Toby Is Three!!!

Are you kidding me?! This boy cannot be that old. I feel like yesterday I was up all hours of the night with him...oh wait, it was. ;) Ha.

But really, this guy has blessed us beyond belief. I have had hard times in the past with him (and his VERY strong will) but he is really truly a joy now. He is helpful, loving, hilarious, a ball of energy, sensitive, strong willed, cuddly, and compassionate. He is quick to apologize and say "please" or "thank you". He puts himself into time out (seriously, it's awesome). He loves a cartoon called 'Caillou' and could watch it all day if I let him. He has a shadow named Jack. He is quick to pray and ask Jesus for help anytime and anywhere. His childlike faith is beautiful. He likes to be tricked and play pretend. He has a fish named Nemo. He loves his family and friends. He is a good nickname giver. He has an insane memory. He is very smart (no credit of that goes to me). He is looking more and more like a 'big boy' and I love it and hate it at the same time. I LOVE the age three. He L.O.V.E.S. basketball! Before he got his basketball hoop for his birthday he would turn my laundry basket, Hanna's laundry basket, Jack's high chair, the couch, and basically anything you can think of into a basketball hoop. He's a good shot too. When he hit 2 years and 10 months old his fits and tantrums tapered off to maybe one a day versus seemingly all day long. I cannot say it enough, I love this age. He can communicate well and verbalize his feelings =ing less fits. It's great.

On to his party. We are SO blessed to have such an amazing family, my parents drove down from Yakima, WA and Jamie's parents, grandparents, brother and sister in law all drove up from Eugene. That alone would have filled our little home, but Toby loves our friends Kiki & Cuppy (Chris & Katie), Dede & Dan (Mandy & Dan) and Matt (who brought his sweetheart of a girlfriend Alexis) and they were a must have for his party. The house was packed to the brim and the boys loved it. A ton of people showering them with love, affection, presents and candy!

For dinner we had all of Toby's favorites. Homemade Mac n'Cheese, trees and larry's with dip (a.k.a. broccoli and cucumbers with ranch), applesauce with spinkles, cheese cubes, and a table full of candy, cupcakes and cake. We had a blast. I think that one of the highlights from the night was when he opened his big present (the basketball hoop) and he was just ecstatic. "A HOOP!!!" He didn't care who was there, what was going on, all he cared about in that moment was shooting some balls into that basket. He was in the zone. After prying him away from the hoop, we sat him in front of his big basketball cake with candles (which he was really looking forward to) and we all sang Happy Birthday to him. This was another highlight because his face was just beaming as he listened to everyone sing to him. He was looking at all our faces with an ear to ear grin. It was so sweet. But as soon as blew the candles out he stood up and announced "I want to play basketBAAAALLL!!!!"