Ten days after we brought LJ home from the hospital, my firstborn baby turned four. FOUR. You might as well tell me that he turned thirty seven because he is literally growing like a weed on steroid fertilizer. Sometimes I look at him and want to push the ‘growing’ switch to OFF. And when I say sometimes, I mean all the time. And then I will swaddle him in a giant snuggie and kiss his entire face. That’s my idea of a fun afternoon.
His idea of a fun afternoon involved an orange soda and a train. Yup…that’s what he requested for his fourth birthday. Pretty simple…and very very him.
We decided that Stone Mountain would be the perfect spot for the family celebration. It had a train after all and that was 50% of the birthday requests.
Stone Mountain is a giant piece of granite. It’s just one gigantic rock. And it has a carving. When I was younger the park had very little in terms of ‘entertainment’. In more recent years it was bought by a private company that added more ‘theme’ park type attractions. It has a really cute ‘town’ that has glass blowing, a 4D theatre, a mini golf course, a ropes course and a ‘barn’ building that is AIR CONDITIONED (that’s important here in the south) and is filled with balls for kids to beam at each other.
The train is a short ride (five miles) around the mountain. It’s not exciting at all (I think they need a couple of train robbers on horseback to shoot up the passengers)…but Will could not be more excited about it.
We pointed at every bird, gasped at every screech of the brakes, and Will kept on telling me that the train was going off the tracks. He must have seen that on Thomas or something.
For lunch, we decided to eat inside the park. Will got his orange soda and basically I felt like a hero for making sure both birthday requests were fulfilled.
The food was a little pricey inside the park (like most theme parks) but the serving size was big so next time I am gonna share with both boys instead of ordering separate meals.
Since his birthday fell on Spring Break week, there was a few extra special events being held at the park….one being a dog show called JUMP! It was pretty amazing how high these pups could get. It hurt my ACL just thinking about jumping that high!
We also picked up a little bit of candy….because you know….it’s candy.
The big surprise for Will was that we were going on the Duck Boat. He didn’t understand what the big deal was until we explained that it was actually a boat.
And that he got to make excessive amounts of noise.
Weston absolutely loved that he got to ride without the constraints of a car seat on the road. I can just imagine what he was thinking “wind in my hair! wind in my hair!”
When it came time to ride into the water, the captain gunned it and made the biggest splash. Weston’s face says it all…
He’s not often concerned but you could see that his entire demeanor changed. It was actually really funny to watch because he isn’t generally cautious.
When the captain asked if anyone was celebrating a birthday, Will was thrilled to say yes. It was a surprise to us all that he got to drive the boat for a solid ten minutes.
I can’t say enough about the captain…she was awesome. I wanted to take her home with me.
See this face? This is the face of extreme EXTREME excitement. This is the face of my stoic little four year old that rarely shows his emotion. The fact that he has a ever-so-slight smile and a thumbs up…it means that his boy mind is exploding.
Me and my boys. Who would have ever thought! I know my LJ is only a month old but honestly I can’t wait to have more babies. I am turning into Michelle Duggar…and I hope I have 19 boys. An army of little guys that I can snuggle till my uterus falls out.
Okay…back to the birthday and the mountain.
The scene from the boat was pretty great. As many years as I have lived here, I have never done the Duck Boat and I am so glad that I can finally check that off the list. It was a totally different way to see the park. I think I may buy a kayak now.
Weston also got a turn at the ship’s wheel….which promptly ended when he started pushing other buttons.
When we got home, we had a little cupcake celebration (yeah…this mommy isn’t baking a cake right after giving birth…although I am sure there are some mama’s out there that do that. Fist pump to ya!).
I love that first pic of him blowing out the candle. I literally feel the oxygen being pulled out of the room.
Dear Will,
Hi Baby. This day you turn four. Four years old! You are such a big boy and mommy and daddy are so proud of you. We love you so much and we are so happy that God gave you to us to watch over and teach and train. We love seeing what a great big brother you are learning to be and how well you are doing at school. It is our favorite thing to hear you sing and pray and talk to ‘the babies’. You are all boy and love being with big boys doing big boy things and that makes us so happy. I know that one day you will be leading other men and I pray that you will follow that straight and narrow path. One day Will, things might be hard or sad or scary, and mommy and daddy will always be here for you. You are doing so great with your letters, learning to brush your teeth, make your bed and set the table and with remembering your bible verses and with learning how to play baseball. You are one super helper and try very hard to be a good example for your brothers. We love all those things very much but most importantly, we love that you try very hard to think of others…that you pray for the hungry and the hurting and that you want to give your toys to kids that don’t have any. Will, mommy and daddy love you and want you to remember to give first, build up others and never lose your strong will. And above all, we love you more than you can stretch and so does Jesus.
all my favorite things – mommy
Loved the personal note to Will. I hope to one day do that for my future kids. Happy belated birthday Will!
Btw, keep having babies – they are adorable!!
Dang, and I was doing good too until the letter at the end… then the tears. 🙂 What a wonderful birthday for a great little boy! Best to you and your family!
The trip looks like so much fun, but your letter to Will…pure love. My baby just turned five last week and I need to write him a letter. Thank you for the inspiration.
You just made my eyes leak. That is a beautiful letter to your boy.
So sweet! Also I highly recommend the kayaks. You’ll love it and so will the boys when they are older. Who doesn’t love outdoor family fun?
Precious! What a wonderful letter from a momma to her sweet baby boy. Happy mother’s day to you, Katie!
Once again, kindred spirits! My first was a section, then two successful VBACs. My oldest turned 5 just 10 days after the birth of my third. He wanted to bounce so ten days post partum off to bounce we went! Although this might be where the kindredness ends….this mama is no Michelle Duggar !
What a wonderful day for your first born! My son is four also and that sounds like the perfect day to him as well.
Your letter to him made me cry. So sweet!
What a special day for a special kid! Y’all are such a cute family.
Oh my goodness, that note at the end made me cry. So sweet. Happy Belated 4th Birthday, Big Boy Will!
Nearly spat out my 72nd wheat thin (once I start, I can’t stop 😉 laughing at the line about your uterus falling out. Katie, you’re some kind of funny! That said, this is such a sweet post. Loved reading about Will’s birthday celebration. I’m so happy for you and Jeremy and your sweet little brood of boys!
‘An army of little guys that I can snuggle till my uterus falls out.’ – HA! That just made me laugh so hard.
Awww what a perfect birthday!
There are pictures of me at a theme park riding the little kiddie roller coasters with that same look of “extreme excitement” that Will has. My parents couldn’t tell if I loved it or hated it, but I kept asking to go again so they figured I must have liked it! Haha!
Katie! Your post just made me tear up… at work. 🙂 Keep up the good work momma warrior… even the baby making!
Your letter to Will was truly heartfelt. You are a great MOM!
B.
Sweet post!! I swear I could feel the happiness through the computer! I have three young ones too and I know how hard those trips can be but how the love of who you are doing it for outweighs the stress, and your boys are so lucky to be so loved.
Aweee I love your letter to Will! And what an awesome day for him! We have a thing here called… um… the great prairie hold up or something.. basically it’s a train and they stage a train robbery! I want to take my little guy yet! I’ve been humming and hawwing about having baby #2 and you and Sherry (YHL) make me want one! And want another boy!
Love your blog Katie,
Jazmyn from the Prairies! (Manitoba………………………Canada)
Haha! Snuggle with them until your uterus falls out!? That was hilarious. I’ve had a bad day and that’s the first time I laughed. Thankyou. I have 2 boys and I love boys too. I don’t know what i’d do with a girl. Saying that, when I read that LJ is only 1 month old and you already want more, I thought, “she must’ve not had a colicky baby yet.” :). My second was/is colicky (he is 1!) and it’s horribly exhausting. I can’t even think about more right now! Love reading your blog, you inspire and encourage me as a mother and DIYer.
Oh Katie that was just so beautiful, now I will go cry. You are wonderful!
Katie,
I so wish I could give you a hug! I’m such a hugger. (my hubby used to ask me how many people I’d hugged at the end of the day. can’t help it.) Your examples as a Christian parents does not go unnoticed. I’m not just referring to the example you are to your sweet little boys but to those who read your blog. Sharing how you and Jeremy love your boys, everyday life (bumps and all) is so inspiring to me. And, I’m a grandma (actually, a “KK” to a sweet 14 month old “all” boy)
Just couldn’t move on till I told you this.
Kathy
So, kayaks – yes!
Also, have you watched Undercover Boss? It’s on Netflix and one of the first seasons featured Stone Mountain park and the duck boats! It was a pretty cool episode cause that duck boat driver was awesome too!
You make cute babies. HBD to Will!
So precious! This place looks really fun! It’s definitely a place my hubby would like to go because it didn’t look terribly crowded.
That’s the sweetest. Ever.
And Weston’s face. ohmygosh. I would’ve been on the floor of that boat laughing so- its just too cute!
I would pay good money for an “off” switch for this growing thing! I blinked my eyes and my girls are 5 and 7!
We are only a few hours away from Stone Mountain, and it is on our Summer Manifesto for this year. So glad to see the pictures and fun!
Oh, Happy Birthday Will 🙂
“I think they need a couple of train robbers on horseback to shoot up the passengers”
When I was around Will’s age, Stone Mountain DID have something similar to this. Not the shooting up passengers part, but the ‘train robbers’ part (http://www.neighbornewspapers.com/view/full_story/18788777/article-Stone-Mountain-Park-s-scenic-railroad-celebrates-50-years?instance=dekalb). They should totally bring it back. 🙂
Loved this post! I was terrible at taking specific monthly pictures of my 9 month old boy, but your letter to Will has confirmed my idea to write him a letter for each birthday. I had to hold back the tears!
What a fun birthday for Will! You can see how happy he is in all the pictures! Thanks for sharing!
Katie, you wrote a sweet and heartfelt letter for Will. Your post just made me tear up!
You are a great MOM!! Your MOM must be very proud of you!
Greetings from Germany (long time reader)
Happy birthday to Will and
Happy Mothersday to You and your MOM
I love the letter you wrote to Will. I was very touched and teared up a little. I want to start writing letters to my daughter for her birthdays. She just turned 2 a couple of weeks ago so I think I can squeeze it in still. You are such a beautiful mommy, both inside and out. You give me something to aspire to. Thank you!
Such an awesome post…letter to ur son!
We also need deets about u’r cute shoes ..and the coat…they look great.
My heart just melted at that picture of LJ snuggled up in your jacket. Insanely sweet.
When I was little, my grandparents lived in Tucker, GA. Stone Mountain was one of our favorite places. My grandmother used to hike up the back side of the mountain with her friends – at least once or twice a week. She loved the peace of sitting at the top and looking out at the magnificent view. She passed away this past summer, and I really hadn’t thought about Stone Mountain for a long time. So thanks for the memories (and there may have been some tears but I’ll never admit it!) It’s nice to see how Stone Mountain has grown and changed. My grandmother would love it 🙂
Katie you have me balling like a baby at work!! Such a sweet post. My little boy is 9 months and I am just don’t want him to get any bigger! I love you and those little boys! Thanks for sharing them. Happy Birthday (belated) WILL!!
Oh my goodness, HOW CUTE ARE YOU!! And what a fun birthday at Stone Mountain. Now I want to drive over from Birmingham and spend the day there with my cousins and all of our kids!
And this halfway pregnant mama nearly lost a few tears reading your letter to Will. So, so sweet. What a wonderful family!
How sweet!! 🙂
Katie, I needed this post today. I needed it so bad. We just started trying for our very first little one and I am so full of nerves about the future. Who he or she will be, pregnancy, how our lives are going to change forever… and then I see this. The joys of raising children and getting to re-experience the world with them. Thank you for this!
I grew up going to Stone Mountain also and think it is just awesome. My family lives near there and we make it out a few times a year. This is such a great little birth day celebration!
Katie I have always suspected that you and I would be great friends and this post just cemented that! I have 5 babies (please don’t tell me my giant 13 boy is not a baby) and I might have had more but at a certain point you want to sleep again as for the uterus get to a physical therapist stat mine changed my life! Back on track my youngest little girl turns 4 in June if the whole Clara thing doesn’t work out give me a call I am totally into arranged mariages!
I can’t believe you did all of that so soon after having a baby! That is awesome! I barely went to walmart a month after! It looks like you guys made some great memories!
Loved the letter to Will.
They are both old 🙂 The shoes are from Target and the coat is from Walmart.
xo – kb
Will was colic but so far, we’ve escaped it with Weston and LJ. It ain’t fun!
xo – kb
Such a sweet letter. Love it.
Quick question. What camera lens did you shoot with on Will’s day of fun?
With the 50mm most of the time. It was with the 24-70mm later if I remember correctly.
xo – kb
I just love the passion you have for your children; the way you love them, celebrate them, do things to make them happy…it’s so sweet. That picture of you cuddling LJ on the duck boat, I almost cried. You can just see the love and bliss on your face in every single picture you take with your boys. You were made to be a mother and, as a mommy to 2 little guys myself, you are such an inspiration in the way you raise your boys!! Great job on giving sweet little Will a birthday he will remember forever! =D
This looks so fun! I love Will’s concentrated face while driving. I didn’t even realize that you had LJ with you too.
Amen to snuggling babies until your uterus falls out. I would totally have 19 babies if we can afford it.
I remember this too… about 23ish years ago or so! I always hated that part, because I was so sure that someone was going to get hurt. Also the Halloween train ride was crazy scary to me… so much so that one year I protested enough that I got to skip it.