Three-year-old hoopla

On April 22, Scott turned 3!  For weeks leading up to his birthday, Scott would tell us, "But I'm not three yet, I'm still two."  It was a big transition for him.  But first, I have a couple random things...

The boys and I kicking back and watching Word World.

Everyone!  Scott's daycare wanted an updated family photo that included Dean, so this was our best attempt.

Speaking of daycare,

Scott made a campfire!  He brings home lots of artwork, and since we are decluttering we aren't really allowed to hang on to it.  So, behold! Eternal digital life!

We went to Healthy Kids Day at the YMCA.  There were lots of activities, including face painting.  We've never done face painting before because there's always a line and we didn't think Scott would sit still.  This time, we were early and an amateur artist was just using face crayons.  What is it?

I'm told it's a shark.  More specifically, Bruce from Finding Nemo.

There was a musician at Healthy Kids Day, too.

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Okay, Scott had two birthday celebrations.  His actual birthday was on a school day, and the birthday protocol is that you bring cupcakes, hand them out to your friends, and you get the first bite. I decided that Scott and I would make cupcakes together.  Scott helped by dumping and stirring and holding the mixer; Dean helped by sleeping.  Scott chose the color for the frosting and even squeezed the food coloring dropper.  I got all crazy with the pastry bag (it actually makes for quick and mess-free frosting) and Scott helped with the sprinkles.  Voila!

These are made from scratch, the butter cake recipe from the King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking cookbook.  They have whole wheat flour!  And a lot of butter.  The school kids were very impressed by the swirly spiral frosting.  I'm sure they are not easily impressed.

Here's Scott handing out cupcakes, assisted by Teacher Peter, while his Froggy Friends wait patiently.  I took lots of pictures of his friends and put them in a real photo album so Scott can remember them.

The first bite!  Standard practice is to only eat the frosting, although two kids ate some actual cake.

Dean and I hung around for the rest of the afternoon.  Teacher Peter made Scott a crown.

Now here's the video of it all, priceless due to the tuneless rendition of Happy Birthday.

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We told Scott that he was having a birthday party.  "I already had a party," he said.  Based on that attitude, we would have cancelled, but I'd already invited his whole class.

Why did we throw a real party?  Because he went to Liam's party and talked about it.  And the YMCA threw parties in the gym, so we wouldn't have to entertain people in our house.  And we're moving, so this was the chance to socialize. 

I took lots of pictures of the other kids, for Scott to look at.  Turns out I didn't take many pictures of him!  So,

Liam and Sophie, Scott's very best school friends, ride a contraption that Mike set up.  Sophie loves Scott to a high degree; she would be upset if he didn't play with her.  She wore the shirt with hearts on it because she loves him.  Scott responds to her enthusiasm, so they have a good time together.  Liam is a good roughhouse boy.

Taking a break on the edge of the ball pit with Carter.

Dean hangs out with Sophie's mom while I run around taking pictures.  That other baby, Boston, is three weeks older than Dean.

After the gym time, we went up to a preschool room to have cake and open presents.  I rushed us into the presents because there were so many, I didn't want to run out of time.  So instead of being in the nice open room, the kids ended up in a corner around Mike while Scott opened presents.

After the presents, Scott said "Let's go home." 

Since the cupcakes turned out so delicious, I decided that I could make Scott's party cake, too.  The internet told me that I could trace a pattern and fill it in with stars.  It took a couple naptimes and a couple bedtimes to put it all together, and it is nowhere near perfect.  But given that the audience would barely eat it, much less appreciate it, I was not aiming for perfection.  I only wanted leftovers for myself.  Behold!

Yes, I know.  I can hear the oohs and ahs from here!  I dyed all the frosting the night before, and the name of the color, "skin tone," lied to me.  Skin tone if Curious George got a nasty sunburn!  Like I said, not perfect.  I did the balloons last, and I was tired, so they're not too smooth.  Before the party, I showed the cake to Scott to make sure he knew it was Curious George.  Scott poked George in the chest, leaving a nice smudge.

I need you to be more impressed with the details.  Although, up close, you can also see holes in the fur.  Oh no!  The background is supposed to be blue, because he's floating in the sky.  I could talk about cake all day.  I could also recommend Cakewrecks!

Okay, here's the video!  The end of the birthday!

Comments

[Lwin's]

Happy birthday Scott! What a big boy who is so lucky to have a Mommy that makes both blue cupcakes and a curious George cake!

[Loganites]

What a fun birthday cake! We are so impressed with your domestic skills. Scott and friends looked like they had the best party ever.