Give a "Dino ROAR!" Gavin just turned 4!

Wow, he is four! My little dinosaur-loving, k'nex builder, happy soul Gavin. What a sweet boy I have. I really have such a soft spot for Gavin. He is so affectionate, he loves to give me hugs and even grabs my leg and makes me walk around with him attached because he doesn't want to let go! He is perfectly fine to keep himself entertained, and is game for new things, too. He can get along with just about anyone, and loves to giggle. Gavin loves to figure things out, and is a great helper and cleans up when I ask. He looks up to Lexie and can't wait for her to get home from school. Sometimes she doesn't want a little brother to bother her when she is playing with friends, however, and he knows just how to tease and annoy them because they won't let him play! He is a bit of a home body, and would rather stay inside than go out to play. Gavin lives in a world of pretend, but has a great sense of knowing when things are real or not. He is incredibly good with numbers, and had those down a long time ago...we're still working on letters! We're so blessed to have him in our family and excited to see what this next year has in store for us.

We had a very full birthday for Gavin. Since Danny had class all day, we all woke up a bit early so the whole family could be together for Gavin's presents. (That's why everyone is so groggy looking.)

Gavin loves to ride Razor scooters, and now he doesn't have to borrow a neighbor's! He got some great presents, and was very pleased with them all. (And his friends all liked his giant dinosaur car track, too!)
Lexie helped wrap all Gavin's presents, and she wrote all the labels on them, too. Here's the one she got him (A DVD: "Robots.")
Nicholas got Gavin a gift too. (Okay, so I helped!) But it was dinosaur kid k'nex, and Gavin loved it. Everybody was happy! (Nicholas kept trying to get the gift away from Gavin, he loves to open presents.)
Gavin got scrambled eggs and toast for a birthday breakfast, his favorite. Since his birthday fell on a Wednesday this year, we sang to him at Cherubs (mom-and-tot music time.) This is the birthday cake hat that I put on the kids to sing to them. It's so cute! Gavin liked it for a bit, but didn't want to wear it all day.
Okay, bear with me...I am posting photos of the party because I put a lot into it and tried to decorate all cute for it! Gavin really wanted me to make a dinosaur cake, but Danny wasn't home until evening to sing, and so I talked Gavin into cupcakes for his party friends. We had rings on each one and dinosaur sprinkles. Not awesome, but kids don't eat much anyway.
There was a "Caution! Dinosaurs Ahead" Sign on the door, and dino footprints leading from the door into the kitchen. If you look at the ceiling in this picture, you can see the pteradactyls hanging there. I hung a bunch of these all over the ceiling in the kitchen to look quite prehistoric. I also used plastic dinosaurs among the houseplants to look kind of like a dinosaur jungle. Gavin's chair was also decked out with streamers and balloons.
The party went great! I had just the right combination of activities this year that boys didn't just run around crazy. We started with them playing with the new dinosaur race track toy and coloring posters. Then we moved on to "T-Rex Ring Toss."
This was fun, and the kids got a sticker after they took their turns. Lexie was a SUPER big help during the party. She handed rings to the boys and collected them on this ring toss game. The next activity was a Dinosaur Birthday Puppet Show, and she was the "bouncer" to keep the boys from trying to peek behind the stand I was using! (The puppet show was really fun, I found a great idea for a script online.) Lexie also handed out all the plates, spoons, napkins, etc. for cake and ice cream. She is wonderful, especially since I was the only adult with 13 boys and Lexie!

Present time is always a crazy time! We made sure each child got some fun things and goody bags so they didn't feel like Gavin got everything. His friends were all so nice, and he loved all the presents.
We wrapped up the party with these masks and a fun song "Dinosaur on his Head." (I changed the lyrics of another song we sing.) We were finishing up just as moms arrived! I think all the boys enjoyed themselves, I know I had fun.

For Gavin's birthday dinner, he didn't want to go out to eat! He wanted my homemade enchiladas. I guess it's great that they are his favorite thing, but I would rather go out! Oh well, it's his special day. I am honored he likes them so much to ask for that as his favorite thing to eat.
We capped off the day with cupcakes and the "Happy Birthday" song. Happy Birthday, Gavin! We love you so much!