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Sven's 3rd Birthday

Sven has been talking about his upcoming birthday for two months.  He knew it was in March and asked me almost every day how far away March was.  And when March came, he became even more impatient.

1. We ended up having an unbirthday the Monday before to hold him over.  He had woken up that morning, very upset that it was still February and that his birthday was so far away.  So I sang him the unbirthday song and we made cupcakes for Family Home Evening.

2. His Grandma and Grandpa came up the Friday before and took us out to Monkey Joe's for pizza and jumping.  That's always a good time.  It was especially fun because Grandpa was passing out quarters for the arcade games.  The boys jumped for hours while I talked with my parents and we passed Leif around.  I loved watching Sven run after the big boys, jumping where they jumped and sliding where they slid.  He has gotten so capable in the last year.

3. My parents bought a headboard for Sven's bed which was delivered on Friday as well.  His favorite part of the bed is that it has shelves in it for his bunny and his books.  They also gave him a really neat set of magnetic shapes that were immediately appreciated.

4. Oh, and there were cupcakes.  That was the second cake.  I hope you're keeping count.

5. March 7 finally came and I woke Sven with a "Happy birthday!"  He was excited.  Fortunately, it was the first day of our term break from homeschool so the boys and I had the whole day to devote to him.  We started the morning with a present: an alphabet book.  We read it right away.  Sven is very excited about the alphabet right now.  He tells me every time he sees the letter S.

6. I got new play dough for all the boys to keep them busy for the morning.  That was a big hit.

7. We invited a friend with two toddler boys to a playdate at the park.  It was wonderfully sunny and I pushed him on the swings as long as he wanted.  Soren also taught him some Latin--because apparently 3-year-olds are ready for Latin.  Plus, we had another cake.

8.  During naptime, I took Carl and Soren to the dollar store so that they could buy presents for Sven.  Soren got him a miniature chess set and a birthday card.  Carl got him
a rubber snake.  They wrapped the gifts themselves and were ready just in time for Sven to wake up.

9. After naptime, he helped me to make another cake.  G
luten-free this time so that we could share it with the extended family.  Since this was cake number FOUR, I served it without frosting.  That extra sugar seemed excessive.

10.  For Family Home Evening, I told the rainbow bridge story for Sven.  But I hadn't prepared myself for it so it was a little lame.  Then we looked at old pictures of Sven on the computer.  There were a few more presents: books from Nan and a new game from Dad (Cootie).  We played Cootie before Scott went to lodge and everyone else went to bed.

11.  When he woke up the next day, Sven was very dismayed to find out that he was still three years old and his birthday was over.  He told me that on his next birthday, he wanted to be two.  Nan had the best answer to his lament; she said that when he grew up, he could have a son that was two and enjoy twoness all over again.  The idea didn't satisfy him but it sounded great to me.
Happy birthday, Sven!
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