Happy Birthday, Big J

It's hard to believe that my little baby boy is now a 3 year old.  Wow.  Time seems to have simultaneously flown and crawled by.  As I've heard it said, "The days are long, but the years are short".

We LOVE birthdays in this family, so we tend to make a big deal out of them.  Admittedly, I can go a little over the top.  I was secretly relieved when I realized that all four of our birthdays fall while we're away.  Low key birthdays can be a good thing too.

 We definitely wanted to do something in celebration, and for Big J to feel special.  We decorated the house with streamers, banners and balloons, so when he woke up, he really knew it was his day.  In the morning, we let him open our gift to him - a remote control car.  And two special  mystery gifts were delievered to our door, which we waited until later to open.  In the afternoon, I brought treats and dollar store toys to day care for him to share with his new classmates.  Bubbles and cupcakes are always such a hit with the 3 and under set. 

In the evening, we invited our new friends over for a dinner of Big J's favourite foods: corn on the cob, rice and chicken.  They are a family of 5, with 3 boys, aged 8, 6 and 3 months.  The boys had a great time playing with Big J's birthday presents, including the one they brought for him-- of course, a car. 

After dinner, we tucked into a delicious cake and cupcakes, and then headed to the beach for a little stargazing.  We brought glow sticks with us, and the kids loved running around on the beach in pitch blackness, seeing their wrists and ankles ringed in neon colour.  It occurred to me that children so rarely get the opportunity to be on the beach at night.  All in all, I think it was a really special day for Big J.

Star gazing on the beach. 

Little J tries cake for the first time.  I think she approved. 

Happy Birthday Boy

Dinosaur cake and cupcakes.  Note the Aussie flags!

Big J's lovely new babysitter left a beautifully wrapped gift for him outside the house on the morning of his birthday.  We were racking our brains all day trying to guess who it was from.  When we opened it later in the day, we learned that this adorable Little Chef set was from her.  She works in a really funky kid's store a few blocks away, so has easy access to great stuff for kids. We were so touched by her sweet gesture.  

The other special gift was two wonderful books sent from Bubby and Zaidy.  Big J loves to read, so books are a perfect choice. 

Happy Birthday, Little Dude!