Kellan Turns Five

August 23, 2015, Kellan turned 5!

It's crazy to think that he is already 5, but alas, he is.

He woke up to find balloons floating above his birthday gift, a new soccer net to support his love of the game.  He was SO Excited!

First up for the day, opening a few gifts.

Ahhh... giving his big brother some love for the gift.

We sure love these two boys and they sure love each other.

Wahoo!  New soccer ball.  Now he's ready for the upcoming soccer season.

Before we could head out to the party, Kellan couldn't wait to get started on some of his legos.

To celebrate, we took Kellan and some of his friends to Build-a-Bear.  Kellan LOVES stuffed animals and adding another one to his collection was a dream come true.

Getting started, they heard all about making a new bear.

As the birthday boy, Kellan marched them all over to pick out their bear.

Giving their bear heart some love.

Giving their bear heart a kiss.

Bringing their bear to life with a bit of stuffing.

Ahhhh.... nothing but love for this new puppy named Pup Pup.

Emerson with her new bear.

Lily with her new bear.

Cole with his new bear.

Samantha with her new bear.

Evan and his new bear.

Giving their new bears a bath.

Oliver decided that he was too old and too cool to be building a bear, so he opted out of the fun.  He may have tried to opt out of Mommy hugs, but this Mama wouldn't let that happen.

Captain Build-a-Bear to the rescue.

The whole party gang.

Kaitlyn, Oliver, Evan, Emerson

Samantha, Lily, Cole

Once the bears were built, Kellan rang the bell.

Then he blew out the candle and made a wish.

New Bears in hand, we all marched down to Red Robin for a bit of lunch.

Kellan and Kaitlyn had a lot of catching up to do.

Who's that man behind the stache?

Ahh... birthday boy, Kellan.

Lemonade Lily

Stache Lady Emerson

Milk Man Kellan and Kutie Kaitlyn

Kutie Kaitlyn and Mystery Man Oliver

Mystery Man Oliver

Stealthy Samantha

Eye-See-You Evan

Birthday Boy, Kellan and his Big Five cake.

Happy Birthday, Big Boy!

Mmm.... cake!

Happy Birthday Blue Eyes!

After a fantastic day of celebrating, we headed home to relax on the patio.  As much as Mommy and Daddy wanted to relax, Kellan was ready to dive into his gifts, so he did.

Oliver was right by his side to help him discover the full capacity of his gifts.

As the day started winding down toward an end, Kellan fielded many calls from family.  He loves talking on the phone but believe-it-or-not, he eventually declined phone calls from being worn out.

Happy Fifth Birthday, Kellan!

We LOVE you and Loved Celebrating You!!

Celebrating 39

Five years ago, my hunka-hunka-burnin'-love was born two days before my birthday and from that point forward, my birthday was a second thought to my son's.  This year, some friends changed that and planned a night out to celebrate my birthday, even before Kellan saw his birthday.  I was SOOOOO Excited!!

First up, a drink at the Cruise Room.

Keith, Eric, Brad, Jennie, Kristen and Carrie

Next up, a short walk to Union Station.

Jennie, Kristen and Carrie

I LOVED the Cooper Lounge in Union Station  I loved the decor, the drinks, the cheese cart and the reserved table.  Loved it!

When you love a place and people so much, a typical photo is not enough.  A fun photo is required.

Kristi, Patrick, Keith, Jennie, Eric, Kristen, Brad and the Birthday Girl.

For dinner, we adjourned across the street to Venice.  I love the real Venice, so the restaurant was a fun treat.  Jennie and I had fun taking some selfies.

Kristi and Kristen with a great view of the wine room.

Carrie and Keith, loving the celebration and the photo bomber.

Photo bombing was clearly a theme of the evening.  Even the Waiter got in on it.  So much fun!

Cheers to an awesome celebration with amazing friends.

After 8 months of eating well, I splurged with a side of pasta alfredo on the side. It was divine!  I loved it!!

The nearest and dearest who made this great celebration possible.

Brad, Patrick, Kristi, Kristen, Jennie, Carrie, Keith, Eric

Lemoncello for dessert.

Who knew that this was a sipper and not a shot?  Geesh!

One more quick photo for good measure.

Nothing like a photo in the middle of the street in front of Union Station to wrap up dinner.

When your fancy car is parked in vallet outside of the Oxford, it begs for some fun photos.  The vallet guy may not have been too thrilled, but we had fun.

Before we called it a night, we went for a final night cap and they just happen to have royalty chairs.  If you're going to celebrate, ending with royalty chairs is the way to go.

Even Keith got in on the royal chair thrill with a distinguished pose.

As the night came to an end, Keith and I jumped in an Uber ride home while Kristi waited for Patrick to bring the car around.

So Much Thanks to my friends who made this fantastic celebration possible.  I truly loved every minute of it.  Thank You!

First Day of School 2015

The only downside to taking the road to Celebration was that I missed the first day of school.  As much of a bummer as it was, I talked with the boys and they were ok with having a boys weekend and getting off to the first day of school without me.  Daddy was given specific instructions on the photos to take, which he passed with flying colors.  The photos were perfect!

Aren't they adorably handsome?!!!

Oliver was super excited to be entering the 2nd grad.

Kellan was excited but a little less enthralled with 4KII.  For Kellan, it was the same classroom that he had been in all summer so the only different was the shirt that he wore.

I can't believe how big they are getting.  Big or not, they are ready to take on another school year and they are handsome as ever.

At school, Keith even got the traditional first day of school photo in front of the sign.

Looking good, Mr Hamilton.  2nd Grade is ready for you!

Not only Oliver ready for the 2nd grade but so was his buddies.  Oliver, Adriano and Chase; handsome as ever.

Happy First day of school, Oliver and Kellan.  4KII and 2nd Grade is going to be AMAZING!!!