Happy Birthday!

Andrew and my daddy share a birthday, and it is one of my favorite days of the year! My aunt taught me cake decorating basics just before Lauren's first birthday, and I have enjoyed making lots of their birthday cakes over the years! This year, I had a very special helper ~ he was so excited about his Spiderman cake! It turned out to be one of my favorites!

I bought this metal plaque from a street vendor in Central Park in New York City. He loves it far more than I ever dreamed he would!

Andrew was most excited about opening his presents, so after lunch, we did just that! He had so much fun!

He looks so big to me in these pictures! He is growing way too fast for me!

I love, love, love this picture ~ for so many reasons!

Mama and Daddy bought Andrew a game called Headbanz ~ the Disney version. He absolutely loves it! Lauren and Jonathan, along with lots of their friends, have also enjoyed playing it! It was the perfect gift!

Tammy bought Daddy a book about Haywood County ~ I think he is really going to enjoy looking through it! I'm sure he will know/remember lots of things since he has always lived there! It is a really neat book! 

After playing his new game for a while, Andrew decided he was ready for cake and candles. Since going through an extremely tough round of radiation/chemotherapy treatments for throat cancer, Daddy's tastes have changed. His favorite cake has always been Devil's Food with Mama's homemade chocolate icing. Chocolate tastes bitter to him now, but peanut butter cookies taste pretty good. His sweet Lauren made a special batch, just for him. We wanted him to have a 'cake' and candles, too ~ it's just not a birthday without them!

These pictures just melt my heart! I love these two so very much!!

 Grandpa with both of his boys! Grayson was super excited for Andrew! 

Something funny I want to remember ~ a couple of weeks before his birthday, Andrew told me that he didn't want Grayson to come to his party. I told him that wasn't nice ~ that Grayson loved him and they always have fun together. He said, "I don't want Grayson to come, for him is not sticking his finger in my cake!" That just cracked me up! Once Grayson arrived, Andrew asked me several times if I had asked Grayson not to stick his finger in his cake! I didn't, but Grayson was super sweet, and he didn't put his finger in the cake!

 Such a sweet face ~ still so hard to believe we've celebrated his 4th birthday!

 These two love each other so much ~ it is fun watching them grow up together!

It was such a special day! Last year, we had no idea what Daddy would be facing a few short months after his birthday. He had an extremely difficult summer, but by God's Healing hand, he is cancer free right now, and he is improving every single week! I feel like we have been given an incredible gift ~ we are so blessed ~ and I try to cherish every moment God grants me with friends and family! God is so incredibly good!!!

Happy 4th Birthday, Andrew!

Happy 62nd Birthday, Daddy!
It is my prayer that we will be blessed with many more shared birthday celebrations! I love you both more than you could ever imagine!!!

Happy Birthday Andrew and Grandpa!

January 8, 2012

We got to start out the new year celebrating Andrew and Grandpa's birthdays! Andrew turned three (which I am still in awe of) and Grandpa turned... well...he is probably in awe!

I love to make the kids' birthday cakes and this year I had a special helper! He loved licking the beater, and with three cakes (two birthday cakes plus a gluten free cake for big brother) and three batches of icing, he had plenty to enjoy!!  

He sat patiently waiting until it was time for me to use the blue icing. His favorite part of the Lightning McQueen cake was his eyes! I thought he was so cute, and I asked him to smile for me...

First pose...

Second pose... love those eyes!

That sweet, sweet smile - it melts my heart!! Absolutely too cute for words!!

Getting ready for the party - the cute birthday printable came from eighteen 25

A Lightning McQueen cake for the second year in a row! Lauren, Jonathan, and I chose that theme for him last year, but HE chose it this year! He is absolutely crazy about the Cars movies!! He talks the entire time he is watching one of those movies - telling you what is about to happen - and repeatedly saying, "Watch this!"

We wanted Grandpa to feel special too! He loves football as much as Andrew loves Lightning McQueen!

Andrew woke up from his nap shortly after everyone arrived for the party, and was ready for cake! I had made several appetizers for us to enjoy before cutting the cake, but he had a different plan - and we went with it!

He had seen his cake, but it was almost like he was overwhelmed with the idea that he finally got to eat it! And he was sooooo cute as we sang to him and Grandpa! He was sooooo shy - almost like he didn't want to be the center of attention!

This was my favorite moment of the day! I love that they share a birthday!

I love these two soooooo much!

High-fives to celebrate their special day - just a little late on the pic!

Andrew was all excited about getting to eat his cake, but when I cut it he got upset. So I had to put it back together (look closely and you can see it)!

He ate the icing/cake with his fingers until he had eaten one whole side of the cake! It was almost like it was the first cake he had ever eaten! We all enjoyed watching him!!

Grayson, Tammy, Cassie, and Taylor - waiting patiently for Andrew to share his cake!

Aunt Claudia knows how to make it fun!!

Sweet Grayson joining in on the fun!

Grandpa, Papaw, and Uncle Bob

Such a sweet big brother! I love how sweet and patient Grayson is being! Too cute!

Andrew was so excited about the presents! He kept asking me if they were all for him - and he reminded Jonathan that they were!

Excited about a fish tank!

It took quite a while for us to convince Andrew he should put the fish (a Beta) in the tank. He just wanted to carry it around. When he wanted to do something else he would ask one of us to hold it! Too funny!

He also loved his Tokyo Spinout track! Now he can race Lightning McQueen and Francesco. Jonathan and Brendan loved it as much as Andrew and Grayson!

We ended the evening with "The Duck Song". My boys think it is hilarious!

(notice Grammy holding the fish!)

Apparently it is funny whether you are three or eighty six! I love it when my Papaw laughs like this!

Happy Birthday Andrew and Grandpa! It was such a special day!!

Dear Andrew,

     You bring so much joy to our family! You love to give hugs and kisses, and you are such a cuddler during quiet times and as you are falling asleep. You love your "guys" as much as they love you, and one of my most favorite times of the day is when you tuck them into bed at night with a hug and a kiss! You are learning to say most of the words to the blessing and to our nighttime prayer, and nothing is sweeter than to hear you as you recite them. You are really starting to love music, and your favorite toys are those related to Lightning McQueen and the Cars movies. You will play for the longest time with your cars - talking and pretending that they are real. You also love books and puzzles along with Disney Junior cartoons-some of your favorites are Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Little Einsteins, and Jake and the Neverland Pirates. You also love to go to the movies - I'm not sure if you like the movie or the snacks the best! Your vocabulary never ceases to amaze me, and you are SO expressive! Your beautiful blue eyes just dance when you get excited! And you have some of the silliest faces ever!! You are just a pure delight to everyone who knows you, and we feel blessed to be your mommy and daddy! We love you sweet boy!!