It's Party Time...McDonalds Style!!

Every little boy wants a Birthday Party at McDonalds at some point in their young lives, and this was Sawyer's year! He was so excited to make up his guest list and plan what sorts of things he wanted at the party. My friend Rachel, who is oozing with creativity, so graciously offered her services and created these AMAZING McDonalds invites! They were shaped like a Happy Meal but were called, "Happy Birthday Meals" :)

We wanted his friends to have a goodie bag with their name on it that was filled with some of Sawyer's favorite things: a sticker book, crayons, a paint set, a card game, capri sun, fruit snacks and a baggie of chocolate chippers from Paradise Bakery!

Saturday finally came and we headed off to McDonalds with our laundry baskets full of party supplies, a dozen helium balloons and a VERY excited Birthday boy! We covered the tables with plastic table cloths and each one had a container with crayons and markers and all sorts of stickers and sticky foam shapes.

Once the kids arrived, they got creative decorating their Birthday crowns!

Sporting the birthday crown!

The kids munching away on their happy meals :)

We were so lucky to have some friends from our Thursday Night Dinner group that came to celebrate with us!

Then it was on to the play place! They ran in and out and jumped and screamed and slid down the slides! They had such a BLAST!!!

Then it was time for cake!!! Bill's mom always makes these incredible cakes for Sawyer's birthdays and this year she really out did her self! She made this great hamburger cake along with sugar cookie fries and a side of frosting ketchup! It was such a hit!!!

Blowing out the candles!

Sawyer was SO cute opening up his gifts!! His little friends would come up and hand him the gift that they had brought and he would say, "Oh! Great!!!" then he would find the card and say, "Card First! Remember Mom?!?" then he would open it up and shriek, "OH COOL!!!!!!!! I LOVE THIS!!! Thank you so much!"

He made off like a bandit! He got puzzles, books, board games, clothes, a buzz light year costume, nerf gun, sword, shield and helmet, a dinosaur tower and a HUGE remote control car! (Daddy has taken then out for a spin in the drive way already!)

The party was a HUGE success and fun was had by all!

Four Years Ago Today......

Sawyer Bryon Rollins was born and our lives changed forever!

(6 lbs and 4 ounces and 24 inches long!)

In the wee hours of the morning, on October 25th, 2006, Sawyer came into the world skwaking like a baby bird! We spent the next few hours counting and re-counting all his fingers and toes and trying to let the reality of being parents sink in. He was the cutest thing I had ever seen and every tiny sound he made was adorable! Our little room at Methodist Hospital filled with friends and family, flowers and balloons over the next few days and then we got to take him home! As we were pulling out of the hospital parking lot with Sawyer tucked safely into his car seat, I couldn't help but think, "I can't believe that they are letting us walk out of here with this baby!! We have no clue what we're doing!"

(Some friends that waited at the hospital until he was born @ 1:15 a.m.!)

The next few days and weeks are literally a blurr......diapers, tiny fingernails to clip, nursing bras, no sleep, mommy crying, pumping, crying baby, doctor check ups, bottles, binkies laundry and love! :)

(Daddy giving you a bath)

When Sawyer came bounding into the office this morning shouting,

"It's MY BIRTHDAY TODAY!!!!!", I couldn't help but be amazed at how far we've come! Bill and I have managed to keep this little guy alive for fo

ur years who is happy, healthy, curious, adventurous and loving! He has been the best gift we've ever been given*

Sawyer~ Mommy and Daddy have been praying for you for a long time~That each day you will grow in the confidence of being loved and accepted not just by us, but by the rest of our family and most of all, by GOD. We pray that each day you will grow in your understanding of Jesus and that it will develop into a life long love!

We pray that God brings godly friends and role models into your life. We pray that you will be a young man that is dependable, responsible, com

passionate, loving and giving to others. As you pray, may you learn the discipline of listening for God's voice and that there would always be a fire in your little heart and an unwavering desire for the things of God!

We pray that God gives us wisdom, patience and unconditional love for you during our very special years together before you go off on your own. Sawyer, we LOVE YOU SO MUCH and couldn't have asked for anything better than you!

Happy Birthday Buddy!

Future Heart Breaker

These were taken last Friday evening at Elmwood Park by our cousin and very talented photographer~Cameron Ramaekrs! being his Mom, I know I'm a bit biased, but I think my son is one of the ones that God out-did himself on! :) We think Cameron he did an excellent job! Getting Sawyer to stick in one place for very long is no easy task and Cameron had such a wonderful way with Sawyer!

Here are some of our favorites:

Thanks SO much Cameron!

Family Invites

Sawyer's 4th Birthday is coming up and I just made these invites for his Family Party! I'll be posting his 4year pictures that we had taken last week by an up and coming photographer: Cameron Ramaekers!!! (He's our cousin:) He went out with us last week to Elwood Park and took some AWESOME pictures of Sawyer totally in his element-climbing on things, jumping off of rocks and being silly!

Black Cats

Today we got out the glue, scissors, pipe cleaners and ribbon to make these fun black cats! For some odd reason I thought we'd be able to make everything stick together with regular Elmer's liquid glue....but oh nooo.....we needed the hot glue gun!

Sawyer and his friend Dane messin' around while making their black cats.

I think they turned out really cute! All my finger tips are burnt and my nails are covered in hardened glue....but they turned out great!

Last night was the very first Thursday Night Dinner that our friend Chase hosted in his new home! He did most of the cooking himself and it all tasted just awesome! He grilled marinated chicken, Parmesan-herb pasta, along with a bacon cilantro salad, garlic bread and pear apple crisp for dessert!

Chase is the one in the back with the white shirt on with a weird look on his face :) He passed the test with flying colors and is now officially in the rotation for Thursday Night Dinners! We were missing some people that night that decided to stay home and watch football...

Fun at the Park

A few days ago Sawyer's friend Ali (who went off to Kindergarten a few weeks ago) had the day off of school and came back to Day Care! Sawyer was jumping out of his skin, he was SO excited about her coming! Once she arrived, they didn't even skip a beat-just picked up right where they left off!

Since it was a gorgeous day outside, we decided to head up to one of the smaller parks in the neighborhood to play! We turned the double stroller into a triple stroller and off we went!

Kendyl and Sawyer trying to build something really big with really dry sand......

There was this other little boy that we met at the park who found a little tiny fuzzy caterpillar and my goodness-it was the talk of the town!

I was so happy for Sawyer that he had another day with his good friend....and it takes a good friend to hoist you up onto the swing time after time and push until you wanna get off....

Let's Grill

The weather had been getting cooler and cooler by the day until this week when we've had day after day of nice warm sunshine! The days of enjoying an evening out on the deck are numbered, so we invited a few friends over to throw some stuff on the grill!

Our friend John manning the grill.

We had steaks, delicious grilled veggies and garlic white cheddar mashed potatoes. I've been putting about 4 smashed garlic cloves in with the potatoes while they boil and then whip them right in with some sour cream and a big handful of sharp white cheddar....yummy!