Eric's Birthday Celebration at school...the birthday that never ends (just like his mama!) ;)

Eric is at such a wonderful school - "The Joy of Children." On the child's birthday celebration day he/she gets to sit on the bench by the door and hand out birthday treats. It was so cute to see him chatting with all his new friends.

Miss Alecia, Brett, Eric and Miss Elaine (Alecia's identical twin sister) they are just the sweetest ladies. They are from Texas so of course I am partial to them and their Southern drawl. :)
Michaella and Paige from Eric's old school.
Our old nanny from my working days - Miss Christie. She is truly a member of our family. Eric still refers to her as "My Miss Christie." We love her soooo much!

Eric and his sweetie, Kendall. I do believe there's a little crush goin' on here. :)

Go Cowboys!

What fun we had this weekend going to the Cowboys vs. Arizona Cardinals game. Well, at least Greg had fun. Those of us pulling for the Cowboys were a bit disappointed. It was great to spend time with my parents and to see my aunt and uncle too.

Greg, Me, Aunt Brenda (my Dad's sis) my Dad, Arnold and my mom, Linda. We made signs for my Uncle George so that he wasn't the only one exiting the Cowboys team bus without a sign or screaming fans. ;)
My Dad, Arnold, my Uncle George (Cowboys CFO - we're all VERY glad my aunt married him! hee hee) and Greg
My FAVORITE uncle - especially when he has field passes for us like he did on Sunday. Just kidding Uncle George - we love you even without the passes. :)
one of the Jonas Brothers. Of course, if some young little girl hadn't told me who that was I would have no clue. Does that mean I'm getting old?
Phoenix Suns player, Grant Hill, Greg and Grant's dad, former Cowboys player Calvin Hill. The elder Mr. Hill said he is now known as just "Grant's dad" and not so much for his playing days. Poor guy. :( Both of the Mr. Hills - Jr. and Sr. - were gracious and humble men. Such a pleasure to meet them!
Tony Romo before he broke his finger...what was his excuse for some of those passes thoough BEFORE he broke his finger? ugh!
Matt Leinart - the ENTIRE reason we have season tickets to the Cardinals.... yes, season tickets for a team in an entirely different state. Gotta hand it to these USC fans - they sure love their players...(that would be Greg I'm referring to).
First, we argued about the Texas Longhorns (who by the way at the time of this writing are ranked NUMBER ONE) ;) and USC...now it's the Dallas Cowboys and the Arizona Cardinals. However, that's only when they play each other. Every other time we pull for each other's team.
Mom and Dad
Aunt Brenda and Uncle George
The family football rivalry continues - even at the pro level....
Sykes - #60 - does anyone remember when he played?

Eric's Birthday Lunch and Party!!!

This was such a fun birthday this year because this was the first year that Eric REALLY got it that this was HIS birthday and that it's a very special day! Sooooo cute! Every time the phone rang, Eric would say, "Mommy, everyone is calling me today!"

Another first for this year is we had his party at Bounceopolis (they did a GREAT job!) In the years past I always insisted I HAD to host the party at our home, etc and do everything myself. Let me tell you, it was worth every penny to have it there - this was the most relaxed I have EVER been for one of the kids' parties! yeah!!

Eric had a great time playing with his friends from his old pre-school as well as some from his new schoo. Just like the song says, "Make new friends, but keep the old...."

Eric is so excited about the "sparkly" candles Mrs. Smelser (our neighbor and good friend) got for his cake.
Eric posing with the astronaut cake Mrs. Smelser made for him.
Ava and Sydney from his old school looking as cute as ever!
Eric demonstrating his "super hero" pose????
Brett REALLY enjoying brother's cake - this is after he's been cleaned up a bit too.
This was obvioulsy "pre-cake"
The adorable flag and astronaut cake Tricia made as well as matching cupcakes. She completely blew everyone away! And.....it tasted as yummy as it looked! ;)
Jordan and Carson - friends from his new school

Mommy and the boys being silly with our tongues...mommy hadn't slept much at this point and was a wee bit delirious...
ahhhh, the ice cream sundae at Red Robin for desert at lunch! ;) He had been talking about this for days!!!

Mrs. McGill (aka Emily) and little Christopher

Happy 5th Birthday Eric!

Eric started his morning off with a few presents from his brother, Aunt and Uncle and Grandma Mimi and Grandpa Sykes...couldn't make the poor boy wait ALL day without being able to open a present

Hey! This is the same thing I saw in mommy's trunk that we got our "friend." Hmmm, very interesting - wonder how many other times she has used this line on me? Little brother Brett is wondering why he gave this to Eric vs. keeping for himself.
Brett has just realized that he DID give this to Eric vs. keeping for himself. Gift giving really isn't a concept a 2.5 year old understands. Poor guy.
Eric comforting Brett and assuring him he will share with little brother.
"Oh I LOVE Speed Racer! Look at this cool card Mom!"
I LOVE new books!

Yummy Spaghetti!!!!

The boys absolutely LOVE spaghetti - especially Brett. You can definitely tell which one is Felix and which one is Oscar...

This would be Oscar (bet you couldn't tell, huh?)

This would be Felix (and he actually thought his face was messy! ha!)
Oscar, er, I mean Brett showing off his winking skills
Popeye, I mean Felix, I mean Eric showing off his...