The after party

That title doesn't have quite the same meaning it once did.  :) Our 'after party' consisted of Eden, Elam and Karsten playing while Liam slept and the adults chatted.  Kelli and the boys had to head to Trent's game, so they weren't able to stay around for after the party.

Hey there handsome!


Jenn and I were surprised that Karsten and Elam got into the sandbox and started to bury their feet because they typically don't like to get dirty.


But they were having a lot of fun.


This one really surprised us - but once one of them laid down, the other did as well.


And there wasn't even a meltdown when Karsten realized how sandy he was.  Perhaps he's growing out of this stage - I have mixed opinions of that.  It's nice that he doesn't like to get dirty, but it can be a bit excessive at times when everything stops until he can wipe off the dirt on him. I swear I didn't teach him this - stop thinking that! :)


Having a fun day together!


We wanted to seat everyone (Scott, I, Gaga, my parents, Jenn and Elam) at the dining room table for dinner but we were short a few seats.  With Liam in his highchair, we decided to have Karsten and Eden sit at the desks my dad made.  They thought it was pretty cool that they got to sit together separately from us.


Liam taking some time away from the festivities to do some reading.


Everyone say cheese!   Can you tell that the birthday boy is getting sleepy?  Liam is not in this picture because he was not a fan of the dinosaur, he wouldn't go near him.


And since the kids got a picture, Jenn and I decided to get out from the camera and get in a picture.


Then Karsten had a few more presents to open from my parents.  My dad made Karsten this beautiful bank truck.  He made one a long time ago and Karsten loves to play with it at their house.  That truck has had a rough life since Karsten came along - it's blown a tire and lost a steering wheel.  Karsten's version of the bank truck has reinforced tires and a super sturdy steering wheel - this truck was built to do laps around our house!  There is even a reinforced key so little fingers can unlock the truck door.


I'd say the truck is a hit.


And my mom made this amazing dinosaur quilt.  The kids all had fun pointing out the different kind of dinosaurs.


All wrapped up in his new quilt - look how cool the fabric on the back is!


Admiring Grandma's hard work!


Liam kept making dinosaur noises!


Grandma and Grandpa didn't forget Liam - he got a new train which he loved!  Plus, Papa made him a super cute elephant toy.


So happy that we got a good picture of Karsten with Gaga.  I wish we could have gotten Liam in this, but as soon as we sat him on Gaga's lap, he shook his head and got down.  


Bye Gaga - it was good to see you!  Come visit us again soon!