Happy 4th Birthday, Pearce!!!!

4 years ago on January 25, 2012, the baby I had always hoped for came into the world!  I remember every moment of that day.  I was excited, then scared, then nervous, then anxious, then absolutely ecstatic when I heard Pearce's cry for the first time.  In that moment, all of my fears just melted away and love was all I felt for my baby boy.  How in the world have 4 years passed already?  The saying is true...."The days are long, but the years are short."  It has been so much fun watching Pearce grow and change and learn new things. 

My perfect, beautiful newborn baby boy!

                                

1 year old

2 years old 

3 years old

4 years old!

For Pearce's real birthday, I wanted a "day of fun!"  We met Pearce's BFF, Claire at the park and they just had a great time playing together!  We packed a picnic lunch and Pearce's scooter.  Claire brought her bike, too and they loved riding and playing!  Chris and I got Pearce a new balance bike for his birthday, but I didn't want to take it to the park because he just got it the night before and we need to spend more time practicing.  I think he will really do well with it though, because he has gotten soooo good and fast on his scooter!  Pearce even does little "tricks" on his scooter by lifting up one leg and gliding :)  Claire gave Pearce the nicest gift!  It's a board game called Busy Town and as soon as we got home, Pearce was ready to play.  We played it 4 times in a row!  This is the first real board game he's gotten and we had so much fun playing it!  He also got the video that goes with it, so after playing the game several times, he was ready to take it easy and watch the movie.  Thank you Claire and Ms. Heather for coming to play!!!! 

Pearce has been begging us to let him do iFly, the indoor sky diving place.  We like to go to Phil's Ice House for lunch and then go next door to watch the sky divers.  Kids as young as 3 years old can do it, but we thought his 4th birthday would be the perfect time to go!  Chris and I were both sooooo nervous that he would chicken out!  We got there at 5:15 and got checked in and then he had to watch a short video about how to position his arms and legs.  His instructor said the most important thing was to keep his legs out and straight and his hands tucked up under his chin and  then she would do everything else.  I was worried that when he got in there and felt the strong wind, he would just flail his arms and legs and hold onto the instructor.  Pearce got his suit, goggles, and helmet on and then it was go time!  Pearce went with the instructor and Chris and I were on the outside of the tunnel ready to watch our boy!  Oh my goodness, he did GREAT!!!!!  He didn't keep his legs totally straight, but kept them out, so that was good!  The other thing he did was keep his arms stretched out like Superman :)  That was ok, though because he kept that position and didn't freak out!  He got to "fly" twice with his instructor and then he got to do a high fly where the instructor held onto him and they both flew up and down and ALL around!  It was so fun to watch!  When he was finished, Pearce came out just so excited and said it was "super awesome!"  Maybe this will be a yearly thing :)  I really was so proud of him!  After that, we went next door for dinner at Phil's Ice House where, of course, he made some new friends to play with :)  Happy 4th birthday Pearce...Mommy and Daddy love you sooooo much!!!!!

 

Pearce's Birthday Party Weekend!

For Pearce's 4th birthday, he decided he wanted an "Army Guy" party at Little Land....so lots of camo and army stuff!  I went to Party City to see what they had and to my surprise, they had a whole section of camo/army stuff!  I got almost everything there:  camo plates, green napkins, camo party blowers, goody bag kit, and army guys for the cupcakes.  I also wanted army guy party hats and got lucky and found the cutest ones at the Dollar Store!  I also ordered Pearce's birthday shirt and it turned out really cute.  I invited our play group, plus a few other friends.  So, Thursday evening Pops and Mimi came to town and then took Pearce with them to spend the night at the hotel.  I really appreciate them doing this so that I could finish cleaning and get everything ready!!!  Pearce could hardly wait for everyone else to get here!  I ran some more errands Friday and then just waited for the rest of our family to get here.  Mama and Papa brought Charlotte with them and when Pearce saw her, he was so excited!  They started playing right away!  GG came that afternoon as well and then Ashley, Wayne, and Nay Nay got here later that evening.  We all joked that once Nay Nay and Charlotte got here, we would all be forgotten...which was pretty true :)  I LOVE that Pearce loves his cousins so much!  That night we had taco salad for dinner.  Ash and I finished baking and icing the cupcakes and we all just had a nice time visiting.  We woke up bright and early to get ready for the birthday party!  We got there at 9:40 to set up and right at that time, Auntie Jen and Robert showed up!!  I was soooo happy they left so early and got into town in time for the actual party!  For food, we had juice boxes, camo popcorn (thanks to Mama and Papa for stopping at Buc-ee's for that!), cupcakes, and we had plans of having pizza, but when Chris and Wayne went to get it, they told us their pizza oven broke and we weren't able to get the pizza.  I was a little mad about that because I felt bad we didn't have more substantial food, but oh well, it worked out fine!   In all, we had 10 of Pearce's friends, plus Nathan, Charlotte, and Robert.  It was the perfect amount.  It was also perfect that we had Little Land rented out for just our group.  The kids had tons of room to just run around and play and be silly!  The kids played for a little over an hour then we sang Happy Birthday and ate, and then they played even more!  The party was from 10-12.  Pearce had so much fun, but he was getting pretty anxious to leave and go home to open his presents :)  I was so thankful to all of my friends who came and made the party so much fun!  Pearce was really sweet to all of his friends as they left.  He told each one "Thank you for coming to my party."  Nay Nay was also Mr. Congeniality because he helped pass out the good bags and the cookies to everyone.  Speaking of the cookies, they were ADORABLE!!!!  Chris has a friends whose wife decorates these amazing cookies.  We had them last year and this year, they were even cuter!  Chris picked out army helmets, army truck, and grenades to be decorated on the cookies.  I heard from several people that not only were they cute, but they tasted good, too! 

After the party, we packed everything up and headed back to our house for lunch and to open the presents from Pearce's friends....he had been DYING to do this :)  Nay Nay and Charlotte were the best helpers!  Nay Nay told us who each present was from and read the cards for Pearce. Charlotte helped Pearce open the presents.  Pearce was so excited for each gift and he got some really nice things from his friends!  We all spent the rest of the afternoon visiting and playing.  Me, Jen, and Ash even snuck off for a quick visit to the mall....thanks Mama!!!!!!  For dinner, Chris picked up a bunch of fried catfish, hush puppies, and fried okra for dinner....YUMMY!!!!!  By this time, Pearce was once again DYING to open his gifts from the family.  He was so patient.  He finally got to open those presents and once again, his little helpers were right by his side.  He got such nice things from everyone!!!  Auntie Ashy, Uncle Wayne, Nay Nay, and Charlotte got him an army helicopter with army guys.  GG got him a new big boy superhero backpack with matching lunch box, water bottle, and food container.  Pops and Mimi got him swim lessons, goggles, and a cute new outfit.  Auntie Jen and Robert got Pearce a Scooby Doo lego set.  Mommy and Daddy got him an army playset.  Mama and Papa got Pearce a new table and chair set and a paper dispenser for all his art creations.  Chris and I really, really appreciate everyone traveling in order to celebrate our sweet 4 year old!  Pearce is definitely loved, that is for sure!!!!!!