Happy 4th Birthday Jake!

Oh my Bo Baker, how did you already turn 4?!!!!?! You've been so excited about turning 4, it's such a big number to you! That and 5, you have tried skipping 4 in your counting a few times, but that will just have to wait. You were such a fun, sweet, loving 3 year old, I need to mourn that for a minute before you jump a year to 5! I know you have to get bigger, it's such a blessing but sad to watch these preschool years slip away. But I'm confident you'll be that same ol Jakers just a little older, a little bigger and a little more independent. Emphasis on little...I'm not ready for you to get too big yet. ;)

last night as a 3-year-old!

Jakey, Bakers, Bo Baker, Bakey boy, Jake. You have almost as many nicknames as we have love for you! Actually, that's a complete exaggeration 'cause I love you millions and billions. I'm so glad God sent you into our family; He knew we needed a Baker boy and He was right! You can be so fun with your crazy and sometimes nonsensical stories, the way you laugh at the oddest moments when you don't know what else to do, feel nervous or awkward but also when you laugh because something is so funny. You love your siblings- you and Will have started fighting more lately, you can pick on Allie some because she's your younger sibling I suppose and while you argue with Maggie some, you have been playing so well with her. You are really understanding her, enjoy helping her and all around are just really sweet with your big sister. Jake, you're simply a joy to have in our home and I'm so glad to call you ours! May you grow to be strong in mind, body & spirit and love Jesus with all your heart! And of course be big...because everything is about being "big" with you. :) Love you soooooo much Jaker Bo Baker!!

Happy 4th Birthday Jakey!!

How we spent your day

Your birthday fell on a Saturday this year, so it was the perfect time to have your party. A couple months ago I decided to have one party for you, Maggie & Allie since your birthdays are so close together and all of you love Paw Patrol. And also because we went to Disney and there just wasn't the time or funds to do separate parties. Since this is a 3-in-1 party, I felt like I could justify the expense of a bounce house. However, I had trouble securing one so we moved the party to Grandma & Paga's to have a pool party instead! We just invited family; you guys played, swam, opened gifts and had cake. It was a fun day and a great way to celebrate you Jakey. We kept the menu simple with hamburgers, hot dogs, veggies, salad, mac-n-cheese and of course, cake, cookies & ice cream. I hope you enjoyed your day and your fun Paw Patrol party!!

The Paw Patrol cake table, to the lookout! I bought a table cloth, some dessert plates, small napkins & ice cream cups at Party City then used the kids toys for the remaining decor. I did have to get a few balloons though, so hard for me to pass up. Especially the numbered balloons, it's like a tradition for me now! I didn't have time to make and ice sugar cookies so I got some pre-made dough, cut it out and added sprinkles. Not as good, but still yummy.

Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves...it was a little cool for the adults to swim, but the kids still got in and had a great time! Plus the trampoline offered plenty of enjoyment as well. I'm a little bummed I didn't get a pic of all 3 of you with the cake, but my photography game just hasn't been on it this year. So happy to celebrate 3 of my beautiful children, I love you Maggie Moo, Jakey Bakey & Sweet Pea Precious girl! Happy birthday to all of you. 

Disney World- Day Five!

Friday, September 9th: Animal Kingdom & Magic Kingdom

Happy birthday Becca! Yep, not only did our trip overlap Maggie's birthday, but Becca's as well. If I could've gotten a reservation at Cinderella's castle, I was going to surprise her, but just couldn't make it happen (you can tell I'm disappointed about this 'cause I keep mentioning it). She was happy just to be at Disney World, it's one of her favorite places. :)

Animal Kingdom
We didn't have any character meals this morning and everyone was pretty tired from the very busy week, we decided to start slow this morning. We ate in the room and let the kids play while Daniel slept in a little and got to the park around 10am. We headed straight for the safari, which was probably a mistake b/c it took so long, we could've done several things in the time it took us to do that. I think they were short on guides or something b/c we had to wait to leave on our safari and awhile in the vehicle when we finished. By this time, Daniel was hungry so we got lunch then went on the Everest ride. Again, Will was the only one tall enough, so we had to take turns riding.

Allie being an elephant. Soooo cute!!

Some cute pics of the kids playing while waiting for Daddy & Will to ride Everest:

Next we went to Dino Land and met up with the G family. The rides in that area were ok, so we didn't spend a ton of time there. By this point Daniel was in so much pain, he was ready to go back to the hotel. He was waiting to have a tooth pulled and we thought that was the source of the pain, but since then he discovered it was most likely TMJ. We decided to meet Pocahontas and then head back; the G family had done most everything they wanted and were tired so decided to leave early as well. I really wanted to see It's Tough to be a Bug and the Festival of the Lion King but maybe next time.

It was about 3:30 or so when we got back to our room and Daniel tried napping, but then got up to get something for the pain. Cian hung out in our room for awhile before S&B picked him up to head back to one of the parks- Becca's choice since it was her birthday and she was deciding between Epcot and Hollywood Studios. I think they may have went to both. Since we had park hoppers with our packages, we had the option to go to another park in the same day. There were a few more things we wanted to see and do at Magic Kingdom, so we decided to go back there.

Magic Kingdom, part 2
The rest was just what we needed! We went back to MK and did almost as much as the whole day we were there the first time and certainly more than at AK earlier that day. On Tuesday, Becca, the girls and I chose to do a character meet while the boys did something else, which turned out to be riding Dumbo and the Barnstormer. I was upset to miss these rides, particularly the Barnstormer b/c Jake loved it. I also missed Mickey's PhilharMagic, which I really wanted to see. These 3 things were first up and we accomplished all of them. Loved the PhilharMagic- that and Frozen were my two favorite shows.

We rode the Barnstormer several times, the line was short, so I was able to ride with Maggie and then Jake. Plus, I got to see the fireworks show while waiting for Daniel & Will to ride Space Mountain and then I rode it again with Will afterwards. We stumbled upon a dance party with the Incredibles (a very fun surprise), then rode the PeopleMover which was a relaxing way to end the day and get a view of the park plus inside Space Mountain, which I found really cool. I did want to ride Seven Dwarfs Mine Train again, but the wait was an hour and we couldn't get a fast pass.

With that, our day ended. We stayed until closing and didn't rush out, it was our last day after all. Tomorrow we head home and our- at least the kids'- very first trip to Disney is over. Just taking it all in. So very grateful we were able to take this trip, it was very enjoyable for us and the kids. Hard to believe, but I even heard Daniel say the words 'next time'. :)