He wasn't totally left out...

Drew wasn't completely left out of the grandparent time! They were able to watch him at soccer practice one evening and went to school one afternoon for lunch, to meet his teacher, and see his classroom. He loved it!

And, of course, Nana comes to town with fun presents from her travels. This time it was gifts from Grand Central Station in New York City! Both boys got subway trains they can use on their wooden tracks. Plus Legos specific to NYC (the Statue of Liberty and a yellow taxi) as well as books about NYC and trains in general. They were so excited!

I Am A Robot...I Am A Robot...

For MONTHS Allen collected items to build a robot. And by collected I mean he literally dug through our recycle bin pulling out random items saying "This would be perfect for my robot!" and then taking said item and stashing it away. When Nana & Grandaddy came to visit, we (meaning I) decided it was a good time to build his robot. They finished it and he is awesome! Now if I could only figure out where to put the darn thing...

Happy Birthday Allen!

Oh how time does get away from me...

Our younger son...you know, the one that is full of life, energy, and the pursuit of all things fun? Yes, Allen. He turned FIVE this month. It is so hard to believe! In some ways, as a stay-at-home mom, you feel this day will never come. That your children are perpetually toddlers and not growing up. At all. But then you blink and your youngest child is 5 years old. I mean, he's practically a teenager!

We celebrated Allen's birthday a few days early at a "bouncy place" where he and his friends could run and jump to their hearts' content. It was wonderful and they all had a great time. We lucked out and had a party hostess who actually did her job. She helped me with the room set-up and decorating, she played with the kids (including manning the zip line...I do dislike that job!), and she was there throughout the entire party. It really made for a much more relaxing time for us! Allen chose Jake and the Neverland Pirates as his party theme and requested a Bucky cake. Bucky, for those of you not embedded in Disney Junior, is Jake and his crew's ship. Mommy & Daddy came through again with the dream cake. And I promptly told Allen next year either needed to be a more basic theme or it would be store-bought!!

On the morning of Allen's big day, he awoke to the one present he had asked his Grandaddy for...his Nana & Grandaddy at his house! They arrived late the night before and were waiting for him when he woke up that morning. He was so excited! I was thankful my parents' travel schedule allowed for the surprise visit. But I warned them they have set a very dangerous precedent in fulfilling crazy birthday wishes! Allen had school that afternoon and took cupcakes to his friends. That evening we had dinner at his favorite pizza place and then finally cut into Bucky. It was a good day to be FIVE!

That grin...the one that shows sheer joy and happiness? That one made all the hours of work worth it!

Trying to get a group photo...crazy kids!





The other "one thing" he asked his Grandaddy for...the Lego Star Wars Pod Racers

It's super handy to have a big brother who can read!

"Mommy! You got it?!"

An Audi Shop...for the self-proclaimed "Audi Fan"

Total shock and happiness combined into one!

The completed Pod Racers!

"Mommy I'm going to have a real Audi R8 when I grow up!" OK sweetie...as long as it's on your own dime!

Happy Birthday Little Man! We love you so much and we can't wait to see what the next year brings for you!!