Well, if you read the title of this post then I guess you figured out that I convinced Brayden to forego the pink princess party for something a little more manlier :) It wasn't that hard to do, considering the boy has an obsession with all things super heroes. We have all kinds of masks and capes laying around the house, and I never really know when batman may come running around the corner to "shoot the bad guys who are running away," so a super hero party seemed only fitting.When I started planning for his party (and I say "planning loosely, since I rarely actually "plan" for a party), we were kind of in house limbo, so I decided not to have B's party at our house. Brayden's always had a fondness for swimming, and he seemed to have such a fun time at Connor's birthday party last year that we decided to rent out the pool at a local community center this year for B's. It did not disappoint.Here's the invitation I made and sent out to our friends:Brayden, Connor, Payton and Parker waiting to get in the pool.Connor was not much of a fan of the water and was more content sitting out and watching the action.I think he was showing me his musclesBrayden with his "best friends" Avery and PaigeI just have to say, I have the best friends. Drew was busy with Connor and I had wanted to take pics for a few minutes at the beginning of the party, so my friend Katie took B down the slide. I know this pic is blurry, but I LOVE it. Look at their faces-- such fun!!!Drew and the baby boy. Connor clung to Drew like this the entire 20 minutes they were in the poolKatie and PaigeParker with his DaddyAddison and PaytonIt was baby Cooper's first time in the pool... he wasn't quite sure of the water either.Laci and her daddyAgain, best friends in the world here-- Andrea's kids didn't want to go down so she went by herself. Hilarious!My little swimming super hero, goggles and allI actually got in a picture! Love my little 3 year old!After swimming we headed upstairs to eat lunch. Brayden requested pizza (of course he did), so we had lots of it. And we also had lots of kids.I think someone said they counted 23 kids. All are 5 years old and under. Chaos. But it was fun!This cutie fell asleep while he and daddy went to get pizza with Granddad. And he stayed asleep almost the rest of the party.Daddy with the silly birthday gooberWe had superman cupcakes (yellow with a superman ring on top) and then a superman cupcake cake. All came from the Walmart bakery. They were delicious, and I think the cupcake cake came out SO cute!New fave picture of him.I took Superman off of the cupcakes and Brayden told me he wanted to have him. But when I started wiping him off B said "NO! I want to lick him off!" ahahaha. I have created another icing addict I'm afraid :)lip lickin' goodCooper just took it all in. Love him!At one point I looked over and Brayden was doing this. I asked him what he was doing and he looked up and said "I'm making a mess." (a)atleast he's honest (b) for the first time in my life I didn't freak out and just let him have fun. You only get one third birthday party, right? :)We gave bubbles to the kids as party favors. I had this label printed out (I designed it also), and then had Drew help me cut them out and attach to the bubbles with ribbon.Jon-JonAt the end of the party he spent a good deal of time running. Doesn't he look SO grown up in this picture?We decided to forego opening presents at the party. We were running short on time and it just becomes even more chaotic. So we let B open presents over a 3 day period. I really like doing this because it allows us to regulate him just tearing through everything and not really soaking in what he's gotten. It also helps promote gratefulness :)His sword. Which he has now deemed as "my sword that I got to hit Connor with". Perfect. (please note the sarcasm in my "voice")A BIG thank you to all of Brayden's friends and family that came and made his day so special! We had a blast and are so thankful for friends in our lives that will help us celebrate the big milestones with us!

read more: Brayden's 3rd Birthday: A Super Hero Swim Party.