Hunter's 4th Birthday Party

Today we celebrated Hunter's 4th birthday party with his friends.

What a precious little boy he is...  His excitement for this day has been building for months. MONTHS.  For a while there, he talked about his party non-stop.  He has really been looking forward to this day...

We invited friends, made a racetrack for cars all through our apartment, decorated the apartment, and made cakes.  12 boys and girls came to celebrate and Josh and I had 2 other adults helping out.  We had a wonderful time!  It went as well as it could have!  I will post pictures soon but for now, I just wanted to record some of the special memories...

--Hunter was in awe when he woke up.  He looked all around, a little overwhelmed and a little confused, examining every aspect of his party.  For two days leading up to the party, he gathered all his toy cars to be able to use them for his party.  He can be very legalistic when the rule is important to him.  He wouldn't let anyone touch the cars in the basket he collected!  Last night while he was trying to fall asleep and then after he fell asleep, Courtney, Josh and I decorated the apartment, made all the food and got things ready for the party.  I was so thankful for help and it really made a difference about how smoothly everything went this morning.

--He was excited about all his friends coming, but in particular he was very excited about Mac and Nathan.  They are both older than him and I think he looks up to them a lot.  When he found out that BOTH of them were coming he couldn't stop talking about them.  It was really sweet.  And it was sweet to watch these older boys celebrate with Hunter today.  Especially Mac.  He went out of his way to make Hunter feel important and special.  He helped Hunter with the scavenger hunt and the puzzle time.  He was his partner for the races.  It was really sweet.

--What a difference a few years makes!  Hosting a party with 4-6 year olds (plus Mac who is 9) is quite different than 2-4 year olds.  Much more pleasant, I must say.  The kids listened so well, there were no discipline issues, and we could actually do "group" games.  It was really fun!

--Hunter loved the race track his daddy built for him.  He would tell people, "Daddy will show you how it goes!!"  It had ramps and went on all our furniture and even had places where the cars would jump.  Daddy put a lot of thought into the track and it turned out great.

--Hunter was very insistant that he is NOT FOUR YET.  He told me over and over throughout the party and made sure his friends knew that even though the cake said he was four, he was not really four yet.  I am okay with this little attachment to following the rules.  He isn't four yet.  And I am going to soak up these last days of him being three.

--Adelyn was adorable at the party.  She wanted to be involved in everything the big kids were doing and she kept up pretty well.  She ate a million grapes and a few m&ms, tried to color, sat with the big kids while they ate, and pointed at all the cars in the puzzle as the kids were trying to name the cars.  She would yell GO GO when the kids were pushing the cars around the track.  She had a great time!

--I feel so blessed tonight, as I sit here in the midst of the track... How sweet it is to celebrate my little boy.  I hope he always knows how loved he is... I hope he remembers feeling important and celebrated and loved by his friends and family.  Because he truly is.

:)