It started Friday with a little school celebration! We brought donut holes for the class snack and Luke wore his birthday hat and everyone sang happy birthday to him. When I picked him up from school that day, he ran out of the classroom yelling, "I am the birthday boy!". Melt my heart. Yes, you are the birthday boy! It was soooooo fun seeing just how much he understood all about his birthday and how excited he was. What a great start!
Then came Saturday morning. It was the day before his actual birthday, but since he was having his party later, we decided to act like it was the big day! Luke woke up around 7:00 am and was greeted with his favorite breakfast treat...a cherry iced donut with sprinkles! And it had three little candles on top to kick off his birthday. Ben wasn't up yet, so it was just Chat, myself and Luke. Chat and I sang happy birthday to him and gave him lots of hugs and kisses. It only last about 10 minutes, but it was so nice to just be the three of us and have that time with him. Luke was so sweet and I think it really got him ready for the day!
Then it was time to party! We were having his party at the local Pump It Up which was a place that has tons of bounce houses and slides. Since one of his little friends has her birthday a day before his and over half of the guest list was the same, we decided to throw a joint party. I was worried about him taking a nap late (since we usually can't get him to nap until 1:30 or 2:00) then having to wake him up by 3:00 so we could get him ready and out the door. I figured he would be a bear and just struggle waking up before he was ready. So we decided he didn't have to nap that day, but he actually ended up falling asleep in the car when he and Chat went to run an errand. So we let him snooze in the car for about 45 minutes, but then had to wake him up. Cue meltdown. Luke has never been a good waker-upper, but this was a disaster. He pretty much sobbed for the 30 minutes we had to get him and ourselves ready and out the door. I was so worried he wouldn't recover, but he finally did and got it together right before we got there. Phew! We all recovered.
The party was a great success and we had a ball with all of our friends and family. The birthday girl and boy were adorable and shared the day so well. After about an hour of jump time, it was time to head to the party room for a snack and cake. Except we ended up not having a cake. The only other real hiccup of the weekend. We had decided to do one big cake and get it custom made with an adorable design. But I got a call from the cake lady about 20 minutes before cake time. She had been in an accident on the freeway and was having to wait for the police to show up. Luckily she was fine and her car was, but the other car was damaged so she had to wait. Cue slight panic attack, but in the end it was no big deal. Luke's "Hattie" (Chat's stepdad's wife who is soooooo good to us) ran out and found two cakes at a nearby grocery store. The kids didn't seem to notice and all was well! We all sang and they got to blow out their own three candles...
Don't worry, Ben seemed to enjoy the cake too!
After the party, my parents took Ben to their house for some one-on-one time with him so Chat and I could take Luke with some of the friends from the party to dinner. It was so fun to just be with him! Dinner and the margaritas were wonderful and Luke behaved well and had a few more hours of fun with his pals. We then headed to pick up Ben who was in the bath when we got there. Luke jumped in and so we had to clean kiddos to take home. We visited with my parents and the boys played some more and we headed home around 8:00 pm. It was nice to come down from the excitement there and have some time celebrating with Bea and Grandad. Ben crashed when we got home and we let Luke open up a few presents before we put him to bed.
One of the presents Chat and I got him was a Dream Lite Pillow Pet. He wanted the dinosaur one, so that's the one we got him. After we read him his three books, I turned out the lights and laid with him for about 20 or 30 minutes. We cuddled and talked and looked at the moon and the stars on his sky. It was the perfect ending to a wonderful day.
Sunday rolled around and we got up and brought the boys to Avalon. We have done this for every birthday yet and this year was no different. Chat grew up going to Avalon for every birthday breakfast and he is keeping that tradition alive now with his sons. We all ate eggs, bacon and pancakes and went home with full bellies. Unfortunately this is the only decent picture I got of breakfast (and yes, trains go with us everywhere)...The pictures from 2011 and 2012 were much better but 3 year olds seem to not like the camera as much :).
We got home from breakfast and Luke finished opening his presents. He got such wonderful things and I feel so appreciative for everyone's thoughtfulness and generosity. After that we played with his toys and then played outside. We breaked for lunch and did one final birthday thing. I love a particular bakery close to our house - Moeller's. Every year we get him a white cake from there and we had to this year as well even though we didn't do it for his party. We got something small and had it after lunch and sang one last happy birthday.
Don't worry, Ben enjoyed the cake once again...
This birthday was a bit surreal for me. Luke is this little person now. He understands everything and has complete conversations with us. Luke was a late talker, so this has been so amazing to me and I am so happy to hear all of the things going on in his little head. I knew I was going to love my children, but I was completely unprepared for just how overwhelming of a feeling it is and just how deep that love runs. I am so proud of Luke and the sweet little boy he is becoming. He still has his moments, quirks and tantrums, but overall those are lessening and the joyous moments shine through brighter. My boy...
Happy birthday Luke! I love you with all my heart.
1 comment:
What cutie boys you have! Happy 3rd Birthday to Luke!!
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