Happy Birthday

It is hard to believe that I first met Ian 3 years ago! The time has just flown by, and it has been amazing watching him grow and learn new things. I didn't have to work on his birthday, so we went to Chuck E Cheese. Ian had such a fun time, and was running from one game to another to make sure he didn't miss out on anything. There are quite a few pictures to follow, but I wanted to make sure I captured every moment. Happy birthday sweet boy; it is a pleasure to be your Mama.
Contemplating whether he is having fun or not with Bob the Builder.

First view of Chuck E Cheese. He kept telling me he wanted to "Go up there and hug him."

Focused on putting the fires out.

This little boy loves to drive.

Putting his token in.

Collecting his tickets.

That face says it all. :)

I could never get him to look straight at me for a picture because he was too busy talking to Mr. Cheese.

Ian spotted Chuck E Cheese from a distance and ran up to meet him. I was amazed that this giant rat didn't intimidate him at all.

Showing off the prizes he chose after turning in his tickets (a frog and spider).

All those games sure do wear a 3 year old out!

Discovering there is one more present.

Can you feel his excitement? :)

Savoring the moment of the "Happy Birthday" song.

Digging in.

Yardwork

Since spring is almost here, we have been getting our yard ready and planting flowers. As you can see, I have had lots of help from my favorite person.

Mundane March

I haven't posted in over a month, and really nothing has been going on that is picture-worthy. Doing laundry, cooking, cleaning, potty training, playing outside when the weather has been nice, reading books, coloring, and grocery shopping are what the last few weeks have entailed for us. But, last week when the realization hit that my little boy will be 3 this month, I dusted the camera off and started taking pictures. It sounds cliche, but children grow up too quickly, and Ian seems to change overnight sometimes. Even though the following pictures are nothing exciting, it is our daily life. Ian is such a loving, sweet boy, and I have to remind myself of that boy when he is having a tantrum or a bad day (which are becoming fewer). I'll especially need that reminder 10-15 years down the road when he is a teenager! :)

Throwing the baseball up and hitting it with the bat...by himself since I was making dinner. :)

Racing cars along the track.

Train conductor.

Figuring out a puzzle.

Playing with Alfie with an abundance of toys scattered around.

Taking a walk and looking at his shadow.

Constantly exploring rocks, sticks, and dirt on the ground.

Armful of rocks for...

throwing in the water.

Intensely discovering.

Arms full of rocks, walking toward the water to throw them in, and pointing out an airplane. He's a busy boy!

Dandelion.

Writing letters in the gravel.

Only in Texas

Only in Texas is it 80 at the beginning of the week and snowing by the end of the week! We have had some crazy weather lately, and I have been trying to keep Ian occupied while staying out of the bitter cold. We baked cookies yesterday, and Ian was elated. He has been asking to do this since our Christmas cookies all got eaten. We woke up this morning to a dusting of snow on the ground. We enjoyed playing in it this morning, and most of it is already melted this afternoon. Ian acted like a pro at playing in the snow and warned me "Be careful of that snow, Mama" this morning when I went outside to take some pictures.

Fully concentrated on the task at hand.

Waiting patiently for the cookies to bake and cool.

Ready to go out and play...he couldn't wait to put his mittens on!

Pushing a car through the snowy path.

Snowy mittens.

Some of the kids in the neighborhood were making snow angels, so he thought he'd give it a try. Not bad for a kid that has only seen snow one other time in his life! :)

Warming up with some hot chocolate.