Matthew's Birthday

So of course, being the genius that I am, loaded these in backwards order, but such is life.

David was feeling a little bit jealous that the camera was on Matthew yesterday, so this morning after he woke up (while we were still sleeping) he decided to demonstrate his artistic side. Click on pic for a close up. This is the cake we will be having today at Mama and Papa Allred's house for his birthday celebration with his cousins. It was supposed to be Star Wars theme, but Matthew insisted on having the Batman mobile for his pinata, so . . . no harm done, this cake was much easier to make than a Star Wars Yoda or x-wing fighter. Anyway, I think it turned out really cute. Many thanks to my husband. He helped me find a pattern to work and coached me along in the decorating process. (I need to buy a cake platter. All I have is this flat Christmas plate to put cakes on. Kind of ghetto, but it works. And Matthew does not care!)
The City of Plano Balloon Festival
We did not make it out to the festival and felt really bummed about that, but it just wasn't going to happen. Thursday was the biggest "melt-down" day and I needed a breather on Friday. Plus, Ryan had an away football game, and I was not about to tackle an outdoor place with hundreds of people--perhaps even thousands--by myself with screaming children. I felt kind of bad about it, because I knew my boys would love it.
Anyway, we were going for a family walk last night, the last night of the festival, and all of a sudden we look up to the sky to see these beautiful, multi-colored, huge hot-air balloons RIGHT over our apartment complex. It was the coolest thing!
I think we counted close to a dozen different balloons. The boys loved it!

And a new found love for Matt: his bicycle. We sort of tossed around different ideas this year, as to what we should give him for his birthday. He has too many trains already, tons of books, and lots of other toys. We always are so impressed by Carter, Matthew's cousin, who already knows how to ride a bike and scooter--and he's AMAZING at it (NOTE: Carter is about four months younger--Jan., right?). So . . . we sided with this Target special bike. It was right in our birthday budget, and Matthew LOVES it! He was so excited!
It was a little rough going at the beginning, but in the end, he was cruising! He picked up so fast.

And you'll note, he's not wearing any shoes. How safe, Keri! Yes, I know. Unfortunately, we were having a real struggle with him and his shoes. He couldn't get the pedaling right while wearing them. As a result, Ryan taught him without shoes on. It doesn't really make sense, but that's what happened.
The other safety factor--where is this child's HELMET?? Well, I bought him a Thomas helmet. I wasn't trying to, but it just worked out that way. Target was completely out of his size helmets. It was either Thomas, which happened to be clearanced out, or a huge helmet for 7-year-old kids. However, the Thomas helmet did not fit his head when I came home. So . . . I plan to go look for a new helmet for him tomorrow morning. In the meantime, we look like neglectful parents.

The initial reaction was so great!
Matt's first "Power Rangers" soccer game

The name is a top-notch choice, I know. The kids picked it out--imagine?! I don't think that Matthew even knows what the Power Rangers are. He's never seen any of the tv series.
Anyway, he played really well. We were worried about his attention span and cooperation, but he did great. He even kicked the ball several times. Each time, he would look back at us and get our approval. It was so fun to watch!
The most exciting part for him was bringing the snacks for after the game. It was our turn, and being his birthday, we made special smiley face cupcakes (I'd intended on making soccer balls, but they looked so unclose to the actual images that I simplified to SIMPLE smiley faces. And the kids didn't even care--BIG SURPRISE!), gogurt, and grapes. The little boys were in HEAVEN!
After Matthew's game, Ryan took him for a daddy date to see Star Wars: Clone Wars. Granted, we know that this movie had terrible ratings by critics and fans. However, to a little boy name Teus, this was the icing on his cake, the making of his day, month, and year. He had arrived! Ryan bought him a junior pop-corn and HAPPINESS was achieved!