Will's Third Birthday Party, Friends Edition

We had animals on our cupcakes...

...and in our backyard!

Thanks to all our friends for celebrating Will's third birthday with us!

Birthdays, Then (and Then) and Now

Will played with balloons on his first birthday, all by himself.

He toddled through our old kitchen,

then disappeared around the corner.

He blew out a solitary candle on his tiny carrot cake.

His little brother was still waiting in the wings in my belly.

For his second birthday, Will got a Cookie Monster cake--

a little bigger, this year (the boy and the dessert).

This time, he extinguished the candle all by himself.

He still spent some time alone with his balloons...

...but he was going to have to learn how to share soon enough.

This year, Will blew out the candle with too much gusto
(while I took this picture, Dave was shouting "MOVE BACK, BUBBA!")

And oh my goodness, does the kid ever have to share:

his spotlight, his balloons, his MILK even!

Funny enough, he didn't seem to mind.

And this year, as Will disappeared around the corner with his balloons,

he was chasing his little brother.

I think he'd say this birthday was his best yet.

Will Turns Three!

We woke Will up at 8 a.m. with a pair of birthday balloons, some presents to unwrap, and a singing not-so-baby brother.

Here he is with his gifts from the Philly Noons:

And here he's blowing out the candles on his birthday donuts (again).

A quick family picture before the day truly begins:

After dropping off Finny at his playgroup, we headed for the bike shop.

We were early, but Will wanted to wait outside until the sign said "OPEN," so we did.

Once inside, he went right for the bike he wanted, the same one his BFF Connor has.

They matched him with a 16" bike, which is apparently (but unsurprisingly) a big bike for a just-three-year-old. I know nothing about bikes, but I know he looked like a serious KID on that one.

He also picked out a helmet in 1.3 seconds flat--

"I want that one, ALL BLACK," he said, pointing emphatically.

We returned home with Finny in tow,

and the boys had a blast racing with their balloons.

Will shared one of his two balloons with Finny.

Not because we asked him to; he just did it, all day long.

Will also "read" the balloon out loud to me and Dave at separate intervals.

He told me that his balloon said, "Dear Will, Happy Birthday! I hope you have a great day. We'll see you next week! Love, Your Birthday."

He told Dave that it conveyed the simple message: "Dear Will, Happy Birthday! Love, Cake."

He tried on his new puffy vest,

which had been on his wish list since he had to hand his old one down to his brother.

And he didn't take off his Curious George shirt for the rest of the day.

After nap, we headed out for a nice long walk with some friends, saw a couple of trains, and went out to dinner with Nan and Mamp.

The day was like the birthday boy himself: perfectly wonderful.