Last week MONTH (I wrote this weeks ago but never got pictures up!) on the 24th, my sweet first baby turned 3 years old! Duke has been so excited about his birthday coming up and loves to hold down his thumb and pinky to show people he’s 3. He can say “three” as well, but showing them with the use of both hands is certainly the preference. It’s adorable!
Side note: My sweet husband sent me flowers on Duke’s birthday to celebrate the day I became a mom. How thoughtful is that?! Made me want to dig into the archives and read Duke’s birth story again which you can find here and here. Enjoy!
We have created a fun little tradition of filling up the boys cribs with balloons on their birthdays so we were a little worried on what to do this year since Duke is no longer in a crib. He gets up sometimes in the middle of the night so I was hesitant to put them in his room after he was asleep and then have him trip over them in a middle of the night stumble. Dennis saved the day by getting all the balloons ready on Tuesday night and while Duke was slowing waking up, we had him hide under the covers and dumped all the balloons on top of his bed. He was THRILLED. As I had been explaining to him that it was his birthday a few minutes earlier, he kept asking “but where is it??” so being covered in balloons seemed to do the trick.
We have created a fun little tradition of filling up the boys cribs with balloons on their birthdays so we were a little worried on what to do this year since Duke is no longer in a crib. He gets up sometimes in the middle of the night so I was hesitant to put them in his room after he was asleep and then have him trip over them in a middle of the night stumble. Dennis saved the day by getting all the balloons ready on Tuesday night and while Duke was slowing waking up, we had him hide under the covers and dumped all the balloons on top of his bed. He was THRILLED. As I had been explaining to him that it was his birthday a few minutes earlier, he kept asking “but where is it??” so being covered in balloons seemed to do the trick.
He came downstairs to a new Mickey Mouse table covered in art supplies and DONUTS…the highlight of any birthday. He, Theo, and daddy sat at his table and had breakfast and I headed off to work. At daycare, Duke got to eat cheeseburgers and French fries with all of his friends and he told anyone that would listen about the balloons in his bed. My mom scooped him up from daycare a little early to go on a pre-dinner tractor ride with my dad. Later, most of the family met up for dinner at our favorite dive-y fried chicken joint and topped the evening off with cupcakes and singing.
When we got home, Dennis headed to pool league, Theo went to bed and Duke got to stay up late with me and watch a movie. He may or may not have ended up falling asleep in my bed and I didn’t dare move him. He’s getting so big, and special one on one snuggles with him were just what we needed to cap off the day!
On Sunday we had his big family party. We haven’t gotten into the world of friend parties yet and I’m hoping that’s still a few years off…am I wrong?! While Duke and Theo napped, my decorating committee came over and covered the house in streamers and super heroes. We had decorations dangling from every can light and balloons everywhere. The birthday boy woke up just as we finished and by then just about all of his guests had arrived. He was so shy when I brought him downstairs but got more and more excited as he saw all of his favorite characters around the house.
Dennis made AMAZING homemade pasta sauce with rigatoni, salad, and garlic bread and we all ate until we were seriously stuffed. It’s the best sauce he’s ever made and it will certainly need to be made more this winter. The whole house smelled divine. After dinner, the birthday boy got to play before opening presents. His excitement was on point this year! He was so thrilled for each and every gift and made my parents day when he immediately recognized the tractor/trailer they bought him as being EXACTLY like Bampas. “Bampa! This where you put the corn in!” My sister Michelle got him all things Paw Patrol with the main event happening in February when we take him to Paw Patrol live! He wouldn’t have a clue what that means right now but I am already counting down the days for it because he’s going to freak out. My sister Jen made him a super hero cape that he hasn’t wanted to take off and it’s the sweetest. Superheroes are everything to our boy so getting to be one is basically the meaning of life to him. He got all sorts of other toys and gadgets and I’ve started hiding older toys in the basement so he can focus on the new stuff and I can gain a little sanity.
We ended the day with birthday cake, candles, ice cream, and singing. The smile on his face in this picture means everything to me. He had the best day and just asked me last night if we can do it “just one more time” which melts my heart. 3 is big time. 3 means preschool next fall. 3 means we actually have to finish potty training 😉 (he’s doing pretty well so far!). 3 is so much bigger than the nugget he was just yesterday.
Happy Birthday Duke man!
-T-
