Ben's 4th Birthday Celebration

I mentioned in my last post about having internet trouble.  Well, it got worse.  We were five straight days without it.  It wasn't until we made a "fix it or come get it" call that it came back on and thankfully has not been out or even blinked again since.  We are holding our breath to see how long it lasts, ha.

So, with that being said, I have a lot to catch up on.  I'll start with Ben's birthday.  He turned four last Saturday the 16th of April.  We ended up going into Guatemala City to celebrate.

On his birthday eve we had supper at TGI Friday's.  It is one of our favorite places!  We always order from the lunch menu (even at night) because it is cheaper and includes your drink, coffee, and ice cream.  The boys love getting to eat ice cream after our meals there.   Ben's favorite is the mango and Cruz usually gets chocolate.

Ben enjoying his mango ice cream at TGI Friday's in Guatemala City

The staff loves to sing for birthdays so I had them come over and sing to Ben.  As you can tell from the video below he paid them no attention.  He just kept right on eating as if they were not there.  After they sing they ask you to stand up in your chair and dance around.  He wanted no part of it.  What he did like, though, was the dessert they brought him.  You can hear him saying "yummy!" and Cruz asking "is that all for Ben???"  ha  It was delicious!

One of my birthday traditions for my boys has been to take a photo of them sleeping on their birthday eve.  I also pray over them for God's blessings in the coming year. And, I usually cry.  It is always a reminder that my babies are growing up. 

Ben's last night as a three year old

When the boys were asleep I got busy decorating.   It is another birthday tradition of mine.  I like for them to have that Christmas morning excitement on their birthdays when they walk into the room and see it decorated with their presents sitting out.  This year Ben chose a monster truck theme.

Ben on his birthday morning

The downside to my tradition is that they wake up extra early because they are eager to open their presents.  Ben woke up at 4:30 a.m. but thankfully I was able to talk him into going back to sleep.  Cruz woke up at 5:30 without going back to sleep.  We were all up and going around 6:15.  Six to 6:30 is our average get up time on any given day.  Our boys have always been early risers!

Cruz greeted him with silly string when he walked into the dining room of our mission house.  He was not a big fan.

He got busy right away opening presents.  

birthday morning banana pancake breakfast

Another birthday tradition is a family photo.  Here we are on Ben's 4th birthday.

the birthday boy with his monster truck cake

The easiest cake I ever made and probably one of my favorites.

Chocolate cake, chocolate icing, and crushed chocolate Oreo's.  Simple, fun, and delicious!  I made the flags using card stock, toothpicks, and a Sharpie.  I added a few cars and trucks and there you have it!  My little boy loved it!!!

We had a pizza lunch and then ate cake.  Here we are singing "Happy Birthday" to Ben. 

Here he is blowing out his candle which happens to be the same candle that Cruz had on his 4th birthday cake.  David and I have also used it for our last two birthdays as well.  It is a favorite tradition and when I think about things that are precious to me a little Ziploc bag of candles comes to mind.  I'm just a little sentimental and it's little things like that I love.

He enjoyed his cake as you can see!

celebrating Ben's 4th birthday with friends in Guatemala City

We spent the whole afternoon at the Guatemala Children's Museum.  It is such a fun place and was Ben's pick for his birthday.  I took several  photos and videos and will share them in my next post. 

The museum didn't close until 6:00 so it was getting late by the time we returned to our mission house.  We ate leftover pizza for supper and called it a night.  Before going to bed we spent some time loving on Ben and encouraging him.  We each took time to pray over him which was such a special family time.  That is a birthday tradition that I hope we will keep for many, many years to come.