Nate's Third Birthday

Our special little Nathan turned 3 on December 22nd and we had lots of fun celebrating. Thankfully we were starting to be on the upswing of being so ill so Nate was able to have some fun.

First up are his Birthday Shots from his Photos take about a week or so ago!

 Don't you just love the photo with the lights?  I do!  I love that it marks the season without looking so Christmas-y.

Now on to the parties!!

We started our celebrating on his actual birthday with just a small party - just the four us.

 The Birthday Boy!!!  Don't you love that shirt?  I ordered his shirt from Sassy Pants Designs LLC - the same shop I ordered Josh's birthday shirt from.  She does fantastic work and is so easy to work with - I was able to tell her what the theme was that I wanted and she sent me some ideas to chose from and I was so very happy with his cute shirt :-) 

 Now, lets keep this real.  This WAS our birthday decor this year.  I feel a little bad because I had planned to do more but, well, I'm starting to sound like a broken record - sickness changes plans.

 The birthday dinner - "Chicken and Fries" . . Nate's favorite. 

 Yes, we ate dinner by candle lights because we roll like that HA  Actually, our dining room fixture has gone bad so we can't use it until my electrician dad can get over here in January and put up something new.  For now, we eat in the darkened room or add some candle light for a little more light!  The boys kept trying to blow it out - there was spit flying everywhere!

 We have a little tradition in this house and that is we have Meijer mini-cupcakes on the boys actual birthday when it doesn't fall on their party day. Normally, I've been so busy cooking and baking getting ready for the party that trying to create one more dessert is just not fun. These cupcakes are just fun and we all love them.

 Presents - the best time of the night!  This year Nate got a V-tech camera that he has been waiting for since Josh got his last year, a puzzle and then an Mama and Baby Elephant.  Nate loves those little animals you can get . . specifically zoo animals.  He calls them all his friends so how could I not get him some special ones?  The boys were cute with their cameras - Josh got his out and they walked around taking pictures of each other . . .taking pictures and then played the little games that are the cameras too. 

Finally, we measured Nate :-)  He is up to 3 feet 2 inches - growing like a weed.

Party # 2!  We celebrated with the Grandparents on Sunday, the 23rd.

 After we all attended our church program, we went to a local BBQ place for the party.  It was originally supposed to be at our house but we had to shift it due to all of the illness. 

 Nate blowing out more candles :-)  These cupcakes are Eggnog Cupcakes with Eggnog Frosting.  Everyone else raved about them but I'm not so sure.  Maybe my taste buds are just messed up.

 Finally, all of the gifts!  Josh loved watching Nate open his presents and was even more excited when he got to open one of his own. 

Nate got all of this awesome Dinosaur stuff, a Little People Nativity Set, and a Sock Monkey.  To say that he was excited is an understatement.

We really had a great two days worth of celebrating.  As we did with Josh, we will be taking the family on an over night hotel stay in January because they boys love to "Swim and stay in a hotel".  With all of the busyness of the holidays, we decided to take our little getaway after the new year and are looking forward to a fun couple of days :-)