Marcus' Birthday / Bedtime

I'm usually a stickler about not opening gifts before the holiday/birthday.  However, we decided to open Marcus' presents a few hours before his birthday.  Since Marcus was going to have a busy Monday and most likely not be around when all three of us were awake, we decided to have presents before bed on Sunday.

Chase was super excited to help with presents.  We went over how the presents weren't Chase's but were Daddy's a ton because he wanted them :)

Marcus let Chase help open his gifts

"ooooo!"

A book!  And two seconds after it was open, Chase started in on the second one.

I had wrapped Marcus' two books separate from his 'big' gift.  We made it look like he just got the two books, so he was super surprised when we (Chase and I) pulled a bigger box out from the bedroom.

And Chase had to help with this one too...

Prayer at Valley Forge
Every time Marcus would see this at a store or a friend's house, he'd comment about how he loves that print and wants a copy one day.

Marcus had a George Washington themed birthday.  I like gifts with themes.  Makes it easier to decide what to do and be a little creative.  Plus we had just started watching TURN: Washington's Spies on Netflix, so the timing for this gift was perfect.

Marcus decided the safest thing to do with new framed art was to get it up on the wall, so it was hung within minutes.  While Marcus found the the toolbox, Chase serenaded us with some of his favorite songs:

Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

More Singing / Craziness

Chase then intently watched Marcus with the hammer and nail.  He loves tools.  Sometimes when the super is working on a nearby apartment, Chase will go watch him work or help hold the drills.  

Narrating as Dad Hangs the Picture

You can't really tell from this picture, but Marcus had just finished a huge purge cleaning in his corner of the bedroom -- right in time for the art to be hung and pictures to be taken :)

Happy Pre-Birthday Boy with George in the background

And right after, it was time for Chase to get in bed.  Here are a couple pictures and a video from part of the bedtime routine.

Reading Books with Dad

Watching the video I had just taken of them reading - they both love watching home videos of themselves :)

Happy Birthday, Marcus!