caleb's 3rd birthday party

Caleb's birthday party was on his actual birthday this year since it fell on a Saturday.  We planned on having it at a park, and had to make a last-minute switch to a different park several days before.  It was a little unnerving trying to figure out where to have it on such short notice, but it turned out to be perfect!!  Caleb had chosen Thomas the Tank Engine as the theme of his party, and the park we ended up at has a miniature train that you can ride!

The night before his birthday, my parents, husband and I were busy assembling the cupcake train.  I had found the idea online and was excited about it.  I made the cupcakes and frosting from scratch so thankfully those were already done and we just had to frost them and put everything together.  The finished product...

At the party the next day, the cupcake train was the topic of deep conversation among the kiddos.

 We got to ride on the miniature train...

and the conductor even had everyone on the train sing "Happy Birthday" to Caleb!

We'd gotten train whistles as favors for all of the kids at the party, which I'm sure was appreciated by the other people on our train ride.

 After some lunch, Caleb opened his gifts.  I love his expressions in these photos...

And then he finally got to eat the cupcake that he'd had his eye on all day...

I was so glad that everything worked out so well.  A fun party for a fun three-year-old!

caleb turns three!

Dear Caleb,

On July 16th, you turned three years old.  Here's a bit of what you're up to these days...

For months, when people have asked how old you are, you've been saying, "I'm two! On my next birthday, I'll be THREE! Then you'd tell them that your birthday was on July 16th. You like to keep people fully informed. Sometimes, when you leave the room to go throw something out, you say, "I'll be right back. You have nothing to worry about." That is usually true. It's the times when you say, "Mama, don't look at me," or "Mama, don't come in here," that I know I have to worry. You don't give me much credit, but I'm clever enough to know that whenever you say that, I should look or come in immediately and see what you're up to.

You tend to be very precise about things. You like using the word "actually," and it's pretty cute when you do. Other things you say a lot:

"Yeah...sure!"

"Good job!"

"You're right!"

You can be rather encouraging for a three-year-old.

You still like to play sports of all kinds.  You like to read books and you like to dance.  You like playing instruments too...especially the drums.

To be honest, I'm still working on this post months after you turned three, and it's tough to separate what you were up to then from what you're up to now.  Not long after your third birthday, you developed a sudden interest in sword fighting.  It seemed like an overnight transition.  Now I have to look out for what you're choosing to use as a sword and how.  You like to count and can count up to 100 with a little help.  I don't think it'll be long before you're doing it all by yourself! 

For a while after your birthday when people asked you how old you were, you would say, "I just turned THREE!"  Now you just tell them that you're three.  I guess three is old news now.  I never used to wish that you would stay a certain age or stop growing up so quickly.  I think that might be starting to change.  

You love your dada and your time with him is often filled with fun and laughter.  But for the most part, you're still a mama's boy.  You also still like to snuggle us, and I treasure your sweet snuggles.  I am so blessed to be your mama, my sweet angel.  I love you with all my heart!