Time to Report On...

The day before his actual big day, all of his loved ones in the state gathered around him to eat a yummy lunch and celebrate!
Thank you Gram and Grampa Burton, Uncle Tyler, Uncle Casey and Aunt Kristine for coming!

Side Note: (There's already a side note?!?) Do you like this picture of Jack and Aly I took while trying to get a good one for the previous collage?:

Our lunch was simple but oh so delish! We had sub sandwiches with trimmings, Casey made his famous pico de gallo, I made my favorite mango red pepper salsa, both of which were served with tortilla chips, Cindy brought watermelon, cherries and a yummy fruit salad... it was great! Thanks everyone for contributing to the meal!

(PS- The #1 thing I craved when pregnant with Truman was sub sandwiches. It was a constant and steady yearning! And in the first trimester when I was terribly, terribly ill... I wanted both of these and other fresh salsas. I tried to make Caseys pico but it just wasn't the same!)

Did baby boy like his lunch? Yep. Mostly he ate fruit. Corey and I think that no matter how totally stuffed he is, in his mind... there is always room for fruit! He is especially a berry lover!

He was being a bit picky about food of more substance and staying power. In the end Daddy loaded him up with mashed avacado and applesauce (the only way Truman will eat avacado):

After lunch a member of our group left to another birthday party. He wouldn't have gone except it was for a very dear friend. As I walked him over he was saying how excited he was "I have been waiting for this ALL YEAR!" He couldn't wait to give Benjamin his present, and play with all his buddies. Plus the party was robot themed. What little boy wouldn't be excited about that?!?

Want to know something silly? I got a little teary while we walked over. It was Alaster's first party that Jack hadn't also been invited to... and he was being so cute and excited... and I loved him so much... I don't know. It just made my heart a little squeezy!

After lunch was all cleaned up it was time to open presents. He pulled tissue from some bags but mostly we helped him out.

Thanks everyone! He loves all of his things and has had a ton of fun playing with them since the party. And Gram... I am in LOVE with the recycled goods! They are the cutest colors, and the perfect size!

After presents we just hung out for a bit:

(Corey picked out that little hammer for Truman because Jack had that exact one when he was a little guy. We have so many memories of him walking around and smacking everything! I can't believe that baby is now 7!!!)

This baby loves his Uncle Tyler! Whenever Truman spotted him, he smiled and went right over. Here they are doing one of their favorite activities:

And what is party without cake?
Overall I was pleased with how this streamers and confetti cake turned out. I was a little sad when the streamers lost their ummph. They were much perkier right after I made them, but they almost immediately began to settle. The cake spent the night in the fridge to prevent further flattening, and it worked alright. Ah well. It was still pretty cute:

The cake was classic yellow with Martha Stewart's Basic Buttercream Frosting. What a difference using home made frosting makes! Holy canoli it was good! A few notes should you decide to ever try her recipe HERE: Unless you are making a 17 layer tiered cake do not make the amount she suggests. That woman is nutso! I halved the recipe, applied more than generously, and still ended up with leftovers. It sure was yummy though!

I also made these puppies for some variety:

Chocolate with Martha's Cream Cheese Frosting HERE. (Again, that lady is crazy! I fourthed the recipe and for 2 dozen cupcakes it was still plenty!) I let the strawberry slices swim in some sugar that morning before applying. Yumm!

What did Truman think of his cake? Well... he wouldn't look at it at first. The cieling fan was on, and it was much more interesting. When we started singing his expressionless face got the sweetest little grin! He looked around at us like "What's going on guys? We don't usually sing like this. It's a little silly don't you think?"
Jack blew out his candle.

Did he enjoy eating his cake? After he finally tried it, yes! He would NOT open up for me. (Corey and I decided to feed it to him rather than just set it on his tray) He looked at it suspiciously, turned his head, closed his lips and arched his back. I kind of forced it in and then believe me... he opened up willingly. He ate a whole piece and then sat back and pushed his tummy out in a satisfied way:

He was being so cute in his chair that I had to take oodles of pictures. Please excuse me. Here he is playing with a cup Gram gave him:

And playing with Tyler:

And watching Jack play in the little backyard:

(Also in that collage he is waving his hand. He did a lot of waving during his party! It was his way of giving back, sweet thing.

We finally let him down to the window to play with Jack (a favorite pastime), and the sneaky pete decided he'd like to see what those cupcakes felt like. Daddy showed him that they don't just feel good on your fingers. They taste great too!

And with that the party was basically at a close! We had a great time being with our family and celebrating our boy.

And since we had so many goodies left over we decided to spread the joy by taking cupcakes around to our neighbor friends. (Freestones: You weren't home! We'll catch you the next time we make treats! Stewarts: We didn't think you'd want them since you probably had left overs of your own.)

Do you see that random picture of garlic? When we dropped off to the Savages they shared with us from their garden! Thanks!

And after making the rounds we picked up that middle child we love. He came home with rave reviews of the party and a cool home made robot!

Back at the homestead Truman had fun showing off his new toys to Alaster, who wanted to hear all about the rest of his party. Then the big boys got ready to go swimming with Daddy, Gram, Tyler, Casey and Kristine at the Stuki's pool.

And the baby boy took a nap! Whew! Partying sure takes it out of a little guy!

Happy Birthday Dear Truman! We love you and your curly head and your sweet spirit more than we can say!