Caroline's Fifth Birthday Party

On November 9th, my baby girl turned five years old!  We celebrated her birthday at Pump It Up, or as Caroline refers to it, "The Big Jump Place."  It was such a blessing to see how loved this little girl is with all of the children and families in attendance. . . her classmates, friends from our Bible study group, neighborhood kids, and of course her beloved cousins were all there to help Caroline celebrate another year!  I was honestly amazed at how many people came, and I'm very grateful to everyone's thoughtfulness.  

Thanks also to our family who celebrated with Caroline at other times during the birthday weekend!  

John Michael's First Birthday Party

We celebrated John Michael's first birthday at our house on October 18.  It was a very small gathering of family to this fete - nothing too elaborate, seeing as he won't remember any of it years down the road!  The house was decorated in light blue and brown colors, and the dining room table had a centerpiece chronicling JM's first year, month by month in photos, with all of his "firsts" listed on place cards for the guests to view.  JM dug into his first chocolate birthday cake with no hesitation, and he seemed to savor every bite!  When it was time to open presents, he actually paid more attention to each gift than I really expected him to. . . he just calmly sat there and watched as each gift was opened and smiled at each one!  

Once the first birthday formalities were out of the way, the adults broke out the Rock Band Wii game, and the "real" party started.  (Thanks to Shawn's brothers, Stephen and Jason, everyone took turns at the drums, guitar, and microphone!)  So, fun was had by all at John Michael's first birthday celebration.