Tate's Fourth Birthday Celebration!

Celebration time!!  I've been Tate's mommy for 4 fantastic, wonderful, fun, love-filled years!!  As I believe a birthday is the most precious day of the year for all those who I love, I like to really celebrate!(If a person didn't have a birthday they wouldn't be here!!  How can a birthday not be the most special, wonderous day of one's year?)  And I love parties, all parties, but especially birthday parties.  And I love planning parties, especially Tate's parties.(though I get all stressed and control-freaky worrying about each detail)

In any event Tate's celebration started with a gorgeous invitation from Nealon Design.

I spent the week making the cars for the snack train, putting Tate's gift together, getting everything organized, shopping for the food and commandeering volunteers (my sister and one of her sweet friends!).  For once almost everyone RSVPd; only two guests didn't.  Yay!

Saturday morning arrived cloudy with a chance of rain.  It had been raining for the past week and a half, but with that rain came much more tolerable temperatures.  Still humid...very humid...think 100% humidity, but in the high 80's, low 90's in the mornings with cloud cover as opposed to bright sun with high 90's at 10am, our party time.  We were blessed and the cloud cover was moderate for the majority of our time at the park!!

Lindsey and one of her best friends arrived to help out as did my awesome parents.  Well Kristen met us at the park;  my parents and Lindsey came here with ice and duct tape in hand (Lindsey) and balloons (my parents).  Tate and I had made a trip to Whole Foods earlier to pick up the gorgeous cake.  I rushed around making the train shaped cheese quesadillas while my mom dressed Tate.  We got the cooler filled with water and milk and we rushed over to the park.

Balloons were hung, the banner was in place, the snack train was laid out, the personalized conductor hats were placed and we were ready!

I begged Tate to let me take his picture;  this was the result:

Then the festivities began!  The kids started arriving as did our trackless train!!  Tate was beside himself with glee!!  He gave me and everyone else a play by play as it was put together!  He did finally drag himself away when he noticed all his friends playing on the playground!

Alonzo and Tate!

Then the train was ready!!!

Tate was thrilled as was everyone else!!

Alonzo, Tate and Aunt Palmi!

A pictorial of the rest of the day....

Aunt Lindsey and Ms. Kristen!!

So. Very. Happy.

Riding the train with Mommy!

Tate, Hailey and Ms. Njeri

Aunt Susan!

Girlfriends!

The always awesome Papa!

Papa, Tate and BFF Leo!

So much joy!!!

Then it was time for cake and ice cream!!!!

The kids played and played.  It was so nice to just let the kids run around...I was able to let Tate do his thing with his friends while I got to hang out with my friends.  There were a couple of accidents...sweet H stepped in an ant bed and was beside herself.  Cute little A fell and bit his lip pretty well...I went into Dr. C mode and checked everything out...no stitches needed, and he was back on the playground!!

A lovely family portrait...

Then it was time to go.  Everyone was awesome and helped with the clean up and we headed back to the house.  I invited a few people to come back for some pizza, wine and present opening!

Tate gets quite overwhelmed opening presents and quickly wants to stop and play with something he's opening, immediately forgetting about the other presents.  As such it usually takes us 2-3 days to open presents.  I'm 100% fine with that!  It's that many more days of fun and festivities!!!

By 2 it was just me and my sweet Tate.  We had a lovely afternoon relaxing and enjoying one another. He started not feeling well though by bedtime and was sound asleep by 7:02pm.  He got sick around 8pm :( and by 1:30am he had a fever.  We went to the Redi Clinic Sunday morning and got a prescription for some antibiotics to ward off pneumonia and/or bronchitis (he had a heinous cough!).  

We came home for more present opening!

Then we played and played and played.  We cuddled, hugged, kissed, he whined when his fever went back up, we cuddled and hugged some more.  We watched some Word World and Steam Trains.  And we played some more.  He was sound asleep by 7:15pm.  It was a lovely, delicious day. 

My parents gave him Playstix for
his birthday...he fell in love with them!
They require me to help at this age, but
in a few months I bet he'll be able to do
most of them by himself! 

We HAD to build the train of course!

It was an absolutely perfect weekend, minus Tate's illness.  I loved spending time with my friends and family, those that I cherish the most and those who cherish Tate and me.  We are so very blessed.  So very blessed.

God is amazing.