Brett's 4th Birthday!!!

After months of hearing things like "I want to buy that for my birthday!" and "I'm going to be 4 soon!", and "Is it my birthday yet?", the big day finally came! And despite the bad cold that Brett came down with the night before, I think he had a pretty great day :-) He woke up to streamers and presents all over the living room, and started unwrapping pretty much the second he laid eyes on all the gifts! Because of his cold, he was definitely more quiet than usual, which was a bummer - the poor kid has been sick three out of his four birthday's now, and it's starting to get old! I guess that's what you get for having a December birthday though. After opening his smaller presents, we brought out his big gift...a  Geotrax remote control train set and airport! Let me tell you, he was one happy little boy!! Later in the afternoon my parents, brother, and his girlfriend all came over to celebrate. We had appetizers and pizza (Brett's request) for dinner, played with his new toys and opened more presents, and of course, had cake! By the end of the evening, Brett was beat....his cold was getting the best of him and he was so tired from the exciting day, SO, we put him to bed at 7pm. I don't even know that last time he went to bed that early!

Opening presents bright and early...this rescue vehicle set was a favorite :-)

Both boys had fun putting the Geotrax together :-)

And here is the finished product! It may take up our WHOLE living room, but it is worth it to see the excitement it bring's to Brett's face. Pure JOY :-)

Brett insisted on wearing his new 4 year old shirt from Abby and Jackson. I still can't believe my little boy is FOUR!

After opening up a wooden Plan Toy Firehouse with vehicles from Uncle Matt, Brett did a little dance with his hands. He was so excited...and adorable!

Both Brett and Uncle Matt like to build things, so this marble maze kept their attention for quite some time :-) 

My brother's birthday is on Christmas day, so he got to open a present too! Brett was SO excited to give him the gift he picked out all by himself :-)

"Mmmm, what could it be?"

"Can I help you open it?" 

"Look Uncle Matt, it's legos!" Since my brother lives in Chicago we picked out the Sears Tower set. The age range is 5-100, so Matt fits perfectly in that category! :-)

Then it was time for some CAKE! Love Brett's smile here as he anticipates what is coming next :-)

"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you..." 

Time to make a wish and blow out the candles!

And now to the best part...taking the first HUGE bite!!

Happy 4th Birthday, sweet boy! Daddy and I love you more than words can say!

Hanging out with Friends :-)

 A couple days before Brett's birthday, Laura, Bill, Abby, and Jackson came over to give him his birthday presents. This has been a tradition of ours since the kids first birthdays, and even if Brett or Abby is having a birthday party, we always give the gifts one on one :-) After Brett opened his presents, the Lokers stayed for dinner and play time. Of course, it was a bit crazy at times, but oh so much fun!!

Laura often picks out Brett's birthday cards from Snapfish and then puts photographs of the kids on them. Such a cute idea! One of these years I will follow suit :-)

After opening the card it was time to open presents! They gave him a cool train t-shirt with a 4 on it (which he quickly tossed aside until the day of his birthday when he was so excited to wear it!), a Thomas DVD, and a stuffed cat that has a remote control so you can play hide and seek with. THAT was definitely the hit that night (but I didn't get any pics!) :-)

Abby and Brett had fun using stencils on our window! This was actually a gift Brett got from our friends, the Boone's, last year for his birthday, and it is still a big hit!

After dinner they snuggled up with some blankets on the floor to watch T.V. There was no quiet time for Jackson though! He was on the go all night :-)

How cute are they?!

Since our DVD player isn't working, Brett and Abby watched Rudolph in Brett's room on the mini DVD player. Somehow they both fit into Brett's toddler bed just fine. There were only a few squabbles over space :-)

Then it was time for the real fun to begin! Jumping off the bed into a pile of pillows!! I think they could've done this all night if we let them!!

Can you tell they were having fun?!

And, of course, Jackson had to check out the fun too :-) Look at that cute face!!

The Perfect Christmas Tree

 So, this post is a little late! We've had our Christmas Tree now for over 3 weeks! Somehow, until now, I completely forgot to document one of the most exciting adventures of the season....picking out our perfect tree! Just like last year, it was a very mild day, especially for December. We didn't even need coats! It was nice because we didn't have to worry about Brett getting cold, but at the same time, when I think of Christmas, I think of cold temperatures and snow....and then warming up with blankets and hot chocolate. Those are my memories, and I hope they become Brett's too. But with global warming and the way things have been going, I'm not going to hold my breath! We've enjoyed making our own memories, and really, with a little boy is tow, the weather is the last thing that matters :-) We had so much fun!!!!

Brett took off looking for the tree. It was so funny because we would find the "perfect tree" and then our eyes would wander and we'd find another one that was "it".  This went on for almost an hour!

Brett really liked this tree, so I took advantage of of good photo opp. :-)

Finally! We found our tree and it was time to chop it down!

 Brett was a great helper...

And so happy and proud to take our tree home!

 Of course, as soon as we got home we had to put it up. And, of course, when we plugged our lights in, most of them didn't work. So, off to the hardware store I went! As soon as I got home the decorating began!

 

 And here is the finished product :-) It really is the perfect tree for our home :-)

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

First Annual Christmas Party with Friends!

A couple weeks ago our good friends, the Lokers, hosted a Christmas Party at their new home for all our Chelsea friends. It was a night full of everything that a party should have - good food, drinks, gifts, and laughter. The Chelsea Christmas parade was that night too, so after some play time and appetizers we bundled everyone up and walked down the street to watch the floats go by and see Santa. I didn't have my camera for that, but it sure was a great time! After the parade we walked back to Laura and Bill's house and had a wonderful feast for dinner full of all the fixin's...ham, potatoes, green beans, and homemade mac n' cheese. I'm getting hungry just thinking about all that good food! After pigging out, we put the kids in their pj's and then passed out a gift for each of them to open. They played with their toys for a little while, and then we put a Christmas movie on so us adults could have our own Christmas exchange, White Elephant style! Good times were had by all!!

After getting their pj's on, Brett, Abby, and Carter entertained themselves while waiting to open presents :-)

And down goes Carter! Can't you just feel the love?!

And then Carter took Abby down too! Brett is either playing referree or trying to get in on the action too :-) Mmmm, what do you think?!

We then attempted to get a picture of all our cuties together...

Hey, atleast they were (almost) all in the picture!

Now to the best part....opening presents!!

And it's a....

Remote control race car!!! Thank you, Carter and Landon!!!

And let me just tell you, according to little boys, there is NOTHING like a new remote control car!!

We were able to pull the kids away from their new toys long enough for some dessert....yummy cupcakes that Zuzana made!!

After all that crazy fun, the kids sat frozen in front of the T.V. for a Christmas movie :-) Just what we had hoped for so we could play our White Elephant game!

Of course, not long after the sugar kicked in and they were in full gear again! And Laura, who always thinks of everything, gave each child a little goodie bag to take home :-)

"Let's see what's inside, Landon!"

It must've been good stuff, because Laura got a big thank you hug afterwords :-)

You'd think by almost 10pm at night the kids would be beat, but nope, they were ready for more fun in the basement!! We surely didn't mind because that just meant we could have another glass of wine, and chat some more!!

The big mattress on the floor is always a huge hit!!

Brett and Carter love to play chase games and wrestle!

Brett thought the guitar was pretty cool too :-) He was jammin'!

Finally, by around 11pm, Brett was getting tired :-) Here he is cuddled up on the floor with the soft new blanket we had gotten from the White Elephant game. We went home after this picture was taken and went to bed :-)

We really had such a great time with all our friends, and I loved watching all our kids play together!! Thank you for hosting such a wonderful party, Laura and Bill!! We can't wait to do it again next year :-)