Party On

Whew!!! The last couple of weeks have been crazy busy around here, but in the totally fun birthday-celebrating way!  You see, my birthday was on March 19th while Colton's was just one week later on March 26th.  That would have been busy enough, but I have a real passion for birthdays.  I firmly believe that birthdays are a BIG deal...your one day to be celebrated just for being you.  Growing up we always had a family celebration and a friends one as well.  Not only do I choose to continue that tradition for myself, but I have also decided that it is a must for my boys.  Therefore, in the last couple of weeks, we have done a ton of celebrating (much to some of my other family members' chagrin).
First up was my family birthday dinner at McCormick and Schmick's:
(***note: in regular fashion around here, I have way more pictures of Colton's celebrations than mine, and the ones from mine are kind of dominated by the boys as well...you probably want to see them more anyway)

Levi and his Papa

I did manage to snag one with the boys post-dinner

And then this past Saturday, Josh (with a little help from my sister) got about 20 of our friends together for dinner/drinks at a Mexican restaurant followed by drinks out for a couple of hours sans the kiddos.  It was a lot of fun, and one of the nicest parts was that a couple of my friends from high school were in town from California and Baltimore respectively, and they both joined us, so I got the added treat of hanging out with people I don't usually get to!!! 

(***told you: I only managed to get one picture all night!)

And once we recovered from that celebration, it was officially time to get Colton's celebrating started.  On Sunday, we took the boys to the Aquarium since Josh wouldn't be home to do so the actual day of his birthday.  Then, that Monday (his birthday), we started the day off with a special breakfast of cake batter pancakes.  Afterwards, he spent the day visiting with some of his favorite people and out picking up his birthday presents (way to wait until the last minute mom and dad!).  That night, we had Colton's grandparents and my sister (and her boyfriend) over for his favorite dinner (spaghetti), presents, and cake (recipe to come tomorrow).  There were lots of "happy birthdays" throughout the day, and by the end of it, Colton had definitely grown to love his birthday...my main objective of the day.

(***warning: MAJOR photo dump!)

And we're not quite done yet!!!  Colton's birthday party is this Saturday, so the celebrating will continue!  I personally love it.  Like I said, I really think birthdays are meant to be a big deal, and I am really glad that my boy seems to be inheriting my passion for the day.  

How about you guys?  Do you make a big deal out of birthdays too?