Six!!

This post is long-overdue,  but everyone who reads this blog knows I barely have time to shower these days.  I swear the phrase "Better late than never!" was tattooed on my behind the day I entered this world. 

This is what six looks like:

So, we celebrated.  And celebrated some more!  We started off with a carnival themed birthday party for all of Nate's friends from Kindergarten.  It was even better than I could have ever imagined!!  Some of Brendan's friends came and helped out with the games, and I'm pretty sure they had just as much fun as the little kids. 

They played soccer

Throw the ball at a pyramid of cans

Balloon darts (heavily supervised by Papa, thank goodness!)

Ring toss:

Bowling and duck pond

Tickets for prizes

(strategizing)

There were popcorn and cotton candy, and of course, cupcakes!

And everyone had a blast and went home with a bag of random prizes and a belly full of junk food.  The end. 

But wait!  There's more!!

Right after his kid party the family came and celebrated with him, too!  There was even more junk food, even more cake (thanks Miss Charlene!), and even some presents!  What a lucky little boy.

We celebrated on his actual birthday at the QQ Buffet, one of his favorite places on the planet.  We were supposed to go to Rude Dawgs, but it turns out they're not open on Sundays.  So, we had a grand time at QQ, and promised a raincheck on Rude Dawgs.

He got to cash in his rain check the very next day, just to make sure that Birthdaypalooza continued with flair.

Rude Dawgs is a local restaurant that serves mostly hot dogs.  They're also supposed to be rude to the customers, but the girl waiting on us was a sweet teenager whose attempts to be rude fell totally flat.  Here's the birthday boy, playing Vanna White:

Their schtick is that they have a hot dog called the Porter Pounder.  It's a one-pound hot dog, on a loaf of french bread, covered in chili, nacho cheese, french fries, pickles, and god knows what else.  If you can eat it in ten minutes or fewer, then you get a t-shirt or something.  Nate has been coveting one of these things for months, ever since he saw a group of guys order them one night when he was there with Mike.  We promised him he could have one for his birthday, and he's been gleefully looking forward to this day ever since.  His brother decided to make the ultimate sacrifice and pitch in to help eat it.

Whoa, you weren't kidding!

I can take this thing!  Watch me eat this pickle!

No, seriously, this thing was ginormous.  You truly have no way to picture what a one pound hot dog looks like without a visual aid.

It's really pretty hard to say whether more ended up on his face, or in his belly.

Defeated!  But honestly, aren't you surprised at how much they ate?

Nathan even decided to challenge the Man vs. Food guy to a challenge.  Enjoy the hilarity (you probably have to turn your head to the right.  I might fix it later if I have the time or inclination):

It's just outrageous how awesome this kid is.  He's sweet, thoughtful, smart, and hilarious.  We wouldn't trade him for anything.  Keep rocking six, buddy.