It's A Magic Number

Today my baby turned 3 years old!

I can't believe that it's been three whole years already since he was born.  These have been three years filled with happiness and heartache, tears and laughter.  And there's nothing in this world that could convince me to go back to life before Kaleb. It's definitely true that 3 is a magic number.

Ok, so maybe my little family is just a family of two, but that's ok.  We do pretty well figuring stuff out together, and Kaleb and I are lucky to be surrounded by family and good friends who love us and are always around with advice or other help.

I know plenty of people who go all out and have crazy parties for their childrens' birthdays.  And while I'm sure Kaleb will age into birthday parties eventually, it seemed a little silly to have one this year.  I mean, he really only even sees other kids at daycare, and I don't know any of their parents.  I certainly don't want all those extra rugrats running around in my house on sugar highs, and there's no money for a party elsewhere.  Kaleb will be asking for parties soon enough, so since he didn't mention it this year, neither did I.  Instead, I planned a nice little family day for us.

Kaleb woke up this morning knowing that it was his birthday because we had been talking about it for the last couple of days.  He had learned how to put up three fingers instead of two, and we had talked about how he was getting to be a "big kid" and not such a baby anymore.  When he woke up, he went potty all by himself (without having to be reminded) and then he came and climbed into my bed to wake me up.  He said, "Good morning, Mommy!  It's my birthday!  I'm three!  I think we need a little bit of pancakes!"  So, for breakfast, we had mini pancakes, and Kaleb even had seconds!

After breakfast, Kaleb played and we read some books.  While he played, I baked the cake he had requested: "yummy chocolate."  Actually, it's a chocolate fudge cake.  About the time the cake was finished baking and set aside for cooling, my mom and grandparents all arrived to visit Kaleb and bring him some presents.  Between Christmas and his birthday, his relatives and I have now built him a sizable collection of Lego-brand Duplos!   Before we knew it, it was time for lunch.  And by the time he was finished eating lunch, he was yawning like crazy.  On his way to bed for a nap, he offered one final demand about the cake frosting I was mixing: "Not that lellow, Mommy!  Like a school bus!"  So while Kaleb napped, the cake was frosted in a more-orange-than-yellow cream cheese frosting and topped with the candy sprinkles Kaleb had picked out at the grocery store yesterday.  I wasn't anywhere close to professional-looking, but I must have gotten it right.  Upon waking up, Kaleb too one look at the cake and said "Cool!"

During the afternoon, I remembered that we had to make a record of Kaleb's height on the growth chart on his closet door.  I've kept track there since he was born.  We went back to his room, stood him up against the door, and I asked him to stand up big and tall so I could measure him.  The results of that request, at first, weren't quite what I had planned:

Since he apparently didn't understand quite what I wanted him to do, I stood him flat on the floor and straight up and took the measurement....38 inches!!  That means he's grown 4 inches since his birthday last year.  I sure hope he doesn't keep up this rate of growth for too much longer, or he'll be taller than me before he even turns ten!

It takes a measurement for me to realize just how much he has grown.  It's just not as noticeable to me, probably because I see him every day.  I am fairly certain, though, that he's grown a considerable portion of that 4" since the weather got colder, as I've noticed that some of his pants seem to be shorter.  Since the pants aren't likely to have shrunken, I can only assume that it's the result of the kid getting taller.

For supper tonight we had spaghetti, one of Kaleb's favorites.  As usual, he ate a big bowl of the stuff.  Also as usual, he made a huge mess; luckily I had thought to change him out of the white t-shirt before we ate and into an orange one!

A little while after supper, I could postpone "cake time" no longer.  He climbed into a stool at the bar, and my dad stood nearby to prevent him from tumbling out of the high chair.  Then....

We put three candles into the cake....

Lit the candles.....

And Kaleb blew them all out!

Because it was his birthday, and because his behavior was pretty great today, Kaleb managed to coax me to let him have 2 pieces of cake for dessert tonight.  He happily ate them while singing ♫ Happy Birthday ♫ to himself.  By the time the cake was finished, it was time to pick up the Legos (which now have to live in two buckets instead of just one) and get ready for bed.  He's sound asleep now, and I'll be heading to bed myself shortly.  I'm glad that I can go to bed tonight knowing that my baby Big Boy had a good 3rd birthday today.

I hope this will be a good year for us.

No reason why it shouldn't be.

3...

It's a magic number.

♥