Axel is 4 Years Old!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AXEL!

Despite my disbelief, Axel really did turn 4!

This kid is adorable. Since Christmas morning, he has been asking about when his birthday is. Finally, January 9th we started his 30 day countdown. This turned out to be torture for this little guy. He was so excited to see the countdown until he realized that, just like the advent calendar, he could only move one space a day. I should have had the 7 day countdown instead of 30! However, after a few weeks, he embraced the idea and it helped to see that his birthday was getting closer.

We do birthday's big in this house and I'm pretty sure this weekend topped the cake. We started Friday afternoon making mini cupcakes for all the kids at the bus stop. A tradition we hope to continue as long as they ride a bus. :) Axel decorated each and every cupcake very carefully. It was adorable and he was very proud.

 Then we headed to the bus stop early and had to take a few photos of his last day being 3. He was thrilled that I could make him look so tall!

 That evening, the birthday monsters dropped in...

 

Nothing better than bursting through your birthday wall.

 

 

And bust through, he did!

 

 

He was shocked to see that there were gifts to be opened.

 

A few morning presents to get the day started off just right.

He picked out some small ones then patiently waited until Daddy called.

Daddy woke up early (smart man!) and it was on!



He had wanted to open Lucas' gift first and from his expression, his older brother picked out the perfect gift!

Showing Daddy his new Legos.

One happy boy!

We had another big one to open.

A cool shark helmet!

The helmet was cool but he was itching to get started on that helicopter. So that's exactly what he did.

 I was able to break him away for pancake breakfast. His request was stacked pancakes like they do on Cat-in-the-Hat. Mrs. Heather was able to join us for breakfast too but we opted for pecan pancakes which were awesome. No morning photos of the ladies...oops! ;)


The perfect stack!

Mr. Hugh joined in the fun after his boating class and brought presents too share. More Legos!

 Axel was content to build Legos all morning. He kept saying, "This is the best birthday ever!" It was very sweet. After lunch, we headed to Destin for Axel's Birthday Parade aka Mardi Gras Parade. Along the way, we spotted Darth Vader's black boat again but this time it was out of the water.

Excited boys.

We found the perfect spot...check out Axel's cool Birthday Boy Ribbon! It definitely helped him get more beads!

Mommy & her boys waiting for the parade to start.

We remembered our special MG masks!

Mr. Cool decided it was too bright so he put back on his sunglasses.

 The parade was super fun. I was amazed by all the beads given out. Axel had so many he could hardly walked and eventually passed them along to me. Lucas was more selective and only took ones that were gold, silver and green.

With a back pack full of beads we stopped at the shaved ice hut for a tasty treat. I learned my lesson last time not to order anything blue. The amount of dye is almost alarming. However, Axel was not impressed by my non-colored pina colada choice until we topped it with a splash of blue bubble gum! It was pretty light blue in color and plenty tasty so we all were happy.

 Hard to imagine a blizzard was hitting the Northeast at this very moment!

 We snuck away from the parade and avoided all the exit traffic that was bound to hit. Axel wanted to go to the Destin Commons Pirate Park so that's what we did!

Birthday King!

 After a fun day, we headed home to open more presents. Mommy strategically planned it out to open presents right after dinner which would buy her time to decorate the cake! Axel asked for spaghetti with marinara, crescent rolls and broccoli for his birthday dinner and ate very quickly to get to those gifts.


These boys really have grown close.

More Legos! Thank you Grandma & Grandpa A.

Lucas even ended up with a gift or two. :)

More Legos...seeing a theme here?

This is what he has wanted since Christmas Eve. A UFO Abduction...just like the one Lucas has. He wanted the same exact thing so he could build it and take it apart without getting in trouble. He loves to disassemble just as much as putting them together. Thank you Grandma & Grandpa J!

Bike decorations from Mommy & Daddy!

Looks like some Yahtzee nights in our future! Get ready Dad!

As the boys played, I quickly decorated the cake. Using the rest of the mini cupcake batter the day before, the cake was all ready to be frosted. Again, my fear for super concentrated food coloring was easily bypassed with a white Lego. All I had to do, was include blue somewhere and Axel was thrilled.

Not bad for a quick job!

Most importantly, Axe LOVED it! The marshmallows were actually a very tasty addition to the cake.

 We waited for our neighbors, Heather & Hugh, to come over and for Daddy to Skype. Finally, it was time to sing to our big 4 year old. I was personally invited to sit with him. He told me he might be shy and wanted me there while everyone sang. :)

Check out Lucas...that boy LOVES fire!!

Axel was a pro!

He demanded that he use his very own knife to cut the cake and did a wonderful job. Poor Daddy had to watch us eat. Heather reassured him that it was horrible and that I had accidentally used salt instead of sugar.  

A great story until he saw these two dive in!

Daddy was a great sport and we were so excited he could join us. Don't worry, he got chocolate cake with mint chocolate chip ice cream that night for dessert.

Heather and Hugh...they are family now. I'm not sure what I would do without them. They have helped me in more ways then I could ever count. We love H&H! THANK YOU BOTH!!!

Heather helped us with a family photo. My favorite for sure. Boy do we miss you Daddy!

Here he is, Mr. 4!

Happy Birthday my sweet, sweet boy. You bring so much joy and love into our family. We treasure you and all that you are. We love you! Love, Mommy, Daddy and Lucas