Happy Birth Day!

In our family, we have a lot of fall birthdays.  And I do mean, a LOT!  As in 1 in August, 5 in September, 2 in October, and now 2 in November.  For Graham, this was most convenient because we learned that when you have a 3 year old who has just come to understand what birthdays are all about (cupcakes, balloons, and parties) and has celebrated that many birthdays in a short period of time, it is convenient to explain that the new baby that is about to arrive will have the next "birthday". 

Shortly after we told Graham he was going to be a big brother, we overheard him in the backseat, talking to himself, saying "We'll go home, eat supper, put jammies on, and then the baby will come."  Umm, buddy it's June.  The baby is not coming yet.  So, we decided to tell him that the baby would come after his birthday, constantly praying that the baby would really wait until after October 26.  Graham caught onto this and once the fall birthday season arrived, he was always asking to "talk about birthdays" and for us to identify "whose birthday comes next".

Needless to say that by the time Elliot's birth day actually arrived, Graham was all ready to celebrate!   The morning that we were in labor, Chris' parents took Graham to Publix where he chose a special birthday balloon, party hats and napkins, and cupcakes!  He even drew a picture for Elliot.  The party planner and his "party in a box" arrived at the hospital on the afternoon of November 14 and it was game on!  Let the birthday celebration begin!
 

There was a balloon,

party hats for EVERYONE (check out how many Graham has for himself!),

 birthday and big brother cards (and presents, of course!),

 

N

singing (he is my child, after all),

and cupcakes!  

Unfortunately, we were all so busy eating said cupcakes and cleaning up the chocolate aftermath, there are no pictures to be found.  Which, let's face it, is probably a good thing.  Have you seen a 3 year old eat a chocolate cupcake or any cupcake for that matter?!  It is not a pretty sight! =)

All this partying led to a worn out first "birth day" boy and a sleepy big brother/party planner extraordinaire!

 

I was so impressed and proud of Graham.  He was so excited about his little brother, and he certainly though of everything.  What a wonderful welcome to this world and our family!  Suffice it to say, Graham has set the bar pretty high.  I can only wonder what I will be able to come up with next year for Elliot's first birthday!