three.

don't ask me where the last three years have gone...I have no idea. somehow my precious newborn baby has transformed into a little boy. I can't even say he's a toddler anymore; he's officially a preschooler. seriously. I am not ready for this.

every time I mention that miles is growing up too fast, kyle feels the need to step in and say that he's going to be heading off on the school bus with his lunch box soon. to which I glare at him and respond with a firm, "he is not. knock it off." but I know that these years are flying by and I'm grateful for every moment I get to be his mommy. I cherish every time I can cradle him in my arms and rock him. I take an extra moment to smell his blonde hair and kiss his soft cheeks. I know that these opportunities are fleeting and I want to capture them in my heart and never, ever forget what he was like when he was little.

miles is just the right combination of kind-hearted patience and snippy-spunky attitude. he is a sponge when it comes to learning new things and we are always impressed with his love of books and amazing memory. he adores his baby brother and it's not unusual to see him stoop down to hug him...it's also not unusual to see him shove the little bug on the ground. he is three, after all.

he has inherited shy-ness from his daddy and mommy - poor kid didn't stand a chance! and while I expected him to be a little nervous ....or gasp! even plug his ears when we sang to him on the morning of his birthday, I wasn't prepared for this:

the little man was terrified! he slumped to the ground and screamed when our little family of four started in with our, albeit slightly off-key, rendition of Happy Birthday. either we sang it that bad or he was that embarrassed. I'm going to hope it was the latter. poor miles.

we stopped right away and managed to get him to come off the floor and enjoy the traditional birthday breakfast. usually it's waffles, but our four year old waffle maker has apparently taken quite a beating and stopped working on may 22nd at exactly birthday breakfast time. lovely. pancakes it was!

we wanted to be sure that his birthday party celebrated the magic and wonder of his third year. this year he has continued to love super why. he carries around his little stuffed whyatt wherever he goes and, although the collection of stuffed animal friends is increasing exponentially, super why remains his favorite. we thought it only fitting to throw a Hip Hip Hooray! birthday party!

the weather did not look promising, but we set up in the garage in hopes that we could avoid cramming 30+ people into our little house. it would be doable, but not very comfortable.

this was by far the easiest party I've done so far. not much to say considering it's only my fourth, but it was pretty simple. to see the inspiration for miles' outfit, click here. I went easy on the food and light on the decorations. miles had requested "something fruity" for his birthday party dessert.  so after picking an un-godly amount of rhubarb a few days earlier, we settled on a yummy (super simple) rhubarb crisp.  but what kids party is complete without an actual cake? I baked an orange cake (fruity, remember?) and made a giant blue book. given the fact that we have a variety of super why! toys already, I decided to employ them in the decor of the cake. that + my already owned blue/green platter = VOILA!

as usual, my trusty team assembled to help me with the final touches on sunday morning. we wouldn't have been ready without them!  I kept the menu simple and played off of the characters miles loves so much.

the kids, young and old, enjoyed playing outside and taking in the warm spring weather.

although most of the kiddos were too little for very many games, we did play a simple game that involved the little ones looking for "super letters" and then assembling back at the "clubhouse" to figure out the "super story answer" on the "super duper computer" - super!

callan supervised.

I was so excited to pass these adorable little favor boxes out to the wee guests...too bad I totally forgot.

miles chose presents before cake (good work, three year old) and once again he was spoiled by everyone. his big cousins, nick and ellie, (actually, they are my cousins - so does that make them his 2nd cousins or his 1st cousins once removed? who knows? who cares?) stepped in to help deliver gifts and oversee the present opening session. nice job.

henry "picked out" some toy story gifts and a little einsteins singing birthday card. miles was thrilled. I think this introduction to all things disney is a sure sign that your child is growing up. I swore I wouldn't buy character themed clothing, but it makes this little guy ecstatic so I caved.

given the debacle at breakfast I decided to ask him if he would like everyone to sing to him. he was quick to say NO and said it made him feel sad. we opted instead to just say "happy birthday miles!" crisis averted.

at precisely 2pm the sky darkened, clouds thickened, wind picked up, and rain drops were imminent. according to the weather guy we were about to be pummeled by hail. you have never in your life seen an outdoor party get picked up so fast. the tables were cleared, garbage thrown away, children whisked indoors, borrowed furniture stowed into SUVs, and guests gone all in a matter of 15 minutes. the few of us left were ready to hunker down. but alas the weather guy was wrong. crazy huh? there was a short period of showers and then it was over. so much for a new roof from american family insurance. darn. at the end of the party, we felt fortunate that our baby boy could celebrate his big day surrounded by an amazing extended family. he is so loved and a lucky little boy...almost as lucky as his mommy and daddy.

thirty-one candles

it's funny how much smaller our birthday celebrations get as the number of candles on our cake grows. you would think it would be the other way around? more candles = more cake and therefore a larger crowd to eat aforementioned cake. but alas, it isn't so. when you turn nine you want exactly nine candles on your cake - no more, no less. when you turn 31 you don't even want candles...or cake for that matter.

deep inside of all of us lies that inner child who is so excited to unwrap the package that you nearly forget to even glance at the card before ripping open the paper. you just quickly see who it's from and then toss it to a nearby adult to actually read it.

this present required a little less glamorous wrapping. the other 1/2 was decked out. I promise!

birthdays are special. it doesn't matter what age you are (or wish you were). each year that goes by signifies more - more lessons learned, more precious time spent with loved ones, more memories.

so happy birthday to a devoted dad, amazing husband, and the best friend a girl could ever dream of. I love you.

speaking of birthdays...we've got some pretty exciting things in store at our house. here's a sneak peak:

my bunnies

I figured that as long as easter was "late" in april...I can be "late" with my latest post...right? I'd hate to break my streak now!

 it was a relaxing weekend filled with candy, plastic eggs, food, family, worship, and little munchkins galore. this year we have had three new littles join our extended family and my baby brother and his wife will be adding to the class of 2011 crew in october. crazy. we spent saturday morning surrounded by nana, papa, aunties, uncles, and cousins, even a few cousins from our milwaukee family. we don't get to see them often, but the kiddos really seemed to enjoy getting reacquainted with one another. wish they lived closer.

the easter bunny brought oodles of fun for everyone.

the beauty of this family is that just when you think your cup runneth over...more familiar faces flood through the door. we are so blessed.

this little made his debut at just 3 days old.

blayne jerome was born on april 20th and was named after grandpa. he certainly sent us down an angel.

to some, the swarm of children and rising volume of laughter and chatter are too stimulating. but for me, the sight of family coming in the house with their arms full of coolers, grocery sacks, and card games makes me grin and calms my heart.

within a few hours there was a tableful engrossed in a game of 500. (they asked if I wanted to play and I promptly answered, "I don't play 400." need I say more?) it was a late night and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

we woke early and put on our sunday best (and by "best" I mean that the boys' outfits were fluffed in the dryer and spot cleaned from the day before. sorry, but a boy only needs so many sweater vests and khaki pants). we attended the early service at church. despite the massive remodel and bajillion more seats added to the sanctuary, our church always seems to be full on easter sunday. afterwards we were off to the farm.

the boys were spoiled by the easter bunny at grandpa's house too. kyle and I were secretly looking forward to the candy...shh.

the weather finally cooperated and let us sneak out to enjoy the beautiful sunshine and rising temperatures. hence the james dean outfits.

doing their best imitation of henry's ski jumper walk

he also does a mean chicken walk

grandpa hid a gorgeous, brand new pedal tractor in the garage. when henry saw it, his eyes lit up and he hopped on and then in true preschool fashion, miles caught a glimpse of it and declared that it was his turn to ride.

the kite served as a pretty good distraction though.

it was a fulfilling weekend. one that left me longing for continued days at home with my bunnies and...

...more sunshine, of course!