Bob Marley and an Apple of Love!!

Isaac, much to his father's dismay, is a momma's boy!! And he is soooo in that stage right now of always competing with his dad. Jerod had brought me home a candy apple one day just because. It is one of my favorite treats and when ever we go to a fair or amusement park I always have to get it, but am usually limited to enjoying them only then. So he thought it'd bring a smile to my face...and it did....if he got me one. So the very next morning Isaac woke me up and said that he had made me a candy apple all by himself. He was sooo excited and dragged me out of bad to show me the candy apple that he had made, and he was going on and on about all the special treats he put on it. Below is the result of hos creation. It truly warmed my heart! When I asked him what made him want to do that his reply was, "Well daddy got you a candy apple and it made you smile, so I wanted to make you an extra special one so you could smile even bigger!" Such a sweet boy!! In Brasil we call candy apples, 'Maca do amor' which means apple of love...which I think is a much more appropriate name for the one that Isaac made me!

So Naomi is our accesories girl...although Jojo isn't that far behind her. She is also our unique, artsy type child. She comes up with the most random of things to do, it keeps us all on our toes and laughing!! On this day she found this winter hat somewhere...she is also the best finder around this house...no one can ever find a working pen except for her!! She put it on all by herself and kept it on literally all day...until bed time. I of course couldn't help but take a couple pictures of her!! And somebody, I think it was Wagner, mentioned how she looked like Bob Marley!!

Bringing out the Rasta in her!!

I so love this smile!!

Such a cute girl!!

Just priceless!!

Lions, Tigers, and Bears,...Oh my!

Some of the decorations that helped turn our home into the Outback!

The birthday boy with all his great gifts!

Pinata time!!

Us singing happy birthday! (Don't miss Naomi on the right hand side there! Guess we must've been off-key!)

These kids are nuts!!

And this alligator was running around the basement!!

Isaac, Outback Ray, and Spongebob!

Now this is more of what I can handle!! A cute bunny!

Needless to say snakes were very popular with the kids!!

Isaac with a chinchilla on his head!

And a snake!

Here he is petting a possum

Here Outback Ray was going on and on about how this lizard had some sharp teeth and a strong bite. As you can see, it didn't phase Isaac at all as he anxiously awaited to hold it!!

Isaac and his friends anxiously awaiting the start of the animal show

Isaac, mommy, and daddy! And some of the nice decor we put up for his Down Under birthday bash!

I still can't believe it's been 5 years!! It has gone by soooo fast!

We tried REALLY hard to get a good picture of the 6 of us...but to no avail. Inevitably someone was always blinking, not looking, etc. This was the best from about 20 shots!!

Sweet Jojo giving big brother her birthday gift!!

These are the homemade cupcakes that I made for the occasion...I was pretty proud of how they came out!

Ok, so not quite lions, tigers, and bears, but we did have a mini-zoo going on at our house a few weeks back! It was a big deal around here, celebrating five years with the best Isaac we know!! God blessed us with this great little boy, and changed our lives for the best forever! I have always loved kids and looked forward to having my own, and in spite of all the babysitting I did, nothing could've prepared me for my own. It;s amazing all the emotions go into having a child. Love like never before, anxiety, joy, frustration, fears, and so many more!! I am also grateful to the Lord for the partner he gave me for this journey. My hubby is a wonderful dad and dedicated to raise our children for the Lord along with me. And without the third piece of our parenting puzzle I think we'd both be paralyzed by how overwhelming a task this would really be if it rested fully on our shoulders. But I am grateful that God first and foremost is in charge of caring for my children, He knows them and loves them far more than I ever could, and in a perfect manner that I never could. If this was all Isaac would ever know about us as his parents I'd like for him to know first and foremost how much of a perfect gift from above he is to us. That he brought us overwhelming love and joy!! That we as his parents aren't perfect, but earnestly seek God to enable us to parent him in the best possible way. And that no matter what, we love him unconditionally, today and forever!!He is our first little one, the start of a great family, and we are blessed to have been chosen to be his parents. He brings us many smile and laughter with his silliness, and lots of love with all his hugs and kisses. Happy Birthday Isaac!! To celebrate his special day we had Outback Ray pay us a visit...these are all VERY real animals that Isaac is handling!!