Happy 5th Birthday Grant!

You are FIVE Grant!

                          

On your actual birthday you chose ramen noodles as your dinner of choice so we went to the local restaurant Red Galanga for some yummy food.  Of course followed by opening presents, your favorite part:)  You got a voice changing Darth Vader mask that you didn't take off for practically 24 hours.  You even wore it to Auden's bus stop the next day, so I'm assuming it was a great gift from Daddy and Mommy.   

What a week!  You wanted your party at our house so we rented a bounce house and even set a rain date for the following day just in case.  However, the weather reports were changing every 30 minutes a few days prior and it was so hard trying to decide what to do.  Ultimately, we ended up sticking to the original time on Saturday but we had to switch to an indoor basement party last minute with the cold rain coming down.  It will definitely be an unforgettable birthday for Mommy and Daddy.  With the help of Grammy and Grandpa we quickly moved all the furniture out of one side of the basement, thought up some indoor party games and decorated!  I guess we were expecting too much out of 4/5 year olds because we desperately tried to organize you guys to do fun activities like freeze dance, pin the tail, limbo, potato sack races, simon says, etc. but most of your friends just wanted to run around like crazy kiddos.  The biggest hit, as always, was our "secret hide-out" closet that Daddy made you boys in the basement.  I'm pretty sure at one point all 16 kids were in there.  You and all your friends had a great time which is all that counts.  You even had a few brave friends that did the bounce house in the rain on the way out.  That was super fun and very cool of their parents.  The slide was more like a water slide! 

 The party didn't end there as we had the Reed family staying over that night (as well as Grammy and Grandpa).  They happened to be driving home on their way back from Spring Break in the Outerbanks and it worked out nicely to be able to have a sleepover.  You and Auden had tons of fun with Nathaniel and Eli and they enjoyed watching you open up (and play with) your new presents.

So, what has Grant been up to lately?  After a fun soccer season in the fall, we decided to try Tae Kwon Do in January.  We didn't know how our silly little boy was going to like all the structure and focus but WOW, you were absolutely ready and are doing so wonderfully!  It makes Mommy and Daddy so proud to see you work so hard.  You pay attention, focus and try your hardest.  You took your second belt test and have a yellow stripe currently.  I hope you continue to enjoy TKD as much as you do now.  It seems a perfect fit for your personality- gets a little aggressiveness out while using your flexibility and athleticism.  The fact that you have awesome Korean instructors, are learning some Korean language, and learning a sport important to your birth country is just icing on the cake.

In the spring, it was time to really start preparing you for summer swim.  Now that you are 5, I think it's super important to be completely water safe this summer at the pool and you are eligible to do the Mini Starts swim team.  You are almost finished with 10 weeks of the program your brother has done in the past and is doing now with you.  You guys are in different lanes and go at the same time at the JCC pool which works well.  You have made so much progress these past two months.  You can swim a "beginner" freestyle and you are even doing great learning the fundamentals of backstroke.  Swimming is definitely not your favorite sport, and you do ask "how much longer?" during class several times but you are working very hard which makes us proud.

In other news, you and Auden are not sleeping in the same bed after almost 2 years!  It's a little bittersweet because it was so adorable seeing you boys all snuggled up next to each other when we would come to check on you.  But, you're getting older and both growing bigger and this "low bunk" from IKEA for small kids seemed like a great solution.  You were a little apprehensive the first night because you couldn't see big brother but you started to really enjoy how cozy the lower bunk is and we are happy to report it has been a super smooth transition and you both love your bunk bed!  I imagine at some point you'll be ready to sleep in your own room again, but probably no time soon since we got this, haha. 

Big changes are coming as you went to Kindergarten orientation last month and in a few short months you will be getting on that school bus.  Just thinking about it makes me tear up!  I can't believe you will be going to Elementary school at the end of August.  Change is always a little scary for you so I suspect there may be some bumps, but we will do our best to prepare you this summer and you will have Auden on the bus with you with all of our awesome neighbors.  You already know so many friends that will be in Kindergarten with you, that should help a ton.  Academically, you are more than ready.  You are doing great writing in lower case and you have been learning to read with steady progress.  You see Auden reading so much, I'm sure it has driven you to want to learn as well:) 

I'm a little nervous with all the questions you and Auden will be getting from other kids who don't know you and that you are brothers.  That will be new where we aren't there on the bus or in the hallway at school to help guide your answers.  We will go through scenarios and practice before school starts of the best way to respond to kids questioning how you can be brothers.  I have a fabulous book called WISE UP that helps arm adopted kids with the right language when friends and classmates ask personal questions about adoption.  Most of what we will teach you is what you don't have to say.  We will definitely be navigating new waters but I hope with the right language and open dialogue you will be able to have confidence. 

Oh Grant, you are the biggest ball of personality!  You won't stop singing Justin Timberlake's song "Can't Stop the Feeling" every day for the past two months and you almost have a choreographed dance to go along with it at this point.  You have quips and one-liners that are quite sassy and we don't know if we should laugh or you should get a time-out.  You are so good at making friends wherever we go and you have such a knack for remembering everyone and their names (you help Mommy and Daddy out with this).  When you are in the mood, you love posing for the camera and you are my little fashionista that "needed" to pick out a whole new outfit for your Appletree show.  Arguing about clothes with you every morning isn't the best way to start my day but I'm starting to let you win more which is just easier.  You are full of love!  Snuggles have to usually be on your terms but luckily you still request them often.  You fell asleep on top of me last night at 6:30pm on the couch after an exhausting birthday weekend and I would have to say it was definitely my favorite part of the weekend. 

You are SO loved, happy birthday big boy! 

 5^TH BIRTHDAY INTERVIEW

• What is your favorite toy?   Paw patrol anything
• What is your favorite food?  Noodles- red sauce (like Spaghetti) or brown sauce (like Ramen)
• What is your favorite thing to do/play outside?  Playing on the swingset with Auden
• What is your favorite show?  Paw Patrol
• What is your favorite color? Red and blue
• Who is your best friend? Christopher
• What do you want to be when you grow up?  Construction worker that builds houses, specifically lake houses.  haha
• What is your favorite sport?  Soccer

Happy 7th Birthday Auden!

Happy 7th Birthday Auden!  You are a toothless wonder right now with no front upper teeth and a missing bottom one, for a total of 5 teeth lost to date.  It's funny having to get used to a new smile on you as these baby teeth go and adult teeth come.  You are still our little boy that wakes up with a smile on your face every morning and a smile on your face as we kiss you goodnight.  Please never change:)   

You had an awesome birthday!  Daddy found a place nearby that does Ninja Warrior parties like the show American Ninja Warrior which you love.  We invited a bunch of your closest 1st grade buddies.  You did rope swings, quintuple steps, the sonic curve, rings and the WARPED WALL.  It was so exciting watching you and your friends master each obstacle and cheer for each other.  The video we have of you making it up the warped wall is priceless- you grabbed the ledge by one arm, pulled yourself up to standing and put your arms over your head shouting- whoohooo!!!

To top off the birthday fun, your present from Mom and Dad was a new bike- real deal mountain bike with handbrakes, gears, shocks and big fat tires so you can ride in the woods with Daddy.  It will take some time for you to get comfortable with the gear shifting but so far you are loving it.

What are you up to lately?  Well, we just got home from another amazing Utah trip with Nana and Pappy.  You are getting so good on skis you are leaving Mommy in your dust big time!  You have a need for speed.  You are learning the technical stuff too like getting your skis nice and parallel and working on your turns.  What fun it is to watch you!  You are also still having fun doing indoor dryland diving on Thursdays- we aren't really sure what you are learning after we drop you off but it's lots of trampoline and diving board fun to get your energy out.  This year you have really enjoyed joining Cub Scouts and had a blast at the Raingutter Regata and the Pinewood Derby, winning a medal for both.  It has proven to be nice one-on-one time with Daddy to help you build your creations.  You begged to do an after-school Robotics class that starts this week, so we shall see how that goes!

This past year has actually been a lot of learning about how you tick.  In fact, today is your first day at school under your new IEP (individualized education program) which is a fancy document that was created to give you the special accommodations we discovered you need to reach your potential in school.  After many months of special testing, we learned that you are a pretty exceptional young man.  While you are above average and even gifted in most areas, the tests show you have a "speed processing disorder"- which we were able to base the IEP on.  Your slow processing speed is due in large part to attention and focus issues.  I've learned a lot about ADD in the last few moths and realized that you don't have to be hyperactive to have it.  You seem to show signs of the "inattentive" and "hyperfocused" parts of ADD.  What does that mean?  When you aren't interested in something, you are really good at tuning out and when you are interested in something it is hard to pull you away from it.  Which makes it very tricky for teachers.  Here is the funny part- your main distraction is books.  You love reading!  You love learning!  Your teacher has to tell you to "close your book" all day long!  How can we be mad at this?!  We all giggle at the meetings because they have never had a child like you before with such a "positive" distraction.  You had a substitute teacher last week and the special ed. teacher checked in on your class and you had 31 books on your desk.  She said 31 books and you a reason for every single one of them.  Oh Auden, how Daddy and Mommy laughed so much at this and will never forget it.  I hope your love for reading never dwindles.

You brought home worksheets on the Jamestown settlers almost blank last week.  So then I asked you questions while you were playing Legos and you knew everything on the worksheets backwards and forwards and I even had to google some of your commentary because I don't know Virginia history well.  It is clear that you love learning to learn and don't really care or understand why you have to "prove" or demonstrate your knowledge to your teachers.  You are so different from me, I was always trying to please and impress my teachers by telling them exactly what I thought they wanted to hear.  While you love learning about animals, space, history, nature, etc. just for yourself and the details you remember and can explain to people amaze us.  Last Thursday we found you in the school office after our teacher meeting "quizzing" another teacher on whale "flukes" and what they do for each particular species of whales.  She was enthralled listening to you and you were equally enthralled to teach her.  So far, you don't seem to mind or be bothered by getting special ed pull-outs and just go with the flow.  You enjoy school and that's all that we can hope for.  We feel so very lucky to have your amazing teacher and school doing everything they can to help you reach your full academic potential.  It's clear that the school structure with all the frequent transitions is not your style of learning but they are really trying to adjust things for your needs which is great.

I'm not going to lie and say homework time isn't frustrating for us.  To watch you take over 30 minutes to do something that could take you less than 10 minutes (if you take out all the breaks and distractions in between) is just plain hard.  We don't want you to sit at the table any longer than you have to.  We hope you are able to channel the hyperfocus you have with reading to writing and math one day.  But for the meantime, we will keep reminding ourselves that your brain works a little differently and patience is key.

We love you so very much Auden.  The school psychologist talked a lot about the fact that you were a preemie and had a traumatic first year of life with your hospitalizations, heart condition, feeding issues and how much we can't discount it when discussing some of the challenges you have now.  I have to admit that felt like a blow, just when you think you can put all that behind you, it comes sneaking right back up into the conversation 7 years later.  Regardless, we will support you and advocate for you just like we have since the day you were born 9 weeks early.  You are so smart, adventurous and kind- we can't wait to see what lies in your future.  But don't grow up too fast- we are enjoying 7 year old Auden and all your awesome jokes, puns, quirky facts and still willingness to snuggle with us.

 7^TH BIRTHDAY INTERVIEW

• What is your favorite toy?   Legos and Pokémon Cards
• What are your favorite books right now?  Notebook of Doom series, Captain Underpants series, Roscoe Riley Rules series, any non fiction about animals and dinosaurs 

• What is your favorite food?  Hot dogs
• What is your favorite thing to do/play outside? Ride bikes, play tag
• What is your favorite show?  Wild Kratts
• What is your favorite color? Green 
• Who is your best friend? Neighbor John 
• What do you want to be when you grow up?  A Palenotologist 
• What is your favorite sport?  Skiing

Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall!

SUMMER 2016

It was a crazy, busy, fun summer.  It was the first summer that we needed to figure out the dreaded camp schedule for Auden since he couldn't spend the whole summer at Preschool camp like he's done in the past (and where Grant goes).  Swim team in the morning, two different camp drop-offs during the day in July and pasting together babysitters for Auden during August kept us busy for sure.  Add one trip to NJ shore, 3 trips to Keuka Lake and a weekend at the Chesapeake Bay and you can see why summers feel even crazier than the school year for working parents.  We hit a big milestone this summer where Auden spent the week away from us in upstate New York with Nana and Pappy.  He had a great time and barely missed us, ha.  Grant, on the other hand, took it pretty hard and he missed his playmate and roommate at night, so Mommy and Daddy had it a little rough for sure.  We were fortunate to spend a lot of time this summer with Tia Jody and Uncle Tom before they left on their world adventures.

One last big family picture before Tia and Uncle Tom go abroad

Auden had a great season and was in four swim meets this summer!

10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!

This summer Cody and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary on August 12th.  It is hard to believe it was 10 years ago that we walked down the aisle.  It seems like such a big decision these days for 23 year olds to decide to spend the rest of their lives together and then walk down the aisle two years later at 25.  Now, we can't believe our parents even let us, ha.  However, I've never been so sure about anything in my entire life.  I'm happy to say that 10 years later, after being through so much together, I mean it even more.  I can't imagine a better teammate in life than this guy.  He even humored me for some anniversary pictures in DC at the monuments (and actually had fun doing it!). 

BACK TO SCHOOL!

And just like that, our crazy summer was over and these two boys were going back to school.  No big changes this year, as they both stayed in the same schools.  Grant has one last year of Preschool in the 4/5 yr. old classroom with the amazing Ms. Nicole.  It is sure to be a wonderful year for him.  Auden entered First Grade and got a great teacher that seems to be a perfect fit for him.  She is ready to continue all the work his Kindergarten teacher put into helping him focus and stay on task and is committed to making this a successful year for Auden and hopefully overcoming some of these challenges.  She focuses on teaching the kids it's okay to make mistakes (says they are all too hard on themselves already, so sad!) and encourages them to take risks in their writing and work and that is exactly the type of teacher our little perfectionist needs. 

Next door neighbors (and best buds) ready for their first day

Watch out First Grade, here comes our neighborhood crew!

FALL ACTIVITIES

Grant is SO excited for his first season to be old enough to play soccer for our town's youth program.  Daddy is his coach and he is thrilled and counts down the days until Saturday practice.  These 4 year old soccer players are just adorable.  Auden decided he wanted to join a diving club that has an indoor dryland diving facility.  It is a very reputable club and we are lucky it is so close to our house.  So on Thursdays we drop him off for 1.5 hours and he learns tricks on the trampoline, practices jumps off the springboard onto squishy huge mats and does a lot of stretching and strength conditioning.  They work them very hard and so far he's handling it pretty well.  He is jealous that the teenagers get to do so many cool tricks but he is learning that he needs the foundation first and it takes many years to get to that level (triple back flips off the spring board onto big mats, crazy).  In two classes his flips have gotten so much higher and better and he's getting overall stronger in general which we explain is good for any activity or sport he does.  It will be interesting to see if he sticks with it.  He loves the daredevil trick aspect of diving but I'm interested to see if he starts caring about the little details that count the most if you want to be successful- body positioning, good form, little splash, etc.  Either way, it's great exercise once a week.      

First practice with Coach Daddy

Auden practicing his flips at the indoor diving club!

Happy 4th Birthday Grant!

Happy Birthday to my "baby" boy, the cutest and coolest 4 year old I know!

What a year you had my darling boy!  You started age 3 off with a bang learning to ride a 2 wheeler the week of your birthday a year ago and you have been speeding ahead ever since.  You love to ride through the woods to the special spot we throw rocks, love riding on the bike path and still love your rides with Daddy on the Wee-hoo to school.  This past winter, with a Daddy/Grant trip to Colorado and a family trip to Utah you became the best 3 year old little skier I've ever seen (with the caveat I don't spend much time on mountains, ha).  You can take on green circle slopes like a champ and have mastered turns and slowing down.  It's so fun watching you come down a mountain like a little rock star and hearing random people comment how awesome you are the whole time.  Spring soccer just began and in the first "game" you scored three goals.  Now we just have to work on not trying to take the ball from kids on your same team, ha.  You never cease to amaze us Grant and it's a joy watching you accomplish so much at such a young age all with a big smile on your face.

 

Only two soccer games in and you already received the "sportsmanship" medal that they give to one child at the end of each game for following directions, being a great teammate and trying hard.  Nana and Pappy were happy to be there for it:)

 Swimming is a little more slow going because we haven't been doing it consistently since last summer but when you do spend a lot of time in the pool, you make great strides.  By the end of our recent trip to Florida for Great-Grandmom's 90th surprise party you were swimming across the width of the pool.   You certainly have been loving all these family trips.  You do so great with traveling, which is a lot to be said for a toddler, let alone a child who's world was turned upside-down not too long ago as you started a new life with your family.  I hope that means we do a good job preparing you for each trip and understanding that we always come home.  You just love family time together and going on adventures together.  "Vacation Grant" doesn't even get the morning grumpiness after he wakes up, haha.  It's the transition back to normal life (none of us like!) when we get home that's the hard part. 

 

 

 

 This past year has just been "easy" for you and we are so grateful for that.  You love your preschool and boy does your preschool love you.  You walk around that place like you own it- you know everyone's name, every teacher adores you, your classmates all look to you for what imaginary game to play next, etc.  Gosh, when I walk around the school with you I feel like I'm with the cool kid- waving goodbyes, high-fives, hugs- it's hilarious and wonderful.  Of course you'll never be a morning person, so waking up for school is a different story:)  You just had the spring concert at the high school and in usual Grant style there was hilarity as you said "hi!" to me several times and after the opening song, yelled during complete silence "Hi Audey!!" to your brother.  You definitely got an auditorium of 200+ people laughing.  I'd say all in all you were pretty comfortable up on stage.  Could that be in your future?

 

 

 Below is a picture of you and your "girlfriend" Katie.  You guys adore each other and there has to be squeals and five hugs when you see each other.  Katie's mom and I think it is the cutest!  And yes, I'm extra excited that Katie is Asian because when you first started school, you would gravitate mostly towards white kids. This is normal for an adopted minority child in a white family but I was hoping it wouldn't be set in stone for you since your school is 30% Asian:) 

Your personality has certainly blossomed, that's for sure.  There is that saying "kids say the darndest things"- yeah, you are the king of that.  You have quite the knack for embarrassing me in public, check-out counters are your forte.  Off the top of my head, here are some experience I've had recently:

- Telling the cashier at Michaels he looks like Santa Claus and asking if his beard was real
- In a long line at T.J. Max you asked me about 15 times why the girl behind us was wearing a head covering (religious scarf)
- At the airport security check-in you saw people were taking off their shoes so you asked the agent if he wanted you to take off your pants (with a big grin on your face).  That one got some big laughs.
- At the grocery store check out, I said "Grant, please stop touching the gum" and you quickly replied with a serious face- "Why do you keep calling me that?  My name is Charlie.  Please call me that."  Yeah, not the thing to say to a mother that doesn't look like you!

The list could go on and on...

Another funny thing is I never knew how many expressions I use every day until you call me out on all of them.  They don't make sense to people with English as their second language and I'm always confusing you with them.  Just a few I can remember that made me laugh:

-I told Daddy to "throw" me a napkin, so he walked over and handed me one.  You wanted to know why Daddy didn't actually throw it like I asked.
- I told you we had to be careful because we were "playing chicken" trying to cross a tricky intersection.  You said "huh? how do you play?  I don't see any chickens!"
- You were doing something I didn't like and I told you to "cut it out."  You said "but I don't have scissors, why should I cut?"
- I said it was "raining cats and dogs."  You of course, said "HUH? It's water mommy!"

You are one curious little boy, always aware of your surroundings, and when you are comfortable in environments- you will do anything for a laugh.  Did I mention you don't stop talking, like ever?  We never knew how quiet Auden was until you came along:)  Your memory is still astounding us.  You will pass a street driving and point out a store/restaurant that you only were at once a year ago and ask me if I remember it, ha.  You remember people so well too, that's a great skill to have!  Auden and I couldn't remember the name of his old summer camp teacher and then I said- I bet Grant remembers! I asked you and sure enough it took you not even a second to remember her name.  Never mind she wasn't even your teacher, or that you were barely 3 when you met her, or that it was 9 months ago that Auden had her.  Minor details:) 

 4^TH BIRTHDAY INTERVIEW

• What is your favorite toy?   Paw patrol anything
• What is your favorite food?  Noodles- red sauce (like Spaghetti) or brown sauce (like Ramen)
• What is your favorite thing to do/play outside? Riding bike
• What is your favorite show?  Animal Mechanicals
• What is your favorite color? Red
• Who is your best friend? Christopher and my whole class; besides brother;) 
• What do you want to be when you grow up?  Airplane pilot
• What is your favorite sport?  Soccer

Any challenges right now?  Dinnertime is not your father and I's favorite time with you.  If it is a "kid food"- perfect, no problem.  But we like to serve you and Auden what Daddy and I are having many nights.  There is inevitably complaints from the moment you see the- pork chop, ham and bean soup, turkey burger, stews, etc.  You eventually eat it, but not without a lot of sitting around, negotiating bites and not making dinner very easy.  This is all normal kid stuff though, one day you will learn we always win so might as well just eat what's in front of you without complaint:)  However, you have come a long way with vegetables thankfully!

You and your brother are two peas in a pod.  I'd say 85% of the time getting along with each other and having fun.  Unbelievably, right?  You guys even decided this year to start sharing Auden's bed because you being there "keeps his bad dreams away" and it makes you sleep through the night without coming into Mommy and Daddy's room.  So it has been a win/win.  Although lately you've been having a little too much fun before going to sleep and we have to threaten to separate you and have done so recently.  About two weeks ago, we came in Auden's room on a school night and it was 10:30pm and you guys had built a "fort" with blankets and pillows complete with stuffed animal friends, picture frames and books.  Of course, I needed to do the "mommy voice" when I discovered  you guys and separated you but I thought later that night, I hope it was a night you guys would remember:) 

We have been seeing our "Korea friends" (adoption friends) every so often for outings and birthday parties.  You are getting more comfortable around them and the fact that you all share being born in Korea.  In fact, you are taking pride in it now which is so wonderful.  You told Auden before an outing- they are "YOUR" Korea friends because they are from Korea and Auden is not.  I giggled in my head and then corrected you and said Auden can be friends with them as well.  Creating these bonds are so important to me and our adoption friends.  It's great that we live in an area with a big Asian population but I've learned that there will be nobody on this planet that you will identify more with than other Korean (international) adoptees growing up with white parents.  Just knowing these boys will make you not feel so different as you are growing up and trying to figure it all out. 

You go in spurts of wanting to talk about Korea or your foster mom Mrs. Moon every day for weeks.  We welcome any and all of it.  I'm still talking to Mrs. Moon over an instant messenger app almost weekly, sharing lots of pictures of you.  She loves all the pictures/videos and you so very much.  I promise I will do everything in my power to keep this connection to Korea.  I dream of the day we go to visit and we can see her again or when you get older and can talk to her yourself.  Her English is not great but well enough to learn a lot more about Korean culture and customs.  We are just so thankful you were raised in such a loving family.  Even though we talk about it a lot, the concept of adoption is still confusing to you (of course, it's so complex).  Lots of "whys" and such hard answers.  I promise we will always keep an open dialogue.  We may not know the answers to some of your "whys" but we will sit beside you always and validate your feelings.  You are such a perceptive little boy and already talk about people's skin color and even like it when Mommy gets a tan and "matches" you more instead of Auden.  We keep an open dialogue about how family members don't have to look like each other to be family.  Thankfully between all the multi-racial families we have in our neighborhood and our adoption friends we have lots of examples to go through with you. 

With your birthday comes so many emotions for me, I can't even imagine what you are going to feel in the future.  I know many adult adoptees struggle with birthdays.  You are not with nor do you even know the person that gave birth to you, on this day that we are celebrating.  The person that carried you for 9 months and gave you life.  This loss is not lost on us Grant.  You are our dreams come true, you have taught us about trust and unconditional love in the most profound ways.  You have made our lives and family infinity more richer.  But that doesn't take your first loss away.  We know we are your plan "B", we don't pretend that you were meant to leave your birth parents, your birth country, your culture, just so you could be our son.  But I promise you we will always try to be the best Plan B we can possibly be.  I hope you always know on your birthday, that you have so many people that love you all over this world.  Your birth mother made the best decision she could with the circumstances she had, she chose life for you and she loved you.  Your foster family loves you so much and always will.  And we feel like the luckiest Mommy and Daddy in the world that we get to be your parents. 

And here we are, shortly approaching two years from the day we finally got to meet you.  Wow, these two years feel like they just flew right by.  It's like I blinked and my baby is now 4.  You are such a kind, smart, funny, well-mannered and handsome little boy.  You make us so proud.  We can't wait to see what this next year holds for you!  We love you!

You had such a fun birthday with all your friends at The Little Gym.  Cousins Reegan and Kinley were there and Nana and Pappy came too!  Of course it was Paw Patrol theme!  Here are some pictures:

We hope all your dreams come true this year my love!