Calling all Superheros...

Lleyton turned 4 today. 

We celebrated the big day with a party for our little man at one of his favorite places, Jump Zone.  He was joined by four of his cousins a number of his friends from daycare for a fun filled couple of hours.  Sara has been working on his party for a couple of weeks now, and   there is no turning back when she gets an idea in her head and runs with it. 

Here is a sampling of what she made for the party.

The party turned out great.  Lleyton and his friends were bouncing off of the walls the entire time, and it was quite enjoyable to watch.

The theme for his birthday last year was garbage trucks, and a year later he still loves everything about the behemoth refuse collectors, so what better gift for Sara and I to get him than Stinky the Garbage Truck.  By the looks of this picture, I think he and Stinky are going to get along very well.

Where have the last three years gone? 

ADDY'S BIG DAY

Today was the day we had been waiting on for quite some time, a first birthday for one of our kids.  Lleyton came home at 13 months, and Parker at almost 6 years, so we were thrilled to get Addy before her first birthday so that we could finally spend an inaugural birthday with one of our little ones.

Addy's day started off just as the other kids birthdays have...with a room full of happy birthday balloons. 

After a morning of preparing the house and food for her birthday party, we headed out to Parker's soccer game where we were joined by the likes of Grandma Susie, Papa Don, Grammy, Aunt Emily, Aunt Megan, Uncle Jason, and Nick, Drew, and Claire.  Parker's cheering section far outnumbered anyone else's, especially when you add in the the very thoughtful teachers from the kids daycare that showed up to support our big man as well.  The opposing team won, which was due in large part to them double teaming Parker (not really, but it looks like it in this picture).

Following the titanic struggle on field 3c, all of Parker's fans made their way back to our house where Pop joined us for Addy's birthday festivities.  Our little princess enjoyed herself throughout the day, although at times it did seem she would have rather had a couple less cameras on her.  You be the judge...

After the initial scowl, she did settle in for at least a minute or two.

Some kids really tear into their first birthday cake (or cupcake in our case), but Addy was a bit different.  She picked at it with seemingly very little interest, and once she did go for a quality bite it was quickly followed up by a rather unappetizing vomiting episode.  We could have done without that, but it certainly made for a memorable few minutes.  She bounced back but wasn't really interested in bellying back up the highchair...more cake for the rest of us.

It was really nice having so much family here for the Addy's big day.  Lleyton loves hanging out with his cousins Nick and Drew, and he can't get enough of his grandparents either.  Parker and Claire played very well together, whether it was dueling at Go Fish and Bingo or taking turns reading to each other. 

Papa Don surprised Lleyton with a fantastic gift, a real firefighter's helmet.  Needless to say, it was a big hit with the little boys.

Parker was also given a couple really cool gifts from Papa Don and Grandma Susie.  Can you tell he loves his new book and t-shirt?

As the party came to a close there came a moment when I felt like I was potentially seeing into the future.  These boys look like they could be pretty good at breaking hearts in about a decade.  I wouldn't be surprised if I post a very similar picture years from now of the same three handsome fellas getting ready to head out for a night on the town.

The birthday celebration wasn't over after everyone had left the house.  Addy's was a bit juiced up following the party and wasn't too interested in taking a nap, so we suited the kids up and took of for our annual visit to Fall Fest in Lawrenceburg.  Fall Fest is the annual festival in downtown Lawrenceburg that is everything you could ever want in a street fair.  Great food (if you like fried Twinkies and funnel cakes), fun rides for the kids, challenging games for those tempted enough to step up to the plate, and people watching that is second to none. 

Speaking of fun rides for the kids.

Speaking of tempting games.

We had a great day. 

Am I extremely tired?  Yes. 

Was it worth it?  Absolutely. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ADDY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA SUSIE!

Happy Birthday Parker

Parker really enjoyed his birthday yesterday.  Given that he never celebrated a  birthday in Ethiopia and last year he shared his big day with my sister's wedding (happy anniversary to Emily and Andy), this was his first true birthday celebration.  I was lucky enough to already be awake when he got up so it was cool to see his reaction to the balloons in his room.  He was excited to have so many so that he could share them all with Addy and Lleyton.

It was great to have Grandma Susie, Papa Don, and Cousin Tanner along with Grandpa Paul and Grandma Monica here for the festivities.  The kids always love getting to see their grandparents, and we are really looking forward to seeing Great grandma Reena and Great grandpa Bob next weekend.  Parker shares his birthday with his great grandpa, so we want to wish a very happy belated birthday to him.

One of the many nice gifts that our big man received was his very cool slip and slide.  The boys were a bit timid to jump through the shark's mouth at first, but that apprehension clearly waned.

It has become tough to get everyone together for a family pictures and smiling at the same time, so this is as close as we got.

By the look on his face, I think he really likes his new Ochocinco jersey.

Parker's birthday eve.

Birthdays are a big deal in our house, and tomorrow is Parker's big day so Sara and I spent a chunk of the last few nights blowing up balloons and my very artistic bride made a great sign for his bedroom door.  I can already see the huge smile that will be on his face when he wakes up to this tomorrow morning. 

Details of his big day to follow.  He wanted a Transformer theme birthday cake, which was a surprise to us due to the fact we didn't think he was a big fan.  But on his birthday, his wish is his command. 

One thing we weren't surprised by was that he requested his birthday meal to be at the Rio Grande.  He could eat the chips and salsa from there until the cows come home. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARA!

What better way to spend a birthday than with your family at the Magic Kingdom.

We were up early again today so the boys had plenty of time to serenade their mommy before we headed out the door for every kid's favorite place, Disney World.  I should have taken heed of the advice I read on the internet, get there early b/c it will take between 45 minutes to an hour to just get from the parking lot into the park.  We did finally get into the park around 9:45 and we were instantly in love the place.  I had no idea how spectacular the Magic Kingdom was.  Articles on the internet and guide books from the library do the place no justice. 

We started our day with the mandatory photo ops in front of Cinderalla's Castle. 

Then we were off to Fantasyland where our first stop was at the It's a Small World Ride before settling if for Mickey's PhilharMagic 3D show.  Both were fantastic.  The Dumbo ride we read so much about had quite a line, so we decided to bypass it and make our way into Mickey's Toontown Fair to meet the man himself.  I was a bit discouraged by the length of the line to meet Mickey, but it was well worth it.  The boys loved meeting Mickey and Minnie, and Sara and I loved witnessing it even more.   Lleyton must have yelled "HI MICKEY MOUSE!"  10 times while waiting less than patiently as the couple groups in front of us got their pictures taken with the famous couple.

We made our way through Tomorrowland, stopping for a quick lunch before heading back towards Mainstreet USA to find a treat for Sara's birthday while we searched for the perfect souvenir for the boys and Baby Sister.  We successfully found each item we were looking for. 

Tip:  If you want to get a picture of your kids with Mickey ears on without buying the Mickey ears, take their picture in the gift shop while trying them on.

As our long, very hot, day was winding down, we had the good fortune of finding the perfect vantage point for the parade through the park.  Again, the boys loved it!  What a flawless production it was. 

I am not much of an amusement park guy, but I could spend days with Sara and the boys at Disney World.  They got me, hook, line and sinker. 

After leaving the park, we came back to our condo for a quick scrub down before heading to Downtown Disney for Sara's birthday dinner.  T Rex did not disappoint.  The boys are big fans of dinosaurs, so now they have a new favorite restaurant (sorry Rio Grande). 

Our evening came to a close with a visit to Legoland (awesome store) and a stop back at Ghirardelli for some ice cream. 

Here are a couple very cool Lego creations.

What a day.  We had a blast.   The boys and I were so happy to be able to spend all day with Sara on her birthday.  Eight years ago I fell with love with Sara for alot of reasons, and as I sit here today I love her for many more reasons, not the least of which is because she is such a fantastic mom to our boys. 

Sara, the boys and I love you to death, and can't wait to add a little girl to our roster.  A little girl that will undoubtedly fall head over heals for you as well.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

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I can't end this post without sharing a picture of the boys tonight while Sara was reading them their bedtime story.  Cutest kids ever.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LLEYTON!!!

How are we going to remember Lleyton's 3rd birthday? It was the year of the garbage truck. When asked what he wanted on his birthday cake, he said a garbage truck. When asked what he wanted for his birthday, he said a garbage truck. Word must have gotten out, b/c there was a garbage truck theme to his presents.



Sara and I got him a bike. Here he is crying because the bike is just a hair too big for him right now. Lucky for us, the helmet also came with knee and elbow pads, b/c the minute he is big enough to ride this bike, he will be flying down the street without a fear in the world, probably blowing right past his older brother.



What's a birthday without a trip to Chuck E. Cheese in Kokomo? We met up with Sara's family there on Saturday afternoon, as it was time to celebrate cousin Tanner's birthday as well.

Parker and Tanner are best friends.



Lleyton and Chuck E. are best friends.



This is what you will find in our car about five minutes after we leave Chuck E. Cheese.



Sara and I joined Lleyton at his daycare on his birthday for lunch. Disappointingly, we both had to work on his birthday, so we wanted to make sure to make do something special during the day, and that meant a cheeseburger and french fries from McDonalds for lunch. The boy loves his burgers and fries from McDonalds, but he always puts others first, as you can see from this picture, as he shares his fries with his friends at school. What a generous little boy we have.