Andrew's 6th Birthday Party

Andrew's birthday always falls on Super Bulldog Weekend here in Starkville and so it is always difficult to find time to have a party with so much going on!  So, this year, we elected to throw his party on the weekend after, which just so happened to be the same weekend as Will's 1st Communion.  (This is where we say "poor middle child, always having to share his special day with someone or something else!"  But I assure you, this little sweetheart doesn't even notice nor does he mind.)  

But, since it was the same weekend as Will's First Communion, we had lots of our family come into town and celebrate the whole weekend with us.  We started the weekend off with opening his family gifts on Friday night.  

Saturday, we had a really fun baseball themed party with all of his friends!

If this seems like deja vu, it is because we had the exact same party for him last year...location, theme, even same cupcakes! :)

It was soaking wet because of the big thunderstorms that had come through the night before, but the kids didn't seem to mind getting a little dirty! 

The adults had as much fun as the kids I'm pretty sure.

And while the big boys played ball, the little girls (the only 2 girls Andrew would allow at his party haha!) had a blast on the playground!

That is until they discovered the rain puddles...

(Therese watched every little thing that June did and got more and more adventurous and tried out some of her bad tricks.)

And then this happened...

which led to this...

which inevitably led to a naked ride home and then 

this...

After baths and showers for everyone, we spent the afternoon out back playing with Will's birthday present, a bb gun!

It was such a fun birthday party and such a great way to celebrate our sweet boy, Andy-bear!

Andrew has always been and continues to be the sweetest, funniest, and most gentle soul I know.  I love watching him grow and thank God everyday that I get to be his mommy!  He has such love and kindness for all those close to him and blesses us all with his sweet spirit.  We could all stand to be a little more like this guy! 

New Years Eve

The week after Christmas we headed to Hartselle to see the Whatley side of family.  And we got a HUGE surprise when Clay and Michelle showed up on the doorstep NYE evening.  No one knew they were planning the quick trip home!  It was so fun and so great to see them!!

We all gathered round to watch the bulldogs play.  The game did not come out in our favor, but we had a good time nonetheless.  

We also celebrated my birthday while we were there.  I had lots of help blowing out the candle!

That night, we played the "money game" again.  It was soooo funny to see everyone trying to pry open the box with gloves on.  

Oh!  And we let Will stay up until midnight for the first time this year.  All the younger kids went to bed, but Will got to stay up and be part of the party!

Ben decided that it sounded like too much fun so he woke up to be a part of the fun too!

And the mercantile opened back up for some cute little customers. 

The next night we had our "Christmas" and opened presents with everyone.

And poor Therese was just getting over the flu while we were there and really didn't feel great, but was still such a sweetie!

Lots and lots of dress up clothes for everyone...

The next morning, all the "big" kids sat around and played the fishing game. (It's funny to call June one of the big kids, but she is definitely not a baby anymore.)

"Go away, Anna!"

The cousins all took turns reading together too.  It's always so fun to see all of them together.  They pick up right where they left off!

A little bit more mercantiling...

The girls enjoyed some beautiful Irish coffees.

And we played the money game again with Patrick and Katie since they weren't able to join in the fun the other night because Therese was still sick. 

It was a fun filled week as always!  Not everyone has siblings or even cousins that are also your friends and who you enjoy each others' company so much.  I really appreciate that about our family so much! 

Happy New Year!!