The big day finally arrived - Erik had his birthday on Wednesday this week! I'd like to think that Erik had a wonderful birthday celebration. We did spread the fun over several days, starting on Tuesday (the day before his birthday). Kent was able to take the morning off work and we all went to the Science Center as a special treat. Both kids loved the Curious George exhibit and we spent a
very long time on the space ship slide in that exhibit. We also checked out the dinosaur hall where you can dig for dinosaur bones, the kids' play zone where they have airplanes, trains & cars, the reptile room (yuck) and the weather/earth science exhibit where we made clouds and rode an earthquake building.
On Wednesday, Erik went to his summer camp program and he took in cupcakes & juice that he could share with his friends and teachers. His teachers gave him a birthday crown and took several pictures that they sent to me (I posted one of their collages below). We had a special supper that night in honor of Erik's birthday. I hung a few decorations that are technically for the big party on Sunday and we had a small cake from Publix. No real big surprise for Erik, but when he opened his birthday presents, he
did get a train table! We opted to buy a new table that came with trains, bridges, tracks, tunnels, etc rather than buying just a used table. Kent had put the table together, but waited to put together the buildings and track with Erik. Elin also tried to help (ha, ha, I mean hinder)!! Kent had put the table together in the guest bedroom to try to keep it hidden from Erik. After supper, we sent Erik to do a little scavenger hunt and once he saw the table, he was completely focused on that! We had saved the cake to eat after gifts and it took some convincing to get him to stop playing and eat his cake!
Of course, we didn't end our celebrations there. On Friday night, we also had a small get-together with friends to eat supper and exchange gifts for all the kids who had birthdays in June, July & August. On Sabbath, Erik got to sit in the Birthday Chair during Sabbath School while the class sang to him and he got to blow out his candles (with some assistance from me and a fellow classmate). On Saturday night, Heather Cochran came over to decorate the house and prep the food for Erik & Kieran's big Train party that we held on Sunday. Why is it that party plans always take longer than you expect - even when you try to keep things simple?!
The big birthday party was a pool party to help combat the heat of Central Florida in July (my least favorite month to live in Florida). Erik has been doing really well with his swimming lessons this summer and he loves playing in the pool, so he had a blast during the party. We had a great turn-out of friends and I thought that the party went really well. Erik did great sharing his train table with all his little friends that came over, which was a great relief to Kent & I since we weren't sure how that was going to work out!
It's hard to believe that Erik is 3 years old now! His language skills and motor abilities are just exploding and are amazing to Kent & I. I thought I would share some of Erik's latest phrases - he comes up with some funny stuff!
Just a minute, guys! - actually, he uses the word "guy" a lot these days. "hey guys, wait for me" is another prime example!
Juice makes us better - this one should make the Johnson's very proud!
I go to doctor tomorrow. I'm sick. - he pulls this one at random times but most often on the nights before he goes to school!
I'm going on a trip in 2 weeks - he knows that we have a vacation coming up and is fascinated with the whole process. I cannot refer to any errands or short rides around town as "trips" - that word is solely reserved for airplane rides only! He also keeps saying 2 weeks; the time period never changes!
I'm so happy; I'm so excited!
Does that make you happy? - he will pull this one out when he has either done something really good or knows that he is the verge of getting in trouble
Daddy is my Kent; Mama is my Kelli; Baby Sister is my Elin. - he is learning about relationships and real names!!
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