Noah's Birthday

Despite how it looks, we really have tried to have babies at all times of the year.  But instead, we get to celebrate them all within two weeks.  Noah sometimes has a hard time understanding why in the world he's the last one when he's actually the oldest.  I don't have a good answer to that one, but I'm very thankful he's an extremely patient kid. 

Noah could hardly wait for December 8th to arrive.  He knew exactly how many days it was until his birthday for weeks in advance, and would also say things like, "When it's tomorrow, my birthday will be two days after that." 

When the 8th finally did arrive all of us were ready to celebrate.  It took some real organization to make sure we pulled off the birthday pancakes.  Nate was on a web conference (at home thankfully) that started at 4:30 a.m.  He'd have a thirty minute break at 7:15 when we would eat and celebrate.  I had a baby to feed, pancakes to cook (batter made the night before, thank goodness!), um, maybe get myself ready, so that we could also get Noah off to Joy School at least close to on time.  It felt a little crazy, but was so worth it.

I mean, look at that smile.  He didn't know it felt like exhausted chaos, and that's what matters.

 Nate had taken Luke to the store the night before to pick out a small gift for Noah.  It was really cute to see how excited Luke was for Noah to open his present.

 It was also pretty cute that Noah was really excited for such a simple present.  Paw Patrol is at the top of the toy favorites right now, even though the boys have only watched it a couple of times.

 Noah opened his marble run and exclaimed, "Cool!  A marble run! I was always wanting one of these!"

 It has been played with and played with for hours on end already.

We wrapped up the morning celebration, sent Nate back to his computer, and hustled to get the boys ready for the day.  Noah and I made some birthday treats the day before to take to Joy School and he was antsy to share them with his friends.

The afternoon was pretty calm.  Having added a new member to the family since Luke's birthday, we opted to stay in for dinner, but made sure it was still easy for me and one of Noah's favorites.  He was over the moon excited when Nate brought home orange chicken from Panda Express. 

Once dinner was finished we waited for the family to arrive for cake, presents and celebrating.  Noah sat in this chair and just stared at the door.  At one point he asked, "Mom, what will we do if no one comes? Are they late yet?"  It must have felt like seven o'clock would never come!

 Everyone did indeed come and, oh boy was this kid all smiles. 

 It was a Star Wars, Ninja Turtle and some other fun things type of birthday.  Perfect for this five year old, that's for sure.

 Noah loved his cake,

 LOVED being sung to,

but once that was over, he really wanted to get back to those cool presents. 

 He made sure to tell me,"This is really good cake Mom," but after a few bites, the pull to play was just too strong to resist.  It was a great day to be five and to celebrate this sweet, happy boy!