birthday weekend fun

Cole's birthday snuck up on us this year. I thought I had all this time until he turned 8 and then before I knew it, his birthday weekend was here! I asked him what kind of cake he wanted me to make him. He said peanut butter cake. I had never heard of peanut butter cake. I have made peanut butter pie before, but never cake. So, I asked around and no one had a recipe. Then I thought, "Duh! Why don't you check online!" So, I searched and found two very yummy looking recipes. I described both of them to Cole and let him pick. Because his birthday fell on a Sunday this year, and because we were going to be at a potluck and sing that whole day, we decided to celebrate his birthday on Saturday. We wanted him to have a full day of playing with his gifts and feeling like it was his birthday. So, because I didn't want to be stuck in the kitchen all day on the day we did his birthday, I made his cake on Friday. I was nervous because I don't make cakes very often. Actually, twice a year. For the boys' birthdays. Chris doesn't even get a cake. But that's because he prefers pies, and if he does want a cake, it's strawberry cake and his mom makes that for him. So, I'm kind of new to fancy cakes. And this was a fancy one. It was a two layer round cake. I'd never made one before. Since I only had one round cake pan, I had to do the cake in batches. It took FOREVER because I had to wait for the one to cool before I could take it out of the pan and then I had to wait for the other half of the cake to bake and cool completely before I could assemble the whole thing. But, in the end it assembled well and I got it frosted and it didn't fall apart on me and ...... I think it ended up looking quite delish!





I was quite proud of myself. :)

So Saturday morning came. I took Mason to the toy store so he could pick out a present for Cole from him. Then we stopped at the donut store to get donuts for breakfast. After breakfast, Mason helped me wrap the presents.









There's the birthday boy, waiting patiently for his gifts.

Here's the big helper.











Mason picked out those two gifts for Cole all on his own. I was impressed. :)



Chris and I got him the Wii game. The night we bought it, we actually opened it up and played it because we wanted to try it out to see how it was and if we thought he'd like it. We had a blast playing it! We waited til an hour after the boys were in bed, to ensure that they had fallen asleep and then we broke out the Wii remotes and had fun! We played just about every game on it, I think.




Cole wanted to put his legos together first. While he did that, Chris set up the basketball net for them in the breezeway. Mason played out there for a long time. Then Cole said he wanted to play his Wii game. Mason got all excited and asked to play too. Well, guess who else wanted to play too? Daddy. But with two remotes, one of the boys was going to have to give up their remote so he could play. We didn't make Cole since it was his birthday and Mason wasn't happy about giving up his remote either, so Chris got to sit by and watch them play and have fun. It was so cute. He'd pretend like he was sulking and pouting. He'd come out to the kitchen and say, "Honey. They're being mean to me and won't let me play." I'd just smile and tell him to be patient and wait his turn. The boys had pity on him a few times and let him join in the fun. :) That was what they did ALL day! Literally. All day. Played the Wii. We normally wouldn't allow that, of course, but it was a special day. Cole had originally asked to go bowling for his birthday, but he was having so much fun that he decided he didn't want to anymore.

The next day - Sunday - his actual birthday - Chris got up early and made waffles for breakfast. :) He had made them a few days prior and Cole had mentioned how much he liked them, so Chris thought it would be a nice surprise for him. Luckily, Cole slept in the morning so it gave me a chance to get in the shower, Chris a chance to get Cole's waffle made and stick a candle in it and put it infront of his place at the table along with a little small gift we saved for him to open.



He enjoyed being sung to and he thoroughly enjoyed his waffle. Actually 3 waffles to be exact!

Another "gift" so to speak, was that he got to ditch the booster seat. He thought that was pretty neat. He looked so tiny and little sitting in the backseat like a big boy without his booster seat. :)

We enjoyed services that morning, and then afterwards, we went to grandma and grandpa Wiser's for the potluck. After every one was done eating, I brought out Cole's birthday cake, put candles on it, and Chris asked everyone to sing "Happy Birthday" to Cole. :)



He had a good birthday weekend. He got to top off the birthday with dinner at McDonalds on the way home. :)