Happy Birthday, Jeremy!

I'm a little later in posting this than I had intended, but we've been busy having lots of fun around Jeremy's FIFTH birthday!

The fun started with his "Diggin' Dinosaurs" Birthday Party on Sunday, Oct. 28th!  Jeremy wanted to include his entire class from school, so we planned an afternoon party at a local park.  The kids played on the playground, then played Pin-the-Tail-on-the-Dinosaur, dug for dinosaur skeletons and enjoyed birthday cake.  We had a great crowd, and gorgeous weather - it was a fantastic day!  Here are a few highlights - be sure to check out the full album on our Shutterfly site!

BIRTHDAY BOY!

Digging for dinosaur skeletons!

Friends enjoying birthday cake

Then of course our Birthday Boy's day was a big one - not only was it is fifth birthday, but it was also Halloween!  The day started with surprise balloons outside his room, and a surprise phone call just for him - from his friends on Paw Patrol!  (Parent tip: check out the Nick Jr. Birthday Club - your kiddo can get a personal phone call on their birthday! It's awesome, and Jeremy LOVED it!)

Grinning while listening to his Paw Patrol friends wish him a Happy Birthday!

Then Adam, Anson and I met CC, Grandpa, and Mawmaw at Jeremy's school for a special Celebration of Life ceremony.  At his school, they celebrate each child for their birthday. In Jeremy's class, they have family bring pictures of the day the child was born and for each year of their life, and share stories about the child for each year. Also for each year, the students sing a song as the child carries the earth around a "sun" candle, to represent each "trip around the sun". It's a beautiful ceremony, and we're so thankful to have been part of it.

Jeremy's Celebration of Life ceremony at WRM

... And after school (and a brief quiet time), it was time to gear up for Halloween and more birthday festivities!  CC, Grandpa and Mawmaw, plus good friends Jessica and Austin, came over for Trick-or-Treating fun and a birthday dinner!

Cat Boy seeing Dad's surprise (inflatable) T-Rex costume!

Our Baby Stegosaurus!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JEREMY! Make a wish!

As always, it was a blast celebrating our Big Guy's birthday and Halloween... and it took all of us at least a week to recover!  Totally worth it.  ;-)

The next week was back to the usual, but highlighted by something new in our family: TONS of kiddo birthday parties!  Now that Jeremy is in school, and we're more active in our church, and Adam is in school, we have lots of circles in which there are kids and we're being invited to more and more birthday parties!  It's fun, and a little bit crazy...  Last weekend (a week after Jeremy's party) we went to a church friend's birthday party, and this past weekend we went to three parties - one for an EMBA friend's kid, one for Jeremy's classmate, and one for another friend's kiddo.  It made for a crazy weekend, for sure, but we're grateful to be included in friends' lives and celebrations. :-)

We're also in the final stages of preparing for our renovation project to start. It's starting to get real!! Plans are being finalized, subcontractors have walked the property, financing is lined up... Our tenants move out on Dec. 1, and "Demo Day" ( ... or week ... or weeks ...) starts on Dec. 3rd!

Now, we're bracing for some pretty chilly weather!  We broke out the winter coats, mittens and loves, beanie hats and scarves this morning...  Brrrrr!

Stay warm, friends!  And drop us a note when you have a chance - we'd love to hear how you're doing, especially if we won't see you next week for the holiday.