Happy 3rd Birthday, Joshua!

Today my sweet boy turned three years old. I still call him my baby even though he won't be much longer. It's kind of surreal. He has been my baby for 3 years, and I've probably treated him like that too. He is such a "Mama's Boy", loves to cuddle and be held, and is soooooo sweet! It's hard to believe he is another year older. As I watched him from behind this morning I saw how grown up he looked. It's just hard to believe that he's not a little toddler anymore, but he's turning into a "big boy".

To kick off the birthday celebrations I took cupcakes to preschool. Due to Joshua's dairy allergy I made his cupcakes and even made picks for them to go with the theme of his party - Disney/Pixar's "Cars".



I picked up Rebekah from her class a few minutes early so she could celebrate with Joshua's class. When I walked in her classroom to pick her up the kids went bonkers thinking the cupcakes were for them. Whoooops!






Unlike Rebekah, Joshua does not have any really close friends. Rebekah always had playgroup friends whom she played with on a regular basis, but since our playgroup no longer meets regularly Joshua has not had friends that he has connected with yet. He does have preschool and church friends, but I guess since he is a boy he just hasn't had that social desire for close friends like Rebekah did at that age.

As a result, we decided to have a low-key birthday party and invite just family. My parents came over to celebrate with us, and Joshua seemed to have the BEST day! We had pizza for lunch and then enjoyed cake and ice cream before he opened presents. Rebekah was very much into all the celebrations as much as Joshua was, asking if we were ready for cake as soon as she had finished her lunch, and eager to help Joshua open his gifts.

The birthday boy!



The table - Joshua was ready to climb up there for the balloons!


Becky Bell at BBCakes made this Lightning McQueen cake for Joshua. We made the mistake of letting him see it the night before. He had a major meltdown because he wanted the cake NOW! Then this morning Rebekah reminded him of his cake, and he went looking for it where he had seen it last night. We had moved it, so he got upset again when he saw it wasn't where he thought it was. Thankfully, we were able to distract him, so he forgot about it, but he sure was excited about it when we finally pulled it out!



It took three of us to blow out the candles!


Here are a few of my favorites of Joshua thoroughly enjoying his cake and ice cream.





Joshua opened his gifts, and he loved everything! Well, he didn't care much about the shirts we bought him, but all the toys and such were a big hit! From Darrin and me he got two Thomas and Friends engines for his train table, Bedtime Care Bear, a blue doll stroller, three shirts, and the Leapfrog Tag Jr. Rebekah got him a "Cars" game for the ClickStart computer. From my parents he got a Cars backpack, Thomas the Tank umbrella, and Mack (from "Cars) car carrier. My sister and her family gave Joshua a Tag Jr. carrying case with a Cars book on shapes. Darrin's sister and her family sent a pack of Tonka books as well as "If You Gave a Mouse a Cookie" along with the matching plush mouse. Joshua also has another gift coming in the mail and also got a check from Grandy that we will put aside in savings for him. We didn't get any photos of Joshua opening gifts, but Darrin took video of it all.

After playing with some of his his new things for a while Granddaddy gave Joshua a horsey ride around the living room.




An attempt at getting a photo of the kids with my parents




When we went outside to say good-bye to my parents we noticed how GORGEOUS the weather was! The kids were so excited to be outdoors, so we let them play in the yard for a good while. In the meantime, Darrin washed the minivan while I watched the kids play. It was so good to be outside after having cold weather for so long and being cooped up inside to play all the time.

Swingset fun







Next we enjoyed blowing bubbles and the kids liked to catch them. Then they decided to ride their bike and trike. Joshua is still not pedaling his trike, but he enjoys scooting around on it. One of these days he'll catch on. Rebekah is getting braver with her bike, but she is still very hesitant. I'm really proud of every time she will ride because she is improving and she is riding for longer periods of time before she moves on to something else. Last year she would not ride for more than a few seconds, and now she will ride for a few minutes at a time.

This next set of photos was taken with a new lens I got for Christmas. I couldn't get over how much more the color popped! It has more zoom than my other lens that I use most of the time, and it will be perfect for shots from farther away.





It also appears that Darrin is going to have a couple of car washing helpers in the future.



By this time my body was getting tired and starting to hurt so I returned to the house. Wow! It felt so hot inside after being outdoors for over an hour. However, we could not have asked for a better, more beautiful day for Joshua's birthday. It was so much fun just enjoying family and spending time together.

Fun Family Bike Ride

Saturday afternoon Darrin and I took the kids to the church parking lot on a bike ride. It had been a while since we had taken Rebekah for a ride in the trailer, and this was Joshua's first trip. We decided to keep the ride fairly close to home as opposed to the other side of town in case Joshua did not like riding. When we first got his bike helmet he was not very fond of it and would pull it off every chance he got, so it was of concern to us that he might struggle to wear his helmet.

To our great satisfaction, Joshua did not seem to be bothered by his helmet, and in fact, he enjoyed riding in the trailer very much despite the frown you see here. Of course, Rebekah was tickled and could not wait to ride in the trailer.


During the ride Rebekah was all smiles and Joshua started laughing and kicking his legs. They both had a great time, and Darrin and I really enjoyed riding our bikes as well.

After about 30 minutes Rebekah rode her bike around for a little while. She struggled peddling when there was a slight slope upward, but as long as it sloped slightly downward she peddled really well.

Fun Family Day

Yesterday Darrin took off work after having been gone to Washington, D.C. for the week on business. He stayed home that morning with Joshua while I took Rebekah to the gymnastics center to meet one of Rebekah's friends, Maggie, and her mommy, LeeAnne. I wish I had taken my camera because I could have gotten a couple of good shots of the girls, plus I didn't have to worry about watching Joshua while we were there. Oh, well. We had a good time, especially the girls.

That afternoon we enjoyed the beautiful outdoors since we are having some gorgeous spring weather! A co-worker of Darrin's gave us a 16" bike for Rebekah, and we gave it to her yesterday for potty training. She was really excited to try out her "new" bike. I had also gotten her a new helmet, and it just so happened to match really well with her bike. Rebekah is not one to stay on a trike or bike for very long, but she will ride some, get off, then try again a little later. She says she really likes her bike.

Posing in her new helmet

Trying out her "new" bike


Enjoying the outdoors in the shade

Rebekah can climb the rock wall really well. She was unsure at Christmas when we first got the swingset, but she's a pro at it now.

Joshua likes to swing!

Rebekah and Daddy

Daddy and Joshua