Alan Turns Four!!

So Alan has been looking forward to his birthday for quite a long time. :)  And though it was a long time coming for him, he had a great day.  Here are some highlights, starting with some pre-birthday prep.

Alan was begging me for a pinata.  I wasn't going to do one, but then thought we could try our hand at paper mache.  I had never done it before, but thought it would make a good project for us. So I told him that if he helped me to make it, we could do a pinata.

He decided he did not like dipping in the glue mixture as his hands got too messy.  So he ripped and handed me newspaper strips as I dipped.  It was best, as everything else got less messy this way as well. :)  He did the majority of the decorating though!  We cut up crepe paper and glued them all over.

We worked on it for several days before his birthday and here he is with the finished product.  He had asked for a "Wild Kratts" Birthday, and this is what we came up with.

I think he was pretty proud.

But his favorite part was clearly putting the candy in. :)

And then on to his actual birthday....

We couldn't really have a Wild Kratts birthday without a creature power suit.  It isn't professional, but I think Alan likes it.  He's worn it every day since.

James loved Alan's birthday.  Every time Alan opened a gift and put it down to open another, James would get to play with it.  He was a happy guy.

Here is Alan fully sporting the creature power suit. (and the scooby doo pjs. :)

Loving his Finn McMissile washcloth. :)

So I also started making the other creature power suit, but.... it is not finished yet.  James didn't seem to mind.

He has been asking for the most random things for months now.  Like 2 lions (like they have in the nursery) and a back scratcher...random things like that.

Thrilled with his Spider-man puzzle

Ever since reading this one Curious George book, Alan has been asking for donuts for breakfast.  I figured that it could be a special treat for his birthday...like he wasn't going to have enough cake right, but oh well.

And speaking of cake, here are our Wild Kratts cupcakes

We had a few friends over for a little party.

It was a beautiful day and we had a ton of fun.  Here's our other big boy enjoying the swing.

Everyone loved the pinata

And the candy. :)  Alan got the breaking hit.

We enjoyed a little lunch... complete with wild animal mac n'cheese.  I went to the store the day before his party to get the mac n'cheese, and they were sold out of the normal store brand elbow macaroni kind.  Then I noticed that they happened to have the store brand in wild animal shapes... and I thought, this would work well. :)

Some more happy guys eating

After Alan's party  we went to pick up Daddy from the airport, and he was able to be home for dinner, more cake and some more present unwrapping that evening.  

All in all, I think it was a very full, very fun filled day for this big guy.  He is super excited to be four.  He is becoming quite the little expert on things and keeps us on our toes.  He is an excellent helper and can do anything he decides that he wants to do. :)  We love him so much and are looking forward to another great and fun filled year!  Happy Birthday Alan!