Nathan's 3rd Birthday

Nathan with the babies

The ladies - me, Ellie, Virginia, Olivia

Nate and Evelyn

The moonbounce

Nathan jumping in the moonbounce

Ok, so here we are in April...it's not over yet so I still have time to post about Nathan's birthday without feeling dreadfully behind.

Nathan's actual birthday was on a Wednesday so we spent a little family time going to sushi (his favorite) for lunch and giving him a new bicycle to ride in the afternoon. Then we had cake and presents (throughout the day actually). Balloons too. Nathan loved opening presents and kept saying "more presents" even after we were done. He got some good ones...we had asked for outdoor items so that we could enjoy our new yard and we got some great garden tools, picnic table, Big Wheel, wheelbarrow, etc. Very exciting.

For Nate's birthday weekend, Virginia, Patrick, Evelyn, and Olivia drove down for a visit which was just awesome. Nate and Evelyn resumed their friendship just where they left off and were so excited to see each other. They also played nicely (almost) all weekend which was really great for the adults. On Saturday we had a party for Nathan in our backyard, renting a "moonbounce" with a slide for entertainment and having hot dogs, hamburgers, cake, and beer for refreshments. Beer was for the adults. Scott and Nathan had made the rounds of the neighborhood inviting anyone they met so I struggled to follow their verbal invitation up with a written one (boys just don't know how it works in the world of etiquette and that no mommy is going to allow her kid to just go over to someone's house on a verbal invite...). So I had absolutely no idea how many people were going to show up, especially because Scott didn't remember where some of the people he invited even lived so I couldn't give them an invitation. It culminated in a panic around 11:35 when no one was at our house for the party! Nathan could have cared less at that point, as his moonbounce arrived early and Evelyn was there so he was happy as a clam. He had been running around with Evelyn all morning and didn't eat..so I should have seen the recipe for disaster coming. The day was gorgeous and sunny though a little windy and we ended up with probably 15 kids and 20 or so adults. It was really a great time. Nathan came out of the moonbounce only to blow out the candles on his cake and then went right back in....Around 1:00 he told me he went poo poo in the potty and I discovered he was having diarrea. In my head I thought "uh oh. there goes potty training." BUT diarrea really put him to the test and Nathan responded. He went to the potty every time. ALL DAY LONG while his stomach was upset and then kept going outside to run and jump. I finally had to kidnap him and take him to his room to force him to lie down and drink some water. At this point he had a fever too so he was a mess. I think the combination of no food except cake and juice, crazy activity and excitement, and no nap really made him a mess. He had a great time though and the next day recovered just fine. My favorite part was having our friends in town. We miss them.

OH I would be remiss if I didn't mention the drama at the party which was the moonbounce blowing over!! How could I forget? Thank goodness most of the kids were out but it scared Evelyn a bit. The other kids thought it was a fun ride, Nathan included. A gust of wind just got right under the moonbounce and blew it over. Crazy.

Here are some photos from Nathan's birthday weekend.