Carter is 5!

Well it's typical Butte spring time. One day the kids are out playing with no coats...and right now I can see snow flakes drifting past my window. In this picture Ave was being Captain Cranky and the boys had to bring her some gold. The Backyardigans had a lot to do with this game I think! What a face!

He looks so little, especially in his big boy clothes. Those pants were killing me! He loves to be outside. He runs to the door just to see if he can sneak out!

Carterman turned 5 on Wednesday! It's so hard to believe it's been that long. I just love my sweet boy. He opened a few presents on his actual birthday - his awesome dinosaur stuff from Auntie Kelsie, a new Transformer from Ave and Teague, and this Imaginext Stegosaurus from Grandma and Poppa. He loved everything!

On Friday I took the kids to Father Sheehan park for a bit after work. The brothers look so cute riding the T-Rex together.

Teague was having a great time on the swings.

Ave must have been running around out of camera range. She was there! Here's the best big brother giving his buddy a push.

He really wanted to climb up this tunnel!

Grandma and Grandpa Barsness came in for the party and brought Colten with them. Colt is the best with little kids. Carter and Landon think he is the coolest kid ever! Here's a bunch of boys enjoying a dinner at the MT Club (as usual, Carter was dying for some mac and cheese).

Party time! Carter asked if he could have his party at the Jumparoo this year. It worked out great. Everyone had a really fun time. This is Landon and one of the daycare friends, Tanner.

More guests: Connor, Landon, and Austin (with Madisyn and Mason at the very top).

Ave loves Jordan's friend Jessica. Here she is getting her leg. That's Reece coming down behind her. She had never been there before, and she had a blast!

There's my silly birthday boy. He was loving every minute of the party!

Teagie the bouncing boy had a fabulous time. He was a little overwhelmed by all the people, but he was right in the middle of everything as usual!

Liam is the best baby. He was so good the whole time. He loved seeing Avery. Everytime she talked to him, he would kick his legs and smile! He liked bouncing with Aunt Nancy too.

Jordan and Jessica were great about taking the babies down the slides. I'll have to call Jamie this morning and see how much Liam weighed at his six month checkup. He looks so tiny, but he's pretty solid! I just noticed Carter coming down backwards on his face behind them. He's a goofball.

Daddy is just a big kid at heart. He always has fun at the jumparoo!

Poor Ave threw up once when we got there. She seemed fine as soon as we got home though. She kept telling us her belly was too full all day. I guess she was right.

Cake time! His buddy Sam and his sister Siri were so good at the party. They are nice kids.

Carter's cake was supposed to be Dinosaur Train. However, Albertson's called at 10am to tell me their printer for the edible images was broken. Luckily we improvised. They made us some cool volcanoes and a river, and we put some dinosaurs on! It worked. Then they put "Happy 8th Birthday Carter". Wow. Luckily, Callie turned it into a 5 with the help of a juice box straw!

Present time! Carter is the best about opening presents. He loves everything he gets.

Tanner told his mom Brandy that they needed to put a blue balloon on the present. It has been Teague's favorite thing for the last couple days. He loves it!

Auntie Erica and Landon got Carter the Tag reading system with some books and animal fact cards. The animal fact cards are awesome. Carter loves to be a little animal expert!

Little Ave was being shy and quiet. She didn't even want cake!

All the kids were so good. Carter is lucky to have such great family and friends.

It was so nice to see Callie. I'm glad we're going to see her again soon for Abb and Jord's dance recital. The kids had fun showing her every single thing in their rooms!

Probably my favorite picture of the day! Sam's card had this "I'm 5" sticker in it. He looked great! Thank you so much to everyone who made his day so wonderful. He thinks it was probably the best birthday ever. We appreciate all the help and company.

Teague "The Shark" really enjoyed dinner that night. The boy is a bottomless pit! He stole Carter and Ave's food - noodles, peas, and rice all mixed together. Yum!