Thursday, June 21, 2012

Jackson's 4th Birthday

I can hardly believe our little boy turned 4 last week! Some people say not to make a big deal out of birthdays, but I don't get that philosophy...I like to make a big deal out of something any chance I get, especially birthdays! This year was no exception.

We started the day with a little pretend play since we weren't going to actually have cake for breakfast. We sang Happy Birthday, and then he "blew out" the candles and served everyone a piece.

Then we moved on to presents from the family...I think he liked them. ;-)

Jackson has decided he wants to be an "Astronaut Doctor" when he grows up. He says he wants to fly into space and be a doctor for people when they get sick. Sounds like a great plan to us! He already has some doctor toys, so now he can really pretend to be an Astronaut Doctor with his Astronaut flight suit that Mommy gave him.

Audrey picked out the Spiderman mask that talks, and Daddy gave him a really cool remote control stunt car that you control with a light ray. He was genuinely excited about each one and thanked everyone very sweetly.

After playing with the toys for a little while, we had a moment of grumpiness that we all tried to help resolve in our own way...

Jackson's birthday fell on a Tuesday, so I took the day off work and arranged for a friend of his choosing to spend the day with us. He choose one of his best friends, Clara, and he decided on the zoo for his birthday destination. Ross took Audrey to school,and Jackson, Clara, and I made a quick stop at Riley's for donuts before heading to the zoo, which quickly solved the grumpiness problem.

We got to the zoo just in time to watch the elephants get their bath and learn a little more about each of them. Then we made our way through the cats and bears and into the African forest exhibit where Jackson and Clara got to feed the giraffes!

After feeding ourselves too, we wandered through one of the gift shops where Jackson picked out a couple of small African drums to add to his music collection before we headed to the carousel for a quick ride.

We wandered around a little more and decided to cool off with some ice cream and a 4D Dora and Diego Adventure film. Then the kiddos changed into their swimsuits, and we headed to the newly opened splash pad. It was a blast and just what they needed!

To round out our long, fun day, we met up with Ross, Audrey, and Clara's parents at a fun restaurant for dinner where the wait staff sang happy birthday, and we had a real cake! The kids each made a wish in the fountain before heading home and crashing hard.

It was such a fun day! There are lots more pictures in the album, and more to come about the actual b-day party!

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