a day in the life of a 4 year old's birthday.

Carter's 4th birthday was perfect.  He wanted a day spent with family and friends and all things pirates. So…that's exactly what we did. 

Every night before I got to bed I check on him and cover him up.  This was his last night as a 3 year old.  Gosh…that year went fast.

I spent the evening before decorating the house for him.  Since he didn't want a party, I wanted to be sure he still felt special with lots of decorations all over the house. (This picture doesn't really show much.  I promise I did more than just a cheap plastic table cloth and a few balloons!)

 I tried to get a picture of his reaction when he first woke up.  Instead he said, "mom…your camera is SO bright.  Ugh!"  Haha…he's not much of a morning person.

He was so excited to see his new treasure chest.  Best part of all, this was a hand-me-down from a college friend of mine.  Her son didn't want it anymore and she generously gifted it to us!

So many fun pirate costumes hidden inside!

 Aargh matey!

 Another hand-me-down (wow…apparently this was a frugal birthday too!) was a copy of the Polar Express.  Matt actually bought me this book when we first started dating for our first Christmas.  Carter recently watched the movie and loved it so we thought he'd love the book too.

And we read it right away!

 Next up…pancake time!  And lots of hidden sprinkles inside each and every pancake.  A very special birthday treat as opposed to our usual whole wheat/flax seed blueberry cakes.

 Lucy wanted a part of the pirate action too.

For his special birthday treat I took him and his best friend to see his first movie at a theater.  

 Connor (his BFF) has been many times so he was kind enough to give Carter a little tour.  It was so fun to watch the boys' excitement as they "played" video games and wandered the big theater.

 We headed back home for a few more presents before dinner.  To continue the pirate theme he got Peter Pan Returns to Neverland from my parents.  His 2nd favorite movie (after Peter Pan, of course).

 And our big gift….a gift certificate for an overnight stay at Great Wolf Lodge in January!  We are so excited but of course he didn't really understand the silly piece of paper. Oh well.

 Dinner was his choice at his favorite place.  The Old Spaghetti Factory.

 And finally, back home for a few more presents from Grandma and Grandpa Vance.

 And a very special card from his Great Grandpa Philip.

Happy 4th Birthday Carter!  It was such a fun day!