Surprise Packages - Christian's Birthday - Take 4

Christian is so LOVED and BLESSED!

He got to celebrate his birthday for a whole week because surprise packages kept arriving at our house!

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Package #1 from Grammy and Grampy in Illinois

Christian was very excited to see this box and was determined to open it himself. That lasted for about 30 seconds and then I was asked to take over :)

Even McKenna came to check out what was going on! She knew this was something important!

Look at his face!!! He was so excited!

Christian got 2 water guns! He's never had a water gun before and he asked for one for his birthday, but we weren't going to get him EVERYTHING (he's been asking for things since December 26th when Christmas was over). So this was absolutely thrilling for him. Emma, Abby and Christian had a grand time in the backyard that afternoon. Nate played for awhile but kept getting upset that he got wet (go figure...he did the same thing at the pool on Friday...got mad that someone got him wet...Hello??)

Grammy always sends a few snacks, which made McKenna happy. She's such a snack girl!

And some balloons that we haven't opened yet. I snuck them away to save them for a rainy day when we need something new! Christian LOVES balloons, so he'll be thrilled when he gets to play with them!Look at that tough guy face he decided to wipe out while he's holding his gun! He's really into posing these days.

Thanks Grammy and Grampy for making Christian's day!

We saw a tractor driving down the road today and Christian asked if Grampy was on it! What a funny boy, he still doesn't realize just how far away you live, but he misses you!

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Package #2 arrived in the middle of the week from Aunt Lindsey, Uncle Robert, Gracey and Zavier!

Chrish was just a tad bit excited to see this box. See all those stickers covering it?? He knew something really good must be inside!

Once again McKenna was close by checking out the scene. She's starting to get this whole birthday thing! Christian got some Thomas bandaids, and believe it or not, we didn't have those. I've actually never seen Thomas bandaids before!

The Lightning McQueen booboo ice pack has already been used...twice! You know it really does help. There is something magical about Lightning McQueen. I don't know what it is, but the wailing stops and somehow he brings comfort.

And this was the biggest hit. We use a hooded towel every night at bathtime. Christian has a frog and a dog towel and McKenna has a flower and uses the dog sometimes. Well now we've got Thomas! Perfect!

Christian also got a Thomas lunchbox which he declared he will be bringing to school in the fall. I haven't told him yet that he won't actually be eating lunch at "school." We'll cross that bridge when we come to it!

Thank you Gracey, Zavier, Uncle Robert and Aunt Lindsey. Christian LOVED his card too! He loves to hear Gracey say his name. Totally out of the blue Christian said "I love Gracey" a few days ago. So sweet!

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Package #3 arrived on Friday from Aunt Angel in Illinois

It was a giant box! The house was full of children jumping up and down with excitement! What could it be?

Notice the patience Emma and Abby were exemplifying at that moment!

This present was so heavy, Emma had to help get it out of the box!

It was the Doug and Melissa fold and go barn! It's a beautiful toy. Forget that Fisherprice plastic one we have. That's going in a yard sale! This one is made of real wood.

All three of the kids LOVED it! And when McKenna and Nate got up from their naps they played with it too. McKenna plays with it every chance she gets which frustrates Christian when he finds the tractor on top of the barn roof :) McKenna also got a farm puzzle from Aunt Angel. It says for ages 2 and up, but my girl can already get some of the pieces in. What a smarty!!

Thanks Aunt Angel for picking out such a perfect gift for Christian. You know he loves to visit Grampy's farm and now I've actually heard him pretending that he's there when he's been playing with this barn. It's so sweet!

Slip-n-slide

Things started off a little slow, then we added some dish soap and everyone was quickly sliding all over the place!

Nothing like a little summertime fun!

Just a little HANDSOMENESS to brighten up your day!!

Can you guess?

Who is taller?

Who is heavier?

I'll give you a hint. There was a time not all that long ago when Christian could pass on his clothes to Nate. Those days are over!!

Marshall Monday

You didn't think you were going to stop hearing about them just because they moved did you???

Of course not! So I'm starting something new, probably just for the summer called "Marshall Monday." And each Monday I'm going to share one of my favorite memories with our Marshall cousins and I'm going to share any prayer requests I have for them for that week!! Sound good?

This week it's all about Abby!!

Click HERE to read about one of my favorite memories of her!

Abby has a big week this week. She spent the weekend with her daddy and then she's going to Grandmom and PopPop's house (with Emma and Nate too) for two weeks. While she's there she is going to be taking swimming lessons for the first time. The class she should be in was full so she is going to be in the same class as Emma.
Abby has no fear and is very brave in the pool, but she's a little nervous because this is something she's never done before and there are a few skills she really needs to work on. Please pray that she'll have a great two weeks and that her first swimming lessons will be a great experience.

Abby was also very, very sad last week. Friday was a hard day for her. She cried a lot and was very sad to say goodbye to her teacher at preschool. This move might just be the hardest on her because she doesn't understand everything like Emma does and she's not oblivious to it all like Nate. So please pray that she'll have joy in her heart and that the Lord will give her comfort whenever she needs it!

Christian's 4th Birthday - Take 3

And now we continue with Christian's birthday! This post is about his actual party!

I love this sweet picture of Grandmom and Nate!

Is Nathan yummy or what?
Of course we decided to kick off the party by opening a present.
Since I didn't really plan any games I thought this might be a good activity to keep everyone busy.

It was the Gazillions bubble rocket. It's fun, but doesn't go as high as the advertisement makes you think. The kids all had fun running and jumping on that orange part to make it go up in the air. Anything with bubbles is always fun!

Then it was craft time! The boys painted trains and the girls painted little boxes/purses.

Christian started out wanting it to look like Thomas but then got too carried away with mixing colors and ended up with something rather brown/purple.

Everyone working on their painting project.

Nate's train.

Abby has become quite a little artist!

Then it was time for the pinata!

Nicholas wasn't so sure about this game but he liked it once the candy started falling out!

Everyone was enjoying their candy when all the sudden I saw....

McKenna with a lollipop! Ahhh....she's never ever had candy before and I wanted it to stay that way. Who's fault was this???

Daddy!!! He had no idea she'd never had a lollipop. She loved it, but now she knows she loves it and wants one anytime anyone else has one. Grrr.... One year olds and candy are just not a good match in my opinion. Christian didn't have any candy until his second birthday. And he never had chocolate until his third birthday. Oh well.

Did I mention that she loved it!?!

Time for presents! Christian was so patient waiting for this to happen and he did a great job of thanking each person for what they gave him.
Good grief he had a lot of presents!
Christian got a slip-n-slide from his cousins and it's been a big hit. I'll have to post pictures of everyone on it soon!

Christian got a new "over the track lights and sounds signal" for his train set. He got a baseball tee that actually pitches the ball to you. Daddy loved that present the best. He also got a great book with the stuffed animals to go with it and side walk chalk paint (I do not recommend that if there is a one year old anywhere around).

And here's the whole gang! Abby, Christian, Emma, McKenna, Nathan and Nicholas.

Christian doesn't actually eat real cake, so he got an ice cream cake and I found a cute little wind up Thomas to do on top with a tiny little track! It was a fun birthday! Just right...not too big, not too little. Ryan and I enjoyed it instead of being stressed out about it and that's exactly the way it should be!