A Mommy's Love, In 583 Pieces

Reese scored some major bucks from Grandparents & GreatGrandparents for his birthday, & he was beyond excited to go to the store and choose a gift!

So what did he pick?

A Star Wars Lego set, with only 583 pieces! One thing that I have the hardest time with is putting anything together using picture directions.

And Legos? All picture directions. Granted, they're designed for 7 year olds. But it takes me forever to put together something from a Lego kit.
Like a good Mommy, I open all the packs, sort through all the pieces, and start with Step 1.

I checked the clock before we began. It took me one solid hour to put together this beauty:

Reese's favorite thing to do with Legos? Break apart whatever I have built. Ugh. He promised he would keep it together for at least one day, which he did.

Now it's all in a big bag in 583 pieces again...waiting until Reese asks Mommy to build it again.

Which I will :)

Reese's Tiki Party

Reese decided a few months ago that he wanted a Tiki Party based on a picture he saw from a Family Fun Magazine article on cakes I had saved. It was actually a luau cake, but we had to make it more "boy"...so it became a Tiki Party!

Daddy baked the cake, & Mommy and Daddy decorated...

I can't believe he has 6 candles!

We used a rock cave from the fish bowl decoration section at Walmart,

a HotWheels beach van, a "beach dude" toy we found in the toy bin at home,

the whales & shark were from Hawaii,

and you'll notice the monkey Reese thought should go on the top!

Pottsie & Grammie came to town for the party & were so helpful in getting everything ready on Saturday! Thank you Mom & Dad!

Ready for friends to arrive...
Daddy was a good sport and wore a lei...

Jessie & Austen came to the party, & Reese invited Jessie's two best friends

Caitlyn & Miranda.

Austen asked off work & drove them all to the party.

What an awesome brother & sister!

Everyone had a fun time swimming...

After lots of pool time, it was pizza time!

Everyone grabbed towels and came up to the patio for pizza & fruit salad...

but mostly pizza...

I hate pinatas, but Reese found a palm tree pinata at WalMart and really, really wanted one.

So I couldn't say no.

I thought I stuffed that thing with tons of candy, but once everyone had collected it all there wasn't much to go around.

How did that happen??

Pottsie offered to make the pinata sticks & Reese thought they were awesome and looked like ninja swords.

They are currently hidden under his bed...

Thanks to my friend Deb who took the next few pictures...

My camera died just as we were starting to sing Happy Birthday!

Are you kidding me?

So I have no video of blowing out candles...

and I am beyond thankful that Deb was there with her camera!!

Make a wish baby!!

Time to cut the cake & share...

Do you want blue water or cookie sand?

After cake, everyone hopped back into the pool for more swimming...

Reese had a great night, with wonderful friends, & fun new presents.

Thanks to all his buddies & their families for coming over to celebrate!

Now, Reese....can you please stop growing so fast????

Birthday Tiki Party...

Reese turned 6 on Sunday. I do this every year on his birthday...I protest! No way has another year gone by. Just plain ol' No Way.

We had Reese's birthday party here Saturday and had a nice, quiet day together Sunday on his actual birthday.

The party was great fun & I have lots of pictures to share when I get a chance. But I'm still protesting that my Baby is another year older. No Way.

Austen, Caitlyn, Jessie, & Miranda came to celebrate with Reese.

He adores Jessie's two best friends & it was so nice of them to come too :) I'm sure a bunch of teenage girls could think of a few more things to do on a Saturday night than go to a 6 year old's birthday party...they are really a good set of friends for Jessie!

And Austen asked off work just so he could come to the party.

I tell you what...Reese is lucky to have Aus & Jess as his siblings!!

I'm Still Protesting...

If I were a really good Mommy, I would have penned a heartwarming tribute to Reese on his 5th birthday Saturday.

Instead, I am still protesting. I can't believe my baby is five. Five. Five. Really, five?

In the grand scheme of life, 5 years old is still so young. But 5 is no longer a baby, a toddler, a preschooler. Five is kindergarten. Five is independent. Five is all boy. Five is too big, too fast.

Thank you, Kim, for taking the above picture of Reese blowing out his candles at his party. My camera was in video mode, and while I loved having the video, I was longing for a still photo of him blowing out the candles. Kim captured the moment perfectly....thank you!
I'll get over myself shortly. But allow me a few days to wonder where did the last 5 years go so fast????