Happy Birthday Caleb

Caleb is 3 years old today!

Happy Birthday Caleb! Caleb turned three years old today! I love this age because they start to understand their birthdays and get so excited for them. He had picked out a few things at the store yesterday so he was already well into birthday mode. We had breakfast and afterwards he got to have a little cupcake. We did some chores around the house during the morning, and then when everything was cleaned up, Matthew took his morning nap, and I let the boys watch a special movie that Caleb had picked out the day before. (He chose Thomas & the Treasure)

While they watched, I finished wrapping birthday presents. Then I got to work on his birthday cake. Caleb said he wanted a train cake, and there were lots of great pictures to go by- I figured it would be pretty easy. Well, once again I was reminded that I am by no means a cake decorator. It took me a while to get everything figured out, baked, and put together. By the time I got to the frosting I’d already about had it. Then you still have the fun part of trying to get the frosting just the right color. I have the hardest time- you pretty much have to dump the entire bottle of food coloring in the bowl and even then I still get baby blue, pale yellow, and dark pink instead of the intended red, yellow, and blue. By the time I finished the cake I was reminded *why* there are people who specialize in this type of thing.(Becky S. I could have used your help today!) I was feeling a little discouraged and feeling like I had wasted the afternoon, but then Caleb came in the kitchen and got the biggest smile on his face. He was so excited about the cake, and thought it was “cool.” It made me feel good, and I figured that as long as Caleb liked it, that was all that mattered. So I hurried & cleaned up the kitchen and the boys helped me make pizza for dinner.

Jeff got home just after 5:00. In the past we’ve always done birthdays so late at night (Jeff has been on call, or other things have come up) that I was determined to have everything ready so we could celebrate early this year! So we had dinner just after 5 and went right into the cake and presents. Caleb had a blast- he got some really fun things and was great about sharing them with Jacob and Matthew too. It did make us laugh that Caleb was really excited about all his gifts, but when he opened a couple of books from Grandma, he had to stop for a few minutes to read both of them, even though he had more presents to open. Matthew thought the whole night was great- lots of new toys to play with, cake, and lots of wrapping paper. I think he’s getting geared up for his big day next month! Anyway, Caleb had lots of fun blowing out his candles, and playing with the new toys (Thanks Mom & Dad, and Grandma & Grandpa!) It was a fun day to celebrate and I still can’t believe my little Caleb is already three years old. We love you Caleb!

Side Note: I know it was Caleb's birthday, but I have to put in a little bit for Matthew. He was fun to watch. After the present were all opened he started playing with a few of them. I was pretty impressed watching him play with Caleb’s little pretend cash register. Matthew watched the boys for a while, and then when they moved on to something else- he moved in. It was fun to watch because he knew exactly how it worked! He didn’t just chew on the money or pull on the toy. He would try to put the ‘money’ in the slots, and then push the buttons to make them go down. I thought it was pretty impressive for a 10-month old baby. (You can see him holding the orange coin while trying to get the red coin in. He gets the red one in and pushes the button to send it down, then he puts the orange coin in.)