Happy Birthday Erik!

 Our baby boy turned four in July. FOUR!

The day after he was born. 

1st Birthday

2nd Birthday

3rd Birthday

 This year we invited several of Erik's friends for a birthday party. It was pretty relaxed. We had snacks (like this banana Sharli's enjoying, but the dirt it's rolled in was an optional topping)...

 ...about 300 water balloons (took about 3 seconds for the kids to pop them all, thus no pictures), and some of the other moms brought their kiddie pools and even a slide...

 ...and last, but not least, we even had someone nice enough to share their slip-n-slide with us. This kept the kids occupied for well over an hour, and then we pulled out a good, old fashioned, sprinkler and that kept them going for a long time.

 And of course, there was cake. Erik asked for a strawberry cake with orange frosting and lots of sprinkles, so that's exactly what he got. His friend Jubilee nearly exploded waiting for him to blow out the candles!

 All the kids loved the cake. We didn't even bother with ice cream, just snacks and cake. I don't think anyone even noticed the lack of frozen confections.

 Our friend Sally brought her bubble machine and a bunch of bubble solution. Bubbles are always a hit at our house!

 That night when Ethan got home from work we had pizza (per Erik's request) and he got to open a new game and a set of Planes stickers. He was well supervised by a jealous little sister.

 Later Kett and Cameron came to visit and brought more presents from them and the Richins Grandparents (a minion water bottle and lunchbox).

 The card they brought was a hit too, it came with a little kit to make your very own Dusty Crophopper model. It's just made out of paper, so it's more a decoration than a toy, but it's still very loved.

I think Erik had a great day and made some fun memories. Not bad for the first birthday party he's ever had (at least with friends his own age). We sure love our boy and we're so proud of the kid he's becoming.