Cliche alert: how is this little Ben of ours a newly turned THREE year old?! That doesn't even make sense but there it is. Three years ago this footling breech baby made his crazy entrance and now he's a proud three years old, already a big brother, and so very excited to meet his new little sibling. He is still one of the sweetest, heart melters around.
Last year we had a simple Little Blue Truck birthday for him. This year one of his absolute favorite books and the one he picks before bed almost every night is Richard Scarry's classic Cars and Trucks and Things that Go. Our book has been well read, the binding repaired several times, and Goldbug found on every page about one hundred zillion times. It's a toddler favorite everywhere, I hear. (And no, we never, ever skip some of those many, many pages. Cough.)
We went very, very simple with just his Godparents over for dinner and that was more than enough for an introverted three year old and his very pregnant mother.
I love how the cake turned out! It was really easy to do with a little frosting and the magic of your husband's color scanner and printer. We copied a few of the images from the book, adjusted them, printed them, and laminated them. I realized after the party that they could now be turned into magnets to play with! (Not that I've done that yet. But they could be.) The frosting is a basic buttercream dyed naturally with McCormick's natural dye powders, my new natural favorite.
He had the best expression when he first saw it and was so excited!
My husband - bless his heart - took it upon himself to make up a customized Cars and Trucks birthday banner. And here I was just going to hang the dollar store special we have. It turned out super cute!
And let's all take a moment to realize that each vehicle on each flag MATCHES THE LETTER IT'S ON. That man. I've taught him well.
This was my fancy decor contribution.
We postponed our traditional Pentecost bonfire the day before due to crummy weather and similar attitudes. On a whim we had it during the afternoon before his little party instead.
The boys had fun all day burning an old bench, our blessed palms, lots of hay from the yard...
and oh, a COMPLETE DEAD PEAR TREE we (also on a whim) decided to cut down. I didn't think they'd take my challenge but they did and got the whole tree down and by the end of the night it was all burned! These boys can be handy to have around sometimes :)
And now that I know they can...there's another dead tree right next to that one that's slated for next week, I think.
One fun thing about having older kids is that they will take it upon themselves to come up with and execute games! My husband printed out a bunch of Goldbugs and one of the older boys hid them all around the yard for the little three to find. (If you're unfamiliar with the book, on every page of the book Goldbug is hidden somewhere and the kids LOVE to find him.)
Super simple but perfect for little kids!
Unprompted but kinda perfectly themed trailer rides around the yard!
This boy has the best sweet tooth. I have no idea where he gets it from...
Our gift to him was super simple but he has been loving it. I found this galvanized tub at Walmart and we filled it with pea gravel from Lowe's. Added in some simple digging trucks that a couple of the older brothers went in on, a few mini shovels that we already had, and it is the perfect toddler boy toy. I also got a plastic container with a lid that perfectly fits the tub, too. The metal tub will be out on the porch for playing with during the summer and the lid can be used to keep bugs and rain out. In the cooler months the plan is to move the rocks into the plastic container (lighter and less deep) so it can be played with inside once in a while. I just preferred the metal tub outside because it's cuter!
Apparently perfect for all ages of boy as well...ah, the joys of being the youngest of five.
It's been a few days since his birthday but he's now pretty convinced every morning that "today is my birthday, too." It's been such a joy getting to watch this little guy grow and we are beyond blessed to get him in our family.
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Oh, what a fabulous theme! We love all things Richard Scarry as well. I was wondering when I saw the banner whether all the vehicles matched the letter ;)
ReplyDeleteThree! Where have the years gone!! And so impressed by Brian undertaking the decorations and the boys being party game coordinators.
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