Happy Happy Birthday Baron Dear!

Mister Bear turned 3 years old last week! His birthday was the 13th and we had such a fun day celebrating him and making it a special day. He wanted a Mario Brothers Party. Although he isn't very good at playing it on the Wii (yet), he loves all things Mario. That morning he had chosen sugar crepes, applesauce, bacon, and milk for his birthday breakfast.

I always let my kids open one gift that morning because they have to wait the whole, long, rest of the day to open all of their other gifts.

The day of Bear's birthday he had playgroup and he was so excited to bring cupcakes for everyone. We all sang Happy Birthday to him as well.

Later that day I decorated for his party and he just kept jumping around and laughing and clapping saying "It's a Mario party! It's my Mario party!"


The balloons

The place settings

The gifts

The Happy Birthday sign


The Invites. I had orderd a little Mario Party package online and they came with these invitations. I was just going to throw them away because we were just having a family party, but Andy helped Bear fill them out and put one on everyone's bed. They said "You must bring this invitation to get into the party" :) When it was time for the party to begin, all the kids went outside and rang the doorbell to come in to the party. Bear loved it and thought it was so great taking all of the kids to their seats at the table.


The cake. My super talented friend Emily made this cake. Isn't it amazing?! Baron was thrilled, of course.

Baron requested spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. I didn't know why, until later I heard him telling Jonah that he wanted spaghetti because that is Mario's favorite food (we have the old Mario cartoons on Netflix and Baron loves to watch them). I thought that to be quite clever as well as hilarious. We also had garlic bread and fried zuchinni.

Happy Birthday to you!


Opening gifts...

Baron received a Leapster and 2 Leapster games, Toy Story 3 toys, a zhuzhu pet, an Imaginext toy (these are my boys' most favorite brand of toys ever, if you need a gift idea for a boy age 2-7 :) from Andy and me and the other kids. He received a Spongebob Mp3 player from my parents, new clothes from Andy's parents, and he also recieved lots of cards (with money in them!) from great grandparents and aunts and uncles. He had such a super birthday. He hasn't stopped playing with his Leapster or listening to his Mp3 player.

Baron at 3

Bear is a big 3 year old. He hasn't had his yearly exam, but I know he is around 43 pounds and 38-39 inches tall. He has always been around 95% in height and weight for his age and he doesn't show any signs of slowing down. He has surpassed Daphne in weight and is closing the gap on height. He loves to eat. He asks to eat all day long and isn't picky at all (just so you know, I don't actually let him eat all day long :). He loves everything. His favorites are bananas, pancakes, cheese, yogurt, turkey sandwiches, berries, and broccoli. He loves to play outside in the dirt, riding his scooter and trike, and jumping on the neighbors trampoline. He likes to run around with the big kids. He likes to think he's older, but he's always the one lagging behind when they're running around playing tag or some other game. He is one of the youngest of all of the neighbor kids, and I am so glad they let him play and participate and include him. He just loves it. He can be a stubborn little stinker and he has been known to throw some pretty crazy tantrums. He is also one of the biggest whiners I know. He loves to watch movies and TV and have help playing Wii and computer games. He loves his toys and will play for hours at a time in his room all alone. He has a huge imagination and makes up some pretty funny games. He loves to be read to and play games with me. His favorite games are Memory, Go Fish, and he's also pretty good at Bop-It. His favorite book is Maisy's Pirate Treasure Hunt. He asks me to sing him a song every night and one of his favorites is Tiny Turtle. He has just loved his playgroup and I've signed him up again for the fall. He can count to 20, he knows almost the entire alphabet (capital and lowercase), all of his shapes and colors, and he hasn't had an accident (potty-wise) since his birthday (I guess it was all just too exciting :) He is a sugar addict and loves fruit snacks, candy, chocolate, and any sweets you'll give him. He is absolutely hilarious and half of the time we are all shocked at the witty things that come out of his mouth. That being said, he is only himself around our little family. He is quite shy (I don't know why, maybe because he was 1 when we moved here and he's never spent a whole lot of time around big groups of people) and often hides his face and refuses to talk when he meets new people. He is such a big sweetheart and at least once a day I'll be cooking or doing dishes in the kitchen and I'll feel two little arms wrap around my legs and give me a squeeze and I'll hear a muffled "I love you mama." When I look down, there is Bear giving me a love and before I can even hug him back, he is off, running to a new adventure. We all absolutely adore our Baby Bear (as we call him) and I am so grateful I have the privilege of being his mother. Happy Birthday Bear!