Calling all Superheroes!

John's superhero friends came over to help celebrate his birthday today.



When our super friends arrived, they got to pick out a mask and a tattoo of their favorite superhero.



John picked the Iron Man mask of course.



And since I knew we would have one girl there, I made her a crown just in case she didn't want to be a superhero.



Jack chose the Wolverine mask. He looked so cute in it!



After everyone picked out their masks and got tattoos,  we played "Pass the Kryptonite".



Iron Man was so into it.



The next game was Vaporize the Villain. Our sweet friend Ashley played the part of the super villain. Love her mustache.



The kids LOVED this game! And I loved watching John laugh so hard.



Then we had the kids line up for the pinata. John and I have been working on this for a week. We tried to make it look like Captain America's shield. It was pretty sturdy, and the kids had a hard time getting into it.



So we let Ashley loose on it.



And she set all of the candy inside free!



John was pretty pleased with his bag of loot.



After the games, John opened his presents from his friends.



Then Daddy helped him open his present from us. It was hard to tell who was more excited....Daddy or John.



He loved his new camouflage gun.



Then it was time for some superhero grub. We had an Avengers cake.



And some other fun super power foods.



Then we sang Happy Birthday to my big boy.



He was so cute!





At the end of his super fun day with his super friends, we gave him his last gift. Since it's cheaper to buy a lifetime hunting and fishing license before you turn 5, we got John one. I'm sure he will thank us for this in the years to come because this is the gift that keeps on giving.



Happy birthday sweet boy!

presents for the birthday boy

When the girls got home from school today Aaron couldn't wait any longer and let John David open some of his birthday presents.



He got his very own bow, and was so excited. So excited that he was willing to change out of his pjs that he'd been wearing all day. (He didn't want to get dressed this morning, so I just let him stay in his pjs since he's the birthday boy.)



He went right out and practiced shooting.



He needs a little assistance, but Aaron says he'll be shooting it by himself before too long.



Does he look happy or what?!



After shooting his bow, he went back inside and opened a couple more presents.



He is really into Captain America and Iron Man right now, so he was excited about these presents too.



Now he's all set for his superhero party tomorrow!

Louisiana Day

The 3rd graders at Maplewood celebrated Louisiana Day today. Each class rotated to different classrooms for different activities. They learned all about Louisiana wetlands, the life cycle of a crawfish, Mardi Gras, and got to hold a baby alligator. They even got to eat all kinds of different Louisiana foods and  decorate their own king cake. Here's Sarah with her good friends, Madison and Carolyn.



Each student was also allowed to decorate their own float and bring it to school to display.



Here is Sarah with hers.



It's kinda plain and simple. She said she didn't want to do one, but I knew she would be sad when she got to school and didn't have one. So we threw this one together last night.



After all of the activities, the 3rd graders got their floats and beads and put on a little Mardi Gras parade for the rest of the students.






Here's Carolyn with her float.



And Madison with her float.



It was a super fun day.



Happy Mardi Gras y'all!

my baby is four

Our handsome boy is four today.



He is without a doubt the loudest,



and silliest,



and sweetest four year old I know.



He is ALL BOY! He loves being outside, working with or doing anything with his daddy, superheroes (especially Iron Man), Honey Nut Cheerios, Chinese food, helping mama with the dishes, and hanging out with his sisters.



He still loves camouflage and wants to wear it all day, everyday.



He has a very tender heart and sometimes gets his feelings hurt easily. So he'll run away and sit and pout somewhere. I think this is a side effect of living with two sisters.



He can be a little demanding at times, which I think is partly because he is the baby.



But I seriously don't know what I'd do without this boy.



He is always the first to volunteer to say the prayer, and always says the sweetest things. He brings so much happiness to our home.



He keeps us laughing all the time with his silly antics.





He really is the sweetest boy in the whole world, and I make sure to tell him that everyday.



Happy birthday sweet boy! We love you to pieces!