Once we'd gotten through the morning routine, we put the boys down for a nap and worked hard to get everything ready to go. While they were still sleeping, a couple of their friends showed up.

'sup?

They were happy to take advantage of the fact that they didn't have any competition for all the toys in the house.

Yes, I see you.

In the next few minutes we roused the boys and brought them down to enjoy the festivities.

It took him a little while to figure out how to get the balloons down.

To make sure he had plenty of time to enjoy his big present, we opened it a little early.

Bounce house!

This is not the face he was making most of the time he was in there.

With nice weather ahead, I'm sure it'll become a regular fixture in our evening routine. Once we'd worn them out enough, we gathered everyone back inside so Owen could tear open the rest of his gifts.

Okay, so "tear open" maybe wasn't the right phrase.

Not for Owen, at least.

Note Max, taking advantage of his brother being distracted by his latest acquisition.

Yes, thank you, very helpful.

Obligatory shot of the shirt Christy made for him.

Once Owen had finished securing his bounty...

Not pictured: 600 other trucks, cars, and pieces of construction equipment.

...it was time to dig into his cake.

Obligatory cookie cake shot.

His response to the candle was…confusion, I think.

Thankfully he has an older brother to help him out.

You're welcome!

This is what I get when I try to take a candid shot of him. So unimpressed.

Of course, when I try to coax out the smile…

Fine, just eat the thing, you stinker.

Hooray! (Owen stealing bites from pieces of cookie cake on plates near his not pictured)

Unfortunately, we'd kind of double booked the day with one of Max's classmates, so I had to head out and miss the rest of the fun. From the sound of it, they spent the rest of the time alternating between the house and the bounce house, with breaks for getting their cheeks to be a bit less red. Max, on the other hand, had some different activities to look forward to.

Like inexplicably splashing in this tiny pool…

…when there were clearly better options to be had.

I lost track of how many times I got sprayed with this thing.

As for Max, he was eventually asked by his friend to stop doing that.

We eventually got the kids all dried off and enjoyed some delicious cupcakes before sending the children off to all corners of the house for playtime.

MC Max provided the entertainment.

Sadly I missed my parents' departure, as they were only able to come up for part of the day due to some circumstances back home. The boys were happy to see them, so at least we had that.

The rest of the weekend was pretty sedate. It mostly involved a bit of this...

He's too tired to even stand up so he can play with a balloon.

Somehow his brother seemed okay.

...and a bit of this...

This is after about three minutes in the bounce house.

Owen enjoyed his birthday, Max got to go to two parties, and the house isn't as complete a wreck as it could have been. I'd call that a success.

If you want to see the rest of the photos from the party, you can click here. Otherwise, in celebration of his birthday, feel free to sit back and enjoy a couple of videos of some recent Owen behavior.

Balls

I could have titled that more creatively, but that's what it's all about.

Thievery

Sometimes you do what you must to make them feed themselves.

Have a good weekend, everyone!