forming now...in front of the fire and movies. Snow days are so nice.

Oh....and luck of all lucks: last night at about 7:30, I got the call I'd been waiting for a month to get. My camera was finally fixed and ready to pick up at the Geek Squad counter. Amen and hallelujah. Just in time for snow pics. I missed the camera so much. So glad she's home. And well again.