Jaxsen's 3rd Birthday Party

We were finally able to celebrate Jaxsen's 3rd birthday with our family and friends on Saturday, April 26th. He had turned 3 about 3 weeks earlier, but we waited so long to have his birthday party because we wanted to be able to celebrate while he was on a break from his chemo. He was scheduled to finish up with Round 3 on April 24th, so we knew that the 26th would be the perfect time to have his party. We'd be able to celebrate the completion of another round AND his birthday...all at once!

Saturday was an absolutely gorgeous day. We were expecting rain at some point that day, but it held off until after his party. Thank you, Mother Nature! The temperature got up to 70 degrees, which was perfect since the party was being held at a pavilion. We had rented a huge, colorful moon bounce for his party and had a few other outdoor games set up, so we were thrilled that the weather cooperated for his special day.

I asked Jaxsen a few months ago what kind of party he wanted, and he instantly responded, "A rocket ship party!" We have no idea how/why he became so obsessed with rockets, but we agreed and I quickly started planning. I never realized how few rocket toys and decorations existed until I started planning this party! Everything I found online was either Buzz Lightyear or alien-themed. It became evident that the majority of the decorations and activities would have to be homemade. I like to consider myself a pretty crafty person, so I did not mind the challenge one bit, but this year I was a bit more pressed for time than I was in the previous years. Gee, I wonder why?? :)

On the day of the party, our guests started rolling in right at 3pm. As soon as they arrived, they were given mini rockets to play with during the party. Each one included 3 little rockets and a small, squeezable pump to make the rockets zoom. The kids had a blast seeing who could shoot their rockets farthest. We weren't able to invite as many friends as we did in the previous years because of Jaxsen's weakened immune system, so I was afraid that our party wouldn't be as much of a success, but boy was I wrong! It was so great seeing Jaxsen reunited with his little friends...many of whom he hadn't seen since his diagnosis. We had such a great group of kids at the party and everyone seemed to get along well. Those mini rockets were a great way to get the kids who didn't know each other to break the ice.

The kids spent the majority of the party inside of the moon bounce. Even the adults got in to bounce! There were always at least 5 kids in there chasing each other, having bouncing contests, playing tag, or spinning in circles. Jaxsen and I liked playing ring-around-the-rosie inside with some of his other friends. Jax also liked dragging in his Grandpa or Uncle Mike (my dad and brother) and climbing all over them!

When the kids weren't bouncing, they were doing one of the other fun activities that we planned. Inside, we had a rocket tent that the kids could climb in and pretend that they were zooming to Mars. There was also a "Make Your Own Rocket" station where kids could make a rocket using a paper towel tube, scrapbook paper, ribbon, and space-themed stickers.

Outside, there was a "Rings of Saturn" game that required the children to toss hula hoops around a big bouncy ball. There was also a "Rocket Balloon" kit that we bought online. The kit included a standard balloon pump and 85 colorful balloons that were long and slender. They seemed like ordinary balloons at first, but when you filled them up with air and released them, they made a neat noise and shot up really high into the air. They also zig-zagged a lot more than a regular balloon would! The kids had a blast chasing them and trying to catch them as they soared through the air.

We had a few rocket toys at the party too. The kids took turning playing with a stomp rocket and chasing the rockets across the field. There was also a large red rocket that shot straight up into the air. At any given moment, guests had to watch out for zooming rockets and balloons that were soaring past them. They always had to be on their toes! It was a blast!

When guests got hungry, they snacked on our space-themed treats. We served Rice Krispy Stars (treats shaped like stars), Cheesy Asteroids (cheeseballs), Saturn's Rings (fudge cookies that were shaped like a ring), Shooting Stars and Flying Saucers (crackers, pepperoni, and star-shaped cheese), Black Holes (mini chocolate donuts), Full Moons (vanilla wafers), Planet Pops (swirly round lollipops), and Out of This World Chips & Salsa. We also served popcorn, fruit salad, and hotdogs. Guests definitely didn't go hungry at this party!

After about an hour and a half of snacking, bouncing, and shooting rockets in the air, we gathered everyone around one of the outdoor picnic tables so we could sing Happy birthday and eat cupcakes. We had planned on singing inside, so that we could eat cupcakes under the planets that were hanging from the ceiling, but it was such a nice day so we couldn't resist taking the party back outside. Jaxsen usually loves being the center of attention, but as soon as his family and friends started singing to him, he smiled sheepishly and ducked his head down so no one could see him smile. After we sang to him, Jax wished for a car and then tried blowing out his sparkler candles. He tried for a while, but eventually needed some help, which mommy and daddy were more than willing to give! We then handed out the cupcakes out and dug in! We made vanilla cupcakes with blue icing and yellow star sprinkles.

Jaxsen decided that it would be more fun to start a cupcake food fight, so he took a cupcake and smashed it right into Nick's face! Everyone got a kick out of it and before long, some of the other kids started rubbing icing on their own faces. Everyone looked like little blue aliens!

When everyone was finished with their cupcakes, we hung the pinata from one of the beams in the pavilion and had all of the children gather around. We let the birthday boy make the first few swings, and then had the rest of the kids take a turn based on their age. There were about 9 kids (aged 2-7) who tried their hand at whacking the pinata open, but none of them were able to smash it! The kids all had another turn at hitting the pinata and after a few minutes, the pinata started opening a little. The kids kept on whacking, and candy started falling out. The pinata itself was pretty invincible, because the candy was all smashed up, but the pinata had hardly any damage to it! Eventually, we just ripped the pinata open before all of the candy was ruined. The kids all pounced at the candy the second it dropped to the ground. They were like little vultures!

We spent the rest of the party bouncing on the moon bounce and talking with our family and friends. It was getting late though and our guests started heading out one-by-one. It was a great party and we couldn't have asked for a better day. The weather was perfect, our company was amazing, and the atmosphere was fun and laid-back. It was so great watching Jax play with his buddies, and we enjoyed catching up with some of our friends that we hadn't seen in a while. We have been so busy since the diagnosis that we haven't had much time to socialize, so we definitely took advantage of this time to talk with our friends.

We are so glad that Jaxsen had a blast at his party and we were thrilled that we were able to regain some normalcy into our lives by having a birthday party. His world was turned upside-down in January and he has spent the last three months being poked and prodded on a weekly basis. If anyone deserved a fun day playing with rockets...it was this little dude! Having a party was the best way to celebrate the end of a round and the beginning of another year of life! Here's to hoping that year 3 for Jax is just as exciting and eventful as the previous ones. Although we could do without anymore life-changing surprises ;)

Round Three of Chemotherapy: Interim Maintenance (March 14 -April 24, 2014)

Immediately after the second round of treatment, the third round began. This round, called Interim Maintenance, brought both relief and stress. It was less invasive in terms of procedures. He only received one spinal tap this round and there was no need to extract bone marrow. I know this didn't mean too much to Jax because he sleeps like a baby right through every procedure and wakes up unbothered by the intrusive procedures. But it was nice that Meg and I did not have to watch the doctors put Jax into a abrupt sleep; going from fully awake and bursting with energy to suddenly going limp in our arms. It was becoming an unwelcome weekly routine for us, so it was nice to take some time off from that.

Round 3 brought us stress because of the chemotherapy regiment that Jax was put through. As part of Interim Maintenance, Jaxsen was subjected to increasing doses of a toxic chemotherapy drug called Methotrexate. The duration of this round was 41 days. On day one, Jax received two types of chemo, one through IV and another pushed directly into his port with a syringe. Prior to receiving the drugs, his blood counts were analyzed to make sure that his counts were high enough to handle the treatment. This happened every 10 days until the end of the cycle.  Each visit, the dosages of chemo were raised to increase the effects of the drugs, which could have also pushed Jax to the limit of his tolerance.

The doctors warned us that the progression of this round could start to have effects on Jax's energy level and could make him sick. This worried us, but it didn't seem to have any effect on our brave little man. He paced his way through the hospital visits and handled the extra meds well. The doctors said that this part of treatment can be so intense that some patients cannot make it to the end because of the increasing doses. But Jaxsen proved yet again to be a trooper, and he responded well to the increasing doses of chemotherapy. You wouldn't even know what Jaxsen was going through if you didn't already know his situation, because he acted perfectly normal for the entire 41 days.

Jax successfully made it through the entire treatment without a hiccup. The only thing that concerned us was that Jaxsen was starting to get some unexplained bruises on his legs and lower stomach. The docs quickly comforted us by telling us that symptoms like that were common during this stage because the chemo was demishinishing his supply of platelets. When platelets are low, patients tend to bleed or bruise more easily than usual. Jax also had another case of "silly legs" after his only spinal tap of the round. This time it wasn't as severe, and he only had trouble walking for a few hours. He soon regained his strength and balance and was off running around in no time. These were side effects that were welcomed, because they were far better than some of the worst case scenarios.

Another thing that we noticed during this round was that Jaxsen was becoming increasingly more sensitive about his chest. He is convinced that every time his shirt comes off, someone is going to try to access his port. It's always a struggle when it comes time for him to take off his shirt to get a bath, put on pajamas, or get dressed for the day. We have to constantly remind him that we aren't going to hurt him, and even after a few moments of gentle persuasion, he's still hesitant to let us take off his shirt. It's heartbreaking to see our sweet, little boy be so bothered by something. Especially something that is going to be a part of his life for the next 2 and a half years.

With the bad also came some good. Jax had his 3rd birthday and birthday party during this phase. His birthday fell at the beginning of his treatment and we celebrated the occasion with family. He also got to take a trip to the birthday closet at the hospital. It's basically a room filled to the brim with toys that any little boy or girl could only dream of having. Each patient gets to visit the closet on their birthday and pick out a toy. Needless to say, it was a prolonged trip filled with "I want that" and "ooh, what's that," but in the end Jax picked a nice set of small monster trucks.

Jax also took two trips during this round. The family went to New Jersey for Easter and Ocean City on the weekend after Jaxsen's birthday (which we wrote about in another blog post). Meg took Jax up to NJ to visit her family on Easter weekend because they hadn't seen him since the diagnosis and they were all anxious to give him some lovin'. On Saturday, they went to a huge Easter egg hunt that was being held at the church where Meg's Aunt Helen worked. Jaxsen quickly mastered the art of finding all of the eggs, but instead of putting the eggs inside of his basket, he opened them up, dumped the candy into his basket, and then dropped the empty egg back onto the ground. Such a stinker. The next day (Easter Sunday), they had another Easter egg hunt in Aunt Helen's backyard. Jax had a blast running around with Lia, Albina, and Maria (his 5-year-old aunt and little cousins). The visit to NJ was a short one, but Meg and Jax still had enough time to relax and catch up with their loved ones.

This round was filled with many more happy moments. It was during this round that Jaxsen was given the opportunity to paint with the elephants from the Barnum & Bailey circus. We also had a photoshoot with the amazing Jeff Will, who turned one of the photos from the shoot into a HUGE canvas that was going to be displayed at our St. Baldrick's event. However, due to some unforeseen circumstances, our canvas arrived one day AFTER the event! We were able to meet up with Jeff a few days later to get the canvas from him, and boy were we blown away! It looked amazing, and we're so thankful that Jeff chose our family to honor at the event. We will cherish that canvas for years and years to come!

Yet another happy moment was the arrival of Jaxsen's cape from Capes4Heroes. He was even given a certificate of superhero status! Capes4Heroes is an organization that sends hand-made capes to ill and disabled children to help them regain confidence and feel like superheroes. Jax was so excited to wear his new cape and go zooming around the house. Mommy and daddy both got a good workout tossing him up into the air so he could feel like he was flying. 

Although this round was tough on Jaxsen's little body, he has proven once again to be a trooper. With the support of our family, friends, and the wonderful foundations that we are a part of, we have made it through another round...all while keeping smiles on our faces! 

Jaxsen's First Trip to OC

Shortly after Jaxsen's birthday, we were treated to a mini-vacation for some much needed R&R. The Believe in Tomorrow foundation generously gave us a room in their House by the Sea respite where we could relax and unwind all while having a blast at the beach. Believe in Tomorrow is a foundation that provides respite housing services to critically ill children and their families. Their goal is to send families away to one of their clean, comfortable houses to help them rejuvenate and reconnect. They know how important it is to have time to relax and be together in a stress-free environment during the child's exhausting medical treatment. We were so thankful to be on the receiving end of this amazing organization.

It has been a crazy year since Jax's diagnosis, with  frequent trips to the hospital and a jam packed schedule of events for cancer awareness and  research. It has therefore been so difficult to find some time to just sit back, decompress, and relax. So, needless to say, we were all very excited when we were given the opportunity to go the beach and take in the sun. The whole week leading up to the trip, Jax would constantly talk about the beach and he kept asking, "Can we go to the beach now?"

It was Friday, time to head out on our great ocean adventure. We were all packed and ready to go...with enough stuff to stay a month! Jax was so excited that he stayed awake during the entire 3-hour-trip. He watched in amazement as we towered over the bay while crossing the Key and Bay bridges. We played games like I Spy to pass the time until we reached the bridge to Coastal Highway, which is when I queued up the Jurassic Park theme song (yes, we own the soundtrack because of someone's obsession with the movies) to listen to as we made our way from the inlet to our destination on 66th Street.

As we arrived to the beach house and made our way up to our room, we were greeted by a bunch of sea critters scattered throughout the walkway. We opened the door to our house to find a cozy room with warm, welcoming colors and a basket filled with toys and fun activities for us to do during our stay. After we got unpacked and settled, Jax took a quick nap while Meg made a schedule so we could pack in as many activities as possible. As soon as Jax woke up, we made our way down to the boardwalk and set up camp on the beach.

    

The weather wasn't really ideal for early spring, but we didn't complain. We were all wearing pants and hoodies to stay warm, and even though the sand had a chill, it felt good between our toes. This was the most vacant we had ever seen the beaches there. It was good for Jax though. He could run around wherever he pleased and we didn't have to worry about anyone bothering him.

Jax had a blast. He filled up his dump truck with sand and pushed it all over the beach while Meg and I played catch. We made the best of the weather we were given. Since it was windy, we decided it would be a perfect time to fly his kite. The line was unwound all the way and the kite was flying way above our head. Jax did a good job of piloting his first kite... until he thought it would be more fun to let go of the string and watch daddy run like a madman to catch it before it hit the only other family on the beach!

After an hour or two, we decided it was time to get some food in our bellies. Believe in Tomorrow treated us to a meal at The Dough Roller and ice creams at Dumser's. It was perfect ending ending to our first day at the beach.

The next day, Jaxsen decided we should go back to the beach to finish playing. So we began our second adventure in the sand, but this time we went closer to the inlet so Jax could see the giant Ferris Wheel and walk under the pier. Once we arrived, Jax started running all over the beach while pushing his dump truck.  

           

He finally lost steam after about two hours later, so made our way to Thrashers for a quick boardwalk snack. While eating, Jax saw all f the lights and heard the sounds of the arcade, so we went inside where we played games, won tickets, and even posed for a photo-booth shoot. Jax ended up leaving the arcade with three bouncy balls, a rubber snake, and a snorkel. His charm got him more than the 35 tickets we earned. He only had enough for one bouncy ball, but the lady behind the counter couldn't help but give Jax all that he wanted.

On our way back to our house, we stopped at the indoor pool at the Holiday Inn, which was conveniently located next door to the beach house. We had the whole place to ourselves, and there was even a one-foot-deep kiddie pool just for Jax. We brought water squirters which we used to soak each other from across the pool. Jax even swam all by himself... with a little help from his floatie. He could not stop smiling and laughing. It was getting late in the afternoon though, and the little man needed a nap. So we gathered up all of our pool toys and made our way back to our house so Jax (and mama and daddy) could rest.

After nap time, it was time for a nice dinner at Mancini's. Believe in Tomorrow had reserved a table and treated us to an Italian dinner for the family. The atmosphere was comfortable and homey, and the food was delicious. They even had gluten-free pasta for Jax and Meg. We were all stuffed to the gills, so we went to the boardwalk to chase Jax around and burn off some of those calories. We played in the sand again and we even got Old Time photos taken.  We all posed as pirates with swords and treasure. This would sound fun for pretty much any three-year-old boy, but Jax wanted nothing to do with it at first. His attitude changed once he was given his own pirate treasure, and you would never guess he was sad at all by his silly face in the picture.

We were all ready to head in for the night to relax. On the way home we stopped at Dumser's again. It was too hard to resist their yummy sundaes and milkshakes. We had planned on having a family movie night, but it was too late and we were all beat once we got settled in. Day two was a success.

Before we knew it, it was our last day at the beach. The time seemed to go by in a flash with all the fun activities that Believe in Tomorrow had planned. We woke up early with Jax and packed all our stuff and cleaned the room, then we went back to The Dough Roller for a big breakfast. We fueled up for our last hoorah.

There was a dinosaur-themed mini-golf place right next door to The Dough Roller, so of course we took our little future paleontologist over to see the dinos. He loved running around and telling us the names of the dinosaurs that he knew. We had planned on only looking at the dinos instead of playing an actual game of mini-golf, but the girls behind the counter gladly gave Jax a club and ball, free of charge. I quickly taught Jax how to play. He was a natural! He even got a hole-in-23 ;)

After we visited all of the dinosaurs, we made our way to the boardwalk for one last visit. We rented some bikes and enjoyed a brief bike ride on the boardwalk. It was so nice to be able to go for a family bike ride  right next to the ocean. Jaxsen soon decided that he would rather play on the beach than ride bikes though, so we returned our bikes and made our way down to the ocean.

Jaxsen had so much fun getting as close to the freezing water as possible, and then running away before it touched him. He even dragged poor mama into that game, although she wasn't as good at it as he was, and her feet got soaked! We then spent some time digging in the sand and spelling words with shells. We didn't want to leave the beach, but it was getting late in the afternoon and Jax needed his nap or else he would soon be grumpy. We reluctantly packed up all of our belongings and slowly made our way back to the car. We were sad to leave, but we were taking with us so many memories that are definitely going to last a lifetime. Let the countdown to our next family vacation begin!

Alex's St.Baldrick's Event and Jax's Birthday Photoshoot

The festivities of Jaxsen's third birthday weekend continued well into Saturday. It was another busy day centered around our next appearance at a St.Baldrick's event. In the morning, my mom and I went over to Jax's great grandfather's (Pop Pop Edward) house to help finish installing his new garage door opener. While I was busy getting dirty, Meg was hard at work making Jaxsen's very delicious 3rd birthday cake.

When we got back home, we were greeted by a bunch of colorful drawings on the driveway and porch, leading up to the door. Mama and Jax had been enjoying the (almost) spring-like weather outside by creating chalk masterpieces. Excitedly, Jaxsen asked for my hand when I approached him. He quickly traced it alongside his and Meg's. It was nice to see him outside and so excited. After a few moments, we cleaned up the sidewalk chalk and headed inside. The cake looked so tasty, but before we could enjoy it, we needed to head over to Hightopps Backstage Grille for Alex's 10th birthday party. We were excited!

After Jaxsen's afternoon nap, we packed up the car and headed up to Timonium. Jaxsen was an honored kid and guest at Alex's party. Alex is an awesome and extraordinary young man, who decided that he wanted to do something more than the usual party with friends and family for his birthday.

After I became a shavee, and Jax became an honored kid on the St. Baldrick's website, Meg and I were contacted my Gina. Gina asked if we would like to have Jaxsen honored at a St.Baldrick's event that she and her son were hosting. She explained that her soon-to-be 10-year-old son Alex wanted to help raise money for kids suffering from cancer. How could we say no to such an endearing act? It is amazing to know that even young kids want to make a difference and help out other kids with cancer.

We arrived at the event shortly after it began (we were a little late because we had to wait for Jax to wake up). The restaurant was crammed with all of Alex's friends and family. It was an awesome sight. We were promptly greeted by Gina and Alex. It was a pleasure to finally meet them in person and to offer our support  for our common cause. Jaxsen was really excited too, but for a different reason.

Before we sat down, we had made our way through the room to check out all of the cool raffle items, including Orioles merchandise and photography packages, to name a few. It was so nice to see many local businesses supporting childhood cancer research, as well! At the end of the table was Alex's birthday cake, shaped like a Ravens jersey. Right next to it, staring back at Jax, was a minion cake, made especially for him! Gina had gotten a cake made with one of Jax's favorite cartoon characters. Both of the cakes looked delicious and we couldn't wait to dig in!

It was time to sing happy birthday, so everyone gathered around the table and started to sing to both Alex and Jax. They were both very excited. Alex blew out his candles right away, but Jax needed just a little help. When Jax finally got a piece of cake, he wanted to eat the minion's eyeball! He gobbled it right up.

Now it was time for the main event, the excitement that everyone came to see. Alex and a few of his friends were all getting their heads shaved, all to benefit childhood cancer research. This has been one of my favorite St. Baldrick's event that we've been to so far. It may not have been as big as some others, but the fact that these young boys wanted to do something so genuine and noble to help other children gives us hope that someday, hopefully in the near future, doctors and researchers will one day find a cure for cancer.

Alex was the first one to get his head shaved. His hair was down to his shoulders, which tends to happen when you don't get a haircut for two years ;) It took a while to get down to his scalp, but his friends and family and the three of us were cheering him on as he bravely became bald. Seeing him with both a full head of head and no hair at all was like looking at night and day, but he can definitely pull off both looks.

We had to cut our visit with Alex short because we had a birthday photo shoot scheduled for Jax. We had such a good time at the event. Jax loved his cake, and Alex and Gina were also generous enough to get Jaxsen a ton of awesome gifts. It is the actions of people like those two that make this tough time a little easier.

After a quick trip home, we cleaned up the little man and grabbed his cake and some decorations, then we were off to our next adventure. We arrived at Cox's Point park where we met with our photographer, my mom, Meg's parents, brother, sister and a few other family members. Everyone wanted to be there to wish Jax a happy birthday!

Our photographer is named Kathleen Hertel. She is a talented, award-winning photographer with her own studio that is located in Catonsville. Meg became a fan of hers more than a year ago when she designed a Grinch Christmas photo shoot. Meg loved the style and creativity of Kathleen's photography, and she often checked her Facebook page for updates. One day, Kathleen posted on the page that she wanted to donate a photo session to a family that was affected by cancer, as part of Project Joy. Project Joy was created after her own mother had passed away after battling cancer.Unfortunately, her mother passed before her family was able to get an up-to-date picture taken of everyone. Kathleen did not want another family to have that same experience, so she vowed to donate a session per month to someone affected by cancer. As soon as Meg saw the post on the Facebook wall, she contacted Kathleen. A few days later, Kathleen responded and told us that not only did she want to donate a family photo session to us, but she also wanted to shoot a session every month, and turn it into a documentary-like album. We were thrilled by her offer and graciously accepted. Kathleen will be photographing Jaxsen throughout his treatment and will capture all of the major milestones that happen during that time, including trips to the hospital, birthdays, and other accomplishments. We are so happy to be on the receiving end of Project Joy and are so appreciative of her generosity.

The first major milestone that Kathleen wanted to photograph was Jaxsen's 3rd birthday. We went to work decorating the picnic tables at the pavilion with green tablecloths and blue and grey accessories. Normally this would have been an easy task that even Jax could do with little help, but because of the hurricane-like wind, it took all of mine, Meg's and Mike's might just to keep everything from blowing into the Chesapeake Bay.

Although the not-so-spring-like weather was undesirable, we didn't let that stop us from having fun. It didn't seem to phase Jax one bit. He was running around with Lia non-stop since the second he stepped out of the car. Kathleen fed off his energy and took many candid shots as Jax and Lia palyed by the water, fed the ducks, and played on the slide. The crappy weather didn't seem to put a damper on Jax's fun.

We put candles on Jax's cake and sang happy birthday. They remained unlit though, despite our fierce battle against the gale-force winds, but he didn't mind. We all gathered behind him and took a group photo to commemorate the event. When it came time to take a bite of the cake, Jax decided that it was a better idea to shove the cake right into mine and Meg's faces. Needless to say, we returned the favor!

It was getting cold and we were all covered in cake, so we decided to call it a day and head home for some rest. It was a busy day for the newly-three year old, but it was a great way to start his next action-packed year.

Happy 3rd Birthday Jaxsen!

April 4th was a very special day in our little family because Jaxsen turned three! It seems like just yesterday he was a tiny, helpless newborn, and now he's an adventurous, curious, charismatic, strong little boy...who just so happens to be kicking cancer's butt ;)

The day before Jaxsen's birthday, Nick and I left Jax with Nana so we could buy some last minute things for his birthday. The most important thing on our list was balloons! I started a tradition last year where I sneak into Jaxsen's room on the night before his birthday and fill it with balloons. It is such a neat sight to wake up to and it's a great way to kick off the birthday festivities! He was so shocked last year when he woke up on his 2nd birthday, so I knew it was something I wanted to continue this year. Nick and I bought a bunch of green, blue, and silver balloons, and then headed home to hide them in my room. We then picked up Jax from Nana and brought him back to my house. After he fell asleep for the night, we snuck into his room and released all of the balloons. I couldn't wait for him to wake up and see them the next day!

The morning of his birthday, Nick and I woke up to Jaxsen saying, "Huh?" in his bedroom. We knew that he was awake and checking out the balloons so we instantly perked up. We then heard him exclaim, "I have balloons! It's my birthday!" He came running into my room to tell us what he found in his room. He spent the next few moments playing with his balloons while Nick got ready for work. We then went downstairs so Jaxsen could watch Mickey while I made him a special birthday breakfast... M&M pancakes! When breakfast was ready, he ran over to the table and looked on his plate. He was surprised to see that his pancakes were cut in so many different shapes! His pancakes were in the shape of a train, Mickey, and the number 3. Apparently he thought they looked too good to eat because he barely touched his food! He ended up eating a bowl of cereal later on in the morning. What a little stinker.

After Nick went to work, Jax and I spent a relaxing morning at home. It was a rainy day, but Jax and I didn't let that stop us from having fun. We did just about every puzzle in the house, made a fort out of couch cushions, and watched his newest obsession, Lilo and Stitch. It was soon time for his nap, so we went upstairs to read some stories and get ready for bed. I had about a zillion things to do while Jax napped (like always), but I decided it was more important to cuddle up in my bed with Jaxsen and take a nap. And what a good nap it was!! We woke up a few hours later, played for a while, and then headed over to Nick's house, since he had decided to leave work early so he could spend more time with the little man on his special day.

As soon as we got to Nick's house, Jax was greeted with a huge wrapped present in the living room! He instantly told us that he was ready to open all of his presents. I had brought my presents over to Nick's house so that Jax could open all of the gifts up at once.The first present he opened was from Nana, which was a really neat toy dinosaur that transformed into a truck. It was two of Jaxsen's favorite things combined into one toy! It was also voice-activated, although it didn't like listening to Jaxsen whenever he yelled at it to move backwards :) He then opened up a toy rocket from his daddy and some outdoor toys from me. We decided we weren't going to spend too much money on presents this year, since he wasn't really a big fan of opening gifts anyway. We'll save that for next year!

    

We asked Jaxsen what he wanted for his special birthday dinner, and he told us pizza! So we ordered 2 pizzas from Seasons Pizza and then played with the new toys while we patiently waited for the pizza to be delivered. While Jax and I were playing, Nick was hard at work making yummy M&M cookies and brownies, per Jaxsen's request. We knew that he wouldn't eat any of it, since he's not a big fan of baked goods, but we made it anyway. Anything for our birthday boy!

The pizza was soon delivered, and we all gobbled it up immediately. The cookies and brownies needed a few more minutes to cool, so we went out onto the back deck and attempted to get a good family of the three of us. The key word is attempted :) There's always too much stuff for Jax to explore so he wasn't very cooperative while we were taking pictures. There's always something to see and something to do. We love his curiosity...but we wouldn't mind if he cooperated every once in a while!

When we went inside, it was time to eat our cookies and brownies. We put a candle on one of the cookies and sang happy birthday to Jax. After we finished singing, I told Jaxsen to make a wish and blow out his candle. When I asked him what he wished for, he smiled widely and said, "A sammich!" We all laughed and then cheered Jaxsen on as he attempted to blow out his candle. Again, the key word here is attempted! It took him awhile, but he finally blew it out. I'm pretty sure the cookie was covered in his slobber by the time he got it! He demanded that we put another candle on his cookie, which we were more than happy to do. This time, and every time after, he wished for a car. He soon got tired of blowing out candles on the cookies,  so we gave him some chocolate ice cream, which was something we knew he would devour! He was so excited to eat the ice cream that he didn't even wait for us to give him a spoon. He just shoved his face into the ice cream and started slurping it up like a puppy! He then asked for candles on his ice cream so he could continue making wishes and blowing out candles. How could we say no?!

After we put Jaxsen on a sugar high, we told him that it was time to start getting ready for bed. I bet you know what his response to that was! He wasn't happy at first, but he soon made his way upstairs. He had a long, exciting day, and we could tell he was tired. We helped Jax brush his teeth, put on pajamas, and then chose a book to read before bed. We choose a story called, "On The Night You Were Born" by Nancy Tilman. We bought the book shortly after Jaxsen was born, and it has been one of my favorites ever since. It's a story about a parent who is telling her son about how special he is. The story ends by saying, "Heaven blew every trumpet and played every horn, on the wonderful, marvelous night you were born." Such a sweet message! Reading this book to Jax on his birthday is another one of my favorite traditions.

After we finished reading, Jaxsen gave us both a huge hug and kiss and laid down. He then told me that I was his favorite girl and daddy was his favorite boy.  It's hard to believe that the baby we brought into the world 3 years ago has turned into such a sweet, good-hearted little boy. We couldn't be more happy to have him in our lives and we are so proud of the little person he has become!