Austin's 3! Almost

We celebrated Austin's 3rd birthday on Saturday instead of Monday because of some time restraints but shhh, we're not telling Austin. As far as he's concerned he's already 3.

For his party we tried to play some games that didn't go over so well, Austin was a little tired (from keeping us up Thursday night) and a little shy from all the attention he was getting. So we bagged the games and went straight for the presents.

The big one took a whole roll of paper to wrap but it was worth it. I had them wrapped before he woke up so they taunted him all day. It was so fun to watch him open it and try to figure out just what it was.

It's a workbench by Step 2. Just wait and you'll see, he loves it...

but first he opened a few more gifts from the Grandparents and his brother and sisters.

And of course, we can't forget, the present that I spent four hours with a friend on...

Oh yeah! "Superman to the rescue!" Austin's been running around the house for weeks saying that. I wanted to get him a superman action figure to play with but they only came in sets with these heroines that were scantily dressed. He's 3! So a friend suggested making him a cape instead and offered to help. It was supposed to be easy but we ran into some trouble with the logo and had to redo it three times. In the end she finished it herself and brought it to me the next day. It was so much work I was keeping my fingers crossed that he would love it...

He put in on and took off running, screaming "woohoo" then "BAM" he ran into the front door and that was the end of that. He wouldn't even look at it for the rest of the day. Fortunately, this morning he told me he loved it and wanted me to help him put it on. It's amazing how quickly pains are forgotten when you're a child.

Here is the real hit. The boys had a lot of fun putting this workbench together.

It comes with these foam pieces that look like real wood. They fit together with plastic screws to make different shapes, i.e. boats, robots, backhoes, planes, cars,... I know this because Cameron spent the next several hours making all the suggested shapes and more. It's been fun for the whole family. But it's also the first toy that Austin has played with for more than 30 min. I'm so pleased. His favorite thing, above all the rest, though, is the drill. Just look at this face...

I asked Austin what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday and he said "a green one!" His favorite color. So what did I get? Of course, a chocolate chip mint ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins. Is there anything better?

Happy Birthday Austin! It's been so much fun discovering you this past year. Your love of cars and superheroes, your "big" muscles, your willingness to help, and your persistance (okay stubborness). You love green, blue, and orange. You love basketball (especially the green one daddy got you) and you love to play outside. You love to hide and then jump out and scare people. You love playing with your family and trying to follow everything your older sibblings do, good and bad. You are a delightful, silly, energetic, bright, adorable boy and I love you so much.