Turkey Time!

Nope. Not Thanksgiving.

This past Saturday it was all things turkey for my sweet boy's FIFTH birthday. Being so close to Thanksgiving, we decided to go with that theme this year and loved it. Thanks to beautiful weather and Papa and Gigi's backyard, we had a gobblin' good time!

Cole's handprint turkey invites

Making turkey shaped birdseed favors for the goody bags

1. Mix flour, water, corn syrup, unflavored gelatin, and birdseed together

2. Scoop into a greased cookie cutter on a parchment lined baking sheet

3. Make hole near the top with a skewer and let harden for 6 hours or overnight

4. Tie with raffia and voila!

Goody bags to coordinate with the invites

Heading out to Dunkin Donuts for his birthday breakfast - a free rainbow sprinkle donut was calling his name!

Party time! As I was welcoming everyone and thanking them for celebrating with us, Cole interrupted and said HE wanted to do it :) He proceeded to welcome, give the party agenda (soooo like his mama), and pray for the meal. It happened so fast I didn't get it on camera, but it was totally precious just the same.

Our 'turkey' lunch:

We let guests create their own sandwiches, had turkey shaped peanut butter sandwiches for the kiddos, chips, and a few other fun foods (thank you Pinterest!). Hobby Lobby also sported these cute throw-away "Give Thanks" serving bowls and trays for 50 cents. . . score!

Veggie platter

Fruit kabobs

Sweet cake and cupcakes made by my dear friend, Becky

Could be my favorite shot of the day :)

After lunch it was time to get crafty.

I made thankful books using paper bags and leftover scrapbook paper for the kiddos to decorate and draw or write their blessings

We also had foam turkeys for them to decorate with sequins, glitter, uncooked pasta, crayons, markers, pipe cleaners, stickers, google eyes, etc. Super cute!

Time for presents!

Cole opened the first one, spotted the candy and exclaimed, "Look! A Christmas tree Reeses! And it's ONLY 170 calories!" Hilarious. . .

Ready for cake! Cole danced and clapped as we sang Happy Birthday. I don't believe there's a shy bone in his body - he is truly the life of the party!

As the party winded down, we ended with smores around the firepit and let the kids play in the backyard. They had a blast chasing one another, collecting leaves and sticks, and attempting to climb trees.

Cole, we thoroughly enjoyed your special day and pray that you always know how LOVED you are by friends and family alike.

Brothers

I think Michael and I each have a mini-me :)

Love these two more than they'll ever know. . .

Praying their bond stays strong through the years as they grow, love, and serve the Lord together. . .

And can I just say that my heart is happy to have finally found a few matching outfits for these boys. Locating the same clothes (without paying an arm and a leg) in a 9 month and 4T size can be quite daunting :)

Early Tree Trimming

Every year, my mom has high hopes of getting her tree up and decorated early to enjoy when we return home from our annual Thanksgiving Gatlinburg trip. Although she's had good intentions, things get crazy (as they always do before leaving town) and it's usually early December before the tree makes its debut.

Well, this year, Gigi was on the ball and called us one morning last week to see if we were game to come over and help decorate. I was ALL for it seeing as I was feeling a bit under the weather and just plain needed a break from my unpacking, organizing, and party-planning days.

Mom fixed a big pot of veggie soup and we all enjoyed a fun afternoon of trimming the tree as Bing Crosby played in the background. Cole LOVED every minute of placing beads and ornaments and asks me multiple times a day when we're decorating our tree :) Love that my boy loves to be festive like his mama. . .

Cole pulled this stool up to the tree and asked me to take his picture. I see a future photographer in the making :)

Cade's helping unpack the beads

Mom G opened all the ornaments, Cole placed them on the tree, and then mom and I rearranged :)

Cade's first tree!

Mom's tree spins, so Cade loved sitting in front of it letting the branches brush by his fingertips. . . so precious

Happy boy :)

Upon returning home, Daddy surprised us by having our living room tree ready to put up :) It's not yet decorated, but I turn on the lights every now and then - makes this house begin to feel more and more like our warm home :)