Reid is...

...no, I wasn't going to say sticky...though he's that, too.

Reid is three. (And you know what that means...I have another kid to hit three while still in diapers.)

And to celebrate the big day, both Parker and Spencer's school let out for the day. Ok, maybe it wasn't for Reid's birthday, but it was fun to have everyone home for a full packed day of partying.

An ice storm was heading into north Texas. It was predicted to be the worst north Texas had ever seen. I was bracing myself for the worst. (The ice storm that one Christmas in Ohio left us without power for five days.) All the schools shut down...including the University. And all day we waited for ice. NOTHIN'. I didn't spot the first icicle until later that evening. We woke up this morning to less than a quarter inch of ice on our driveway and it's already melted. And Parker's school was canceled again today and the university didn't open until noon. I like to watch the Today show while I get in my morning exercise and the local weather cut into the entire hour I watched. It just went back and forth between the weather girl and the traffic girl. "It's cold and icy"..."the roads are slick so drive slow"..."it's cold and icy"..."the roads are slick so drive slow"...on and on and on. They announced 650 school closings or delays in the area. All for less than a quarter inch of ice that lasted maybe 12 hours. Crazy huh? Even crazier that Friday was 84 and yesterday was 24. A 60 degree drop in 4 days.

On to the party...

Spencer had a meeting to be at on Tuesday and we were planning on celebrating another day, but the decision to cancel the meeting came Monday night and we stayed up getting the birthday all ready without telling the crazies. I was awake when I heard the older two trample down stairs at 6:15am. First Parker, "Ah...Reid! It's your birthday today!" Reid, "Ah! My Birthday. There's balloons, even!" And a chorus of squeals and yells and giggles ensued for about five minutes until they darted back upstairs wondering where the presents were. (I decided not to leave them out knowing full well they'd be opened without us.) It really was fun to surprise him. I totally recommend not telling your kids when their birthday is. It's worth the surprise.

I told the crazies that presents would not be opened until everyone was awake so Reid continued to hop around the room on one foot in an over-excited high pitched shriek, "I'm three and I'm hoping on one foot because I'm three." In the mean time, Parker talked me into letting them each open a present. (We always get a little something to appease the jealous brother.) They played pretty hard with their punching bags for a bit until Parker couldn't stand the anticipation any longer and he took it upon himself to wake Gray. Parker gets so excited about ANYBODY's birthday. It's cute.



I love how interested all three crazies are in this box of sidewalk chalk.
And thanks for all the present suggestions...almost all of the suggestions were things we already have...and use frequently so you did good. But we didn't have Legos. How is it that I've been raising boys for nearly five years now and we have no Legos? We are seriously lacking in the building toys department. Duplos were a HIT. For all four boys.

And since we were all home...we made a trip (on the non-icy roads) to the library for a while. I really love the library here. It has the BEST kids area. I wish I brought my camera. I always feel a little disruptive with a camera in the library so I opted not to. But Reid was singin' his heart out in the car on the way there and I am really sorry I can't share that with you all. I love how loud and off tune he sings when he gets really into it.

All Reid wanted to do for his birthday was go to McDonalds...though we offered many exciting options.




And for two years running, he insisted on a train cake. Last year I made the cake into a train. This year I took the easier route and it turned out much cuter.


We rented Wall-E and finished off the night with a Smith Family Pajama Party...but the pictures weren't really worth sharing.

Reid thinks he's a whole different kid now that he's three. He thought turning three would magically make him potty trained and stop sucking his thumb and grow him a new foot and give him so many of the privileges that Parker has that come with being older. Honestly...we were building up turning three I guess. We said he was getting so old, so big. I guess he thought it meant he was going to be just like Parker. A little cute. A little sad.

I love celebrating my kids birthday's. It's always a fun reminder of how much I love them and how grateful I am that they are a part of my life.