Extremely loud and incredibly public.

Today, in the middle of Burger King:

"Mom, you can pee on my pee, okay? You can pee on my pee!"

I can only imagine how much worse this is going to get.

Check-up girls.

Calvin had his three year well child visit yesterday, and developmentally he's right on track...for a four and a half year old. Oh boy. But of course his mental acuity and emotional maturity are seriously misaligned, which explains a lot of the behavioral issues we've faced/continue to face. I foresee a long road ahead with this one...

His three year stats:

Height: 39.25 inches (85th percentile)
Weight: 34lbs (71st percentile)
Vision: 20/40 in one eye, 20/30 in the other
Hearing: Perfect (so no excuses for not listening to his mother)

Before bed last night, Calvin put his hand on my chest and said "Hey, Mom! Those check-up girls forgot to check your heart!"

Check-up girls = our pediatrician and her nurse.

He may not make parenting easy on me, but at least he keeps me laughing.

 

Cerwewal.

Every morning upon waking, Calvin asks for "cerwewal and juice, please!" in a sing-song voice.

Given Audra's enthusiastic* response to her first cereal experience this weekend, I don't think it will be long before she joins the chorus.

*What, you mean you can't tell she's enthusiastic based on her facial expressions? Sweet stoic baby.

And a few days earlier...

...we celebrated Calvin's actual birthday with Chicken McNuggets, party hats, Funfetti cake, and presents. Honestly, not sure who was more excited about the trip to McDonald's: Calvin or me.

(Okay, fine. Me.)

As you can see, I saved all my birthday decorating energy for his party. This was slapped together after work.  Go, mom.

Sneaky Bub. At least he didn't lose his mind over the cake like he did last year. Or puke it up, like he did the year before. It seems things really do get better with time. At least cake-related things.

Paul Thurlby's Alphabet, the coolest alphabet book I've seen in a while. Not pictured but also gifted: Stuck, the funniest regular book I've seen in a while.

After months of finding Calvin in a skirt or princess dress at the end of the school day, we decided it might be time for some dress up clothes of his own. While I have no problem with him wearing princess dresses, I see plenty of those in my future and therefore decided to go the more traditional route of fireman, construction worker, and train conductor.

Protective eyewear is a must when feeding Matilda.

Calvin lit up when he saw his big gift — an outdoor play house. Nate and I were promptly invited inside, and promptly found ourselves in some back pain.

Party hats for all! Audra was into it. Obviously.

Still mastering the art of the self (group) portrait. Eh, maybe next year.

Up, up and away: Calvin's UP themed birthday party.

I had such a ball doing Calvin's birthday party this year! You may recall I gave him a choice between Disney's Up or Toy Story 3. He chose Up and I rejoiced. I had a much clearer vision for an Up-themed party, and I am so happy with how it turned out!

Of course there isn't anything out there in the way of Up birthday paraphernalia, so I decided to focus on balloons and add in some travel where I was able. The result was a very cheerful house and a very happy three year old!
 
A fancy balloon garland greeted our guests.

I liked the view from inside better, actually. 

The tissue paper garland, my favorite thing! Kinda want to leave it up year-round...

The bright, yummy food table.

Our birthday boy, snacking his way through a bowl of caramel corn. His birthday shirt lasted all of two seconds — it ended up sopping wet and discarded.

The buffet hosted the remaining cupcakes, treat bags, and the marshmallow pops. I put gumballs, bubbles, and fruit snacks in the bags, and every kid got a paper passport inscribed with "Thanks for celebrating with me, now go have an adventure!" Laminated Up-themed travel posters are tucked into the mirror, and the banner says "Adventure Awaits." I used little red paper suitcases to house the favors, marshmallow pops, and napkins.
Yummy kid-friendly finger foods: pigs in a blanket, watermelon, veggies and dip in individual cups, caramel corn in striped boxes, and tortilla rollups. And also a close-up of the table, which was covered in felt cloud cutouts and large tissue paper confetti.

The super adorable and very easy marshmallow pops. (Balloons in the sky, get it?)
If you've ever wondered whether Pioneer Woman's "That's the best frosting I've ever had" is also the best frosting you've ever had, the answer is yes.
So that's the party...up next, the people! The kids had such a blast — so thankful the storms stayed at bay until the party was over and cleaned up. It was mid-80s and sunny almost the entire day, so we set up the water table and the kids went to town. Poor Matilda spent the entire day soaking wet, but she loved it as much as they did!

 

 

 

Happy birthday to our big three year old!