Jonah's 5th Birthday Letter

Dear Jonah,

Happy Birthday, sweet boy!

One of the greatest blessings and most beautiful joys of my life is getting to be your Momma! You have brought unending amounts of happiness and love to our family over the past 5 years. FIVE YEARS!! WHAT?! You're a whole hand old now!! 

Getting to watch you grow and learn is so much fun! Let's see...you love watching Paw Patrol and Blaze, superheros of any kind, playing with (and annoying) your big sisters, eating Momma's cookies and Mac-n-cheese, sneaking into Momma & Daddy's bed in the middle of the night and snuggling, spending time with friends, giving kisses on the lips (which we don't really do, but somehow you manage to sneak them in!), making big messes and not wanting to clean them up, you say the sweetest prayers, and you absolutely melt my heart when you tell me "I yuv you, Mommy" every single day! I am so happy that we have the afternoons together this year, since you get out of school at 11:00. I already know that is going to be a special time for us! I am excited about all I know you are going to learn this year at school. You have already made a new friend at school that you talk about every day...a girl, named Joey! You are a little ladies man, for sure! You are very friendly & don't seem to know a stranger...in general, you are just a very happy little boy.

My heart aches at the thought that you are growing up so fast. Every day is a gift & I cherish them all! Know that I am right here cheering you on, praying for you, & I will always be your #1 fan!! 

Love you forever,

Like you for always,

As long as I'm living,

My baby you'll be!

~ Momma

My Baby Is Five...Oh. My. Heart

Jonah's actual birthday fell on a Monday, so he got to celebrate with his friends at school! We started the morning by singing Happy Birthday and letting him open a few presents. I took cupcakes to share with Jonah's class during their playtime and he got a special birthday hat & some goodies from his teachers. It was a very sweet time! After school I took him on a lunch date to Chick-fil-A, and then to Target to spend his birthday $. He thought that was the coolest, because he got to pick out whatever he wanted! He picked a Lego set and some Lion Guard characters. It was funny...we asked Jonah if he would like to go to the zoo after we picked the girls up from school, or if he wanted to go home and play with his new toys...and he chose the toys! So we spent a pretty quiet evening at home, playing Legos and Paw Patrol! I'm always worn out by the time all of the birthday festivities are over, but in a good way. I think Jonah had a very Happy 5th Birthday and we are praying that this is his best year yet! 

Mackenzie's gift to Jonah was this little wolf? that she just knew he would love...and she was right! 

And of course Madi wanted to give him a stuffed animal of some kind! 

We gave Jonah a Mr. Potato Head to add to his Toy Story collection!

Yep, he looks older today! 

Jonah LOVES going to school!

We put the new dragon that Madi gave him on his backpack!

Jonah's was one of the first birthdays to celebrate at school this year. He will always be one of the oldest in his grade, which we love.

I dislike this picture of me so much, but the smile on his face and his crinkled little nose...just can't get enough of it!

Our lunch date at Chick-fil-A!

And then shopping at Target!

Happy camper! Now let's go "Home James" so we can play with these new toys!

An ALL-STAR 5th Birthday Party

Jonah is super excited about starting soccer soon, so we decided it would be fun to do a sports themed party for his 5th birthday! I love birthdays, and I am fully aware that I go overboard...and I'm okay with that! I want my kids to look back someday and remember that they were very celebrated and loved on their birthdays. (And, it's my way of coping with them growing up!) Ha! Since we still don't know a lot of people here yet, and Jonah is just getting started in school, we just had a family party this year. Next year we will go all out on a party with friends too, I'm sure! We had quite a crew of kids there, with just cousins and neighbors. We had fun playing games in the backyard, eating hot dogs and all kinds of other yummy treats, opening presents, just visiting with everyone and the kids loved the pinata! Jonah Mark Baldwin is a very loved little boy! 

Carter, Brody, Elijah, Mack, Carver, Addie, Jonah, Olivia, Blake & Madison

Love him more than words could ever explain! 

I know I took way, way too many pictures of the decorations and food, but it was just so fun!! I bought several things at Hobby Lobby and then "decided I didn't want them" the week after the party, so I returned them. (Is that bad?!) 

Poppa Jim & his littlest boys!

Elijah disappeared and we found him ready to go for a ride on the tractor! 

I LOVE these people! They love & cherish our children nearly as much as we do! They are always here to celebrate with us and support us! I am so thankful we get to call them "family!" (Missing G-Ma and Grandma Baldwin...they were probably taking care of the kids!)

About to say Jonah's birthday prayer & sing Happy Birthday! Jonah got a little excited about blowing out the candles and he blew them out right as we started to sing, so we had to light them again and have a do-over! 

Time for presents!!!

Uncle John & Bunny got Jonah this awesome Lego set! The girls are really happy that he will have his own big Lego set to play with now, so maybe he will leave theirs alone! I'm not sure it will work that way. Haha!

Some new clothes & the Paw Patroller boat from G-Ma!

The Paw Patrol Seaplane & new clothes from Grandma & Grandpa Baldwin!

And, to complete the Paw Patrol set, he got this from Rex! So fun!

We got Jonah the Batman tower that he has talked nonstop about for months! 

Pinata time!!! Thankfully, everyone had fun and no one got hurt!

So much love for this big boy!

Here are videos of the present opening! It was loud and crazy...and lots of fun! I loved how animated and excited he was.

Pinata fun!

Jonah's 5th Birthday Cards: