Happy birthday Andrew!

Five years ago today, Andrew joined our family.  I remember the day so well, and sometimes it seems like it was just yesterday.  I can't believe that it's been five years already!  And then other times I'm surprised that it has only been five years; Andrew is such an integral part of my life, I can't remember what it was like before I became his mom.  

For some reason, this particular birthday has made me kind of emotional for the past few weeks.  I think it's because when I look at Grant, I feel like I can't remember what Andrew was like at that age and it upsets me.  How can I not remember?  It was only 2 1/2 years ago!  And yet...I'm scared that I'm not going to remember all of this time with them.  And Andrew is growing up so fast and getting ready to go to school in the fall, and I know things will never be the same.  I mourn the loss of the younger Andrew I knew, but I so much love the person he is now.  The other day I found a sound clip of Andrew from when he was about 2, and hearing that voice made me cry.  Being a mother can be emotional (or if you're already an emotional person like me, it's REALLY emotional).  I'm incapable of expressing how much I love Andrew, and how grateful I am that he is a part of our lives.  It would be a serious understatement to say that he has taught me a great deal about myself, my purpose, and my Savior's love for me.  Happy birthday Andrew!!

I'm done with my sappy tangent.  On to the birthday celebrations!

Andrew was served his most favorite breakfast, Swedish pancakes (dyed blue) and then we were able to all go bowling together (I love that his birthday fell on a holiday this year!).  Andrew bowled a 76, which isn't too shabby!  He was really upset though whenever he missed a few pins, so I think we need to work on his sportsmanship. :)  

So excited (and incapable of looking at the camera).

Pouting after not getting "all the pins".

Grant is excited too!  Still not sure why neither kid can smile normally for a picture...

After bowling, Andrew was lucky to be able to go play at his friend Jack's house.  When he got home, he was able to sit and play Wii with daddy (always exciting) and then we had beef tacos for dinner.  This kid LOVES his tacos and ate six of them.  We then moved on to presents; Andrew got some books, puzzles, a Polar Express remote control train set, playdough, Legos, and a new bike! Now, I realize that sounds like a lot, but that includes presents from both sets of grandparents (and most of the presents I got were on clearance).  Anyway, Andrew is VERY excited about his new toys, though poor Grant had a hard time understanding the concept that these were Andrew's toys. 

Legos!  He loves 'em!  Thanks Grandpa Dave and Grandma Becky.

Yeah, he *might* kind of like Star Wars.  

And the bike, courtesy of grandpa Jeff/grandma Chris and Mommy and Daddy:

After presents we feasted on cake and ice cream.  I made chocolate cake with cookies and cream filling (which is a fancy way of saying I mixed smashed Oreos into the Swiss meringue buttercream that I filled the cake with).  The outside of this cake was frosted in plain Swiss meringue buttercream.  Because I want to have a birthday party for Andrew in a couple of weeks (at which point I will be making a Star Wars cake) I just made a simple cake.  And what's up with the cowboy theme you ask?  Well, I got a Cricut Cake machine for Christmas, and at this point in time I only have 3 cartridges.  The birthday cartridge has lots of fun stuff (dinosaurs, robots, princesses, cowboys, etc.) and I picked the cowboy because I thought it had the most fun elements.  Since it was my first time using the machine, I didn't get much done, just a few embellishments.  I had trouble cutting happy birthday, so I had to pipe it on using leftover buttercream (which was the same blue as the frosted cake, so it really just blended in...oh well!).  Anyway, Andrew loved the cake and I had fun using my new toy.  I can't wait to make his Star Wars cake!

I love this boy!

It took several tries to blow out the candles...and then Grant cried because he didn't get a turn.  Ahhh, kids. :)