Party All Week

*Warning: Picture Overload*

I say it this time every year...I love birthdays. Thus, my little man gaining another year gave me a great excuse for all of us to celebrate for an entire week in March!

One of Judah's new favorite treats is donuts. So Jeff and I took him out to breakfast on his actual birthday for a birthday donut. Lucky for Judah, they still had leftover St. Patty's Day donuts so he got to enjoy a chocolate-glazed donut with GREEN icing.

We then headed over to DC's new National Children's Museum. As you can see, Judah thought it was pretty cool.

Making a pizza 

Having fun with letters

Learning the concept of pulleys and gears

After our fun at the museum, we all had a lunch date at a nearby hot dog joint (again, Judah's request...he enjoys the healthy foods you know :) I should mention here that Judah's actual birthday was on a Monday. Jeff is a very busy daddy but he took the morning off from work so he could spend Judah's special morning with us. Yeah, my husband rocks. I should also mention here that it snowed that morning. A nice surprise birthday gift for Judah, but this mommy wasn't exactly wanting snow in mid-March.

Later that evening, we had a (semi) quiet (and again, totally unhealthy) evening at home with pizza, cupcakes, and Toy Story.

The  next morning, we had a little birthday party for Judah at his school. I took our play firehouse and had fire hats and cupcakes for the kids. They had a blast putting out fires all morning. Thankful for J's energetic and patient teachers!

I now give you DC's most heroic fire chief in action :)

Hard at work with his best friend, Henry

Hard a play with his best friend, Henry :)

Time for cupcakes!

He's getting good at this

"Hey Mom! Can we do this every time at school?!"

The following Saturday was his official birthday party. Both sets of grandparents came for the big day/weekend, which made it extra special! Judah chose a "gardening" theme for his party this year. Interesting, huh? We don't garden. In fact, we don't even have a yard. There are a few plants/flowers in our little condo, but they're all pretty much dead thanks to my not-so-green thumb. However, one of Judah's favorite books is about gardening and the day I happened to ask him about his future birthday party plans a few months ago, we read that book. So I'm assuming that's where he got the idea. I took it and ran with it because I figured we'll have plenty of super-hero themed parties ahead of us :) Here is what we came up with:

Favor preparations....A Coloring Book about Seeds/Plant Growth and a magnifying glass for spying bugs in the garden.

Can you tell Judah was excited about his special day?!

We reserved a space in a local park...

We dug for bugs in the sand....

No, we did not plan for Judah and Gabriel to match...I promise!

We planted flowers for the kids to take home.....

We opened gifts....

And had lots of yummy bug/garden-themed treats...

Butterfly crackers, Mini-garden cups, and "dirt cake"

Enjoying "muddy milk" & ladybug apples

Silly with gummy worms

It was a wonderful celebration (all week long)! Wishing my little love-bug a very special YEAR 3!

Three

One, two, THREE~how can it be?! I honestly can't believe that my baby boy is three years old today. The boy he is becoming makes me so proud and grateful. However, I cried like a baby last night as I tucked him in bed, simply because I can't believe how fast he is growing up right before my eyes. We had such a sweet moment of him requesting "one more song"..."Jesus Loves Me, please mommy." The way he was snuggled in my lap mimicked the cradling position of a baby, yet his long, strong body draped excessively over the arm of the chair. He gently reached his hand up to stroke my face, then ended with a soft kiss on my cheek as I was singing that one last song. I just couldn't hold it together as I realized that was his last night as a 2 year-old.

Happy 3rd birthday to the most precious gift I've ever received. You are Mommy's heart.

Magical!

Hello out there blogosphere! I know, I know, I've been absent for about a month...but for good reason I suppose. Sickness and Disney World! Disney World = magical. Mommy and Judah's illnesses = not so much. I'm choosing to post about the former.

You may remember that KK and Pop (my mom and dad) gave us the generous Christmas gift of taking the whole fam to Disney. The much anticipated trip commenced a few weeks ago, and honestly could not have been more perfect. Great weather, not crowded, and quality time with the fam. Ever since returning, Judah periodically asks me on any given day, "Can we go see Mickey today?" or "Where's the castle?" A few nights ago during bedtime prayers, he thanked God for Disney World. I would say he enjoyed himself...Mommy and Daddy did, too :)

Upon arrival on a Friday afternoon, we wasted no time. We got all dolled up for our evening at the castle for dinner with princesses. Here are our own princesses (my precious nieces) and handsome prince waiting for the shuttle just an hour after our plane landed.

We're here! 

 And just in time for the "Celebrate the Dream Parade," a wonderful welcome to Disney. 

Time for our special dinner inside the Castle. We get to meet Cinderella before our meal...notice who is not in the picture?! Judah decides the week before we leave that "I not like princesses. Princesses for girls." Hmm, first time we've heard any dislike from him, as defined by cultural gender influences. Daddy tells him it's okay but that he will like them in his later years :)

They give him a sword (instead of a wand) and refer to him as the "dragon-slayer" for the rest of the evening. Dinner is saved.

 After a lovely dinner, we embark upon the first "ride" of the trip ("It's a Small World"). Another first for Judah, and clearly he is mesmerized.

 Mommy and Daddy enjoyed it, too!

The sun is setting and we stake our prime spot for the light show, parade, and fireworks.

A perfect ending to a perfect day. 

 We head for Animal Kingdom the next day. It's Judah's first personal Mickey sighting. The hug was priceless. I may have cried.

Another running hug for Donald. 

 So much fun this day. We went on an African safari....and were really this close to the animals.

 We made our own band. 

We dug for dinosaur bones. 

And Judah's self-proclaimed highlight of the trip, we got our faces painted. Still in disbelief that my active boy was a perfectly still angel for this :)

Pluto and his girls! 

On to Hollywood studios the following day, where the highlight was meeting more favorite friends like Buzz and Woody! 

And Lightning McQueen! Judah was in disbelief. 

And we can't forget Tow-Mater. Judah just wanted to climb in his mouth :)

And ended the day making wishes in the fountain. Pretty sure all of J's came true that day!

The next morning, we experienced "Chef Mickey" where all of Judah's favorites served us a delicious breakfast. More hugs for all! 

We ended our trip with Epcot...where we visited lots of countries.

Found more bongos :)

And fed the ducks. 

Thank you, KK and Pop, for a truly magical time!