Happy Birthday Nickle-Doodle!

Our BIGGEST blessing of 2001:

Having a healthy, beautiful little boy! A few days old, here in our 1st purchase of home (condo) in Manchester, NH where Nick was born during a weekend of blizzardy snows and cold. At age 2, he had the most beautiful, blonde, curly hair. Notice he has red shorts on OVER his jean overalls. He fought to have them like that. This was at Maddie's birthday party--at the Londonderry Children's Museum near our home in NH. Nick has his fedora on, driving a fire truck...

Here we are at a favorite pasttime: Baboosic Lake in Amherst, NH.

Some years later, Nick and our family went to one of the many Harry Potter Barnes and Noble parties (Southlake, TX) where he took these glasses and wore them with a cape to the local library's Harry Potter contest a few days later and won first page. It earned him a front page photo in the small communities newspaper we get!

Elvis fan, Son of Elvis fan of the Fans of Elvis, 2006

Now we go back: Easter day, Deerfield, NH, 2004

San Juan Capistrano, CA with cousin, Ellie; 2005

Suumer of 2004, age 3, at Connecticut's Day Out With Thomas (the Tank Engine). Here he is with Maddie and the local fire engine. He LOVED Thomas for some years.

NOW FOR THIS YEAR'S PARTY WEEKEND OF CELEBRATIONS:

Nick loves Mr. Jim's Pizza, particularly what is known as "Jim's Sticks" On Friday night before his birthday, we ordered his favorites for family dinner. Ted asked him to say the blessing on the food and he started out like this:

"Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for this gorgeous dinner..."

then at the end, as soon as he said, "Amen" he burst out in the loudest, most eye-popping laughter of all time. It was awesome!

We have a family tradition of having a piñata on birthdays for the party. Here is Nick's...Ted couldn't find a sports' piñata at Walmart so he got this "little birdie" (Nick theme song from Charlie Brown Thanksgiving...Woodstock song if you remember it; it was super retro, late 60s/early 70s sounding and Nick hasn't forgotten it since. He sings it and then changes the name of the tune, "Little birdie" to sports' figure names, like "Dennis Pitta"...)

We made a total of 3 cakes which you will see momentarily...Nick helped me make all of them, measuring, pouring, beating. He helps me cook more than Maddie, though she can cook several things and does a great job making creative, colorful meals and table decorations. :)

Nice bubble-wrap head!

Nick got this Patriot's football and was in heaven. He responded just as Ted predicted to Maddie he would: "Cha-ching! Patriots!"

He had a sports' themed party so we made a baseball (banana sourcream, with cream cheese frosting...deliciosa!) and a basketball (with mini chocolate chips). We ate one on Sunday when we had some groovy friends over for Family Home Evening and to celebrate a bit with Nick. We took the other one to Nick's after-school-friends-party the next day.

Just had to include the detailed game that Maddie made all afternoon on Sunday for our FHE lesson. She picked our stake's scripture of 2 Nephi 31:20 which all the Primary kids have been asked to memorize. (She and Nick both have it memorized) She made a game board, game pieces, a dice, and had Team Buckwalter, Team Long, and Team Smith. She hid clues all over the house if the kids needed help answering their questions. She is very good at planning fun lessons with games and activities. Yea for Maddie!

Making his wish--

This is the chocolate chip cookie foot ball cake we made for his friend-party. I figured we might need 2 cakes for the 12 friends he invited. This one has melted chocolate chips thinly spread over the cookie. The white is our cream cheese frosting. Yummy!

Since sack racing and 3-legged racing was so popular at Maddie's last (cousin) birthday, we decided to do it again for Nick. The kids had a blast hopping and racing...though the wind was revving up for a huge hailstorm and tornado-watch later this very night.

Our party snack (besides cake and piñata goodies) were these make-your-own fruit kabobs. They went quick!

The opening of gifts was very interesting in this wind--we had to grab up every shred of torn birthday wrap and card so they wouldn't immediately blow 100 yards away.

Here is a cute shot of most of Nick's party guests.

Having a party at the park is the best place to have a party!

Today we celebrate (and all weekend) the 8th birthday of a boy who makes us laugh, who hugs and kisses his mama still, who loves to read, who loves to draw, who writes in his new journal with incredible depth for a youngster, who has a meticulous moral compass (already), who writes letters often to relatives, who wrote that his talents are "singing, dancing, and football" on his Primary Spotlight survey, who loves to play all sports, who loves story-time at night, and who has a repertoire of very funny faces!

We love you like crazy, Nick! You make our family exciting and thoughtful and funny!