I love keeping things simple and when your child is three, they just don't care what their birthday looks like. We will have many family parties and simple birthdays to come, but at three, it's an easy sell (well, not really a sell, just a reality). I think what matters most is showing the birthday person that you care about them and we are great at pulling that off whether it means a simple day with family or a big to-do.
To start Penn's day, Koen, Tavin and I (well, Jansen was there too) burst into Penn's room singing a boisterous "Happy Birthday." At breakfast, Penn got to open his birthday card from Aunt Abbie. Handmade and super cute!
Koen and Tav headed off to Kidz Gig for the morning and Jansen had a long nap, so that meant Mommy and Penn Rye time. Unfortunately, Penn was feeling a little lousy due to a cold, so he wasn't up for much. So, I totally let him have the treat of watching a Curious George. That gave him the downtime he needed to have the energy to see Miss Christal. She was happy to celebrate his birthday with him and they made a birthday cake craft with Penn's favorite craft material...glitter. She also gave him a lollipop as a treat. He was a happy kid and we were both glad we still came to speech therapy despite the fact Penn wasn't quite 100%.
After speech, we headed to the Kidz Gig picnic. Then we all headed home for a quiet afternoon. Penn was exhausted and napped hard. When he woke up, Koen and I took him on a walk for an errand. When he got home he scootered a bit with Daddy. Our neighbor (and adopted great-grandmother), Ruth, was out on her porch, so Doug, Penn and Jansen visited with her for a bit. In the process, Penn decided he'd try on the BabyBjorn and stick his Teddy in it. Pretty funny!!
When they came in from outside, we had present time while dinner cooked. A three year old opening presents is just pure delight...absolute joy. Penn was so enthusiastic, so easily pleased and savored every tear of wrapping paper almost as much as each gift reveal. We keep birthday presents pretty simple, but Penn could've cared less. He LOVED everything. Here he is taking forever to open his book, "Nancy Knows," from Uncle Nate and Aunt Megan.
We gave him some Tinker Toys (you can see how happy he is about opening presents alone here!).
Doug gave him a ball with fire trucks on it. Happy boy!!
Then he opened his cards from Koen and Tavin. Koen gave him a cool shark sticker in his card.
Tavin read his card to him. Look how attentive and happy Penn is about this attention from his brother!
Additional Tinker Toys (the starter pack was just not enough to make fun stuff).
We had fun making a few things with the Tinker Toys and then fed the boys dinner. After their dinner they played a bit more and then we had brownies (Penn isn't much of a sweet tooth yet, but I was pretty sure he would be into these).
Happy Birthday, Penn Rye!! Oh my goodness, the cheese smile!!
Blowing out the candles. He was sooooo serious about this.
Penn did enjoy the brownies (well, he ate half of one, but Tavin so graciously offered to finish the rest =)). All in all, it was a good day. Too bad that Penn was a little off due to his cold, but he did well and I'm glad for him that we kept it super simple and just loved on him as a family. Penn Rye, you are such a blessing to us. I'm so thankful for you each and every day. No matter what my mood, all I have to do is look into your big, chocolate brown eyes to be reminded of the privilege it is to be your mom, to watch you grow and experience your sweet personality. This year has been filled with so much change. You've grown taller, you've gone from saying less than 5 words to speaking sentences with more than 5 words and sometimes paragraphs with more than 5 sentences, you've learned to ride a scooter, you've become a big brother and that's just naming a few of your big accomplishments this year. In the year ahead, we pray you will only further grow healthy and strong, but also that you would grow in wisdom and favor with God and man. As with all of you boys, being your parents is a gift (and a big responsibility) from the Lord and we pray for you daily that you would love and serve Him throughout your life. Happy Birthday, Penn!!
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