3 is a Magic Number

Today my first born turned 3.  He was so excited.  All I could think about was that my little baby boy was quickly growing up.  After a month of craziness and many birthday parties, I decided to be a mean mommy and not throw Linus a big party.  Instead we volunteered to host the monthly Dimock clan bake.

I wanted Linus' day to be special. Normally, I like to do presents with cake, but since we had so many people coming over later, I wanted him to have some quality family time in the morning.

He wanted a magnifying glass for doing investigations.

In addition to the magnifying glass, we gave Linus a knight helmet, firefighter felt board, doctor costume, and a red excavator.  He has been talking about getting his own real excavator for months.

Linus wanted to snuggle on the couch and I was happy to oblige.

Birthday boy with excavator

To celebrate his birthday (and try to guarantee an early afternoon nap) we went to the bouncy houses at arena sports and got our jump on.  We then had brunch at Vios cafe.  Linus behaved better at brunch than he has at a restaurant in months.  All morning long Linus wanted me by his side (this never happens), and I soaked up every moment.  I had a blast jumping in the bounce houses.  It made me realize that I need to carve out more one on one time with him.

Hosting the monthly Dimock clan bake involves 11 children age 10 and under and 10 adults (sometimes more).  It's a production, but nothing that Aunt Costco and Uncle Whole Foods can't handle (lots of people have gluten and dairy allergies).

I love my nieces and nephews to pieces.  They are some of the most loving children I have ever met.  There was lots and lots of playing, especially with costumes.  My nine year old niece, Nola, basically took care of Linus all afternoon, playing with him and helping him with non-stop costume changes.  She's a saint.

Here's a few pictures to get a sense of the afternoon.

Eileen and Cousin Abigail both enjoy eating wrapping paper and anything else on the floor.

This piece of red string was especially popular.

Eileen's giving her "blue steel" look

It was a fun and exhausting day.  Linus was overjoyed to share his birthday with his cousins.  I don't know if he could have had any more fun. I'm excited and nervous to see what age 3 holds for us.  I would also like to say that if you have never tried the red velvet cake at Costco, it rivals some of the best I have tasted.