As Ian approached the big 5, he decided that he wanted to have a Paw-Patrol birthday party playing laser tag. With the help of Amazon, Joy, Lauren, and Cookeville Cyber Tag, this was not a hard feat to pull off. Ian’s requests were pretty simple this year: play laser with his friends and have a Marshall cake. Mission accomplished!

In the last few months, the pups of Adventure Bay invaded our house. Ian usually does most of his cartoon-watching on his kindle when we’re on the road for long drives. Ian first met Paw Patrol two Christmases ago when Charlie gave Ian a Marshall along with his fire truck. Then last Christmas, Alanna and Rodney gifted Ian with an Adventure Bay play set. Most recently, I purchased a season of Paw-Patrol for Ian to watch on our way to and from my grandmother’s house over this winter since Ian seemed so taken with the Paw-Patrol toys he’d received. After making it through season one, we’ve gone on to buy a couple more seasons and Ian can now name each one of the pups along with their catch phrase. Chase is on the case! Marshall is all fired up! Rubble is on the double! Rocky says: “Green means go!” Zuma shouts: “Let’s dive in!” Skye invites: “Let’s take to the sky!” Ian can also clearly explain to you how each pup has their own house that converts to a particular kind of vehicle that can be driven to the site of a problem in Adventure Bay.

Marshall has emerged as the – for Ian’s affections, and he requested Marshall items for his birthday party. Joy saved the day by coordinating a Marshall cake with a bakery near her home. Lauren made Ian’s dreams come true by designing and creating a Marshall birthday shirt. Amazon finished off the party with Prime’s awesome two-day shipping for party supplies.

Laser tag is always an exciting way to spend a couple of hours. Add four boys to the mix, and it’s down-right hilarious! We greatly enjoyed watching Ian and his friends run around the floor while racking up points, and hiding behind walls to avoid shots.

Ian’s friends and family are always too generous with gifts, and this year proved to be no exception. And can you guess what toys Ian received the most of? That’s right, Paw Patrol! Ian now has each pup along with its coordinating vehicle and the Paw-Patroler, and even a Paw-Patrol camping chair! The water gun will be a fun addition to our paddling gear, and will pull double as a park toy as well.

Another birthday has come and gone, leaving us with a big five-year-old boy. This little dude just keeps getting bigger and more fun, but otherwise he’s changed very little. He still looks just like his daddy, and loves the color green best. His favorite flavor remains chocolate, and he’d rather eat carbs or raw veggies than anything else. We love our little booger, and can’t wait to see how much his fifth year with us will be.