Bryce's Bday Bash - 3 Years Old!

Lil' buddy turned THREE - not sure how those years flew by so fast - but it's been quite the time!

We celebrated at the Glenview Church in the fabulous Indoor Play Area that they have.  Bryce was excited to invite lots of friends, including daycare buddies, and we were thrilled that so many of them joined us for the party!  Bryce was super happy that his best buddy that had recently moved and left his daycare made it to the party.  The two of them are trouble together and act more like brothers...but they were inseparable at the party and it really helped make it a special event for him!

 Horrible picture quality...partly due to a cruddy camera, partly due to a lack of photography skillz, and partly due to kids that were on the move!  But blurry pictures are better than no pictures...

 The play area was a big tree house with lots of tunnels and slides - so the kids did a lot of running and climbing - and they were ready for cake and treats after all that exercise.

When we sang Happy Birthday to him, he froze and had a look of awe on his face.  I think he was taking it all in and felt like a special birthday boy should!  Such a fun age to see him thriving on all the b-day attention and excited to share the day with good friends!

A HUGE thank you to our friend, neighbor, and super skilled photographer for capturing the b-day singing moment and the priceless look on Bryce's face.

This picture is my favorite!  Thank you Allison!!! :)

Failed attempt at a family photo. At least we tried....

Bryce was pretty enthusiastic about all his fancy new birthday gifts!

 

Big boy had mastered his balance bike and he was asking for a bike with pedals....so he was pretty thrilled about his new wheels!

It is such a treat to celebrate these milestones!  I'm such a lucky momma to have such an amazing little three year old!!  Love you Bryce!

Brianne's Bday Bash!

FOUR YEARS OLD!

We celebrated B turning FOUR!  Hard to believe that four years have already gone by……….but the little lady is growing and learning (and teaching us!) so very much!

We partied with friends at ASI Gymnastics in Keller – and it was superb! A HUGE thank you goes to the amazing coaches that welcomed us and made sure Brianne was showered with attention on her special day.  The children loved jumping on the trampoline, barreling/swinging/sliding/leaping/etc. into the giant foam pit, parachute play, and my favorite part was when Coach James had the kiddos pretending to be different animals and running around and then diving to the ground and ‘hiding’ - it was priceless!

I often wonder “should I mention that Brianne has Down syndrome” before attending various events – and usually I conclude “am I also going to mention that she has blonde hair and loves Elmo and her favorite food is chicken nuggets”...because it’s really just a part of who she is; Down syndrome certainly doesn’t define her………..so I generally opt not to mention it unless it’s on a medical questionnaire and I’m checking the box on a medical form.   That being the case, we arrived to her party and I’d given them no prior notice that she’s chromosomally enhanced, and they didn’t miss a beat and simply treated her like any other  Birthday kiddo! I’m so incredibly grateful for that.   Inclusion, acceptance, respect……..we received that at her party - and it was priceless!
 

Many of these birthday party packages are simply a ‘free-for-all’ where the kids run wild and crazy...but here, it was a very structured and group event where everyone moved together to the trampolines (and they tried their hardest for it to be one child per trampoline….we followed the rules for the most part...at least we didn't have any collisions!) and then it was the game of pretending to be various animals, and then the foam pit jumping which was probably the favorite of all the little ones.  Seeing two coaches take this group of rambunctious little kids that they'd never met before through various games and activities was super impressive.  Definitely thankful that the staff was so great!

Then we had parachute play which led to much laughter and squeals of delight.
 

And the finale was a special recognition of the birthday girl where she was presented with a medal and showered with additional love from the coaches and her friends.

B admiring her birthday medal!  Special thanks to Christina for taking some fabulous photos for us!

This was the first year that Brianne has been into Birthdays, so it was wonderful that she was receiving so much attention.  For her 3 prior years, the birthday song sent her into hysterics, but this year – she was so excited and clapped and grinned when we sang to her.

My heart was happy as I watched Coach James have Brianne stand up on the picnic table bench and have Brianne tell her friends “Thank you” for joining us to celebrate her special day.  He made certain the birthday girl was treated to a super special day.  A HUGE thank you to ASI Gymnastics for the AMAZING celebration!

Happy Happy Birthday, Brianne!!!!  We love you soooooooooo very much!

Snapshot of What We've Been Up To!

Photo Dump Time!

Bryce and Daddy caught their first fish together!

A (rainy) day out with Thomas!  Kiddos loved it (although you might not be able to tell that from this picture!)

Car Wash

Lil' lady knows (and loves!) her letters!

Kids in a box!

More kids in a box :)