Three

Although he's not officially three until Tuesday, we celebrated Warner's big day this weekend with a Thomas the Train party. This was the first year Warner had specific instructions for his birthday cake. He wanted Thomas (easy enough), pulling Annie and Clarabel (not so easy). After agonizing over what to do, I finally made a simple cake and literally plopped Warner's requested trains on top. He was happy and I think it looked better than my past birthday cakes (Curious George was a real bust, Elmo not so bad). I'm not sure why, but I have this thing about making my kid's birthday cakes. So until I give this up they are going to have to deal with these not-so-professional-looking birthdays. It tasted great though. I make a mean butter cream frosting. Warner loved opening presents, and would say "I wonder what's in this present" as he unwrapped each one. Along with the train theme, he got mostly Thomas gifts. He had a list of every engine he "needed" (not wanted) for his train table months before his birthday. This past week, as we read his Thomas books before bed, he'd say "I sure hope I get James (or Toby, or Diesel, or Gordon, or whichever one he was thinking of that night) for my birthday".

He also got Cranky the Crane and the quarry mine tunnel for his train table, which were both a huge hit. Maren was pretty excited about the Veggie Tales movies Warner got, and Kevin's parents got us a pass to the Children's Museum, so the birthday worked out for her, too. My parents weren't able to make the party, but they got Warner a big boy bike for his birthday.He's still working on braking and has had a couple falls, but for the most part he's handling it really well. I tear up every time I watch him ride it. He's getting so big. Three years already? My heart hurts at how quickly the time passes. We're so proud of our little man and can't wait for what's in store in the years to come.