Atticus' 3rd Birthday

We sure had fun celebrating Atticus' birthday. We actually celebrated it a few days early so that Grandma and Grandpa would be here for the celebrations, but for all intensive purposes, it was really his birthday. So, on the eve of his birthday Atticus got to open one present (kind of like Christmas Eve and opening pajamas :). It was, of course, his brand new birthday outfit to wear the following day! I don't think I have ever seen a kid so excited about getting new clothes and socks - seriously, he was pretty happy about it.

After the birthday boy was in bed we got to work decorating so that it looked like this on Birthday morning...

And as soon as Atticus was up, Mommy was in his room with her camera taking pictures of our little 3-year-old.

Happy Birthday, Atticus!

Thankfully, Atticus was pretty happy about it and once he had his new birthday outfit on he was happy to oblige me for some photos. I snapped a few, but the poor lighting in his room in the morning hours made for some blurry photos. In any case, I am posting them because I love how he kept posing for me. He insisted on choosing his own poses and here is what he came up with.

Love the bedhead!

Leaned up against the wall

Still a little sleepy...

This pose cracks me up. He was so insistant on doing it.

After a few poses Mommy had to break the news that the rest of the photos would need to wait until later, he was a little sad about that until I told him it was time to go open presents; that sure put a smile on his face. 

Everyone else was already waiting in the living room, including Milayla who was pretty anxious to give Atticus the birthday present that she helped pick out.

Milayla, the lucky girl, got to sit with Grandpa and watch Atticus open up his gift from her.

And when Atticus saw what it was (a transport truck to transport an esa space rocket)...

there was no hesitation in running over to Milayla to give her big hugs and kisses to say 'thank you'. 

As a direct result of Milayla's birthday gift we have been watching a lot of rocket launches around here. They are requested daily.

Atticus was pretty ecstatic about all the rest of the spoiling that he got from Mommy, Daddy, Grandmas and Grandpas and even GREAT Grandmas and Grandpas too. It was a lot of fun to see his unbridled emotions to each of the gifts. Here are just a few. 

And just when he thought it was all done (and had even put his new apron from Grandma and Grandpa on to eat breakfast) Daddy rolled out one more present. Any guesses....?

Here's a hint: It goes really well with this fancy schmancy blue helmet. 

"Oh, I think it's a little big."

"That's better..."

"What's that, Daddy? This is only one part of the gift?"

"I'm so excited I can't look!"

If you guessed a bicycle, you would be partially correct because it is actually a Laufrad. And unfortunately, we were all having too much fun watching Atticus process the idea that he had his very own bicycle that I forgot to take pictures of his reaction to first seeing the bike. So, to sort of fill the void, here is a photo of Atticus test riding some Laufrads at the store.

We were a little unsure how quickly Atticus would or wouldn't take to the idea of a Laufrad so we had really been gushing about how great they are for the previous month in an effort to get him excited about the idea. Any time we saw a little kid riding one, we made sure to point it out to Atticus and mention how neat it is that they have their own little bike just for them. We even had him take a spin around the store on one all the while saying "How cool, Atticus! It's just your size!". Then, when the moment finally came, he just couldn't seem to process that it was actually his bike now; not the kid down the street and not the one at the store - his. Taking it out for a spin would have to wait though, as it was time for Birthday Breakfast!

Atticus got right down to business and was eager to chow down on breakfast. He had been highly anticipating it since he had put his menu request in over a week beforehand: Peanut Butter Pancakes, Juice, Strawberries, Grapes, Bananas, Agave and Yogurt. 

He sported his birthday hat for a picture before the hat came off to get to eating.

When his hat started making it's way around the table, Atticus spared no funny looks as we each tried on the hat. Pretty sure he thought we had all gone mad (and maybe we had :).

I nearly escaped trying on the hat and being in a picture, but in the end, Atticus' handsome smile won me over. 

After we were all sufficiently stuffed, it was time to pack up and head to the park to try out the Laufrad!

Atticus was all smiles as Daddy and Mommy helped him get a feel for the bike and the steering.

Yes, it seems a little random to throw in a picture of a duck, but it reminded me of the days when we lived in Holland and the ducks used to follow us home from the playground because Atticus and the ducks were buddies.

Atticus was very proud of his new bike. As we rolled up to the mini-golf he took extra care to walk it up the stairs, park it and put up the kickstand. Then it was time for a round of Mini-golf (an Atticus favorite!).

(as a quick update on the bike, Atticus is making big progress and loves taking it out to learn more! A better update at a later date.)

Atticus is pretty serious about mini-golfing and for a good majority of the game we thought he might even win! With minimal assistance (as he preferred to do most everything on his own) he even had two hole-in-ones fill out his scorecard. 

Atticus sure loved having everyone there; Grandma and Milayla to cheer on, Daddy and Mommy to help line up holes...

and Grandpa to help retrieve the ball from those more difficult to reach places. 

When the game finally came to a close, it was time to head home for lunch and cake. Of course, the birthday boy got to pick the menu for that too. He requested hummus for lunch and when I asked him what he wanted to eat it with he said "Hm, maybe a fork.", but since the idea of eating hummus on a fork probably wouldn't have been as appealing to the other people present, we paired it with fresh bread and veggies. 

As for the cake, Atticus was very resolved in the fact that he wanted a Watermelon Cake with Quark (you can see our first attempt here). So as a Momma who tries her darndest to get her kids excited about healthy eating, I was very happy to oblige his request. And we were pretty fortunate to have Grandpa here to pick out the watermelon since we have not had the best luck with picking good ones! And Atticus' eyes sure lit up when he saw the cake he had dreamed of placed in front of him!

But when we lit the sparklers and began singing 'Happy Birthday' Atticus wasn't too sure anymore.

Perhaps sparklers weren't the best idea...

After we scraped off the ashes from the sparklers we added a bit more Quark, sliced the cake and enjoyed before it was time for a much-needed nap.

Post-nap we packed up to head out again. This time to go downtown, take a walk along the riverside and eat on the Pancake Ship.

Yay for family pictures!

Grandma and Grandpa on Die Schlachte

We attempted to snap a couple photos with the Birthday Boy before we headed into the ship, but he was pretty determined to check out the big boat. 

And can't say we blame him, the boat was pretty cool.

We were all pretty excited to try our respective Dutch Pancakes and while we waited for our order to come, Atticus passed the time by watching all the different types of boats that passed by.

These pictures of Atticus holding his fork crack me up. He loved watching out the window at the boats, but he was not about to take the chance of being unprepared to eat when dinner arrived.

Dinner arrived and the best things about it were that the Birthday Boy loved it and it came with an eyepatch which seemed to add a fair bit of amusement to the table.

(a small piece of advice: do not eat on the boat. Dutch pancakes they were not.)

After being somewhat unimpressed with dinner, we decided not to take our chances with dessert and headed to a favorite nearby Gelateria for some cones - a very much enjoyed treat by everyone!

When we finally made it home we were all tired but thoroughly pleased with how the day went. The Birthday Boy was particularly pleased and happy with the day - so much so that he asked if it could be his birthday again "tomorrow". We certainly did have fun celebrating the birthday of this very special boy, though the birthday will still only come once a year (can't have him growing up faster than he already is ;).

It was a fun day and we were so happy with how much Atticus enjoyed his special day. We are very blessed to have him in our family. 

Happy Birthday, Atticus!!!