Dane Turns Three!

We celebrated Dane's birthday this week in a three-day birthday extravaganza!
First, let me say that I can't believe I have a three-year-old. He is such a big, capable boy. He talks well, he is smart at figuring things out, he doesn't listen to what I say, and he just has his own brain and will and personality. I'm sure all parents out there can relate, but I seriously feel a little panicky thinking that he'll just keep growing up bigger and bigger, and then he'll be in school, and then he'll be a teenager, and then he'll be an adult. Time just goes by too quickly.
But anyway. We kicked off the morning with a bunch of presents. I ended up taking more video than pictures, so I'll try to get those uploaded.


After presents, I took him to a toy store to pick anything he wanted (within reason), and he chose Molly, a yellow Thomas train.
Then, after I went to work that night, we had dinner at Chick-fil-A. Wednesday happened to be kids night, which meant a free kids meal with purchase of a combo, free ice cream, and free face painting!
Dane chose Batman:

I chose double chin.

Then, the next day, Dane had his three-year doctor's appointment. I am happy to report that he is a strapping young lad with no major concerns--not even the fact that he is three with no interest in being potty trained. And he's growing a bit, at 20th percentile for weight and 41st percentile for height (up from 15th percentile for both last year). Way to grow, Dane! Maybe he won't be as short as we thought he'd be.
We rushed from the doctor to Mom's Group, where we enjoyed birthday cupcakes and playing in the sand.



And finally, Friday was party day! I'd wanted a Toy Story themed party last year but couldn't find any of the necessary items. This year, thanks to Toy Story 3, there were plenty.
Here was the spread:

I threw in a little Lightning McQueen just to reflect Dane's varied interests.
I think my favorite parts of the party planning were making space punch and finding these amazing party hats:

For some reason, I was obsessed with having party hats, and I had to go to several different stores to find Toy Story hats, but when I finally did, they were totally worth it!


We also had blowouts (apparently they produce them in such a way now that they make no noise),

and a piñata!
This is how Dane reacted when I told him about the piñata:

Just so we're clear, that is a look of unbridled joy.


Dane and Kyle took a couple of turns until the plastic loop that attached it to the rope fell off.

After a quick repair, and a high leap to get the rope back from the top of the tree, we resumed the destruction.
My cousin Colton, whom I made wear a blindfold:

Kenji:


I don't know what happened with that last picture, but it looked pretty cool.
Dane and Kyle tried again...


Then our neighbors came home, so Madyson and Macee gave it a whirl...

Then Colton wanted to try again sans blindfold...

and finally, Hunter, my other cousin who refused to participate if he had to wear the blindfold, brought about the demise of our rocket. He was pretty good with a bow staff, puncturing the rocket several times before obliterating it.


Everyone was grateful for the bounty of candy that he released.

He was pretty proud of himself and struck this pose, saying, "I have defeated the beast for the glory of Rome."

I am not making this up.

Then, we enjoyed presents:

And DQ ice cream cake:

Joel tried to muffle the flash with his hands, so this picture is essentially filtered through his blood.

Seconds after these pictures were taken, I dropped the cake on the floor. Luckily, the cake was frozen solid, so the frosting and my shirt were the only casualties.
So that's it. It was a happy few days, which will likely last even longer since I totally forgot to give him one of this presents.
Happy Birthday, Dane! We love you!

Visits

August was quite a busy month for us, and we were lucky to be visited by lots of family and friends.
First up, Rika and Brady!
Brady's brother got married in Spanish Fork, so we were able to go down to the reception to hang out a bit.
Dane got a hold of my camera and took a million pictures. Here is a collage of the reception from the perspective of Dane:

Rika took him over to play on the trampoline, where he didn't quite grasp the concept of duck, duck, goose. But he had fun anyway. And Rika couldn't stop laughing.

We eventually had to take him away because there was this one kid that kept ramming into him and pushing him over. Jerk.

Rika and Dane had some nice bonding time

We were able to hang out with them one more evening, which we spent eating dinner, playing games, and not taking pictures. Sorry. It was a lot of fun.
Then, just a couple days later, Mika and Michael came to visit. They brought along Beatles Rockband, so we rocked out all night:
First, Dane played lead guitar with Mika on the bass:

Then he switched to rhythm guitar while Michael played a drum solo

At which point Dane decided he needed a go at the drums

My little rocker. I think he's glaring at me for throwing off his groove.

Finally we spend a lot of quality time with Chris and Teresa, who were visiting from Ohio.
First, we had a little picnic in Liberty Park (which is a way cooler park than I realized).

Then, the next week, we hung out at Kiwanis Park in Provo with Evan and Holly...and Chris and Teresa's friend from Peru that I've met a bunch of times but I can't remember her name right now. Elisa? Oh man, I feel so dumb. What is her name?

Anyway, then she took a picture of us Oklahoma buddies and families.

We really had a great time and felt grateful to live in a place where lots of people come to visit! Thanks for spending time with us!