Connar's 3rd birthday Skype party

Since being in Korea, Talton's birthday rolled around first in August.  The boys and I celebrated with him and even decorated the house for him.  It was bitter sweet to be celebrating him away from family, as we would normally have a big family dinner and the like.

But when Connar's 3rd birthday rolled around last week, it was a tough pill to swallow knowing that he wouldn't be around family to celebrate.  I mean, this was my baby.  I've gone above and beyond for his birthday parties before this.  Last year I stayed up until 3 am making cute Cookie Monster and Elmo cupcakes, for goodness sake!  Knowing that it was going to be tough for me, I talked to my mom about it and finally decided that the best thing would be for Connar to have a Skype birthday party.

I told my mom Connar is totally into dinosaurs right now, so she packed up a birthday box packed with everything we'd need to decorate for a dinosaur birthday party.  I told her what information I wanted her to write on his invitations that she was going to send to my siblings and other family members.  They were told to be at her house for dinner at a certain time, which would actually be Connar's birthday morning.  Yes, that means he got to eat cake in the morning!  :)

In the weeks leading up to his birthday, he received birthday packages that I just tucked away so he could open them on his birthday.

I decorated the house the night before after we put the boys to bed, so he would be so surprised when he woke up.  And he was!  He came in our room and announced, "Dare's bawoons on my door!"  Talk about a happy way to start your day...for him and for us!  :)  It wasn't long before Parker was up too and they were having a ball knocking the balloons off the wall and off each other's heads.

We let Connar open our presents first before Talton went to work. 

He was patiently waiting to open those presents!

Parker was waiting in the wings!

Because Talton wasn't going to be there for our Skype party, I had to set up the video camera in a cabinet facing the table where we would be Skyping, eating cake, and opening presents.  Let's just say it's a good thing I charged that baby, because it ran for a good hour while we had our party.

 Then, the boys and I got all prepped for the party!

My mom sent the boys two dinosaur costumes to wear, but neither of them wanted to do it.  This hat was the closest they got to putting on the costumes.  Sorry Mom!

The party hat lasted all of 2 seconds before I had to take it off of him so he didn't pop himself.

Birthday kisses for Mommy!

This was our set up for the Skype party.  In order to get Parker to sit and stay seated at the table, I had to give him an iPad to watch a movie on.  It worked.  He stayed there the entire time.  :)

Then, it was finally party time!!!!

At my mom's house were:
Mom, Joel, Marjory, Rusty, DJ, Liz, Charles, Kaylon, and Wayne

The super cute card my mom made for Connar!  :)

Kaylon put a lot of love and effort into this card.  I loved it too.  :)

My mom and Joel sent a gift for Parker to open too....

 Parker and Connar got matching Texans outfits!

Time to sing HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our sweet 3 year old!

After I cleaned up from our Skype party, my dad and Esther called Connar to wish him a happy birthday too!  Yay!

After we were done talking to everyone, I asked Connar what he wanted to do for his birthday that morning.  "Go to the playground!"  Of course.  :)  So off we went....

When we got home, the boys played with Connar's new toys while I made lunch.

He was naming all his dinosaurs.  :)  He's so smart!

P was sporting his dinosaur shirt for the dinosaur party.  :)  Isn't he a doll?????

As the boys ate lunch, I was looking at my charm bracelet and it made me think.  I don't wear this charm bracelet too often, because it's pretty bulky and heavy, but I intentionally chose to wear it today for Connar's birthday.  Why?  Well, you see that charm that says "FAITH"?  Every time I went to the doctor to have a check up, hear his heartbeat, or see him on an ultrasound, I wore this bracelet.  Every. Single. Time.  And every time that I laid down on that table to be examined, I would squeeze this charm until I heard his heartbeat.  You see, after having a miscarriage with my first pregnancy, I wanted so badly for Connar to be healthy and perfect.  This charm gave me that faith that I needed for those 10 months.  So, you can see why I chose to wear it on his birthday.  It reminded me of how much I love this 3 year old of mine and how much I prayed for him.  Thank you, God, for trusting Talton and I to be his parents.

Thank you to everyone who Skyped Connar, called Connar, or sent Connar a message for his birthday.  It meant the world to me that you found a way to send him love.  He loved every minute of his birthday and didn't realize he was missing out on a live birthday party, because it really felt like we were at home celebrating with family, if only for a short period of his day.

So even though I cried (and yes, it's all on film...me standing out of the way of the camera to wipe away my tears and cover my mouth so everyone we were Skyping wouldn't hear me cry from missing them so much -- and no, you can't see it!), this was just another experience that ended up being amazing because there was no other choice.  It had to be amazing.  This was my baby's 3rd birthday, and that only rolls around once.  Even though I couldn't throw him a birthday party as I had before, I was determined to make this a memorable birthday for him.  I'm pretty sure he won't remember his 3rd birthday, but I will.  Thank you to everyone who helped to make his 3rd birthday wonderful.  And HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY, CONNAR!  Mommy loves you to infinity and beyond!