Ben's 2nd Birthday Eve

On the 16th of April our sweet Ben turned 2 years old. We had such a fun time celebrating his little life.  We started with a birthday eve family supper.  I baked him a cake to take to the restaurant with us.    Here are a few photos I took of him with his cake before we left.

I'd say he liked it, ha 

Happy birthday, Ben! 

He is turning into a big boy! 

 

We drove to Hazlehurst to meet my parents.  On the way we made a stop by my Aunt Nita's house so she could give the boys gifts.  She had Ben a birthday present and had them both Easter presents.  

Cruz, Aunt Nita, and Ben 

 

We then joined my mom and dad at the Mexican restaurant in Hazlehurst for supper.  I chose that place because I wanted to add something Spanish to his birthday since we were in the States this year.    It can be a challenge but I like to try to mix both cultures in all of our holidays and celebrations.   I also chose it because it's our boys favorite type of place to eat.  When asked Cruz will most always say he wants to eat at the "quesadilla shop".  That's what he calls Mexican restaurants.  They love cheese quesadillas with beans and rice and Ben loves the chips and salsa. 

my mom, Cruz, me, Ben, David, and my dad 

my mom and the boys 

We sang to Ben in English and he blew out his candle. 

he had a little help, of course 

I then had the restaurant staff sing to him in Spanish.  They brought out another dessert and one of the waitresses put whipped cream on his face.  That is common in Latin culture.

He sat very still and let her rub it on him.  I expected him to start crying at any minute but he never did.  He was a great sport!   We later found out that she was from Guatemala so that made it extra special to us.

feliz cumpleaños a ti...

Here's a video of them singing to him-

We cleaned him up and he was all smiles. 

His favorite colors to say are yellow and green so I made his cake layers those colors.   He loved picking the M&M's off and eating them most.

Before leaving he opened gifts in the car from his Mimi. 

 

We came home and got the boys ready for bed and then I started decorating for his birthday morning.  I love doing that "Christmas morning surprise" on all holidays- especially birthdays.  It just makes things fun.

Ben's birthday morning decorations 

I set the table for his birthday breakfast. 

his gifts

His birthday cards.  The majority of these came from Baptist churches around our State.  Every year churches send cards to the Baptist building in Jackson and then the WMU office mails us one large package filled with their cards.  It is one of my favorite things about my boys birthdays and when we are in Guatemala it just blesses my heart in more ways than I can say.  It's like getting a big hug from home.  This is a wonderful ministry to our missionary kids and we are thankful that they do it!

My baby is growing up.  That makes me happy and sad at the same time.  I'll post about his big day tomorrow.