Three! This sweet little devilish boy turned three!!
And so we threw a great big birthday bash in his honor. This was actually the first big get-together we have had since moving out here. There were 25-ish kids and 20-something-ish grownups. The shindig turned out quite nicely, I must say, but it was A LOT of work. Getting the yard ready, getting the food ready, stressing about everything... Thank goodness birthdays only come once a year and I only have three of them to deal with (that's a reason right there to NOT have any more kids...)
End of August is still quite hot and sticky here in PA, so we rented a water slide to accompany the bouncy castle our neighbors let us borrow. Add these to Paul's easy-up, our trampoline and swing set, and we have quite the amusement park in our backyard!
The water slide was a big hit!
Paul is giving pinata-bashing instructions...
I spent hours on Sam's monster truck cake!
Ha! I gave up wasting time on making kids' cakes long ago. All they eat is the frosting anyway. BJ's makes good frosting, or so I am told by the boys...
Cutting the cake at the party was not one of my favorite moments. Every kid there was surrounding me shouting out that he or she wanted a tire or a piece of the truck or an edge. These little kids can be quite demanding...
Sam's birthday fell on a Monday this year, so we held his party the day before. His awesome party definitely made up for the lack of celebration from the year before (thanks entirely to Hurricane Irene). Although, I think he would have been just as happy to have had just his immediate family, the cake and water slide.
Here is Sam on the morning of his actual birthday...
Super excited to open his presents!!
This monster truck was one of his favorites...
Even Jack got in on the action...
What a silly daddy!!
Sam (on his birthday guitar from Mimi) and Daddy playing a duet...
As per tradition, Sam's birthday lunch consisted of pizza...
Which just so happens to be Max's favorite...
and which Jack really loved...
And then of course we had to have more cake...
Which Sam really, REALLY loved...
Happy Birthday Sam, our rambunctious little sweet and snuggly troublemaker!! We love you to pieces!!
