Turning 4, in the 4-1-4

The past 6 months have been a whirlwind of change, stress, and emotion. I finally have some down time to sit back and reflect/recap this crazy year so far. So, I decided to start with sharing some pics from Beckett's 4th birthday party back in May! Back in March...

we made the excruciating decision to move out of our beloved house in Bay View, Milwaukee. It was the hardest decision we've ever had to make, but after endless weeks of making pro's and con's lists, we knew it was the right thing to do for our family.

Since we knew we would be listing our house on the market in mid May, we wanted to have one last hurrah at the house, not only say goodbye to our home with all our friends and family, but to celebrate Beckett's 4th birthday. And what better way than with the theme "Turning 4, in the 4-1-4" !("414" is the Milwaukee area code)

                              (The birthday boy sporting his fav "Milwaukee Home" t-shirt)

Beckett is a city kid all the way! Some of his favorite things are looking at the tall buildings downtown, walking on the beach at the lakefront, and going to Brewers games. So, when we started planning the party, we knew we wanted to embrace all the things Beckett loves about the city we call home.

We went all out Milwaukee, which wasn't hard for us, since we live and breath for this city. We decorated in Brewers blue and yellow, hung the WI state flag, made Milwaukee freeway signs, and even made some of Milwaukee's iconic buildings out of giant cardboard boxes that the kiddos could play with. We served brats and beer -the preferred Milwaukee cuisine, of course. Along with Purple Door ice cream, and Sprecher root beer for the kiddos.

                                   (Some of the box buildings, and the giant 4-1-4 balloons)

My favorite part of the party was probably the amazing Milwaukee cake we had made by a local baker friend. The two tiered cake was decorated with the iconic Milwaukee landmarks I had drawn on Beckett's invitation. And the cake was topped off (literally) with an actual spinning wind turbine! (There is a big wind turbine that greets you when you enter Bay View on the lake, so it is a favorite Bay View landmark of ours)

   

                      
                                                               (It actually spinned!)

Since this was Beck's 4th birthday party, I've become quite the expert at hopping on the crazy train and going perhaps, too much all out, for his parties. But doggoneit, I love it. The part I enjoy the most, is of course, designing the invitations! I decided to hand draw a little map of Milwaukee, as a sort of "Beckett's Guide to Milwaukee".

                                                 (The invite came folded up in map form.)

The party was a blast, and was the perfect way to say goodbye to the city we love and will always call home!

Where are we heading? When are we headed? The house sold fast (almost too fast...), and we moved out in July. We are building a new house in Muskego (a suburb of Milwaukee), and will move in, in early 2015. More on that, and other new happiness, soon...