Finally, finally, finally 3!

There was never a kid that deserved to be 3 years old more than this kid.

After enduring a good portion of his 2nd year being thought that he was already 3 because of his height/weight, it will be so nice to finally be able to say he is 3 (his birthday is Monday, June 13th). No more "Whoa, he is a huge 2 year old." thank you very much.

Along with turning 3, comes with a better understanding of what birthdays are and what birthday parties are all about.

Hence the birthday party we threw for Preston. It was his first official birthday party where he had friends over and everything.

We can tell you now that we did learn some things from this party experience...

1. Birthday parties are a TON of work and we won't be doing another for a couple of years.

2. Next time we throw a kid a birthday party, we won't tell them about it until like 3 days beforehand so that we can save ourselves weeks and weeks of trying to explain that the party is still not for a long time away yet.

We kept asking Preston if he wanted a Thomas the Train birthday party, or a Lightning McQueen party. One day it would be Thomas, the next day it would be McQueen. We could never get a biased answer from him. And as you can see from the picture above (which Preston asked me to take), he favors both quite equally. Thus a party theme of both Thomas and McQueen was born.

I made him a Thomas the Train birthday cake. I can't say it is the coolest or fanciest cake, but hey it's a Thomas cake and that is all that was really important. The little Thomas guy on top I stole from a Pez Dispenser because it only cost me $1.50 instead of the $6.00 a regular Thomas the Train toy would have cost. Smart eh? :)

The funniest thing, was at the end of the party we found Thomas had crashed into the side of the mountain on the cake. We laughed because Preston must have arranged him that way - trying to get him to go through the tunnel. Haha.

We invited 6 little friends over for Preston's party (4 boys, 2 girls). Camden, Emery, Toby, August, Gwenevere, and Karina.

Grandma and Grandpa came too.

Fun outdoor games were played, like "Throw the squishy monster ball into the box designed to look like a train", and "Look all over the grass for candy" game.

Preston is starting to look a lot like his Papa, freckles and all...

Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle James...

Emery...

Emery trying to claim rights to the yellow car after Camden is done with his turn...

Preston had fun opening lots of presents and was very good and told everyone "thank you" afterwards and also did a pretty good job at sharing his new toys too. His favorite toys I have to say were the Buzz Lightyear and Woody that Grandma gave him. Too bad he lost Buzz at the beach not even 2 hours after getting him.

He seemed pretty excited about this one, whatever it was...

And then watching him blow (try to) out the candles on the cake with his friends Toby and August waiting nearby to pounce on the candles was a fun things to watch.

Even the little guys were entertained...

My friend Erika is trying to start a cupcake business and offered to make cupcakes for the party. They were absolutely divine. Too bad I'm dieting or I would of had way more bites of cupcakes than I did. As you can see, they were all over the faces of the kids. :)

The babies just ate toys...

After a little party cleanup, the Nisbets and Rhoemhildts and us headed to the beach. The sun had just peeked through the clouds and it was perrrrrrfect!

This picture is beyond funny to me. Ha....

Taylor scooted himself all the way from the blanket, across the rocks, down to the seaweed and had a blast digging his little toes into the sand. He just sat there and yelled at the ocean. Will said he chewed on a piece of seaweed for a while too. Yuck.

After such a busy day partying it up, I think Preston enjoyed a few minutes of alone time with his new Cars backpack before being pounced by Camden.

Dads and kids are so cute. That's why we love 'em.

I especially think mine is deliciously cute when toting our little ones around.

My best friend Erika...

The grabbing never stops with this one...

These two look like they're in a sugar/partied out comatose.

We are so happy that Preston is a part of our family. He is such a gentle, kind spirit. He really wants to be a good boy and is very kind to everyone he meets. He is the happiest kid you will ever meet and always has a lot to say. He can say his entire ABC's, and count up into the 20's or more. He loves cars, trains, and pretty much anything with wheels. But he also loves Dora the Explorer (he thought Dora was a boy for the longest time). He really enjoys being outdoors and loves to help his dad do anything and everything from mowing the lawn, working in the garden, to taking out the garbages. He loves to play the piano with me and help me bake and cook things. He is always ready and willing to gives the best hugs and kisses. He also takes really good care of his little brother.

Preston we love you very much! Happy 3rd birthday!