Paul turned 3 today (insert the cliche comment about how fast time flies)! Since his birthday fell on a Monday and he's at school, we decided to start the celebration on Sunday. I mean during COVID times, we need an extra dose of joy so figured a 2-day celebration was a good idea.
On Sunday morning, after Will's first nap of the day, Paul and I made his cookie cake together. Paul is very particular about desserts and does not like cake (or ice cream!) but he loves cookies so we made a giant cookie. He is a very good helper in the kitchen and it's a great way to incorporate some math as I talked about how 2 1/2 teaspoons make 1 teaspoon, etc!
He got his dino costume out while the cooking cake was baking. We have definitely gotten our money's worth for that costume!
That morning we FaceTimed with Phil's mom so she could see him open presents from her. She got her 2nd dose of the vaccination last Monday so wasn't quite fully protected enough to join the celebration. But we will see her next weekend and can't wait!
The book was a hit, of course, but he loved these "number bot" that she got from Lakeshore Learning (local store that many teachers frequent) - the numbers all turn into robots. The set also came with plus, minus, divide and multiply signs so it's a toy we'll use for years as he learns math.
After his nap, we FaceTimed with my parents. They are in AZ visiting my sister/meeting their newest grandchild so Paul also got to see his aunt, uncle and new cousin! He loved the gifts from my parents, which included this awesome dinosaur blanket. We'll probably use this on his bed when he converts from a crib to a big boy bed.
After dinner, we had his birthday cookie cake, which I had decorated with homemade buttercream frosting earlier in the day. I am glad I did not use much frosting as it turns out he doesn't like frosting either. I am not at all surprised as he is so picky!
The cookie decorations are NOT GREAT. I am not good at things like this. Give me a spreadsheet or math problem over something that requires creativity! Ha! But it's the thought that counts and it tasted delicious. Paul only had about 2 bites, though. I don't know if he ate too much at dinner or was too thrown off by the shape of the dessert? Toddlers, man! But hopefully he'll eat more tonight!
Other highlights of the day included playing all the board games we own - a matching game, Hi Ho Cherry-0, My First Orchard (our favorite!) and The Hungry Caterpillar game. I am glad he's at the game playing stage as I also love playing games!
We ended the night with me doing bedtime. I had us read "On the Night You Were Born" as one of his 4 bedtime books. After he was in bed, Phil and I reminisced a bit about the night he was born. You can read all about his birth story here. It's more fun to reminisce about than it was to experience it. Ha!
Next week I'll do a "Paul at 3" post!
What is your birthday treat of choice? I'm also not a huge fan of cake, especially GF cake. I'd make this cookie cake again, though. My other favorite treat is French macarons!
13 comments:
He is such a cute little boy! Oh, that smile. It looks like a wonderful time. I love the giant cookie idea. And that he helped. Those numbers look really fun. I'll have to remember those for my guys!
Happy 3rd Birthday!!!! So precious!!! Will you text me the link for lakeshore? I have a few nephews I think would love those too!!! It sounds like a perfect birthday celebration!!! My cake for C tasted good but it wasn’t pretty! I’m not good at decorating! I tried to turn the cake that didn’t come out and leftover icing into cake balls and that was a fail! I think had there not been pineapple it would have worked! I hope that he enjoyed his birthday at school too!!! I love his love for dinosaurs!!!
Awwww, happy birthday Pablo!!! So cute. I am also NOT good at artsy/ creative/ cutesy desserts and things like that. Haha. Fortunately, my kids are generally cool with boxed brownies, cupcakes or even better- they have lately adopted my love for key lime pie. There is a particular brand I really like (Edward's) which is just a store bought, frozen pie...but it's SO GOOD! We always get one for my birthday, but the last couple years the boys have been requesting it for theirs too. Even better. $5.99 and done. LOL! Looks like a great day celebrating an adorable little dinosaur! :) I'm sure that at his age, playing with Mom and Dad, games, reading and treats is all he wanted, anyway. I used to order stuff from lakeshore Learning for my boys- we got some cool math games and things like that one Christmas, too.
Happy birthday Pablo!! that's getting into the really fun years. Lean into the independent nature of that age.
Happy birthday, Pablito! Seems like he had a wonderful birthday and I fully approve of a two-day birthday celebration.
I'm not much of a fan of cookie cake but mmm, give me a good piece of chocolate cake and I am one happy camper. Or a warm brownie!
Also, I loved that you were teaching him math while baking the cookie cake! Get 'em started young. :)
That cookie looks yummy! It's so funny that he doesn't like cake or frosting. I am actually in the same boat; I am not a big fan of sweets, especially really sweet sweets and buttercream frosting is just pure sugar! If I have to have something it would be carrot cake with a not too sweet cream cheese frosting, or maybe just a slice of zucchini bread, no frosting needed!
I can't believe he is already three. Wasn't I just there and we were hiking with a baby? What happened to that? Happy birthday to him and to you and hopefully Phil's birthday will be SIP free!
Happy birthday, Paul! 2-day celebrations should be mandatory ;)
There were years that I insisted on French silk pie for my birthday, then I went to red velvet made by my mom (never grocery) and now I prefer brownies, so that they freeze easier, and I can make the dessert last longer. Hooray for a new cousin and for parents that are getting vaccinated!
aww happy birthday buddy! i dont really care for cake either. i do love ice cream. some of my bday treats have been pumpkin pie, peanut butter pie, giant cookies... brownies...
What a sweet celebration. Happy birthday, Paul! Hope you are all vaccinated soon so you can spend some time with your family!
What a lovely family celebration. I'm with Pablo... I am not a huge fan of super-sweet things (icing, especially!). My go-to birthday dessert is a not-too-sweet peach kuchen that has the best sort of salty shortbread-type crust. Mmm. :)
I hope you are vaccinated soon! You should be moving up the priority list pretty quickly, thanks to your RA, right???
It looks like he had a great 3rd Birthday, and sure hope we can spend the day with him on his 4th, or a weekend before or after. It’s amazing how much they have learned in their short life already, and how fast he learns! Fun and exciting days ahead!
Awwwwe, what a cutie! Happy very belated 3rd birthday Paul ♡
I don't have a favourite birthday treat. I am not a big fan of cake, but I do like the chocolate cake I make that has shredded beets in the batter. You can't detect them, but it makes the cake so good. I haven't made any desserts for a long time (since pandemic started really ... just not feeling it ... busy reading and drumming).
Post a Comment