Celebratin' it Japanese style!

 From cute little this….

To big doofus-goofus this…

9 blissful years!  Well, 9 years of Connor anyway.  Definitely a reason to celebrate, though!

Connor's 9th birthday was January 22, but we started the celebrations a month early so Connor could have an extra-long birthday party with his Lego-loving friends during the Christmas break, Lego Ninjago-style!

 Here's the party gang (and Shelby).

Mark's fabulous (if a little flopsy) Lego Ninjago cake:

Our cool Lego water bottles.  That in the end weren't so cool because they leaked and, well, were a potential hazard for getting tongues stuck… (I did NOT see this problem coming when I ordered these)

Noah loved being able to hang with his big brother's cool friends!

After we had' em sufficiently jacked up on hot dogs and lots of sugar, it was time for….basement Ninja wars!

Strategy huddles….

Despite the horrible picture quality, I love these photos of Connor.  His genuine smiles are kinda few and far between, so when they DO make an appearance, I've got to highlight them!  (although I fear my pingpong junk table is being highlighted instead)

After we wore them out, it was back upstairs to check out the present haul.  And you can't go wrong with more Legos!  Yay!

Connor received some Bey Blades but wasn't sure what they were - so here's Aiden very convincingly informing him of JUST HOW COOL they are.

Then it was time to move on to the Wii game wars!  Tiki the dog even joined in.

Shelby pestered the boys by poking toys in their ears while they played (payback for her not getting to join in the basement Ninja wars, I assume).

And look at Noah in the background here, VERY upset that HIS beloved Wii had been taken over.

Where's the birthday boy, you ask?  Connor, ever the bookworm (which I LOVE about this kid), perched on the couch, preferring to read his cool new Almanac birthday book over playing video games.

And yet MORE Legos upstairs with Remy.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Okay, now fast forward about a month ahead to Connor's ACTUAL birthday, with a SECOND birthday cake, plain old red velvet this time.

MORE Math for Dummies books, this one completing Connor's collection - Trigonometry for Dummies.  Isn't that what YOU'D want for your birthday?  *shakes head*  I love my funny & strange & brilliant little boy.

And the big one…an awesome new bike!

A celebration for Connor is never complete with going to his favorite restaurant, Koto!  Yay!  (I love Koto, too!)

Yes, I look drunk and wasted.  Drunk and wasted on TOO MUCH FOOD.

There must always be chopstick wars…

Shelby and Noah styling their hair with chopsticks was a new discovery on this trip…

Noah always LOVES the show, Shelby not so much…

Noah decided that he'd like to take a turn being one of the cooking chefs.  Noah and open flames and knives.  I can't imagine a worse combination, to be honest.

Of course, the staff singing Happy Birthday (through a veil of smoke) was completely embarrassing to Connor….

But the free dessert was enjoyed!!! (look at Shelby's sullen face staring at the dessert - ha ha! - but we did make Connor share with everyone)

Find the weird kid in the picture…

A trip to Koto is never complete without feeding the fish….

Or banging on their gongs and drums (love Shelby's face here).

We FINALLY finished up Connor's birthday "season" with Star Wars (episode III, Connor's favorite).  There's nothing like Star Wars to bring the kiddos together WITHOUT fighting!  For about 5 minutes anyway.

The boys had to conduct their own epic light saber battles during the boring romantic parts…

And finally,  "Darth Noah" let "Lord Connor" win the final battle - happy birthday Connor!