Party! Party! Party!

Every year since we have been married, we have headed to California for a visit in the summertime. We do it then because it serves as a good midway point between Christmas from one year to the next. Once Jonah came along, it also allowed us to celebrate his birthday with our families. This year however, we decided to skip the June Cali trip for the first time in a long time. (The twice yearly travel proves to be pretty strenuous each year, and since both sides of the family were visiting NC this summer, we knew we'd be sacrificing less by skipping this year.) All that being said, we had the opportunity to have Jonah's first "friends" birthday party!! We got to invite his buddies from church and play groups, to come and play and celebrate him. It was SO fun! I involved him in every aspect of the process. He made the guest list of people he loves (and who love him, which blesses me as his mama), helped make the food, and picked out pieces of the decor and goody bags.

We had a Thomas theme of course! (I referred to it as "2.0" since last years theme was also Thomas.) Not a lot has changed in his obsession in a year! The cake was home made and was in Thomas colors. I had to put my Pinterest dreams aside since he picked out the good ol' candy letters for it.

I did refer to Pinterest (my obsession!) for ideas for the food. I put on the invite that "cake and sugar" would be served, so people knew what to expect! I tried as best I could to stay with a blue and red train theme. (Not as easy to do a "theme" when it's a boy party, at a park, with no games, but I tried!)

We had the party at a park in Boone called Junaluska Park. It is an older residential park that isn't as well know or frequented. It is beautiful, shady, and has old school play equipment. The bulk of the time was just letting Jonah and his friends run wild.

Caden and Ezra...

Melissa Ann and Malia...

Jonah showing Mary a train...(LOVE "Grumpy Cat" Charlie photo bombing. He does NOT like getting caught in a picture! haha) 

Bryson, Forrest, Elijah, and Caden...

Ever serious looking Baylor...

The probably-unsafe-but-super-cool metal merry-go-round was a big hit. Most of the kids were on it most of the time. (As you can probably tell.) All the kids took turns doing the spinning too. (Catch a smiling Charlie here!)

Jonah and one of his BFF's, Caden.

After they had run off some steam we called the kids over to do the customary birthday stuff like blowing out candles, eating treats and cake, and opening gifts.

We tried to put 4 candles on the cake, but Boone is just too windy for that. One it is!

Jonah initally went off and starting digging into his cake alone, but his sweet love Mary joined him.

 Caden, Ezra, and Baylor chowing down.

The kids got a little restless during gift time. And why wouldn't they? We kept it short and sweet and made sure that Jonah thanked each friend while he looked at them. (Every moment is teaching something, right?)

I can't resist her sweet face! Mary is just a doll baby.

LOVE this moment of little Forrest watching Jonah, and his sweet unaware folks in the background. Good photography Andrew!

After the gifts were open, there was a little more time to play, and then things pretty much came to a close. Goody bags were given out. Thank You's (again) and Good-byes were said. Quick cleanup was done, and then we were out of there! It was a really fun day for Jonah and really solidified what a community we have here. Thankful all around.

We Have a 4 Year Old

How in the world is it possible. It is a month after Jonah's birthday and I still look at him daily and wonder how he is 4. I hate cliche's in general, but the one's about "time flying when you are having fun" and "kids growing up too fast" sure do ring true. For some reason, this birthday seemed to carry a lot of weight for both Jonah and me. Something about turning "4" felt very milestone-y. His excitement about the impending age change fueled my desire to make it really memorable for him. My only goal for the day of his birth celebration was to make him feel like he was the most special kid in the world. (I don't want him to get the "big head" about himself, but every once in a while is ok, right?!)

The night before his birthday we told him that he had to go to sleep or he couldn't wake up and turn 4. (I highly recommend this tactic. At least until they get a grasp on the fact that time keeps going regardless of their sleeping.) When he woke up in the morning he started his day with pancakes in the shape of trains, tracks, 4's, and J's.

Jonah got his first present after breakfast. Annie and Clarabel from Mimi and Pop Pop! Wow.

After that we asked Jonah what he wanted to do for the day. PARK!! Ok!!

Notice that he is wearing a Thomas badge. It signified that it was his birthday. He made sure to tell everyone who even made eye contact with him that it was indeed his birthday and he was 4. The park ended up being a bit blustery and chilly, despite the sun, so the trip was short lived. We headed to the Playhouse for some indoor play and then asked Jonah what he wanted for lunch. FIVE GUYS!! Ok!! (Not a low-cal day.)

Checking the mail when we got home, we discovered even more goodies that had been sent to Jonah from family all over the place. Cuddling on the couch we opened gifts and cards from Mimi and Pop Pop, Aunt Louise and Uncle David, and the Texas Smiths! Thomas, books, and spending money seemed to be the theme. Jonah has never had his own money before so he found that really intriguing. (It's been extra fun since it has been a chance to teach him about buying things he REALLY wants, manners when shopping, and making change.) He immediately wanted to browse through his new book too. (Dr. Suess' Happy Birthday. SO fun. Reading it in full that night, he kept pointing to himself and smiling when it referenced the birthday person!)

We ended the day with dinner at Mellow Mushroom and dessert at Sweet Frog. (I am telling you...NOT low-cal!!) It was a wonderful day for our little trio. All day long, Jonah kept saying how excited he was, how he was SO happy, and how he loved being 4. I loved seeing his joy and pride of being a big boy, and felt like mission accomplished. He seemed to really feel as celebrated as he is. 

Day Out with Thomas

Anyone who has met, seen, or heard of Jonah probably knows that he has a deep love affair with trains. Namely Thomas and ALL of his friends. It should come as no surprise then that when Thomas was coming to Tweetsie on his annual tour, we got our tickets reserved nice and early. I knew Jonah was gonna love it, but I was not prepared for his level of joy, or my own. Watching him go through the day so utterly happy made my own heart happier than I could have anticipated.

We got to the park just after opening time and had tickets for the 2nd train of the day. ("Why not the first train of the day", you ask? Because this obsessive mama had to get him the official "I Spent the Day Out with Thomas" t-shirt to wear first!! I put it on him immediately. "Surely he already has a Thomas shirt, doesn't he?" Yes. But not a commemorative one!) After getting the fore-mentioned, necessary, shirt we took a family photo with the Big Guy and headed to the train.

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Normally the Tweetsie train ride makes a couple of stops along the way for little Cowboy and Indian skits. Not when Thomas is in town though! It's all about the train ride itself for these fans! There was only 1 small skit and Thomas saved the day!

 

There was plenty more Thomas and Friends things to do besides the train ride itself. The "saloon" housed huge train tables to play at. They were swarming with like minded, train enthusiasts like my Jonah. There were also free tattoos and pages to color, and a poster of the Diesels(!!!) to pose with!

 

 

Jonah also got to do a meet and greet with the "fat controller" himself (that's actually what they sometimes refer to him as in the movies...), Sir Topham Hatt.

 

The bouncy house and inflatable slide were nearby. The height of the slide didn't freak him out going up, just coming down. On the belly was his compromise.

We took a moment to pose as a gang of conductors (This year's Christmas card???) and then sat down to watch Thomas roll by.

 

One last joyful ride on the train and it was time to head home. It was such a special day for Jonah, but I think it will live on to be more memorable for me as his mama. It was a combination of a lot of factors I'm sure but, his passion for Thomas, his age and ability to appreciate such a day, and the blessing of being able to give it to him made it one for the memory books for sure.

Mimi and Pop Pop Visit

Can that be right?? Have I really not posted since Christmas?! (Alright, alright...no need to yell YES GG!!) It is true. Sorry. To make up for it, I will now have an onslaught on posts coming out over the next week or so, so get ready. Our lives have been a whirlwind from the end of May til the end of June. I can now get all my ducks in a row and share what's been going on with us, starting with my parents visit in May.

My mother has been to NC for visits a few times since we moved here, but this was the first time that Daddy has been able to come with her. We LOVED having Pop Pop join us, and I think we hooked him for another trip in the future!!

The first stop on the trip was of course Cracker Barrel!! We headed there for breakfast before we spent the day at Tweetsie.

Once at Tweetsie, we explored the park for the first time this season with Mimi and Pop Pop. We were able to hit every area pretty thoroughly!

Teepee for one?

Fake horse photo-op. Couldn't pass that up! (Got a funny one of mom on the horse alone, cause Jonah was over it and ditched her, but I'll leave out the loner shot! haha)

Next on the itinerary was taking a ride on Tweetsie. Some of Jonah's friends don't care too much about this part of the park, but it's kind of a must for us. Jonah even got to pose with the enigeer this time.

 

Some silly pictures were taken and then we took the people mover up to the rides. The people mover proved to be a bit of a challenge for Mimi and Pop Pop. They were out of practice trying to wrangle a kid AND all there stuff at the same time. Everyone survived though!! (Zoom in for Jonah's joyous face.)

 

Riding rides....

And Pop Pop introduced Jonah to arcade games. His very first Whack-a-Mole!!

 Last stop was the petting zoo. It's more of a feeding zoo than anything, but it's still fun.

We did a few other things while Mimi and Pop Pop visited, but it was definitely more laid back than our day at Tweetsie!

Skipping rocks at Trout Lake...(sorry so far away...but it's a cute moment)

Reading with Mimi...

And having lunch at a Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives in Charlotte called Dish.

We still have a lot of things that we didn't get to this trip, so we will just have to patiently wait for the next one!