Pizza and ice cream

Sounds like a pretty dern good meal to this pregnant lady but it is exactly what Banks wanted when we told him he could have whatever he wanted after he got these:

"You talkin to me?"

He looks so hard doesn't he?  Poor baby got stitches yesterday...five to be exact...after he split his chin open on the corner of some brick stairs.  He was SO good at the Urgent Care Clinic and didn't even flinch when he was getting his stitches.  I'd say that Matt and I were more traumatized than he was!

Tis the Season!

As promised, here is our finished DIY tree.  Banks had a great time with the glitter and sequins.  He had an equally great time decorating with (and mostly eating) the marshmallows.  I was able to (for the most part) put my Type A/perfectionist personality to the side so that we could both have fun with it.

Boy, we are really soaking up the holiday spirit this year.  We have seen Santa more times than I can count, been to a Christmas parade on the Square and had a pajama cookie swap! 

SUPER excited about the parade!!!

My friend Jill's husband works on the Square and we watched the parade from his balcony.  It was the way to go.  We had hot chocolate and cookies and could go inside anytime to warm up!  Please note that I can only button the top two buttons of my coat these days.  And that second button is

s-t-r-u-g-g-l-i-n-g.

Banks is absolutely obsessed with Santa.  He seriously can't get enough.  Santa came to his school today and his teachers told me that he had a ball and had all the teachers cracking up (no telling what he was doing/saying).

My friend Molly had Santa come to her house to read a story and the kids had milk and cookies.  Seriously the cutest party ever.  Banks loved getting to see his friend Charlie too!!!

  We also have an elf that hangs out at our house!  Banks has had a tough time coming up with a name for him.  For the longest he just kept saying that his name was "not Buford" and now he calls him "Alf."  Our elf brought a North Pole breakfast the morning he showed up.  It might have been the most sugar Banks has ever had before 8:00 a.m.  I mean, why not have marshmallows and white chocolate chips for breakfast?!

And, what would any Christmas season be without a stressful Christmas card photo session?  This year, we used marshmallows (notice a theme here?) as a bribery tool and got lots of good pics...including this one of him hamming it up.  Little stinker.

Children are good for...

I always said my parents had me just so they could make me do chores.  Not that they really made me do that much, but at the time it felt like a lot.  I think I had to rake leaves once when I got in trouble and I know I had to clean my room.  Oh, the insanity.  It's one perk of having children, right?  Making them do the stuff you don't want to do?  I think one of the first things Matt said when we found out Banks was a boy was that he was excited about teaching him to rake the leaves.  Banks is still a bit too young to clean the toilets for me, but his day is coming, don't you worry.  He is good for a few things already:

-eating the hard and end pieces of bread (Matt and I used to fight over who had to eat the first two pieces of bread in the loaf, since they are harder than the rest.  I'm telling you blog world, have a kid and all your problems will be solved.)

-eating the really over-ripe bananas

-throwing things in the trash

-shredding things

-walking the dog

-fetching things (might come in handy once the new babe gets here)

We'll be working on increasing his list of know-hows.  Pretty soon he'll be serving me breakfast in bed.  All joking aside, he is good for more than the list above.  One favorite: he's good for a laugh.  That guy says some of the craziest things.  I know it happens with all children...they overhear something and then repeat the phrase at just the right moment.  And he knows he's funny too.  He cracks himself up and says "dat funny" or "I be silly."

He's also soaking up the Christmas spirit.  He can already sing "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer", "Frosty the Snowman", and "Jingle Bells".  He knows about baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the manger and the donkey.  He knows all about Santa's "alfs" that help him in his shop.  Banks doesn't know it yet but an "alf" is going to be coming to his house very soon.  He also says he's going to ask Santa for a fire truck, some trucks and some tractors. 

This year, since we're in the TTT (teeny-tiny townhouse), we're scaling WAY back on the Christmas decorations. Banks and I are making all the ornaments and decorations for the tree. I think it will be so sweet to look back on our last Christmas with just the three of us and remember making all the decorations together! I can't say that I'm not sad about not doing it up big this year, but we just don't have the space. Plus, our stuff is spread out all over the world and I'm not sure which storage unit has which decorations. Wish us luck!

Stringing the cranberries.  We only knotted the string 257 times.

Glitter.  I hate glitter.  Toddlers and glitter do not mix well.  See how neat it all looks in the picture?  He was just getting started.  But the snowflake sure turned out pretty! 

Also on tap for this week: stringing popcorn, salt dough ornaments, and something involving sequins.  I'll post pictures once we actually get a tree on which to hang all our ornaments!

I'm exhausted!

Banks' style of play these days is very active.  Lots of chasing, flipping upside down, hide-and-seek.  He starts one thing, plays with it for 10 minutes or less and then moves on to the next thing.  He plays very loudly and he's bossy.  "No, mommy, drive the trains ober he-ah", "no, mommy, run", or "mommy, get up!"  If I am doing ANYTHING in the kitchen, he drags our little step ladder in there and wants to help.  I even tried to get him to sit still and watch TV the other day and he wouldn't do it.  What???  Needless to say, I'm exhausted from playing with my child!  I am super thankful that he's active, healthy and wants to run and play all the time, but whew! I'm worn out at the end of the day. 

I'm also worn out from trying to discipline him.  He is pushing EVERY boundary, EVERY limit and even breaking some rules willingly and accepting his punishment without a second thought.  As an example, Banks has learned to lock/unlock our front door.  We have sent him to time out or spanked when he does this since, you know, there's a certain level of danger there.  Well, yesterday I was putting some things in the car and came back to open the door and he had locked me out of the house!  Little stinker.  There are some days when I feel like he can do nothing right; I am on him ALL DAY LONG.  "Banks, don't put your feet on the table."  "Banks, don't feed the dog your grapes."  "Don't throw."  "Hurry up."  "Don't lock me out of the house."  "No, no, no!"  And, there are some days when I can't do anything right.  "NO, mommy, I was going to do that" is what I hear when I try to put his shoes on, help him into the car, carry him up the stairs, and on and on and on I can go.

We all know that doing the right thing is usually the more difficult choice.  Disciplining, or molding your child into making the right choices, is definitely difficult.  There are some days when I just want to close my eyes and pretend that I don't see him hit the dog or spit his food out or unroll the toilet paper but I heave myself up and discipline even though it's not easy.

Banks is not a "bad" child; very far from it.  He's caring, comes up and hugs my legs all the time and tells me "I lub you, mom", and very smart.  He's energetic, creative and thoughtful in his play.  He's observant and insightful (as insightful as a two year old can get).  He is the love of my life and I can't imagine loving anything more and at the same time I can't imagine being this exhausted and having someone else for which to care.

Speaking of that someone else, he finally has a name!  We're going to name him Andrew Phillips and call him Andrew.  Andrew is from Matt's side and I couldn't tell you how they are related.  All I know is it's on the family tree so that counts!  Phillips is my maternal grandmother's maiden name.  My pregnancy is flying by and I'll be in the third trimester before I know it.  My belly button is trying to turn itself inside-out.  I've never run more than three miles in my life but I'd imagine my belly button feels like that of a marathon runner.  It is so sore and sensitive.  My shirt rubs it all day everyday and it certainly doesn't help that a little two year old punches, rubs, pushes, etc on my belly everyday.

Enough of belly button grossness.  Here's a picture of my little Indian from his MMO Thanksgiving feast.  He made sure to skip the green beans and corn and opted for two cookies and two juice boxes.  Lunch of champions.

I just don't know what to do with myself...

Matt is going out of town for a few days this week and for the week after Thanksgiving.  Bummer.  However, wasn't there a Sex and the City episode where the girls talked about "single girl behavior"?  Plucking things, shaving things, etc.  Things that you just can't do with a man around.  There are a few things I can assure you will happen while Matt is gone.
1. I will shower less.  I won't be gross, I'll just be less clean.
2. I will get in the bed earlier than I'd like to admit.  And I'll be SUPER happy about it.
3. I will go to bed with the t.v. OFF.  Something that rarely happens with Matt around.
4. I will watch ridiculous girl t.v. with no shame.  There will be no ESPN this week.
5. I will make (and most likely eat the whole thing as to leave no evidence) some fabulous chocolate cake/pie/cookie.  I will eat all of it with little to no shame (until I go to my next doctor's appointment and wonder why I gained so much weight this month).
6. I will let my child watch more t.v than usual.  Give me a break here, I'm pregnant.
7. I will give the dog water.  I forgot to do this last time Matt went out of town until I found Buford crying at the toilet (3 days after Matt left).
8. I will get bored and lonely and wish my husband would hurry up and get home so I can have someone to talk to.

Randomness.

I am so behind on my blogging.  I planned on doing a Fall recap to cover all the fun things we've done so far this fall but the thought of wading through all the pictures to cover it all seems overwhelming right now.  So, I'm just going to type and see what comes out of the ole brain and then I'll throw in some completely random pictures so you can see if you remember what we look like.

Something you may have forgotten is that we're having another baby.  In fact, I kind of forgot myself until I tried to bend straight over last week and about squished the poor kid to death.  Somewhere between weeks 22 and now (almost 25) the belly just poked itself right on out there.  I had a moment of panic in the middle of the night last week that I really have just about 3 months until this bambino gets here.  And, I haven't done ONE thing to get prepared.  Not that there's much to do since we're still in the TTT (teeny-tiny townhouse) and there's really no place for him to go anyway so we'll just put him in a bassinet in the corner somewhere.  Do I feel some momma guilt about that?  Absolutely.  I also realized that with Banks we borrowed almost everything...swing, bouncy seat, bathtub, bumbo (really any baby item that starts with a "b"), snap and go, etc.  We might as well just borrowed a baby at the rate we were going.  So, there are some major things we need to buy and if you know Matt, the accountant husband, that really excites him.

And speaking of the TTT, the walls seem to be closing in on me.  Seriously, my kid might be the loudest kid in America.  He just can't help but yell all the time.  He hits the ground running (literally) and doesn't stop until he's forced into his crib.  He can be awake for 12 minutes and have pulled every toy out of every bin.  It's a wonder I don't break my neck with the amount of debris through which I have to maneuver.  We're super ready to be in a house.  So much so that we're even entertaining the idea of building.  I just almost choked while typing that.

Let's see, what else?  All the Halloween festivities seemed to fly by and we are really looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I just love this time of year and it's even more special this year knowing it'll be our last with just Banks.  Santa might just have to be extra good to him for that reason!

So sorry for all the randomness but it's an update, right???  As promised, here are a few pictures.  I'm off to bed.  Yes, I know it's only 9:00 and yes, I know there's a great football game on, but let's be honest here.  About the only thing that gets me excited this time of night is a brownie and a bowl of ice cream and getting in the bed.  Night all!

Banks the Witch at his school Halloween party.

Proud of his pumpkin!

My little froggy at the Fall Festival:

Having a ball at the Zoo today:

The Grove

We took Banks to the Grove for the first time this season and he. had. a. ball.  It was a little boy heaven.  No joke.  He might have been the dirtiest he's ever been at the end of the day.  Thank the Lord for Oxyclean or his outfit might have never been the same.  I consider our trip to be a success for a few reasons:

Reason #1: He didn't get lost. 

 This is not necessarily due to my awesome parenting skills but more to the food table.  He didn't get more than 50 steps away from the table all day.

Just helping himself...

I know for a fact he ate at least 4 of these rolls, a sandwich, some fruit, hand fulls of chips, two (maybe more?) cookies, carrots and no telling what else.

Reason #2:

I didn't have to entertain him.  He had lots of friends to do that for me.

Will and Maggie Jones with Banks (note that he is still eating here)

And with June Perkins

In addition to lots of friends, he had lots of boy stuff with which to play.

He dug in the dirt and pulled up the grass.

He played football.

He wrestled.

Reason #3: He was exhausted by the end of the day.  He had no nap and pretty much went this speed all day (only stopping to eat, of course):

Finally, he became quite the ladies man that day.  He's quite the charmer anyway, but really took to a few of the "older" ladies.  Here he is telling me to stop taking his picture because I'm embarrassing him in front of his lady friends: 

The anatomy of a tantrum

Stage 1:  They all begin the same way.  With a simple request.  "Can I watch ah-nudah show", "can we go outside", "can I have a cookie?"  It is difficult to document this stage as one never knows when such questions will be asked.  Today I captured the moment perfectly:

Stage 2:  Simple request is denied.  Regular sounding crying ensues.

Stage 3:  He crumples to the floor and thinks about writhing about.  The regular sounding crying is starting to escalate into some sort of pterodactyl (yes, that's the spelling...I had to google it) scream.  Things that do not help during this stage: shhh-ing, laughing, taking photos.

Stage 4:  Writhing about ensues.  There is rolling around, leg kicking, and thrashing about all while pterodactyl scream continues.

Stage 5:  I leave the room.  He picks himself up and follows me.  Repeat stages 3 and 4.

 Stage 6:  Things begin to de-escalate and he picks himself up off the ground.  He declares "my nose" refering to the large stream of slime coming out of his nose.  He runs off to play with something, let's say, for 15 minutes or so before Stage 1 rolls around again.  Oh, the joys of a two year old.

Grown-ups and pretending

I'm about to do something I may not have done since Banks was born: post pictures of something other than him.  Last weekend we had a grown-up weekend in Oxford for the Ole Miss/Georgia game.  I made a point to take pictures to document the weekend since I NEVER take pictures of things other than Banks these days.  I took four whole pictures.  Well, guess that's better than nothing!  We had a blast-catching up, talking about things other than our kids, and staying up way past my bedtime.  This was one tired pregnant lady come Sunday.  It was fun pretending that we didn't have any responsibilities!!!  I forgot how easy it is to just take care of myself for a few days!!!

The girls from the weekend: Lauren, Ashleigh, me, Molly and Ashely

Rare pic of me and the hubs

And speaking of pretending, I've been told that most toddlers don't begin really engaging in make-believe until closer to the age of three but I've been noticing Banks pretending more and more.  He pretended to call some folks on the phone last night and I heard him say "oh, I just doing a puzzle.  Mommy and Daddy almost all gone with dinner."  He's also started to pretend with his toys some.  He likes to pretend they're eating a snack.  The other day he told me "Lightening Queen make a mess."  And he had.  Apparently, Lightening doesn't know how to swallow apple sauce. 

The lawn mower was really hungry for a Cheez-It

 Not to say that he's pretender extraordinaire...when we ask him what we should name his brother, he says names like "donk" (short for donkey???) and "outside."  Outside Still has a nice ring to it, eh?  Much better than Donk Still for sure.  Poor Donk.  He's already getting the shaft as the second kid.  With Banks I documented (for our eyes only) my belly growth every week.  I'm doing good to remember to do it once a month this time around.  And we can't decide on a real name for Donk.  I don't remember it being this hard to decide with Banks.  I guess because we always knew if we had a boy he would be Banks.  This time we're going WAY back in the family trees to figure out what Donk should be named.  Wish us luck!!!

It's a....

One of the main questions people ask when you announce a pregnancy is "will you find out what you're having?"  The answer for me will always be a resounding YES!  I even fudged a little this time and told the doctor I was going to be out of town last week (I was out of town for part of the week) so that I could schedule my appointment for this week to find out what we were having.  Finding out boy or girl is always so fun to me.  It makes it that much more real for me and I can begin identifying and picturing myself with this bambino.  More importantly than finding out the sex, we get to see the baby and all its parts.  It is so very reassuring to see the heart, stomach, arms and legs, brain and spine.  Today we got to see our little bebe and it was perfect.  The ultrasound tech asked if we wanted to know the sex.  You know our answer.  She put the wand up to my stomach and what did we see?  Penis.  Right off the bat.  We are super thrilled that we're having another BOY!!! 

All I could envision was these two boys getting stitches together, getting into lots of trouble together, and doing lots of rough-housing.  AM I UP FOR THIS???  Being an only child, I can't identify with what it's like to have a sibling.  However, I can only imagine that Banks and unnamed baby boy will have the closest of relationships.  They'll love each other and may even love to hate each other.  They'll play sports together.  Banks will teach him all about frogs and other yucky animals.  Matt will take them to sporting events together (leaving me at the spa, right?).  It's just going to be so much fun.  Lots of dirt and bloody knees but so much fun!

Just checking in!

I refuse to acknowledge reality.  Just a quick check-in and then I'm off to the beach again for a bachelorette party!  Good thing I won't be driving home in Tropical Storm Lee this go-around.

We had a blast at the beach last week.  It is amazing how it seems to take forever for vacation to get here and then a week flies by and it's back to business as usual before you know it!  We go to the beach every year with two of our couple friends and their children.  The boys are very close in age so I fully expected to do a lot of fight breaking up, however, they all played surprisingly well.  I also feel confident that Banks can be around an infant without me needing to fear for that infants life.  That's good news for our #2.

Banks had a ball on the beach. He was very interested in "catching whales" (unfortunately we didn't see any this year), seeing crabs and catching seaweed. He loved building "can-castles", eating lots of snacks, and digging holes. There was a monster game of monkey-see-monkey-do going on this week. Charlie had ketchup, Banks had to have ketchup too. Banks had a waffle, Charlie needed a waffle too. Banks and Charlie were born only a day apart so it is no surprise to me that they were two peas in a pod. Will was pretty confident in doing his own thing...pooping in the potty and playing with "his" iPod.  Such a big kid...

Will, Banks, Charlie

 All the young-uns: Banks, Maggie and Will Jones, Baylor and Charlie Berry

 My next post will be about whether Banks is having a BROTHER or a SISTER!!!  We find out next week!

They're Baaaaaaaaccccccccckkkkkk!

First of all, let me say that I hate Walmart.  Seriously.  Aside from their sub-par products, their layout is terrible.  I attempt to be smart and park on the one side-either pharmacy or grocery-that I know I will spend the majority of my time in.  What I have now learned is that it doesn't matter where I park.  Because of their crappy layout, I drive my cart all over the store looking for something that should be in a very obvious place only to find it in an obscure place.  I have to ask for help a lot.  Target, I miss you.

Banks and I ran to Walmart yesterday to get three things.  It took us an hour (and not because I had to ask 100 times where something was).  We could barely navigate the cart for the futons, mini-fridges, and microwaves that occupied the isles.  It can only mean one thing...the students are back.  The store was filled with doe-eyed freshman and their parents with carts full of stackable drawers, full length mirrors and irons.  The parking lot was pure madness.  I had to park a mile away and the freshman, or their parents, do not know how to drive.

I can't help but remember my own move in experience with my mom in the bathroom crying, my dad dragging all my clothes across the parking lot, and my roommate and I just dying for our parents to hurry up and get out of there so we could start our lives as "grown-ups."  In our little neighborhood of townhouses, the ones that have been vacant all summer are now filled with partying college kids.  Matt and I can only look at each other and say "remember how easy it was then?"

Life did seem so complicated then but we didn't know any better.  Life seems complicated now and I'm hoping that looking back I'll just say that I didn't know any better.  I want a house.  I want my stuff to be unpacked and for my pictures to be hanging on the wall.  I want (and need) my bella bands but I don't know in which storage place my maternity clothes are. People keep asking if we're settled and I have to answer "yes, no, then yes again."  We moved from Memphis and got as settled as we were going to be in our townhouse.  We put a contract on a house that we were very excited about only to find out two weeks before closing that it was in the worst flood zone and we would be advised to back out of the contract.  We backed out of the contract.  Two weeks later we had to move to another rental as we had told our first landlord that we had a house and he rented out the townhouse to someone else.  So, no.  We weren't settled.  Now, we're in another townhouse in the same complex.  It looks just the same.  We attempted to arrange it somewhat differently so that I wouldn't feel like I was in Groundhog's Day.  This time we moved ourselves.  One word: miserable.  But, we're in.  The boxes are unpacked again so yes, we're settled...until we find another house and move yet again.  It makes my head hurt just thinking about packing again.

Banks has done amazingly well with the moves.  He's at a perfect age for it.  Aware that his surroundings are different, but not yet apprehensive about the changes.  People keep telling me that two is such a fun age.  It is in some senses...I love listening to him sing his ABC's and read books to me.  He can count to 20, loves to dribble and shoot his basketball, and play soccer.  I love that we can communicate and that he is more independent.  I am trusting him with more responsibility.  I do not love the tantrums and that he never seems to know what he really wants.  He cries for milk, I give it to him, he cries because he wanted juice.  It's exhausting.  He also hasn't been to MMO all summer and his attachment to me is growing stronger and stronger.  When we're at home, he very rarely plays independently which is so funny to me because when we're out anywhere he takes off and plays all by himself for hours.  He doesn't want Matt to do anything for him and when I attempt to force him to let Matt change his diaper, etc...well, you can just imagine. 

The good news is I'm starting to come out of that first trimester slump.  Banks and I may survive each other yet.  I still have no patience, but I'm starting to have more energy and just feel like a normal human being all the way around.  We're getting geared up for going to the beach next week and it really couldn't come at a more opportune time!  We go with two other couples and their children so I know Banks will have so much fun playing with them and it will be a nice change of pace for all of us.  So, here's to holding out for the beach and for hoping that these students learn to drive by the time we get back!

Banks has an announcement!

He's going to be a BIG BROTHER!!!

I will say for sure that this pregnancy has so far been very different from my first.  With Banks, I never really felt sick.  I was tired as all get-out but never sick.  This pregnancy has been a different story.  I spent most of the first trimester nauseous.  Granted, I really cannot complain since vomit never came out of my mouth (and I hate to throw up more than anything else in this world) but I felt like it could at any minute.  And the tiredness.  Wow.  Poor Banks has been subject to much more T.V. lately-not that he minds in the least.  It's all I can do at 10 a.m. (yes, I meant to type a.m.) to keep my eyes open.  I am also extremely dumb.  Pregnancy brain has already set in...well, I even wonder if it ever left.  We drove to Hernando for a birthday party that wasn't until the next day, Matt asked me to buy him some Coors Light at the grocery store and I bought Bud Select without even noticing the difference (in my defense they both have silver boxes), and it took me 20 minutes the other day to find the keys and they were in the door.

I am grateful to say that I'm starting to feel like a normal human being again.  I'm ever more thankful that the news is finally out and I don't have to pretend-when it's a billion degrees outside-that I feel great and am not the least bit pregnant.  And, let me be very honest.  I couldn't have pretended much longer anyway.  There is a definite pooch ALREADY.  I was like six months pregnant with Banks before I had to move over to maternity clothes.  This go-round I'll be lucky to make it to next week! 

 We are all very excited to add to our little family. 

 Banks gets it as much as a two year old can.  He, for the longest, would say every time that he wanted a baby sister.  Now he goes back in forth between wanting a sister and a brother.  Good news for him is he'll be getting one or the other.  We'll find out at our next appointment and it can't come soon enough for me!

First Haircut and Sass

We finally took Banks to get his hair cut!  I've been so resistant...wanting to wait until we had his two year pictures made...but it had gotten a little out of control.  He had a little flap in the back that went from the crown of his head down the back of his neck and it was nothing but a big rats nest every morning.  The sweet girl who cut his hair did a great job of shaping up the back and just trimming a little off the front and sides.  Honestly, he needs a little more off the front and sides but I was so scared it'd be too short!

Banks has also turned into a big stinker.  He is too funny with some of the things he says!  My mother-in-law kept him last weekend and he told one of the nursery workers at her church that he wanted two hotdogs and no bread for lunch!  Where do they come up with this stuff?  He also likes to say things like "no talking, mommy," "my do it," and my personal favorite "why?".  With an increase in sass, I am required, as a parent, to say a lot of things I've been dying to say, such as "don't sass me" or "because I told you so."  He really responds to such sayings. 

And then he was TWO!!!

We had such a fun day yesterday!  It was fun to celebrate his birthday on the same day that we had his party.  Since we're renting a townhouse and there's not much space here, we decided to have his party at Holli's Sweet Tooth and it was perfect!  All week whenever we talked about his party he's say "Carter, Cooper comin?"  It really is sweet how he's gotten to love his friends here and was excited for them to celebrate his big day with him.  Not that he wasn't excited about the food.  He kept saying he wanted to eat cupcakes, cake and ice cream.  And he succeeded. 

We started off the day singing and eating a big fat cinnamon roll donut.  Nothing but sugar for the birthday boy!

Because the party was at lunch time, we had some food for the kiddos.  I made candy-shop themed food like Lollipops:

 and gumballs.  They also had Starbursts (star shaped PB & J), Caramels (cheese cubes), and Ice Cream cones filled with goldfish.

 I think the cake turned out quite cute considering when I went to pick it up (30 minutes before the party) they told me they didn't have our order.  Although it doesn't look like the original that I ordered I think it turned out great for a rush order!!!

And, in case cake and ice cream weren't enough, I added some cupcakes to the mix.

Holli's provided the candy bag favors for the kids and I had some "thanks for making my party so SWEET" tags made for them.

 Kids table

 Having a little pre-party snack:

 He absolutely loved it when everyone sang Happy Birthday to him and was so proud that he was able to blow out the candles himself!

 What a sugar high looks like:

 One happy birthday boy

 After the party, and a much needed nap, we set out to open his presents!

Mimi and Grumps were there to help.

 His favorite toy?  A Cars racing track complete with "a-queen" (Lightening McQueen) and another car that I'll have to learn who it is.  Next up on the favorite list is his new four wheeler!

 "Get you!"

 Learning to ride his new tricycle.

 At the end of the day, it's much easier to just get pushed by Gram!

Last night I asked him what his favorite part of the day was and he said "my birthday party!"  Melts my heart that he had so much fun on his special day!