Nate's Fifth Birthday!!

Admittedly, I have been less than motivated to do my blog posts lately. Because I'm falling so far behind I decided it was time to get to work. Nate's birthday was September 10th. I can't believe he's five. He's so long and skinny and smart and strong. It's amazing for me to think about where he started as a newborn and where he is now. I love having a little boy. He's so much fun. His imagination is incredible and he's one of the happiest people I know. One of the great things about his birthday this year is that he finally had friends to invite to a party. We've moved him around so much that every birthday has been family because his birthday would fall right after we'd settled into a new state but before we really knew anyone. So we were really excited to get a party going for him. Little did I know how much work and time went into children's birthday parties.

It had to start with the cake. Nate requested a Dinosaur themed party so the invites were sent out and I got to work on getting ideas on a cake. I love to do cakes and want to learn how to do fondant and other techniques in the future, but for now I just do piping. I got online and found this great 3D stegosaurus cake. I showed to it Nate and he was sold. A couple of days before the party I got to work baking. Once the cakes were baked, the next day was a day of sculpting and piping. This was the shape of the dinosaur before any frosting.

This is the end product.I think it turned out really good. I was surprised at how quickly it came together. It's chocolate cake, buttercream frosting, chocolate scales, candy corn spikes, red hot eyes, chocolate chip claws and toasted coconut. I had such a good time doing this that I'm thinking I had more fun with the cake than Nate did. The day of the party came and it was 2 in the afternoon. I was still in my pj's and running around crazy trying to get all the food made, the house clean and all the stuff for the party together. Robert's parents promised a birthday phone call that afternoon so when the phone rang we grabbed Nate and had him talk to his grandparents. They told him they had a gift delivered and they needed him to go check outside the front door to see if it had arrived. We don't allow Nate to open the door without one of us checking through the peep hole first. I went with him to the door and looked out. There was nothing so I was hesitant to open the door, but I did. The hallway with totally deserted and quiet and Nate and I stood there looking confused for a split second before Charlie and Sandi jumped into view yelling "Happy Birthday!" and setting off party poppers. Nate loved it, but I was so surprised that I let go of the door and it slammed in their faces. Apparently my face was pretty funny. Anyway, they had been planning the trip for weeks and had flown in that morning. It was such a great birthday surprise. After we all calmed down and got some lunch Nate got to open his gifts from his grandparents.Soon we had to start setting up so Robert and his dad went down to the pool and set out the decorations while I finished the food upstairs. After everyone arrived we had dinner. We had oven fried chicken, potato salad, pasta salad, watermelon, brontosaurus shaped sandwiches and capri suns for the kids and fun sodas for the parents. It was so fun to see all our friends and we were so grateful that they'd come help us make Nate's birthday memorable. I have to say that Charlie and Sandi's surprise was awesome because they helped us so much with the party. Sandi took care of Scarlett the whole time and Charlie was the photographer. I know I couldn't have had such good time with out them. Thank you!I love that Houston is perfect for pool parties. It makes for choosing party venues very easy. The kids absolutely love it! Nate is a little fish. I love this pic.After dinner and swimming we pulled out the T-Rex pinata. All the kids took a few swings.It was one well made pinata. The poor kids didn't even make a dent.We had to get some dads to help. It was fun to watch the parents get into it too.Pure chaos ensued after the candy made it's appearance.I'm pretty sure that our friends are going to think twice about attending a birthday party the Ross' throw in the future because we give their kids too much sugar. After they filled their bags with candy and dinosaur tattoos, we did the birthday cake and ice cream. Not to mention the cupcakes, suckers and giant gummy dinosaurs we sent each of the kids home with! After the party and clean up (thanks again to all who help us!) we went up stairs and Nate was so happy. I'm glad he had a great time. If any of you are aware of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse you'll understand this photo of him doing the "Hot Dog Dance".One of his gifts was a Transformers umbrella. He also got an Ironhide transformer, Star Wars action figures, and tons of puzzles. The next morning Nate and Robert and his parents went to soccer practice while I headed off to a stake volleyball tourney. Nate loves to go play soccer with his friends.Robert is one of the coaches and I think he really enjoys it. He coached young kids before his mission as a volunteer. In this picture Robert and Nate have exactly the same posture.On Sunday we finally remembered to get some pictures with Grandma and the kids. Nate's showing off his cool dinosaur tattoo. Nate had a great birthday weekend. We are so happy to have him in our family. We are also grateful for our families that make him feel special and remember his big day. Finally, we are constantly amazed at how generous and wonderful our friends are. We couldn't have had such a memorable weekend without all of them!