Bethany's Birthday, Round TWO!

The morning of Bethany's Backyard Birthday Bash (I don't know...I just made that up...) was BEAUTIFUL (fitting nicely into the sentence full of alliterations...)

Spring, spring, spring was in the air!  We started the morning with multi-grain pancakes and strawberries.

Then, while JC ran an errand or two, we ran around outside in our footsie pajamas. Well..the kids did. I suppose I was foot-less.

Grandma Teri arrived with some chairs to share with our guests and hung out with the kids out front for a bit...and so our day began...

After washing all the chairs that were to be used, they lined them up "like a car" and proceeded to "go to the zoo." They sat and pointed out all the "animals" they were "seeing" (okay, I'll stop with that now...) and yelled for Ben to come get in the car...

but he was busy exploring in his footsies.

following the cat around...

so everyone else decided to join him. And marvel at how many people drove in and out of our cul-de-sac looking for garage sales.

They also found a surpries in one of our bushes...

Hello little ladybug!

(about mid-picture toward the top edge of the leaf...I don't know why I think anyone especially wants to see the ladybug in question...but the bush looks so nice and green, it seemed like a happy picture to share)

The boys, still following the cat around. It's a favorite pasttime.

When I asked her what she wanted to do for her birthday, Bethany told me she just wanted balloons.

Lots of balloons.

So, we got lots of balloons and tied them all around the backyard! Easy enough. And more than festive enough!  She loved it. And, frankly so did I.  In the days following, JC kept saying "I should get back there and take down all those balloons..." and I kept avoiding the conversation because I liked to watch them bob up and down outside of our windows!  I have a feeling that, if I had shared this preference, the conversation following would have had a similar theme to the one we had months ago...

me: "I want chocolate milk."

(proceed to make a glass of chocolate milk)

jc: (says nothing...just stares at me while I do this)

me: "Hon? Do you want some?"

jc: (keeps staring, raises his 'i'm about to make fun of you' eyebrow) "No thanks, I'm twenty-six."

So, I let him take the balloons down.

When we were tying up the balloons, James made it decidedly clear that he wanted one for his own, to carry around. I handed him a yellow one which he held from the very edge of the string for about ten minutes (just some sort of strange specific preference he has for the way he holds on to balloon strings) After a while he says, 

"Mommy, I want my balloon go up-a the sky."

and before I could ask him if he was sure, this is what I saw:

And he was quite happy about his decision.

Soon, some cousins arrived...

Plus some Grandmas...

and Aunts...

The kids played...

and ran around barefoot in sun and bubbles.

And the menfolk talked of serious matters.

Then Bethany asks, matter-of-fact-ly "Is it present time?"

Sure.

So, she got to work on that...Brittney staying close by to help and share excited squeals as support for her cousin.

Some little friends continued their playtime...

While others enjoyed the opportunity to get off their feet! (And yes, even at 21 weeks pregnant, Ali still counts as a "little friend"...) :)

...more exciting presents...

more playtime!

Lots of giggles!

...and, apparently, a dog to walk...

The morning was just perfect for swinging, running, sliding...

visiting, laughing...

and, of course, eating some juicy fruit!

A little while later, Ben got to play with somebody his own size when "Baby Luke" came to play! (Not as much a baby anymore, but Bethany hasn't seen him since he was a couple months old...therefore...the name stuck.)

Aunt Bonnie pushing James on the swing...

plus Aunt Bonnie pretending to be knocked over by James on the swing...

equals a hysterical James (in a good way...)

Uncle Andrew playing with Ben, and being the closest one to him when he gets bonked on the head...

equals a hysterical Ben. (not as much in a good way) :)

Haha...I love how Ben is clearly upset and wanting to be held but he's not entirely sure he wants to appear vulnerable to Andrew, so he's laying on him/pulling away from him at the same time!

Kevin helping Luke enjoy one of the many balls he discovered in our backyard.

Andrew decides to play with someone who may be a bit more resilient...

and teaches James some fancy footwork. Oh, how I wish I knew how to load video on here...ever see a two-year-old try to learn to drop-kick a ball?

My dad imparts wisdom to Ben...

while Andrew and James continue their shenanigans. (I just wanted an excuse to use that word.)

The backyard had died down quite a bit and it was getting closer and closer to afternoon. Things slowed down, but there was still plenty of fun to be had.

I think that Bethany's favorite part of the whole morning may have been blowing bubbles for "Baby Luke." She felt very grown up.

And...

well...

I guess she's getting that way!