My Boy is Now Eight!

Well we had a fun and exciting weekend!

Josh's birthday was on Sunday and instead of a party we talked him into just inviting one friend over to spend the night. We were able to convince him without a party, he'd get a better present because we'd have the money to spend on the gifts.

Worked a charm! On Saturday, he invited his friend Sean over and since we're friends with his parents and hadn't seen them in ages, we just invited the whole family over for dinner. That way Josh and Sam could play with Sean and his brother Jackson for a bit while we had some "grown up" conversation with Pat & Sherry!

One thing Josh did request was that I make some Shark cupcakes from my Hello, Cupcake book. I only made four since there were only four boys.

I think they turned out cute! The "sharks" are twinkies that have been cut and dipped in grey frosting.



The "teeth" were a challenge -- and one fell on top of another one so I had to try and fix it. But in the end, it didn't matter... the boys ate them!



Like I said, the boys were entertaining themselves while the grown ups ate dinner. At one point it sounded like they were having a sack race around the 2nd floor. And guess what? Not only were they having a "sack race" but a "redneck sack race" to boot!



I guess they had to run off all the sugar from the cupcakes!

We got up and took the boys out to IHOP for breakfast then dropped Sean off. I'm still finding his stuff around the house! Good thing he lives close by so I can drop them off!

After we dropped Sean off with his parents it was time to come home to open presents!

We took all the money family had given us for birthdays and bought a "family" present -- a PlayStation3. And it is fantastic! It plays BlueRay Discs and the picture is just awesome! We had to go out and buy a movie just to watch it!

Anyway, he also got two games for the PS3 -- Little Big Planet and Guitar Hero. Sam loves Little Big Planet and Josh has become addicted to Guitar Hero! I must admit, both are fun!

Here's what my son will look like as a Rock Star!



He's got real "bed head" in this photo... he didn't even need to "fake" it! And notice the nice Red Liverpool t-shirt Auntie Jane and Uncle Rich gave him! Needless to say, it's his favorite t-shirt!

Sam has been asking to play tennis and we were lucky enough to get some tennis rackets from Auntie Jo & Uncle Dean for both the boys.



Sam has hardly put his down. He wanted to take it to school to show his friends. When he opened it he said, "Are these for the WII?"

And since it was Josh's birthday, that means it snowed yesterday!



We lucked out here and had no accumulation although other parts of the metro area received quite a bit. We'd had several days of rain prior to the snow so there was lots of ice out on the roads. Our county was the only school district in the Atlanta area (just about) not closed! There may have been two or three others... but most were closed.

So now we're just recovering! Since the kids were tired yesterday, it was nice to just hang out at home and let Josh enjoy his presents!

Josh's Birtday Update

Thank you everyone for Josh's birthday wishes! His birthday, and the weekend was lots of fun!

On Friday we took Josh and three friends bowling after school. They had a great time. Josh even got a strike!



On Saturday, Josh's actual birthday, we opened presents in the morning, then Grandmother and Grampa took both the boys out for lunch and to buy a birthday present for Josh (and an "I was a good boy" present for Sam).



I have to tell you, this was my favorite part of the weekend! My parents took the boys and Rich and I went out and did errands. First stop, the wine store! Then we had some other things to do and errands to run, but it was so nice to get out and be with him -- just the two of us!

We came home and got ready for another party we were having for him. I'd invited the families of two of his friends over for pizza and cake. Rich and I are also friends with the parents so it worked out nicely. It was lots of fun!

So much fun that did not get one picture. Not.One.Single.Picture!

On Sunday, we went on another Scavenger Hunt at our local State Park. It was lots of fun for all of us. Sam would not let anyone write the answers down, he had to do it. It was hysterical. He'd say what he was writing down as he was "writing" it.



Josh took the whole thing quite seriously. Here he is with Grampa looking for something a deer could eat.





There are more pictures on my Flickr page. Once again, we had a great time.

After, we went to brunch at IH*P. Josh was talking to the waitress and mentioned that his birthday had been the day before. They surprised him with a HUGE hot fudge sundae! The look on his face was priceless! He was a bit surprised and embarrassed and happy all at once! It was wonderful.

And to have Ice Cream for dessert after breakfast was even better!

As you can see, it was a very successful birthday weekend for him! We're still recovering!

Josh's Birthday

My little baby turned 6 today! He was so excited he woke up at 4:30! We did send him back to bed until almost 6:00.

Daddy made him a special breakfast -- fried egg and Irish Bangers (Grandmother bought them just for him). Of course, the Irish Bangers weren't as good as English Sausage, but it was a good breakfast just the same!

Before school we opened a few presents. Just to tide him over until his party after school! At school he had special snacks (chocolate chip cookies that he helped Grandmother make), he got a birthday "crown" and sticker! His friends sang him Happy Birthday! It was a great day!

After school he opened 1 present -- it was his Lego Star Wars 1 that he asked Santa for but Santa brought Lego Star Wars II (what was that about Mommy?). He played that until his friends came over.

We had 5 boys over to play. The boys had a great time playing with the "Shake & Go Racers" and Star Wars Light Sabers. We played Pass the Parcel, ate Pizza and Cake (mom forgot to buy ice cream) and opened presents. Before we knew it, it was time for our friends to leave!

It's so hard to believe he's 6! With a 2 year old in the house, it's so easy to get caught up in his daily achievements and two year old awe of life. Every day Sam learns or achieves some thing new. It's so easy to over look Josh's accomplishments.

But when I look at him and see what a wonderful, caring person he is growing into, or when I hear him read, watch him write, see him do math, I am amazed at how much he has learned this year. I'm totally in awe of him. I feel privileged to be his Mommy.

I love you little guy and I hope you had a good birthday!