Ninja Benja...

Benjamin will be FIVE on Friday.

FIVE!

I just...it's just that...I mean...five, already??!

I have loved five years with this guy.  He made me a momma and he humbles me daily.  He has also ignited a great amount of sin in me, in recent years.  But what is motherhood without a lot of learning and struggle -- with plenty of hugs and kisses added in!

I have so much to say about Benjamin, but that can wait until his birthday.  For now, I'll show you some pictures of our fun ninja birthday party we had over the weekend!  We invited B's class and a few extra friends over to celebrate by doing some ninja training and eating a lot of cookies!

I would have taken more pictures, but I was busy working the "ninja star throw" and shuffling kiddos through an obstacle course.  Patrick did the sword fight training, foam board chop and set up and ran the obstacle course.  It was a pretty intense hour of work.  I was tired.  I do not think these 4/5 year olds were tired at all!

After ninja training, we had some snacks!  Snack time is always a good time for small people and big people.  Benjamin asked for chocolate, chocolate cookies instead of cake -- so that's what he got!

Present time is always fun and Benjamin loves things.  All sorts of things.  It's weird. But completely normal, I guess.  In fact, we gave B the option of having a birthday party OR taking two friends to the movies.  He thought for a while and then looked at me and said, "If I go to the movies...I won't get presents. But I've never been to a movie... {looks down to think. Then looks up} I choose a party!"

He especially loved getting a sword and a giant tarantula {that walks, mind you. ah!}.  But his friends know him well and he got tons of super hero things, coloring things and legos!

This is such a fun party to throw for our big guy! And it's fun for me to talk to other parents and hang out with them.  A win-win-win! :)

A sweet {girly} baby shower...

Today was so special.  My dear, dear friends threw a baby shower for baby girl and I.  Who knew you needed so many girly things! We got so many bows and headbands and pink things -- my heart is delighted.  Although, I may need a tutorial or two on these complicated head bands we got!

I'm truly blessed with the most wonderful friends.  They made me feel so loved.  And all the sweet things that were said today blessed my heart in ways that I may never forget.  It was even sweeter celebrating our little girl with these very friends because they were such a huge part of our infertility struggle this time around.  So many faithful prayers were prayed and so many words of encouragement were offered as we sought God for another child.  Now I get to share with them the joy of this sweet girl.

It's a good thing to have friends who know you so well, too.  Not only did we have spinach dip and fruit and veggies, but there were mini Cheevers ice cream balls for dessert {our favorite dessert, from our favorite restaurant -- just homemade!}!!! And they knew I would get there early -- so they, too, arrived early.  It's just so incredible to me that I have these friends who care so deeply for me and know me so well.  God's kindness overflows on me in beautiful ways.

And here are some pictures!

Hostesses and me. Such dear friends!

Food table.

I guess we are having a serious conversation...?

Ice cream balls of goodness.

A bathing suit!

Let's GOOOOOOO!

Matchy WVU shoes!

A bow board, handmade by a sweet friend! It was so fun to add bows to this when I got home!

Well, I guess now we just need to go a little laundry and wait for this girl to make her way into the world! I'm 35 weeks today, so if she can hold off for two more weeks -- we will be in the clear {term wise}.  Come on, baby, we are READY!

Super hero party!

CALLING ALL SUPER HEROS!

 {From Top Left: decorations; capes for the birthday boy and his friends; balloons everywhere!; the birthday loot; cupcakes that B and I made; cake stand; more deco}

The party was SO much fun! There was a lot of running.  A lot of cape wearing {although I didn't get many pictures of that!}. Cupcake and quesadilla eating.  Present opening and super hero being. What more could you ask for!? Our decorations were minimal.  I made some "call outs" and "word stars" in Word {if you want me, them let me know!}.  I hung some streamers and some balloons for running through.

I made cheese quesadillas for lunch with toppings on the side -- chicken, black beans, sour cream, salsa.  We had some veggies with ranch.  And of course, cupcakes!  B wanted sprinkle cupcakes, but I couldn't find the "funfetti" kind at the store -- so we made our own with vanilla cake and sprinkles.  Benjamin really did most of the work, I just guided!  And to make our cupcakes more super-hero-ish, we used the Marvel Spider Man cupcake kit. Easy peasy!

I had a few "games" planned, but the kiddos entertained themselves by running in circles and playing with B's toys.  I love three year old birthday parties! Benjamin had so much fun and loved having super heros to play with!  Although, he didn't love wearing his cape the entire time -- such is a 3 year old I guess :)

{From top left: Eli, Luke and B eating together; the birthday boy; Cassady, Eli and B; Spider Averie and Spider B}

I loved putting this party together.  It was easy, fairly inexpensive and thoroughly enjoyed! We aren't finished celebrating yet, though.  Benjamin's actual birthday is  Wednesday and we are going to have some fun!

Then -- on to the next party {for Andrew}!

We threw a party.

And by "we", I mean Patrick :)

I asked for a surprise party this year. It is my 30th year, friends {more about that on Friday}. Patrick does not like parties -- being at them, especially not throwing them. His ISTJ self is not wired to throw and enjoy parties. But that man, my sweet, sweet man, stepped out of his comfort zone and surprised me!

And it was wonderful.

Kent and Sarah were here, which was even more fun. And so many friends stood in my living room, making me feel like the most loved person ever! I was "tricked" into spending the day at the outlets and Sarah and Megan didn't make me think twice about what we were really doing. Sneaky, sneaky people! I'm so grateful to everyone who helped Patrick and came to celebrate me.

Either way, I was surprised. Scared a little, even. And I couldn't be a luckier girl. My love, my boys, and dear friends surrounded me to make sure I knew that I was loved.

What a treasure. What a blessing.

And here are some pictures, thanks to Kent! I do remember the flashing as soon as I walked in -- I'm glad he was ready!

Surprise!

Probably saying, "sneaky, sneaky people!!"
B greeted me right away. And AR is lucky he was in his car seat or I may have dropped him.
Sneaky planner.
Talking to Jamie. Too bad you can't see the incredible cake that Christy brought. Ugh. That thing was gorgeous and tasted wonderful! Please note: My blue kitchen with white cupboards!
I love them.
Sweeeet husband!
" Wuv. True wuv."
Yeah for 30! Yeah for surprises! Yeah for an incredible husband! Yeah for great friends!

Baby Shower!

Just so we're all clear on something: I have really great friends. I mean, they are so wonderful and I love them dearly. I've only known these girls for seven months, but they mean the world to me and I feel like we've been friends for years. I love how the Lord knew which flock to lead us to because if He didn't, I wouldn't know many of these ladies.

I've had the privilege of praying with and crying with and laughing with these friends. We can talk about anything. Their fellowship is so sweet and I'm constantly encouraged, convicted and blessed by spending time with any of them. Seriously.

And they have made me feel so loved and cared for over the last seven months. I just don't think they know how much that has made living in Oklahoma so much easier!

So, these lovely ladies threw me a baby shower today! Yeah! I was always under the impression that if you had more than one baby, especially if it was the same gender, you weren't going to have a shower. I didn't expect one, but I'm so grateful to have had one! Getting together with them and getting things for my baby boy was so special!

As an added bonus {totally not baby related} Christy made this coffee punch/drink/milkshake thing and I'm pretty sure I consumed most of it. I didn't get a picture of it, but I need to make this for you. You'll love it. And you know what, Erin C? I totally thought of you when I drank this incredible drink. Is that weird? :)

Anyways, here are some pictures from the shower! I don't think I made a good face in any picture, but all faces are "normal" so that's okay. It's more realistic :)

Now this is a blurry picture, but you needed to see this outfit with a dinosaur on it. It says, "Big Guy" under it. So cute. Especially since I'm confident that this boy is gonna be big!

And this picture is just fun. And feels very normal. Please don't kill me, Christy...

Calendar!

It says, "A great catch" - a-dor-able!

Being consumed by the insane amount of tissue paper in Kat's present. I'm saving this pile of paper and re-gifting it when she has her baby boy (!!!!!) in August :)

Moby wrap!!!

These are my friends {minus two} - and Cassady...sweet girl :)

Thanks, friends! You're wonderful!

Happy 1st Birthday, Benjamin!

Wow. One. My little baby is now a toddler! This past year has, indeed, gone by so quickly. I was warned of this, but you can never know just how fast it will go until it's gone.

Benjamin is such a joy to us. He's always on the move, always babbling about something and always trying to get into something. He's easy going and throws some serious tantrums. He laughs a lot and will wave to anyone. I just don't think I could tell you enough about how great this boy is!

Benjamin is my constant companion. He is, literally at times, attached to my hip. He's my partner in crime during the day. He's the little baby that made me a momma. We've learned and grown together. We've cried together and laughed together. My days would be so lonely without him. My nights can be long with him. My heart is incomplete without this little man. I just can't wait to see how we grow, laugh, learn and cry together in his second year of life!

Oh boy. I love this boy. Here are some pictures of his party. I went with a polka dot theme and had a lot of fun planning! Most everything was homemade, with love :)

Birthday banner! I copied this idea from homemade by Jill. I tweaked her method, but loved the idea. I used small plates and twine. Each plate had a picture of B starting as a newborn and then to 12 months. One per month!
Patrick and I got him a wagon. He really enjoyed it. We promptly went for a walk and he was babbling the whole time.
Our neighbor does wood work as a hobby. Yesterday, they stopped by with this homemade rocking horse for our little guy. He likes rocking it and likes even more when he gets to sit on it :) Also, I made the onsie he wore today. I got the blue onsie from the Dollar Store (for a dollar) and cut and sewed the "1" onto the shirt. The fabric I used is also used as "flags" on the ends of the banner.

Smash cake (and you can see the polka dot table cloth. this was not homemade). I got this striped candle about two weeks ago. Just yesterday I saw a polka dot "1" candle at Wal-Mart. Bummer!
Birthday cake, covered with M&M's, obviously. I used the brown ones to make the "1".
Benjamin got a Cars walker thing. LOVES it.
Opening presents...
Hey, hip guy! Uncle Kent & Aunt Sarah got B this cool hat.
He got so excited when I showed him his new toys! This noisy thing was from Aunt Beth and Uncle Jeff. He, of course, loves it. :)

This boy was not cake shy. He dug right in.
And kept digging. He ate so much more of this cake than I wanted him to :) He had chocolate cake all over himself!
Loving life...
The after party. We both fell asleep in this exact spot just minutes later.
Daddy and the birthday boy!

What a day, what a day. Happy birthday to my sweet little boy! What a good year it's been!