A Dr. Seuss Double Birthday

I'm a little late in getting these posted, but birthday season is in full swing around here.  Will and John celebrated their 5th and 2nd birthdays together with a huge Dr. Seuss party.

Here is the fantastic cake, made by my talented friend Melodie, and the Thing 1 and Thing 2 cupcakes:

We also had Cat In The Hat hats for our friends to wear.  As you can tell, Lucas was very enthusiastic about wearing one:

 We made this "Beezlenut Juice" with Sprite and Jell-O.  The look of excitement on Wills face is because the chunks of Jell-O floated and sank over and over again in the Sprite - it was really cool looking!

The weather was absolutely perfect and we spent most of the day outside.  I love the picture below because it really captures Brent's true essence.  If you can click to make it bigger, it's totally worth it!

 Here's Avery knocking one out of the park:

 Will and Laura got tired of playing outside and decided to come in where it was quiet and draw pictures together:

 Here's John and Grammy hanging out together.  Sadly, John got stung by some bees, but Grammy saved the day with some technology!

 Then it was time for some presents!  The kids kept getting closer and closer to Will and he kept scooting farther and farther back until he wasn't even on the blanket anymore:

 Brandon sporting a Grinch t-shirt and Cat's hat:

 Here's John with the ride-on motorcycle we got him.  We should have waited and made him open it last, because once he was on it, there was no getting him off of it.

Brandon tried lifting him off, but he would not let go:

So, we had to open the rest of the presents while sitting on the motorcycle:

 Will being Will:

 Rylee, Jenna, John, and Will with The Cat in the Hat:

It was a fantastic day and we were so lucky to share it with 40 or so of our closest family and friends.  We didn't get pictures of everyone, but we were especially excited to have Grandma Wilson, Grammy and Grandpa Heath, Aunt Beth & Uncle Walt and some of the cousins there with us.  We don't usually get to have so much family around us at once, so it was a real treat!  The boys were showered with wonderful gifts and cards, for which we are so grateful.  I asked them to stop growing, but since they won't, I think birthday parties are the next best thing!

B is for Birthday - Part 3

Bringing this birthday-post-trilogy to an end is the credits. A lot of little friends helped to make Will and John's birthday so much fun. Here's the gang:

Rylee

Jenna

Lucas

Avery and Jaret

Grace and Sophie

Zack

Anastacia

Jewel

Charlotte

To give you an idea of the chaos, here are some candid shots of the partying.
Here's Will, Anastacia, Grace, and Rylee playing at the bottom of the stairs. I think they were taking turns folding eath other up into the couch:

FOOD!

Present-Palooza:

Luke and John playing blocks in the only space left that the big-kids hadn't taken over:

The after-present aftermath:

By the end, everyone was a little exhausted - some more than others:

We want to thank everyone so much for coming. Living far away from family is hard, but having a house full of people who love you makes it much easier! We are so blessed to have ALL of you as friends!

B is for Birthday - Part 2

There were so many great photos of the boys at their party, it was hard to pick just a few... so I didn't! Here's John at the beginning of the party:

Here he is getting a kick out of playing with Jordan:

"Do It Again!"

Will playing "Alphabet-Soup Toss":

Will loved hearing us sing "Happy Birthday" so much that he joined right in:

John was nervous about everyone looking at him and singing:

Blowing out the candles:

John carefully removed the "J" from his cake and admired it for a while:

but then he figured out what to do:

Video of John enjoying his cake:

Will making a "cheese" face with his piece of cake:

Time for presents!

How fitting:

Will, stopping to read a book:

Upon opening this gift (a long-sleeved shirt), Will immediately started taking off his shirt:

...and then did an awkward happy-dance in his new shirt. If only we'd taken video of it!

The boys got so many great gifts! I think this face says it all:

(One more installment of "B is for Birthday" coming with pictures of all the friends, chaos, and fun!)