Whew! Got a little derailed on my blogging goal this week, but I'm back now and gotta keep going!
We had Thomas's first birthday part on June 7th and Matt's parents, Lala and Poppa, were able to make the drive down so they could attend! They arrived the day before the party and were able to stay a couple days afterward. It was a quick visit but we were glad to have them here!
I did not take many pictures while they were here, but Lala did and she always lets me steal them off her camera before she goes. She's the best. :) So all photo credits go to her (and I think Anna who may have taken some too).
Ok, wait. One more thing before I post Lala's pictures...this is really the only one I have from the day they arrived. It shows poor Katie-bug's busted face. That morning she was running on the driveway and took a little spill onto the concrete. You may even say she face-planted. :) It scratched her up pretty good and she cried for a bit, but really was completely fine after about an hour. We didn't actually let her see her face until that night and by then she was cool with it. I'm sharing this because her face is obviously still scratched up in Lala's pictures and I don't want you to think we beat her or anything!
Here's the birthday boy on the morning of his party! No pants required when you're the birthday boy!
The late afternoon time of the party worked out perfectly. We spent the morning at church which always tires the little kids out. After a good lunch, they both went down for good naps while we were able to get the house and yard ready for guests.
Thomas woke up first and got changed into his party clothes. He had no idea what was going on. :)
I have a whole post coming about the birthday party with the photographer's photos, but Lala got a bunch that are too cute not to share. Consider these sneak peeks before the real party post.
Petting a PIG that was tied to our tree!
Petting the donkey!
Paparazzi came to the party. :)
Sweet boy looking at the guinea pigs.
Thomas caught Mimi sitting down with Lilli Greer in her lap and he did not like it! He thinks he's supposed to be her only baby and she was cheating on him with LG! He immediately climbed up in Mimi's lap so he could set her straight.
It took Katie Wynn a while to warm up to the animals, but she eventually came around and fed the sheep!
We gave Thomas his cake midway through the party. The breeze kept blowing out the candle so it wasn't even lit. I put three animal cookies on top as decoration and I should've taken them off because they were really all he was interested in!
Anna eventually helped by sticking his hand in the cake, but he still wasn't too interested in it. Mostly he just didn't like the icing being on his hands.
He did come back from crumbs after his hands had been wiped off.
After all our party guests had gone home, including the party animals and the photographer, we sat down in the front yard to give Thomas his birthday presents. We had asked our guests to bring a donation to St. Jude instead of gifts, so these were just from family. One of his big gifts came from Lala and Poppa - a new truck!
Does it surprise you that his sister needed to get in on the action? She helped push him over to the rest of the presents. I love how he's looking back at her - he just needs a whip to crack so she'll keep pushing!
Except that she pushed him straight past the presents and people and kept going towards the street!
He pretty much sat in his truck while I opened his presents.
His other big present was a new slide!
The grandparents each also brought a little something for Katie Wynn to open too - she is so spoiled!
Presents of her own did not keep her from stealing Thomas's though.
The kids had so much fun at the party; Katie Wynn has already asked to do it again several times!
The next morning came early and sadly, we had to get up for school and work. Lala had her camera out taking pictures that morning.
The great thing about Lala and Poppa staying after the party is that they got to see the kids enjoy their new toys! We played outside both afternoons when we got home from work/school.
Of course, now that they have their own cars, they still climb in each other's!
Scrapes, scabs, and snot... (Just what little girls are made of!)
Still trying to figure out how it works!
We were so glad to have Lala and Poppa at our house - and not just because they spoiled our kids, cooked us dinner, and did our laundry!! :) We hated that they had to leave early the next morning but they will be back next week (and Matt and the big kids are actually at their house right now) so we'll see them again very soon!