birthday weekend

^^ not-so-great-quality iphone pictures are what you get around here ^^

As I write this post I am eating a large slice of leftover birthday cake. This is one of the many reasons that I love birthdays: leftover cake for days. The cake is chocolate and the cream cheese frosting is high and thick, just the way I like it.

If you haven't heard, our J-man turned three yesterday. It would be cliche to say where does the time go, but...where does it go? I mean really.

The growing up that this boy has done just in the past month is honestly blowing my mind. More than any stage he has gone through in life so far. A haircut, potty training, and an endless vocabulary. His independence has sky rocketed to the point where he can practically pour his own bowl of cereal.

I am so proud of this boy. He's this polite, sweet thing that always says "dank you!" and "pwwease!" and "i saw-wee mom." Always on his own without any encouragement. He suddenly loves sports, and I swear I didn't encourage that either. He just wants to throw a football or hit a baseball or kick a soccer ball all day long. That's when he's not playing with his monster trucks, which now we have more than we know what to do with by the way. And he's always telling me that he's "like dad!" and he's so proud to say it.

Today in the bathroom of discount tire, while he sat on the toilet he loudly sang a song that he had just come up with all on his own, "I rideee my motow-cycle, I riidddeee myyyy motoooww-ccyylleee, yeah, yeah, yeah, my....MOTOW-CYCLE...." When he sings he tries to do this very deep voice and now that he's making up his own words and tunes along with that deep voice well, be still my heart because. It is THE BEST.

Or how he sits down and gets this serious look on his face and says, "mom, I ask you a question."

To which I reply, "Okay, what's your question?"

He stays very serious while using his hands to talk, "the water, and we throw rocks, and the tractor outside, and rockie ate the bug." Then he stares at me and waits for a serious response. So I hide a smile and say, "ohhh yes, that's a very good question!" Which makes him sit up taller and nod his head, obviously playing this adult role so well.

Or then there was his cousin's one year birthday party the other day. Jace was on the toilet when everyone started singing, which clearly upset him. He jumped off the toilet enraged and dad barely had time to pull his pants up before he burst out of the bathroom, walked straight to the cake in the middle of the song and promptly blew out the candle.

Or oh! this is one of my favorites: every time I walk in the door, whether I was gone for a few hours or I just returned from the mailbox, he excitedly declares, "Mom! You're here mom! You're here!"

And although I will swoon and talk mushy all day long because I'm so in love with him, mind you that this three year old is definitely picking up a little attitude to boot. Suddenly when he's mad he's very fierce about it. "NO. MOM. I. NOT. GO. INSIDE." He says through clenched teeth. "I NOOTTTT GO INSIDE! I SAY NO MOM, K?!" And when I give him the eye and tell him that's not how we talk, he fiercly and loudly says, "NO DANKKKSSS MOM! I SAY, NO DANKKSS! K?! OH-KAY?!"

So the attitude is coming and I suppose I'm prepared for it.

But everything else is all gushy and perfect and I think that three years old is going to be really fun. I hope it stays a while. Once we are done potty training, of course, because let's be honest there is nothing perfect about all of the laundry I am doing everyday.

And anyway, the birthday! Saturday we celebrated with some of our very favorite people on the planet. We had pizza and cake at our house, in which I decided to get a small chocolate cake and stick a dollar store motorcycle on top. I was very proud of my idea, until the motorcycle caught on fire while I was lighting the candles. But J hardly noticed the halfway gone and melted handlebar so all was well.

Afterwards we headed to the jump zone, a kids heaven around these parts. We jumped on trampolines and played dodge-ball and swung on rope swings into a pit of foam blocks. And when I say we, I mean everyone but me because my seven month pregnant belly doesn't love jumping on trampolines.

Sunday was his actual birthday. Three years ago sunday, at 4:18 in the morning, after 30 hours of labor, we welcomed our first child into the world. Sometimes I can't believe it's been three years but other times I can't believe it's only been three years, because I can't really remember life without him in it.

To celebrate on Sunday we took him out to breakfast, let him play on the slides, gave him all of the sugar he wanted and watched him play outside all afternoon with his brand new monster trucks. That evening we had all of my family over for a bbq and have I ever told you how great my family is? They are the bees knees. Jace is so in love with all of them, he was all sorts of upset when it came time for everyone to leave. He kept walking around the room to each person and saying, "You stay, okay? You stay."

When it was time for bed he begged to sleep with all of his new things, but was so worn out that he just laid there surrounded by toys and promptly fell asleep. He is the sweetest, this boy. I think I'll keep him.

And now our house is full of extra toys and extra cake and lots of balloons, along with a THREE YEAR OLD boy. A three year old!

It's bananas, really.

I love it all.