Since Colton's actual birthday was the same day as "Meet the Teacher" night, this year we decided to celebrate a few days earlier.  This way we could really enjoy his birthday with him, have more family and friends able to come, and slow down and enjoy it more.  This was a "family-party" year for him, which meant he wouldn't be inviting a ton of friends, but we would celebrate his special day as a family.  He could invite one friend over to enjoy the occasion with our family and he chose his friend, a cute little boy named Sam.

I have always had a lot of fun making our family's birthday cakes each year.  Sometimes they are elaborate, and other times they are very simple with the birthday child picking the flavor cake and frosting, and then some sort of their favorite candy to decorate it with.  We always have fun with it.

We also have a "You are special today" plate that was given to us as a wedding gift.  We love pulling that out for birthdays...

Our friend, Sarah, came over with her son, Jace...

Colton's big gift this year was a digital camera.  As our kids have gotten older and the gifts are a little pricier, we've come up with an idea that has worked pretty well.  If they really want something, and we feel they are old enough for the responsibility of taking care of it, we have agreed to pay for half of the item.  This helps them to feel ownership of the item.  Because they helped to pay for it they are much more careful with it.  They know if it gets lost or broken they will be responsible for the full price if they want another one.  So far it has worked pretty well.  Colton was SO excited about his camera...

Five things I love about Colton...

1) He is super compassionate.  When he's sees me cry he gets big crocodile tears.  He has great empathy.

2) He is an awesome chef!  I have a passion for cooking, and has been fun to see that rub off on all of my children, but Colton loves it so much he talks about having it as a profession someday.  He has told me he will open his own restaurant and I can eat there for free.  He makes a mean chocolate chip cookie...completely by himself.

3) He is so cute with little kids.  He gets down on their level and plays with them.  He wants to help them and make them happy.  He will be a fabulous dad!

4) He is an amazing singer!  He loves to sing and has a fabulous voice.  I can always hear him singing as he goes about different tasks all day long.  This carries over into playing the piano.  He loves sitting down and playing music on the piano as he sings.

5) He is intense.  He has great passion for the things he loves.  It is so fun to watch him play ball, whether it is soccer, basketball, or baseball - he goes at it with everything he has.

We love our Colton!!