Pennies In My Couch: It's Party Time!

Jack was so incredibly excited for his birthday party! We had a really hard time deciding what kind of theme to do this year, as his favorite things are things we've already done: a Choo Choo Train Party for his first birthday, and an Airplane Party for his second birthday. Dave and I asked him many times what kind of party he'd like for his birthday, and finally, we decided on a Racecar theme!

I'd like to pause here for a moment to say a heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who said a prayer that Samuel would be an easier baby than Jackson. When Jack was a baby I couldn't even think about going to a party, let alone throwing one!!! So, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!

On the morning of Jack's party, Dave and I decided to give our gift to Jack in the morning, before any of the guests got there. We got him a Hot Wheels Dinosaur Stunt Track... and it was HUGE! The box was (almost) bigger than he was! He was such a good boy... he waited until we were ready for him to open it, and he even let me take a picture of him first!

As soon as I snapped the picture, he asked "Now I can open my present, PLEASE?!" A split-second after I said "Yes" he tore into the paper. He was so excited to finally be opening a birthday present!

And he was even MORE excited once he saw what it was!

And by the way, I know that he is definitely my son. Take a look at exhibit A:

Apparently I was just as excited to get a pair of Jelly Shoes on my third birthday as Jack was to get this track at his third birthday.

Having Jack open his gift before the party was a great idea. Not only were Dave and I able to have a moment our precious three-year-old all to ourselves that day, we were also able to enjoy watching the pure JOY he had that day without any distractions. Added bonus: he was kept occupied while we made last minute preps for the party!

Jack was so excited for his birthday party! He wasn't quite sure what to do with all the people at his house, though... he has having a lot of fun playing by himself, and when some friends showed up he had fun playing with them, too!

When all the guests were here and the party was in full swing, though, Jack wasn't quite sure what to do. He's just like his daddy in that respect... he thrives in one-on-one situations, and hangs on the sidelines when there is a crowd.

As soon as it was time for cake, though, he came right out of his shell! He had been waiting so long for that cake! He had helped me to make it the day before, and he was asking me all day long if it was time to eat the cake, yet! Finally he decided that I wasn't going to change my mind about waiting until the party to eat it, and he gave up asking... he still was very concerned about it, though, as all evening long he kept telling me "I have to go see my birthday cake!" and he'd run over to the table that it was sitting on to look at it and make sure that it was still there!

The cake... I had decided that I didn't have time to make cars for it, so I just bought cars. And yes, I realize that Chick Hicks wins the race in the movie and Lightening McQueen comes in last, but this isn't the Piston Cup... it's the Jackson Cup!

(I was trying to get a picture of him showing everyone how old he was... at this angle you can't really see it, but he is holding out his first two fingers and his thumb)

He was so excited when he blew out his candles that he did a crazy little dance and gave Auntie Mimi a High Five!

While grandpa cut the cake, the kids participated in the pinata

And then it was time for gifts! He was so gracious about the gifts and I was so proud of him! He did a great job making sure that he opened the cards first, and he waited patiently while I read the card before he asked "Can I open my present now?" Then he'd grab the edge of the paper and look at me and say "I'm going to open it from right here!"

And when he was all done, he was very anxious to go play with his new toys! He was such a good boy, though, and stood up and thanked everyone for coming before grabbing grandma and dragging her into his room to play toys!