A Birthday Fit For A General

I have always gone "all out" when it comes to special celebrations in our family.

It drives Nick insane, but I know deep down inside, he really appreciates it.

I just have this thing about birthdays.

I think it goes back to memories of my own childhood. 

My mom never threw me huge fancy parties (pinterest was not a thing), but my mom always threw me a party.

I have fond memories of them, and I want my kids to have the same.

I'm also a sucker when it comes to a reason for a celebration!

I love making people feel special, and especially when those people are my family!

Mattis' actual birthday was on Friday, but his party was the Saturday after.

I still wanted his actual "birthday day" to be special.

I bribed him with gummy snacks to pose for a few birthday photos on our deck!

Mattis' first birthday celebration started the morning of his birthday.

I forced asked Nick nicely to wake up early to get Mattis a strawberry doughnut (his request) from Shipley's for his birthday breakfast.

I put candles in it, and we all sang happy birthday to him to start his day!

 We received packages all day from Mattis' fan club sending him birthday gifts.

Our nanny's (Rachel) parents sent him this gigantic Mr. Potato Head.

Every time Rachel's mom comes to visit us, she lets him play the Mr. Potatohead game on her iPhone.

So it was just a fitting gift for him from them!

He actually slept with this giant plastic potato that night, and took it with him everywhere the next day while running errands with Nick.

Mattis' SECOND birthday celebration was after dinner on Friday.

We got him a chocolate cupcake, threw candles on it, and sang him Happy birthday (for the second time).

Nick thought it was ridiculous that we were singing and doing candles AGAIN when his party was scheduled for the next day where we would once again sing and have candles on his birthday cake.

He'll never get it.

We ended the day like this....

My brother in law and sister got him this Ninja Turtle hoodie for his birthday!

Onto his party!

Mattis requested a Scooby Doo party!

It was an odd choice, because there are cartoons he is WAY more into than Scooby Doo.

But....

This is what Mattis wanted, so this is what Mattis got!

My plan was to just do cake, drinks, and let the kids run wild in our backyard with water guns and water balloons.

I wasn't in the mood to have all sorts of people inside my house since my parents were here.

Plus, with classes starting for Nick and me on Monday, the last thing I wanted to do was clean up the inside of my house.

But I did do a nice little spread in our dining room for photo purposes...lol.

I always make custom water bottle labels for my kids parties.

I use Bottle Your Brand to design my own labels. 

They come in the form of a sticker.

I buy regular water bottles, rip off the label, and throw my own label on them.

It's a cheap way to add a personal touch to your party!

For party favors, I ordered custom decorated sugar cookies from Get Baked Bakery.

Way cheaper than making goody bags, and way more delicious!

I ordered his cake from a local bakery called The Cake Junkie.

They did Dannika's birthday cake this year, and not only was it delicious, but they were super cute!

NO FONDANT!

"Jeepers Juice"

Just sour apple gatorade and gummy worms!

Mattis' birthday invite that I didn't get to pass out to everyone.

We only invited people on our street, so everyone was invited via "word of mouth".

 Since he had already blown candles out twice already, I got sparklers for his cake.

My parents came to celebrate, and we all got to have dinner together.

After the party, and after my parents left, we hung out on our driveway with our neighbors for a little bit...

This is Mattis and his future wife, Kylie..........

At the end of the day, Mattis was EXHAUSTED!

He started dozing off during his bath (which is a rare occurance).

I wrapped him up in a towel, and put him in bed...with NO fighting back.

WIN!

Mattis had such an amazing 3rd birthday weekend! 

My mom made a comment about how lucky he was to have so many people who love him in his life.

All of our neighbors showed up to wish him a happy birthday and celebrate.

Thanks to everyone who made his birthday so special!

Please say a little prayer for our family as Nick and I start fall semester tomorrow!