Choo!! Choo!! Parker is TWO!!

On July 4th, our sweet boy turned TWO!  We celebrated with a Thomas birthday on July 3rd with family and friends.  We went all out with a train theme and started by sending out boarding passes for invitations:

My wonderful husband helped with turning our house into a train station by making train tracks on our sidewalk!  Parker was so excited!  He ran up and down exploring all of the railroad signs that I made:

We love when Sir Topham Hat says, "Thomas, you have caused confusion and delay." So, I wanted to include that in our decorating!

The front door:

Back down again...

Here are the inside decorations:

Here is an American flag painted by Maddy!  She made it in Preschool for the Olympics and wanted to save it for a decoration for Parker's Birthday!  She is very proud of Parker's patriotic birthday!

The girls had fun helping me print out pictures to decorate. 

The kids' table!

The Birthday boy's chair:

All of our favorite snacks mixed together:

The kitchen:

Wal-Mart did such a great job with Parker's Thomas cake!  It was so cute and very yummy!

Parker loved hearing the "Happy Birthday" song!

Sweet little Edan was right by Parker's side!

Jonathan helped Parker blow out his candles.

I think Parker was wondering where the flames went?

Parker enjoyed the icing the best!

Big sister Lily and her best friend, Emma:

Parker's sweet "Big brother" Cole:

Big sisters, Maddy and Katy:

Cousin Alex came all the way from Minnesota to help us celebrate! 

Present time!

Parker was excited about his bubble mower from the Hodson Family!

And he loved all of his gifts in the CARS bag from Mrs. Kristi and Cole:

Thomas Legos from Aunt Jonnelle and Alex!

A Travel bag full of goodies from Gramps and Grandmother!

Poor Parker is used to being spoiled by his sisters and getting everything he wants!  He was a little sad to be sharing all of his new toys.  Look at that pitiful face!

We gave all the kids wooden train whistles as party favors, and Lily started a parade to cheer Parker up!

Sweet Rebekah loved her whistle!

We had such a wonderful time celebrating our precious blessing from the Lord.  Thank you to all of you who made it extra special!  Parker Levi, you have brought us so much joy and happiness over the last two years. We love you and all of your hugs and kisses! We thank God for you and are praying that you grow up seeing Matthew 22:37 lived out in your life every day.  Happy 2nd Birthday sweet boy!

Jesus replied: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." 

Matthew 22:37

Thomas the Tank Engine Rolling Along...

Parker's love for trains began last year on his 1st Birthday when our friends, the Dunlap's, gave him his first train, James, from Thomas & Friends.  His love for Thomas has continued to grow immensely, so when we saw that Day Out With Thomas was coming to Chattanooga, TN we decided to get tickets for our family.  On Saturday, April 24th our family took a road trip to Chattanooga to see Parker's favorite cheeky little blue engine, Thomas! 

As you can tell by the dark clouds in the pictures, a huge storm was coming!  But, it was all worth it as we got to see Parker's reaction! 

He was so excited!!!

The girls were excited to be sharing this day with their baby brother.

Parker kept pointing and yelling out the names of all the trains he saw!

Thank you Grooms family for the Day Out with Thomas shirt!  It was perfect! 

The girls got "Thomas & Friends" tattoos.

Parker loved the tent with all of the wooden Thomas tables and tracks.

I think he would stand and watch Thomas pulling in and out all day!

The LORD was so sweet to hold off on the rain until it was time for us to wait in line to board at 12:00.  Then it started to pour!  Parker didn't care, he was beside himself with excitement!

Here are my sweeties riding on Thomas!

Parker loved looking out the window as we rolled along...

I love this picture below.  If you look closely, you can see his reflection in the window!

We had such an amazing time together even though we got completely soaked!  It wouldn't have been a true Buhl Family adventure without a little extra excitement, right Jonathan?!?  I am so thankful for my family and the time we get to spend together enjoying each other's favorite things. 

Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions and in truth.

1John 3:18