Flanagan Clan

On Wednesday night we threw a small family birthday party for Ethan. I had originally thought we’d throw a big celebration and invite some friends, but when we learned that my parents would be leaving for vacation this weekend, we opted for a smaller party instead. With my dad beginning a year-long leave of absence in January and planning several large trips, we thought it would be good for the boys to have concentrated Oma and Opa time :o) So here’s our pictures:

While I was busy getting dinner ready, Ethan got to play out in the leaves with his brothers. He loved it! He tries to crawl out the door every time someone leaves it open, which is totally the opposite of Sammy. He’s seriously the most active out of the three…

Ethan got a special pumpkin embroidered diaper, that I’ve been saving for this day for months!!!

I made a delicious beef pot pie and I shaped the biscuits on top to look like pumpkins, which actually wasn’t too easy considering how doughy the stuff was. I also tried to dye them orange. This is the dish before I baked it :o)

This was the cake I made. It was the first time I played with fondant for the stem, leaf and tendrils and it wasn’t perfect, but I thought it turned out pretty well regardless :o)

Ethan got a fancy Gerber entree for dinner… and the whole time Sammy was peering over the edge, trying to eat some…

A shot of the table…

Ethan was having a blast!!!

Patrick got to sit next to Oma

Ethan smashing his cake!

Covered in cake and having a good old time!

Opa got to read Patrick and Sammy an anatomy book that Aunt Karen gave Patrick for his b-day, and he made sure to point out the mistakes :o)

Ethan had a lot of help opening up his presents

Patrick was showing Ethan the only right way to open a present

Ethan got a ducky book!

Daddy even helped Ethan open his gifts

Ethan’s best gift, though, was getting to spend lots of time with Oma and Opa!