More party pics

Thanks to my great friend Christie, I have many more pictures to post from the party... She was so kind as to experiment with her new camera at our party!

Jayce's 4th Birthday Party Pics

Jayce's party was a blast! I did not run around with my camera the whole time this year and just decided to have fun and it was great! Friends will be sending more pictures that are hopefully better than mine, so I'll post more later, but you can get the idea from these! We had so much fun this year... I made the cakes... along with 4 dozen cupcakes and I am caked out! I actually did 3 different recipes for cakes and icings last week trying to decide which I'd use and boy it's hard work! I really enjoyed it though! And, I even passed the test of the McLaughlin's saying my cake tasted good! That's huge! This was also my first experience decorating cakes and while I am certainly no Martha Stewart, I felt like they turned out decent for the first time... The car ride there got my dino a little smudged on the border, and I will definitely invest in a cake leveler next time for my layered cake as it was a little lopsided, but hey, I don't think the 4 year olds noticed and they still tasted good!

Daddy made all Jayce's banners and he especially loved his Land Before Time one!

At the party, we had a dinosaur egg hunt, did a pinata, and played pin the tail on the dinosaur! I am such a game girl so I loved being able to do these this year!

Jayce's main gift from us was his new big boy bike... spiderman, helmet, knee and elbow pads included! He does so well on it already, we were both really impressed!

Gabe went his first day without a nap and was in bed by 6:30 and I woke him at 9:15 on Sunday!

Never would have dreamed such a girly girl could have so much fun with a dinosaur party! But, just seeing how excited he was made it all so great!

Happy 4th Jayce- Bye Bye Jon Jons

Happy 4th Birthday Jayce! I cannot believe you are officially a "Big Boy!" I know, many of you say, he's only 4... but to me a big boy means no more jon jons... sadness! I promised Jay that on his 4th birthday, I would stop dressing him in any jon jons... I had really been saving them only for church as of late, but this is IT... It really hit me hard as I switched out his closet and went from a closet full of them to polos and khaki pants... The one thing that kept me from balling was that I got to move them right on over to Gabe's closet! We are still allowed to do overalls though, as far as I'm concerned!

We are so proud of you Jayce and how much you have grown in the last 4 years in every way possible! You are a sweet child who loves Jesus, mommy and daddy, and your "bubby Gabe" very much! There is something about you Jayce that is so darn lovable! Your Sunday and School teachers both have told us that you are a "teachers dream" and that you "have their heart," and "that smile just makes me melt!" Not only have you turned into such a sweet boy (MOST OF THE TIME)...But you are so very smart, as you recently reminded mimi and papa. You remember details so well and can tell about any Bible story you've heard! You learn you Bible verses so well and are sure to repeat them back to me when it serves you best such as the time you said, "Mommy, I think we need to share a chocolate chip cookie now and be ye kind one to another."

The thing I love most about you right now is your sense of awareness that with any problem we face, we can bring it to God. Whether it's Gabe's boo boo, mommy's tummy hurting, you and I having a tiff, Gabe's screaming in the car, you will almost always stop and say, "Dear God, can you help us..............and you always close with Dear God, Amen. It is the sweetest thing! May you always remember to talk to Him about it all! I love you so much sweet boy, Happy 4th! Mama

I could eat Jayce up at this age, so hard to believe we are almost 4! He is SO much fun! Energetic as always, but so sweet! He is growing up so fast and says so many funny things, I cannot possibly begin to remember half of them but wanted to jot some down before I forget!

All week he has been singing Happy Birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday Mr. Jayce, happy birthday to Isham Jehu Larry (sometimes) McLaughlin and never seems to remember the fifth! But I have to give him credit, what a tough name to remember!

Jayce is SO excited about his upcoming birthday, I feel like we've been talking about it forever! We are having a dinosaur party and he has enjoyed helping me make a practice dinosaur cake (see picture, decorated by Jayce, mommy was not allowed to help much)...but he had so much fun! Today he couldn't wait to fill treat bags for the party and then for his classmates at our school party! It is so fun this year because he really is so excited and keeps saying, "Tank you mama" (the one thing I just don't correct, it's too darn cute) as I do things to prepare for the party.

Jay and I were talking last night about how truly thankful Jayce always seems to be when anyone gives him something or does something for him. For example, Sunday afternoon I returned from Audi with Mickey Mouse pasta and Jayce's eyes lit up and he gave me the biggest hug and said, Tank you mama, I just love this! Then he leans over and kisses the box! Who could ask for a better reaction? We are so proud of Jayce and his daddy said, "Ya know, if I could pick one quality I would want him to have, it is to be a thankful person for his blessings," and he truly is.

Some of Jayce's more grown up sayings these days...
"Hey check this out mom!"
"Come on buddy Gabe, let's do this!"
"Mom, you won't believe this..."

Jayce is quite the negotiator these days... When we go to the store and he sees something he wants (such as the playdough fun set at Hobby Lobby), he will first ask if he can have it. Once denied, he will say that his brother really needs it. Again denied, he will say, "Oh, can we get this for daddy because he REALLY likes these!

What fun Mr. Jayce is... what he calls himself anytime someone asks him his name!
We will post pictures from his party on Saturday...

a Ballerina Bear

So, my birthday was Friday, the big 32... I really do not feel old, I think having 2 young children helps me to still feel young... This story is actually a good example of how they have a way of doing that for me!

I woke Jayce up Friday morning, and instead of me having to drag him out of bed as I had been that whole week, he jumped out of bed and ran to his desk and handed me the most beautiful package from the "Toy Shop!" I was so excited! I love when the boys get presents to open from there but this one was just for me! He exclaimed "Happy Birthday mama!... I got a present for you! It was as if he had been waiting all morning for me to walk in so he could say that! I said, Jayce, what is this? (as in I can't believe you got me a present). Being the literal fella that he is, he said, "it's a ballerina bear for you!" Sure enough, I opened it and it was the most precious small stuffed ballerina bear I'd ever seen, tutu and all (is that how you spell it girl moms?) She even plays music! I thanked him after he gave me his hand made card and gave him a giant hug and told him this was the best present I'd ever gotten on my birthday, and it really was! Something about my sweet boy being so excited to give me something he had picked out just made my day!

Later on, I thanked Jay, and he said it was all Jayce's idea! He asked Jayce what he wanted to give me and he said a dancing ballerina that twirls around. Jay said he'd been all over town looking for a ballerina jewelry box or something but they are so hard to come by. So in desperation he finally ended up at the toy shop and this was the closest he could find!

I love my ballerina bear!

AND Gabe even sang me happy birthday with a bit of prompting!

I had a fabulous dinner and CHOCOLATE CAKE with my hubby! If only birthdays could be every day!