Jarem's 4th Birthday

The day after we got home from Washington D.C. was Jarem's 4th birthday! It was Sunday, and we were glad it was General Conference so that we could listen to church over the internet and have lots of family time to enjoy each other, celebrate Jarem's birthday, and relax after our vacation. We started out the day with pancakes. Jarem got a special plate of pancakes that was spelled his name (I got that idea from my cousin, Rachelle). He is very interested in letters and his name, and so he loved it!

We shopped a lot in Washington D.C. for his birthday presents. He got dinosaurs from the Natural History Museum, planes from the Air and Space, an awesome reversible cape (Superman on one side, Batman on the other). I got this idea from my friend, Ruth's blog, and it was definitely his favorite present. Every four year old boy needs one. :)

He chose a dinner of mac n cheese and baked beans. He wanted a dragon cake, so I attempted it with what I had on-hand, but in the end, you could still see the chocolate cake through the green frosting, so something was right. :)

All in all, it was a very fun birthday...it's hard for me to believe that my baby is 4!

Birthday breakfast...he's asked everyday for the past week if each day is his birthday. So, he's very excited for his birthday today.

Can you see his name?

Blowing out his candle

Eating the "J"

Opening his card from Grandma Cindi

Hmmm...what's inside?

Kissing the $10 he found inside

Opening his cape...not sure what it is yet

Still checking it out

He just figured out it was a cape! He loved it!

See his cape! Now he can go super fast!

Cute card that Jesikah made for Jarem...she got up early to make the card so as not to end up empty-handed. It even had a removable frog for him to play with. She loves giving gifts.

Opening another present

Dinosaurs from the Natural History Museum

Excited about his books

Alex giving Jarem his gift...a sailboat that really floats that he made in scouts and a Lego boat with lots of guys. Jarem LOVES Legos and they all belong to Alex, so he was thrilled to have some too. Alex is trying to get a picture while giving him the gift.

Opening the gift from Grandma and Grandpa Ricks

He loved the sticker book from Grandma & Grandpa, but most of all, he loved the "Mom Says I Can" book. It is his new favorite book. Grandma probably didn't know how well it fit him. He wants to pretend to be all those things and still be my snuggle bug. It is the cutest book!

Playing dinosaurs during general conference...notice that Jarem is Superman now.

Aquarium cars to go with his Thomas train and planes from Air and Space Museum

Getting ready to have cake

His dragon cake...not my best ever, but oh well, he was happy.

Blowing out his candles...the wings were made of tissue paper, so we were a little worried about them catching on fire, but all went well.

Jarem wanted the dragon's head for his piece

Big bite!