Nathan's 3rd Birthday Party

We had Nathan's 3rd birthday party at our house yesterday afternoon. Lots of friends came to help us celebrate and enjoy a cookout.

Jacob got to get on his grill for the first time in over a year.

He grilled up some hot dogs and spicy sausages.

We also had some corn on the cob, watermelon and hashbrown casserole. 

All some of Nathan's favorite foods.

And even some of the youngest kiddos there loved it!

All the kids loved the food -

and Momma dog loved their uneaten portions ;-) 

(That's the stray dog that gave birth under our deck

three weeks ago - she's still there with her puppies)

  The corn was a hit!

Well, with the exception of one child... but all he eats is peanut butter & crackers.

So I'm not offended ;-) 

Everyone else loved the corn :)

This guy told me he didn't like corn. But he ate 3 ears.

And asked me where I got it so his mom could go get some... lol   

And the watermelon was a big hit, too!

Even if it did get all over Nathan & his shorts....hehe 

Thankfully, just abotu the time we sat to eat, the wind picked up and the temperature outside dropped, making it very bearable to be outside. But some of the youngest kiddos still ate inside with their Momma's.

After dinner, it was time for cake!

I made my Gramma's recipe for banana cake and it turned out yummy!

This was my first try at decorating a cake, it took a while, but turned out great!

And yes, that is Dora the Explorer as the train engineer. A Dora driven train carrying a haul of M&Ms, I'd say that's a perfect cake for my son! Only thing that would have made it better?? If'd I'd made the train pink... LOL

 But I made (pink) strawberry cupcakes. We were expecting over 30 people and I didn't think the train cake would be enough to feed everyone. Sure enough, it was a good thing I made cupcakes ;-)

Singing "Happy Birthday" to the birthday boy! 

And then he blew out his candles. 

And dug in, quite happily, to some train cake!

YUM!

 Even little mister "peanut butter & crackers only please", liked the cake ;-)

Ok, everyone liked the cake :) 

Even if they wouldn't smile for the camera... hehe 

And the cupcakes were a hit too - not just the icing ;-) 

 After cake, it was present time!!

Nathan got matchbox cars - wow!

 And hot wheels! Wow!

He was, and still is, fascinated with all his new cars! 

There were lots more gifts to open before digging into the cars, though. 

Whoa - playdoh toys!! Yay! 

And a Thomas lego toy - awesome!! 

He REALLY wanted to open that one, and so did the other little boys around him. But we convinced him to keep opening more gifts. 

Wow - a mud pie making kit!

Good thing he LOVES to get dirty now!

(This time last year, he still freaked out when grass touched his feet!) 

Uh oh... looks like the girls are jealous of the Thomas lego set too... hehe 

YAY! More play doh! And water toys!

Then there was a gift from Granny & Pa.

Mommy used too much tape... so a friend helped get Nathan started ;-)

What is it?!?! What is it?!?! 

Cowboy bed sheets - wow! 

Last, but not least, there was the gift from Daddy, Mommy & Faith.

A Thomas tent & tunnel - cool! 

While the men hung out on the deck, the kids all ran inside to tear open Nathan's new gifts :) 

It was a mad house inside - so much fun!!! :)

I'm soo grateful we have the room for 36 people to talk and play! 

And be cow girls ;-) 

When all the fun settled down, all the kids had left to go home to bed, I found Faith in the backyard, by herself. Happily pushing the wagon around the yard... hehe 

And Nathan, inside, mesmerized by the balloons (or as he says, bah-ooo's) 

After clean up, I caught Nathan contently playing with all his new toy cars & trucks. He loves those cars! Sunday morning, he lined them all up on the stairs.

And when he's not driving them around, he's giving their wheels a break by pushing them around the house in the stroller... lol 

When it was time for bed, Nathan loved laying in his new cowboy sheets!

And can you see what's in his hand?? His favorite gift of all... and I failed to get a good photo of him opening it, it didn't stay in the wrapper but for about 30 seconds once he saw it... and it wasn't from Granny, or Gramma, or Mommy... it was from little mister "peanut butter and crackers only, please" and his big brother - it was Bash, a new Thomas & Friends train. He LOVES Bash - even had me kiss the train goodnight last night. lol

Nathan had an awesome birthday party. He had a blast and we're so thankful for great friends to help us celebrate Nathan's 3rd birthday!