I AM 3!!!

Guess what!? I am three! And last weekend, I had my birthday party! Well, actually- it was more like a birthday long weekend. I celebrated a bunch! Here are some highlights from my party:

We had my party at Gemstone Park- it's this great park that I go to a lot with Grandma. It's super close to her house. There are swings, a big playground, a huge grass aread and all kinds of fun things. Here's a picture of my grandma and some of my good friends. I like the ladies.... :)

Here's me and my Dad. See the cake he made! It was AWESOME!

Isn't it cool?

Tasted super yummy too!

Here's me with my mom. I wasn't really in a picture mood that day, but I was with all my friends, playing, eating a ton of candy and cake and having fun. Why would I want to stop and take pictures!

See what I mean?

Papa Tom came to visit me for my special day. I had SUCH a great time with him!

My mom got this cool treasure chest that I got to hit with a bat. All the kids got a turn...

We had to be patient and safe while the kids had their turns...

And then... CANDY!!!!

And presents!!!

And finally everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to me and we got to eat the cake!

My mom got me a bike :) It's a Mickey Mouse bike :)

And this is my friend Riley. He plays La Crosse and so he got me my own set! I'm soooo excited about this! Riley is such an amazing friend!

After the party, I played with my Dad on the swings. What a great day!

Here's a video of when we did the pinata- so fun!

Riding On His Scooter With The Big Kids!

BIG Weekend Ahead!

We've got a fun few days ahead of us! It's time to celebrate AJ's THIRD birthday! Seriously- how did he get to be 3 already?! Time really does go too fast.....

I'm starting to realize that because his birthday is on a Monday, we'll probably be celebrating for 3 days. Tomorrow is his birthday party and I think it's going to be a ton of fun. We're having a pirate theme party since he's TOTALLY into pirates. He calls it a "Jake" party because his favorite cartoon is Disney's, Jake and the Never land Pirates. Because this show is so new, they don't make party decorations for it, so we're doing a pirate theme. I'm trying to make it as young as possible- there will be skeletons, but mainly we're trying to go with treasure maps and treasure chests.

Tonight we did the last minute preparations for the party- AJ and Papa put all the candy in the pinata and they had a great time doing it! Here's a little video of that:



Then Grandma got home and started helping them:




Then, on Sunday, we're doing his 3 year pictures with our favorite photographer Nikkie. She's done all of AJ's pictures since he was 10 months and she's fantastic! She's going to try to do an urban theme- alley ways, barns, and buildings as a background. I'm sure they'll be great!

On Monday, AJ's actual birthday, Jason and I are going to take him to breakfast (because Jason travels that night) and then I'll take the day off and go with him to My Gym, lunch and then swimming lessons later than afternoon. Maybe we'll do dinner too- just have to see if we can fit it all in.

I'm so proud of our boy! And I'm really looking forward to celebrating him all weekend!

Jobs..

I've decided its time to start giving AJ jobs. He needs to have some responsibility and some accountability. So, I think we're doing to do a penny jar. I originally thought about doing a sticker chart when when he does his "jobs" he gets a sticker, but he's also very into money- although he doesn't quite get the concept, he does know that we use money to buy things.

This morning we started the penny jar. When he does something that is considered his job he gets a penny in the jar. Then, when he gets enough pennies to get to a line on the jar (I haven't quite figured that part out yet) he'll get to go to the store and get a "special prize". Again, it's a work in progress, but today it worked pretty well.

Here's a few jobs that I'd like him to do:

1. Put his dirty clothes in the hamper
2. Get himself dressed in the morning
3. Clean up his toys

We'll see how it goes! I'll keep ya posted

Funny Kid

More things he has said:

* Yesterday, AJ was standing on the couch jumping around- something he's not allowed to do- and I said, "Honey, please don't jump on the couch. You're going to get hurt, trust me! Do you trust me?" He replied, "I do. Sometimes I do. Sometimes I don't" hahah

* He's entered the ignoring stage. He ignores me ALL the time and it makes me crazy. "AJ, are you hungry? Honey.... do you want something to eat? AJ? AAAAAAJJJJJJ? HONEY! Do you want to eat? Yes? No? And he responds, "yes, no, maybe so?" hahha!

* Many times when I tell AJ something- for example, "It's really windy outside today", he will respond with, "I did not know that!"

* After reading books, he'll close the book and say, "That was a great story!"

* His new thing is this telling me that everything is a "great idea!" AJ, do you want to go to swim lessons today? Yes! That's a great idea!

Happy Birthday Pop! (Long Distance)

Happy 68th Birthday POP! Just so you know, my mommy and I love you SOOOO much! And we miss you too! We can't wait to see you for Thanksgiving! Lots of tisses and hugs coming to you tonight. All the way from Colorado! Did you know you that every time I see a plane in the sky, I think it's going to California to see you? Anyway.... Sorry I didn't feel like chatting on the phone tonight. My mom said I was a "pistol" all night- whatever that means. I guess she didn't like it when I punched her in the stomach. She put me in time out a lot and I didn't get to read stories... made me sad, but that's a "consequence". (again, what does that mean??) Oh well- I'm almost 3. What do you expect anyway?

Love you Pop!!

Weekend Fun

On Saturday, AJ and I went to Belleview Park in Littleton. We had a great time! Rode the train, pet some farm animals and had a picnic. Then he played in the water for a bit. This is such a fun and beautiful park!

See my dirt??

Train Ride!

Then, on Sunday, we went swimming :)