Ronan's 3rd Birthday

Nearly 2 weeks ago (I'm so behind) my little middle turned 3. I can not believe that he is 3 years old already. Time sure does fly when you are having fun.

We have a tradition (which I love) of decorating the house the night before the boys' birthdays after they go to bed. I love to see their faces when they wake up and see streamers and balloons hanging all over the house.

 Before Dan left for work we let Ronan open 2 presents. 1: The Fresh Beat Band album and 2: an apron that I made for him.

 Ronan then helped me make his giant birthday cookie (another tradition I love! We save the cake for the birthday party)

 Daddy came home early and brought McDonald's for lunch.

 And then Ronan opened the rest of his presents. His favorite? A squeegie. Yup. A squeegie. He's been asking for one since December when we went on a Christmas lights limo tour. They had them in the limo to clean the windows so you could see and he fell in love.

A little after 3:00 Mamaw came over to watch Dylan and the 4 of us headed to Salina to see The Fresh Beat Band in Concert. The boys are obsessed with this show. 

 The day after Ronan's birthday he litteraly spent 30 minutes cleaning the front storm door with his new squeegie. He kept askin me to spray it for him and then he would squeegie and wipe. The kid is silly.

I'll post later about his super awesome dinosaur birthday party.
He's growing up so fast I can hardly stand it. He still throws major fits when things don't go his way, but when he's happy (which is most of the time) he's silly and crazy and loving and funny and I still can't believe he's mine.
Happy Birthday Ronasaurus Rex! I love you!

a Pirate Party and a ballgame

I thought I should share some photos from Collin's pirate party that we had 2 weeks ago....I'm such a bad blogger.

 The cupcakes. (the brown is supposed to be an island)

 My 3 Pirates

 Opening gifts from the grandparents before our friends arrive

 On a scavenger hunt to find the treasure map! (the scavenger hunt was actually a back up in case it rained, but we combined the 2 to make it last longer)

 Looking for treasure

 Found it!

 It took a long time to get the pinata open. Dan and I eventually had to grab it and rip it open.

 Collin didn't want a candle, but we sang to him anyhow.

The cute kids eating their cupcakes and icecream.

We had a blast!

Later that night we headed tot he Wingnuts game with family and friends.

 A couple of the players read a story to the kids before the game.

 Keegan and Collin...I believe they were trying to be rappers.

 This kid is the picture of adorable orneriness.

Beer run. Oh, and to get me some tacos.

Cheering for the Wingnuts. He would raise his hand up and yell "woo!" It was super cute.

a baby no more, my big boy is 4!

(Okay, so this is a week late... sue me)

It's hard to believe that 4 years ago I became a mommy for the first time. I hardly remember a time when I only had 1 child, let alone one teeny tiny little baby who depended on me for everything. Where has the time gone?

I remember so clearly giving birth to him, bringing him home from the hospital, nursing and rocking him, his first steps. And now...

Such a stud.

Collin,
You are such an incredible little boy. I can't even begin to tell you all the joy that you bring to my life. I love watching you play, and how you teach your little brothers new things. Though ornery and stubborn at times, you have such a good heart, and you try really hard to do what is right. I love your appetite for learning and how you constantly ask questions (and almost always remember the answer).
I love your love of music and your ability to remember the lyrics and the tune, and even kind of sing on pitch (you get that from me). Though I'm not a huge sports fanatic, I love how much you love every single sport (you get that from your daddy, though he doesn't get excited about Nascar like you do). It amazes me that you are willing to sit and just watch baseball or football on tv. I think you enjoy this mostly because it's something you can share with daddy, and that's awesome.
You love to play games and do puzzles, and your new found favorite are puzzles that are also games! You learn the rules quickly, and though you tend to have a temper when things don't go your way (sadly that probably comes from me as well) you'll still play the same games over and over and over again.
Last week you started preschool. I can't believe you are old enough to go to school. You only go 2 days a week, but that is enough for both of us. It's been a little bit of an adjustment. You've cried a couple times when I drop you off, which in turn makes me cry, but you always have fun when you are there.
You are never lacking for energy but you always take time to stop and snuggle with me. I love it. You promised me that you would still want to hang out with me, and give me hugs when you are all grown up. I hope you do because I will never outgrow snuggling with you.

Happy (belated) birthday, sweet boy! I love you so much!

Love,

Mommy

a bug safari

Since Dylan was a baby we have called him Dylee Bug, so for his 1st birthday we decided to have a bug themed party. We invited family and a few friends to help us celebrate by going on a bug safari!

 These are the invitations that I made.

 The birthday boy!

 His fabulous bug cupcakes!

 All of the kids got a bug jar with a magnifying glass in it to find bugs.

We put candy bugs (in wrappers of course) and rubber bugs all over the yard for the kids to pick up.

 Dylan wasn't quite sure what to think of all the extra people in our backyard.

 We turned on the Elmo water mat for the kids to play in (it was such a hot, gorgeous day!) and the boys had to show off their muscles.

 I think Dylan really liked the water!

 He wasn't quite sure what to think of the cake at first, but once he got a taste, he was good to go.

 The kids got to enjoy ice cream as well. Dylan didn't even care that it was cold, just that it was sweet!

 After opening some gifts we enjoyed a BBQ with the family. Dylan even got to try his first hotdog.

 He loved it!

Then it was on to opening all the gifts from the grandparents. I think we have enough toys now (as if we didn't already!)

His birthday was a perfect day. I just can't believe it's already been and gone.