Brenson's 3rd Birthday

Brenson's 3rd birthday was on February 10th. This was exactly one week after he became a big brother to our little twinbies! It's still kind of crazy for me to think that all four of our children have February birthdays. I really thought that Bren would be a January baby, and I was even more convinced that the twins would be born in January. I do like how it worked out though, and it will be fun every year to have one big birthday month!

Before the twins were born, one of my {many} goals was to have the big kids' birthday gifts purchased, wrapped, and ready to go. I didn't want the stress of having to do that with newborn twins. Chris and I had decided several months before that we were going to purchase one big gift for Brianna and Brenson to share, but I still wanted them both to have a few little things to open on their actual birthday. It was great to have this already done as I was quite preoccupied trying to heal, rest, and care for the babies.

Each year for the kids' birthdays, we try to do something special. Last year, we went to our local Children's Discovery Center for Bren's birthday and to the zoo for Brianna's birthday. Obviously, that type of outing wasn't possible this year, but I still wanted to make the day fun for Brenson. My Mom was still here helping me, so we discussed it and decided a fun little craft would be the best option.

Mom had brought these little suncatchers to paint, so we got Brenson and Brianna all set up to work on that after breakfast. 

Brenson always takes his crafts pretty seriously.

It had been a while since they had painted, so they were both thrilled!

I mainly took care of the babies while Mom helped with the crafting. I know I've said this and said this on here, but I was SO grateful to have her here!

My big kids . . . I can't believe he is THREE.

After painting the suncatchers, Brianna and Brenson played outside for a long time. It was a beautiful day, and they were ready to run! They (especially Bren) had both been sick for over a week prior to this, so cabin fever had certainly set in.

Their absolute favorite thing to do outside is swing. And the teeter-totter swing is always first choice.

I love that these cuties are so close. They do fight, of course, but they are lost without each other.

I told them to do a silly pose . . . Brianna complied immediately, but Bren wasn't too sure :-).

Back on the teeter-totter swing!

I really wanted to take Bren outside this day and do a small photo shoot. However, despite my best intentions, it just didn't happen. I was just so consumed with caring for the babies (and myself) during those first few weeks. So, when Chris got home from work, I asked (begged) him to take Bren out and snap some photos. Chris is very thankful for the photos I take of the kiddos, but he doesn't enjoy taking them nor is he long on patience when it comes to photo shoots. I love several of these photos, though, so I'm extremely grateful that he did it!

I would love to know what he was doing here :-).

This little guy just melts me. My boy.

Bren had been talking about turning three for weeks. He was so excited to finally be THREE!

Ack. Love him.

After their little photo shoot, we attempted a family photo.

We discovered quickly that family photos with four littles is not an easy task! Ha! But, I love it anyway . . . our family of SIX.

My sister and her daughter came over for the evening, and Chris went and picked up food from our favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner. We had asked Brenson what he wanted to eat for his birthday and that was his request. Good boy :-).

I still wasn't able to sit on our hard dining room chairs after giving birth, so I watched the dinner party from the living room.

After everyone finished eating, we sang Happy Birthday and ate cupcakes! Brenson had specifically requested chocolate cupcakes with blue frosting and sprinkles. He's a boy who is precise and knows what he wants.

Blowing out his candle . . .

Excited to dig in to that cupcake!

I sent Mom to the store to buy a few of these birthday squealers just to make the evening a little more festive.

Present time! Bren wanted to try out this kite right that minute.

This was his gift from his sisters . . . cars for his Go-Go Smart Wheels tracks.

He loves his "tracks", so we got him another set.

Just look at that face!

These three are consecutive ages (3, 4, and 5 years old) for just a few days of the year. Sweet cousins.

Bren is such a sweet, loving little guy. He adores his G-Jo and loved having her here for his birthday.

He also loves his Aunt Lisa.

The babies did great and slept all through the singing, cake eating, and gift opening. Of course, big sis had to hold them before bed.

G-Jo, Brooke, Brianna, and Brecklyn

Although we didn't do anything big, Brenson really enjoyed his day. He was so cute about us making a big deal of his birthday . . . almost a little shy about it. He also thanked us over and over for his dinner, cupcakes, presents, etc. He's just such a sweetie. My Granny says he's a little lover, and she's right. We were delighted to celebrate our charming little guy on his birthday!