January 23rd was this guy's special day! Can you believe he is 5 years old? He was so excited about his birthday this year. The first I can really recall. We had been talking about it for weeks. I think I have mentioned this before, but it isn't until after Ian's birthday that we feel we can really be done with the holidays. It starts with Thanksgiving and just keeps rollin' well into January.
It was a great birthday for sure! The day started off with Ian putting on his sticker from Mimi. He was so proud to show off his age. You go, kid! I wanted to spend a little extra time with Ian just one on one, so we took Milo to Lily's for the day.
Ian was the special person and I was the helper at school. It was a big day - he had to bring treats for the whole class and choose an item for show n' tell. First, we tackled the Rice Krispie treats. Thanks to my friend, Kate. They turned out delicious! I found a recipe for Cake Batter Rice Krispie treats and I knew we had to give it a shot. However, my regular treats don't have the best track record so I had to call up a friend for some advice on how she makes hers ROCK every time. Finally, I think I am over my phobia of making rice krispie treats. Thanks, Kate:)
We both tried a small piece before packing them up for his classmates. Approved! Then we were off to school. We practiced clues for his show n' tell on the ride there. We also practiced the day of the week, the weather, and the month - all things that the special person reports on. It is so cute to watch them!
He did a great job getting up in front of his class and describing. Here were his clues:
1) It is yellow, black, and orange.
2) No legs, but a very long tail.
3) It used to have a tongue, but I tore it off.
Any guesses? One kid guessed a dinosaur. One kid guessed a zebra. And Dani guessed correctly, a snake!
Ian got to wear his birthday crown and the whole class sang happy birthday to him. He blew out all his candles, but wasn't giving up any clues as to what his wish was.
Then it was snack time with Xander, Naja, and Miles. We also brought pretzels in the event there was a kid who didn't like the rice krispie treats or sweets in general. Hard for me to imagine, but I didn't want to assume. Plus, I felt like I should have a little something to offset the sugary treats.
It was a gorgeous day outside. We took our time going to pick up Milo and enjoyed the beautiful weather. I really liked having some time with just Ian. He is such an amazing kid and I love watching him grow up. I am thankful every day for the opportunity I get to be his Mom.
Soon after we got home, Daddy arrived. Which meant it was time for Ian to open his present! Earlier in the week I bought him a new pair of shoes, but it isn't any fun when you have to be present to pick out your birthday present and you don't get to unwrap anything. So, we saved the best for last!
His very own tool box with his very own tools, topped off with a Home Depot apron. Stylin'. I would totally hire this cat.
The gifts just kept on comin'. The very next day we drove to the airport to pick up Grandma Jane + Grandpa Bob. Yay! They are always in town for Ian's birthday and we have such a great time. Ian asked Grandma to help him learn some nursery rhymes for school. She was more than happy to oblige!
The boys introduced Peyton to Star Wars on Friday night. Milo cracked me up. He laid like this for almost 30 minutes, just chillin' and taking it all in. Some kids can recite their ABC's...mine, well he prefers Star Wars characters. And I am okay with that for now...
Saturday = party day! A lot of excitement in this house. I tried to do a couple of things throughout the week so that I would not have to do everything on Saturday morning. I always grossly underestimate the amount of work that needs to be done. I am so thankful for my troops - without them I wouldn't be able to pull it off. Ever.
I adore this picture of Ian and my Mom. She is explaining to him how she is decorating the cake and he is hanging on to her every word.
I am so bad at getting good pictures of the table and decor before guests arrive. My friends and Mom got some good ones, but I was too lazy to consolidate. I apologize for the lame pictures:(
Ian helped me hang the streamers and put the banner together (we used the Darth Maul lightsaber). I found some awesome free Star Wars printables here. This woman was a lifesaver! I found the poster on Amazon and knew my boys had to have it. It will eventually make its' home in their room. I had so much fun planning this party and thanks to Pinterest I was able to remain sane while planning it. You can check my entire Pinterest board for Ian's birthday here. Obviously, we didn't do all these things but it was great having all my resources in one place. Damn, Pinterest. What did I do before you?!
The cake turned out great! It was so hard to find a figure for the top of his cake. I was kind of surprised by that. Thankfully we were able to find a clone trooper kind of guy for the top and I had exactly 5 green (Ian's favorite color) candles. Whew.
Ian and his preschool BFF, Cruz. Props to Casey for making these awesome lighsabers. I was so impressed by how well the kids did. I thought for sure someone would have been crying before the party was over, but nope. Not a peep. Weird.
Then it was time to welcome our special guests! Casey found this very cool organization a couple of years ago, so the idea was always tucked away in the back of our minds. They do all of their events for free - all they ask is that you make a charitable donation, to the organization of your choice, in their name. Pretty cool, right? I am not sure who was more excited - Casey or the kids. Either way, almost everyone had a blast...especially the birthday boy and his little brother!!
I did give the parents a head's up on the party guests, as I thought it might be intimidating for some. You just never know - I thought Milo might be a little iffy, but nope. He walked right up to them, like they were best buds, and just started chattin' them up. Too funny!
Happy Birthday, Ian!
Naja, Mia, Ian, Milo, Ronan, and Keller. I love Milo's face in this picture too! He is just beside himself. The kids were delighted. Mia asked, "So, are you guys friends with Yoda?' And the response was clear, "No." It was hilarious! The guys did a great job making Ian's 5th birthday EXTRA special. Thanks 501st!
We had to get a family shot. I am thinking holiday card 2013?! Ian joined in with his Boba Fett mask:)
They guarded over cake time and then it was time for them to get back to work. The kids carried on for a bit and then it was time to open presents. It is getting harder and harder to keep track of who gave him what, so don't be alarmed if your thank you note has the wrong gift on it. We are still thankful;)
Later that night, Jedi Bob showed the boys some of his moves. Ian got a REAL lightsaber from Uncle Jon, Aunt Heather, and Peyton. I think everyone was itchin' for a turn with it. And Ian did a great job of sharing. The party wound down and the rest of the night was low-key.
We declared Sunday a Star Wars free day in our house and it went over amazingly well! We just laid low and enjoyed our last time with Grandma + Grandpa. They offered to watch the boys for a little bit, so Casey and I could hit the town. Ha! We hit up the fromagerie at their new location and then enjoyed some beer at Oskar Blues. It was nice to just have time together to catch up on life. Thanks, Mom + Bob!
We got some more quality time on Sunday night with the JHP crew. Uncle Jon took some pictures for Grandma + Grandpa. At first, Milo said he wasn't going to be in the shot. I love how he so "director-like" walks up to Uncle Jon and starts telling him what he should do.
Peyton decided she just wanted to read alone. She was so focused while Ian + Milo are just running around + jumping like crazy men.
Finally, we were able to get all the kids to cuddle up with them:)
Monday it was back to business as usual for Milo. Post-nap snack with his Star Wars spaceship and Star Wars coloring book. Just reading himself a story in the corner. So cute!
Ian got the chance to bust out his new tools and help us around the house. We are planning on putting our house on the market in a few weeks. This is the final stretch in what has been several weeks of priming, painting, patching, and packing. Whew. Things are coming along nicely and then the real stress sits in. The kind you have no control over - you just have to sit back and wait. Fingers crossed!
The weather has been so mild this winter. We have had several high 50's/60's days of late. It has been great to get outside + play! Ian loves his scooter. He told me the other day that his bike used to be his favorite, but then came his scooter and "well, the scooter is just more funner." I can't argue with that. Check out his moves at the skate park a couple of weeks ago. What a cool cat!
