Judah's Watermelon party!

I wish I could show the amazingness of Judah's fun 3 year old birthday party with out using gobs of pictures, but I can't...so sit back and enjoy the glimpse into our celebration via our camera's eye...

What's a birthday without some Funfetti cupcakes?!

I found a great idea on pinterest, cut up a watermelon with a cookie cutter!

So easy, so cute.  I chose airplanes....go figure ;)

We served all the bits and pieces eventually, but started with the pretty stuff first.

I learned a rather expensive lesson about the party helium tanks you can buy from party stores...

you are not supposed to fill the balloons until the party starts, or like an hour before hand...

We filled them the night before. dun dun dun...

So they were hovering around the floor of our living room when we woke up on party day...

Judah thought it was awesome.  So I guess that was still a good use of the balloons.

And eventually I decided to tie them to the canopy and it looked fun.  So they still got used.

Just not for their originally intended purpose. 

Another pinterest inspired idea, design something on a fence with balloons.

Since our party was the watermelon party, it was an easy choice.

We turned it into a game too, pin the seed on the watermelon. 

It was really cute.  As demonstrated by my darling husband. hehe.

Thanks to our out of town friends, Brandy and Jon for creating this masterpiece!

We had lots of guests at the party, including many of Lucas's buddies.

The baby blanket was where the real party was happening...

We also had a watermelon seed "spitting" contest...

...also known as "throw water balloons at Lance"

the kids loved it.

^^^^you gotta admit...that is funny stuff^^^^

Such a big boy! I can't believe he's 3!!!

Besides Judah's favorite Watermelon, we also served hot dogs...his other fave.

Judah's turn to play the watermelon game!

and once all the seeds were placed, the kids started popping the balloons and somehow

they all ended up running around the yard with Lance jumping on balloons and

being rowdy.  It was great :)

well, great except for the fact that loud noises freak the birthday boy out.

some tears were shed and daddy love was needed to get through the trauma.

And then Judah's favorite part of the day....

PRESENTS!!!!

haha. love his face. he was SO excited!

He went and thanked each person who gave him a gift after he opened the present.  

It was sweet. I was proud of my boy and how sweet he was to his friends.

Our neighbor friend, Tyquez, was even able to come over and brought Judah a gift card to Toys R Us.

They play together all the time so I was glad he could come over and celebrate with us.

We had a lot of friends come actually, and that is what made the day so special.

Judah is loved!

After the party was over and the food was eaten up...

we had a little family dance party on the back deck.

We were shaking our groove thing and laughing and reminiscing the great day we had.

We were sad the day was over.

And all the watermelon was gone...

So there ya go, our day in a nutshell!

Judah is officially 3 yrs old!

dedication day

Take 1: off to a bumpy start...jbyrd wasn't happy.

Take 2: Not sure what he was doing here...hmm..

Take 3: notice me holding Judah's arms down to his sides...

Take 4: Um....do I even need to say anything about this picture?!

Take 5:  technically this was like take 25...but who's counting?!  This is what I call "the money shot".  Finally, a family picture where we are all looking.  phew!

Smile!

Today was Lucas's dedication.  We love our Joy Boy and it was great to celebrate him and to commit as a family to raise him up to love the Lord.  We had the opportunity to pick a life verse for Lucas Wylde...here it is:

"Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

It was a sweet ceremony and an important step as parents acknowledging that we need God as we raise our children.

Pastor Blake spoke about the passage in Corinthians about Love...it was perfect.  Such a good reminder of what it is to love our children.

Our pledge as parents:

We acknowledge that our child is a miraculous gift from God.  We also acknowledge that our child is a unique person created in the image of God and we understand that raising our child is both a privilege and a responsibility. Therefore we promise to love, train, and support our child looking to God for diving guidance and support.  And we, in the witness of these people, publicly place our child into the care and protection of our great God, asking our church community for their support, guidance and encouragement in the days ahead.

photo credit

One of the members of Selah attends our church, he performed a sweet song about what it is to be a parent and how we should treasure every moment.  I admit, it brought tears.  If you know his families story at all, you know that they had a daughter who lived 2 hrs and they knew pretty early in the pregnancy that it was going to happen the way it did.  They wrote a book called "I will carry you" that I still haven't been brave enough to read.  I think my heart would break.  Anyhow, it was a really sweet moment.

They ended the ceremony by us gathering as a family to pray and then we were dismissed to our own private cakes for the reception.  Talk about a sweet idea.  Totally loved it.  

Here's a picture of that:

It was a great day.  Our hearts are full!