Perot (birth)Day!

Graham got invited to a birthday party at The Perot and if you get in on a birthday pass, you can stay the rest of the day too, so we did just that! Well, most of the day until we were "done in" and plus we needed to get home in order to get Graham to his final soccer game of the year. We actually chose to miss one of Austin's games which was that morning, but then it ended up getting cancelled due to field conditions, so that worked out nicely for us.

Seth's dad is a major fan of parking in unusual spots so as to avoid door dings and since we decided to park in this particular spot (not for dings, but for space to load and unload), I thought it was worth a picture so I could show his dad this awesome spot The Perot has.

We arrived a smidge early (it's like a miracle when than happens!), so it wasn't time to go in yet. The boys of course wanted to play in the water, but we tried as best we could to have them keep their clothes dry. Walking around all day in wet clothes is the pits and I didn't want to hear the constant complaining that I knew would ensue. Speaking of clothes, I put the bigs in the typical neon, so it's  easier for me to spot them. Something I tend to do anytime we're at a big place like that.

After the kids colored on their binoculars, the party lady led a little lesson on dinosaurs and then had the kids help her erupt the volcano. Carson just walked around the room this whole time which was super adorable.

The party gift was dino masks and Carson absolutely loved his. He kept putting it up to his face and then putting it up to our face. The bigs wanted matching masks, of course.

After the demonstration, we had lunch--sandwiches, chips, juice and cupcakes. The bigs must have had three bags of chips each and 1.5 sandwiches, it was crazy how much they ate! And then they still finished their cupcake and were asking for more! Thankfully we didn't feel bad about it because the party mom had made tons of food and didn't want to take it all home. They were staying in the museum for awhile just like we planned to.

You can't call it a day until someone gets
someone else's blood on their shirt.
Carson got a bloody lip.

The boys each did these dinosaur puzzle, I was impressed with Austin's stick-to-it-ivness. He usually quits pretty quickly when something like this is difficult.

Posed Carson even though he was sound asleep.
I'm so glad he's an easy baby! He makes outings possible with all 3.

I said to Seth "I don't need to get on there, I know what an actual earthquake feels like." And then spent a few seconds letting that sink in. SO Crazy!

This is us doing weather forecasting. I was showing the mass of pressure moving upwards and then trying to look bummed for all the flooding victims. HA!

One Almost Entirely Too Dark to See Anything Picture. lol

Carson Turns ONE! -- April 2016

I can hardly believe our final baby has turned ONE!

On his actual birthday, we had dinner with ice cream as the treat so we could save cake for this party. The day was pretty uneventful, going much like any other day, with a trip to Target during the day while the bigs were at school, lunch, a nap, etc. Once Seth was home, we had pizza for dinner followed by the ice cream and presents. Carson wasn't as into the actual opening of presents as I expected, but he thoroughly enjoyed the mint chip ice cream!

A very full mantel! And, as per our tradition, he had four gifts.

progression of Carson

Here's a video of him doing his candle.

So good and So cold!

Then we moved to the family room to go through the cards and gifts. He needed an outfit change between the two events, so it looks like we did it on different days, but we didn't, I promise.

Carson's Birthday Party, April 16th 3-5pm:
I had my friend Rosa come take pictures of the actual party because I knew that I would be so busy with guests and details that I would have a hard time remembering to take good shots. (I paid her from my cash stash so it wouldn't count against the cost of the party.) Plus, she's better at picture taking than I am!

First, the decor:

pinwheels were the guest take home gift

Sweet Tea. Raspberry Lemonade. Fruit Punch. Lemonade.
waters and homemade cupcakes

Then, The Party:
Carson was decked out in his party gear, ready to greet guests as they came in. We had the balloons all over the family room in case the weather was wet or too hot and people wanted to be inside. It was on the verge of being too warm, but thankfully we spent most of the time outside. The kids had fun running around and playing on the equipment while the adults chatted. It was a perfect afternoon and I'm so thankful for everyone who came to make the day great.

He loves posing for the camera!

Be Still My Heart!

These boys hadn't seen each other in awhile.

The series of shots Rosa got of Eric and Austin on the teeter totter is probably some of my favorite ever!

The whole gang!

Our family of 5. #Outnumbered
(excuse the nose picking)

Happy Birthday to you!

Once this kid got a taste of his icing, and the cake, he Went To Town!

Georgia is checking for crumbs!

It took a ton of wipes to get him cleaned off but he still required a bath later that night. He had cake crumbs everywhere! But then he had a good time playing with friends and the ballhouse until the party was over.

After the party, we went to El Fenix with Nonnie and Gramps to have dinner and then back to our house so he could open gifts from them. I was surprised Carson did such a great job given the day of soccer plus party plus sugar we had, but he was definitely ready for bath and bed once Nonnie & Gramps left.

Instead of having people brings gifts for Carson to the party, we asked everyone to bring a battery donation to give to his school. I think it's safe to say we collected enough for the rest of this year!