Day 13: GIVE Austin the choice of a fun day

Obviously, it was easy to give Austin a fun day, since his birthday fell in November. (And while we had a fun day, we sadly sent Chase off to school so that Austin could get all the attention on his big day. Poor second child!)

After we dropped little brother off at school, we headed to Austin's favorite 'restaurant' for breakfast. McDonald's. I know, I know, but this kid loves their hotcakes & sausage. After devouring his breakfast and a few minutes on the indoor playground, we headed off to the pediatrician for our yearly checkup. And I'm happy to say that Austin has not been to the doctor since his 4 yr checkup......yay for healthy kids! He checked out perfectly (41 lbs. (50%) and 41in. tall (25%)); perfectly square I said!  While we were there, we also jumped at our chance at a flu shot, but opted for the 'mist' instead which was met with little resistance.  Now that the checkup was out of the way, we headed to Austin's second favorite place......Target! He got a duplicate toy for his birthday, so we returned it and got something new.

Then we headed off to Shenaniganz for some bowling fun! Free bowling in the middle of the day if you order some food......yes please! After that, we ventured to the other side to play some games. It seems like all that kid wanted to do was shoot some guns and ride motorcycles! Oh the joys of raising boys. We quickly cashed in our tickets for some prizes and headed to the movies to catch Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (in 3D). It was such a cute, fun movie. It was truly a fun day and Austin was trying to pass out at 5pm!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUSTIN!!!

Wow, I swear each year goes by faster and faster. As I was browsing through pictures to do this post, I got teary-eyed thinking about how fast he's growing up. Did I really become a mother FIVE years ago? That makes me feel super-old! For the longest time, I always wanted to be a mother. Once I finally held Austin in my arms, life was never the same. I know you can't have favorites, but I feel like your first-born always holds a special bond with you. I love this little boy so much. Each day brings more laughter, hugs, silly name-calling, and toothless smiles.

 

What can I say; he's not even a little boy anymore. He's become so independent and smart. He's in Pre-K this year and learning so much. Some of the things he comes home talking about astonish me. And he may be a bit of a teacher's pet!

 

He's always been a bit of a momma's boy, but he's just as much a daddy's boy lately. This kid loooooves to play outside (without shoes, of course). Whether he's cruising around in his Jeep, running laps around the cul de sac, playing t-ball in the backyard, or climbing everything on the playground, he's perfectly content. And he truly is a great big brother. To watch him interact with Chase just makes my heart melt. And sweet little Chase wants to do everything Bubba does.

 

But let me tell you, this kid is definitely a Jordan Jr. He loves to be the center of attention, the life of the party, etc. Definitely going to have my hands full with this one in his teenage years!

Here are some of my favorite moments/pics over the past year.....

Wanting to shave just like Daddy

Mommy & Austin

I love the expression on his face after just throwing leaves all over me!

He LOVES his puppy, Brady!

Having fun at the lake with Chase & Sterling

Playing in the sand in San Antonio

Painting with Daddy in San Antonio

Best Brothers Ever!

After baking with Mommy, this is the best part!

Our little t-ball star!

Day 12: GIVE to a child in need for Christmas

For this project, I grabbed an Angel from the Salvation Army tree at work earlier this week. I decided to pick a little boy, since that's what I know best. We ventured to the store and came back with a nice cozy jacket, a shirt, and some fun Thomas the Train toys.

 

It's so sad to think of all those kids on the tree who have some of the simplest needs/wants for Christmas. :(  Hoping that we can at least brighten the day for this one little guy!

 

Day 11: GIVE a treat to first responders

I thought this was a great one to do. Who doesn't love a visit to the local police/fire department!? (Well, as long as you're not there to pick someone up!) Anyways, I debated on what to take up there for snacks/treats. Typically, I would bake something myself. However, I started thinking that they may not be too eager to eat something that a stranger brought up there. I then confirmed by suspicion with a friend married to a cop. Yep, off to Target we go! I decided these were some manly men; they probably didn't want some cookies. We decided on some chips & salsa, beef jerky, peanuts, and Red Bull.

We live in a small town that just got our very own police/fire combo station. (Yes, we live in Rockwall, but our 'community' has gotten so large that we require our own police/fire resources now.) What better reason to go up and get a tour! We dropped off our snacks and got to take a look around. Austin even got to wear a little fireman hat and sit up in the fire truck. So cool!

(Unfortunately, Officer Tyler who came to our house on an unrelated visit a few weeks ago was not in attendance that afternoon. Bummer!) :)

 

Day 10: GIVE encouragement to your spouse

Tonight I left a little love note on the bathroom counter for Jordan. Many times in the hustle and bustle of our busy lives, we often forget to say thank you or to tell others how much we appreciate them. Over the past few weeks, Jordan has helped me many late nights prepping for Austin's party. Not many husbands would be up in their wife's craft room at midnight gluing cupcake toppers together or painting wooden letters. But he did, both for me and for his son.

 

Not only to say thank you for everything, but he's needed a little encouragement for work lately. Being in retail, he can work some late hours and weekends, which takes him away from us. But I know he's doing what he needs to do for our family and I love him for that.

 

So here's to you, babe! ;)

Day 9: GIVE a great party!

Yes, I know it's a birthday party, but it can certainly fall into the category of 'giving'. When I throw a party, it's for everyone in attendance, not just the birthday boy. I like to think of myself as a party planner extraordinaire, the hostess with the mostest, call it what you want. It's my passion (not accounting!). I start planning and brainstorming ideas for these kids' birthday parties a few months in advance. And while I do go a little overboard with the parties, most of everything is handmade, so I'm not spending a fortune. (Just alot of time browsing Pinterest, at the craft store, and late nights upstairs in my craft room.) This year's theme for Austin's birthday was superheroes. They're really 'in' right now and so much you can do with it. Needless to say, I took the idea and ran wild with it!

 

 

One thing we did splurge on this year......a bounce house. And of course, a Superman bounce house to go along with our theme. And it was a combo one, that had stairs, a slide, and mini obstacle course inside as well. What a workout to climb those stairs! They dropped this bad boy off at 11 this morning and Austin got lots of use out of it before the party even started at 3....

 

 



Originally, I was going to make custom capes for all the kids coming. Then I decided I would just make plain capes and have all the kids initials cut out, along with some other designs, so that the kids could customize their own capes. And little eye masks for them that I cut out. And I made these cute little wrist cuffs (out of toilet paper rolls!). Everything they needed to transform into their very own superhero. I even made the doors to my office look like a telephone booth (using posterboard!), so they could enter and come out as a superhero (like Superman does).

 

 

 

 

For some munchies, I stuck with our usual staples and gave them cool superhero-themed names and labels (Batman Brownies, Spidey Spinners, Joker Juice, Thor Thunder Pasta, Hulk Ham&Cheese, Kryptonite Krispies, etc.)

 

 

And don't forget the cupcakes! I refuse to ever pay for cupcakes/cake and insist on making my own.



 

 

 



When it came time to opening presents, this kid got spoiled! Lots of superheros, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Power Rangers toys. And a Nerf bow & arrow which has barely left his hands since opening it.

 

Outside, we also had a cute backdrop for a great photo opportunity. (Have to give credit to my sister for pulling this one together.). It was awesome to see everyone (both kids and adults!) posing.

 

 

Overall, it was a great party! Austin seemed to love everything about the party, as well as all his gifts. Thanks to everyone that came out to celebrate with us. Still can't believe he's going to be 5 on Wednesday, just doesn't seem possible!

 

(And big thanks to the hubby and my sister for helping pull everything together. Couldn't have done it without you!)





Day 8: GIVE 100% tip

We planned in advance of where we would go eat and give our big tip. Back before Jordan and I ever had kids, we used to frequent a local Mexican restaurant near our house nearly weekly. We became 'regulars' and had our same waiter every time. Well, then we had kids and going out to eat now is considered a luxury. That restaurant moved to a new location in town this past year, so Jordan and I decided to hit it up again for old times sake. Low and behold, our waiter is still there, and remembered us! And to prove that it's a small world, this guy's brother works for Jordan. Crazy! Now we try to frequent this place every month or so on our date night. We typically chow down on lots of chips & queso/salsa, share some fajitas, enjoy several drinks, and finish off with sopapillas. Nothing fancy, but a great place that holds memories for us.

 

So, we decided this is where we would go to give our big tip to Oscar. (And we made sure to leave our tip in cash!) Thanks for the great service over all these years!