August Birthdays!

It is birthday month here in the Hoffman house, and I realized today that I am about smack dab in the middle of both my boys’ birthdays, so a blog update was entirely necessary! :)

On August 4^th, we had a 6^th birthday party for our dear, sweet Austin. This year, the birthday boy wanted to have a Phineas and Ferb party, and I hope he got what he wanted! We played pin the tail on Perry, had a Mummy wrap, played “Where’s Perry?”, and even made our own “Balloonies”. If you have never seen the show, this probably makes absolutely no sense to you, but I promise that as a big fan of Phineas and Ferb, myself, it totally works! We had some of their catchier tunes playing in the background, ate some cake, and let the birthday boy open up the gifts from his very generous friends. (Then spent the rest of the day putting legos together!) All in all, it was a nice, laid back party!

Last Saturday (August 11^th), we celebrated Austin’s actual birthday. It is hard to believe that 6 years ago my oldest little boy came in to the world. He has brought so much joy in to our lives; joy we didn’t even know could exist until he joined our family. God had Austin perfectly planned for us in His perfect time, and for that, I am eternally grateful! He is such a sweet old soul (he acts like a 40 year old), and he cares so deeply for the people around him. He never wants anyone to be hurting, and works hard to be a good friend to all. Austin is a ham bone at heart, and will do anything for a good laugh or praise from the people around him. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t all sunshine and flowers; there are days when I want to wring his neck, but praise the Lord for self-restraint and His gift of patience during those trying times! Anyways…we spent the day celebrating Austin and enjoying the blessing that he is in our lives!

This Saturday (the 18^th), my parents and Jason’s parents are coming down to do a very small celebration for Carter’s 1^st birthday. Yes, you heard me right; “the baby” is now going to be 1 on August 22^nd. I never understood how quickly time flew by until I became a mom, and now I get it. To think that Carter is already a year old is almost unimaginable, yet it also feels like he has always been a part of “us”. 

We actually let Carter choose his own party theme as well. I held up a bunch of different plates that I thought might appease him (Mickey, Elmo, monkeys, etc.), and Carter very definitively chose Mickey. Just like his big brother, Carter has a love for that darn mouse that is unparalleled, and his face lights up every time he sees him! So Carter will be having a small party with a few friends and family members, as our littlest one often times gets completely overwhelmed in places with lots of people paying attention to him! This is just one of the MANY differences between my two boys!

See, Carter is the exact opposite of Austin in almost every way, and yet, I can’t imagine it any other way! He is much more reserved than Austin has ever been (poor unsuspecting people at stores quite frequently get cried at when they talk to him), is more crabby and aggressive than Austin seemed to be, and refuses to pay attention to the word “no”. However, Carter has an amazing adventurous spirit, he is willing to try anything (food, toys, games, etc.), he has the most devilishly cute smile, and even when he isn’t trying, Carter makes the whole family laugh at his ridiculous antics. To say we have been blessed with two amazing, yet totally different little boys, feels like an understatement. We can never thank God enough for the two sons He entrusted with us!

So yeah, the month of August is birthday month for us. So much going on, and yet, so much to be grateful for! After Carter’s small shindig on Saturday, I will be sure to post pictures from both boys’ parties on Facebook, and will inevitably continue the Hoffman family “saga” whenever inspiration (ha!) strikes again! :)