Three is worse than two...or so we've been told.

It’s hard to believe but our little boy is 3!! Tyler had his birthday party last Saturday, and he had a blast. We had it at The Little Gym, of which we are now members. He has his class every Saturday morning with Miss Olivia and Mr. Jason, and he loves it. We were lucky enough that both of them were the instructors for his party as well. Grandpa & Cindy came in from Lynchburg for the festivities, as well as Gramme & Granddad. We invited our friends the Lanes, Blakleys, and Kreckmans, along with all of Tyler’s class at school. We had about 15 kids total at the party, and I think we can easily say that they all had a great time. The kids got to play in the gym for an hour while Olivia and Jason organized different stations and activities for them. Many of the parents came in the gym to join in on the fun as well. The highlight of the gym time was definitely the inflatable air track, where the kids got to bounce their way down the track to the end where they jumped off, ran down the colored dots to the beginning and did it all over again.

After the gym time, the kids all gathered for cake in the party room. I made Tyler a Spiderman cake, at his request, and it turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself. I also made cupcakes which were a hit with the little ones. But I learned something that day – blue icing is VERY messy and stains little hands and faces. We got some priceless pictures of some of the kids that had been dyed blue. Thankfully, our birthday boy wanted a red cupcake. Surprisingly, it was the less messy option.

After cake, it was time to hand out the Spiderman-themed goody bags, and say goodbye to our friends. By the end of the party, we could definitely hear that some of the kids were winding down in their own ways – by whining, or fussing, or just quietly slipping away. We all had a great time, especially Tyler, which is the one that matters the most, right? He was so happy to see all of his friends, and loved having the spotlight on him (gee, I have no idea where he would have gotten that from). He had a great birthday, and now I’m already wondering how we’ll top it for next year!

One of the gifts that Tyler got this year was his enrollment in the Spring semester of Little Gym from Travis & I, Grandpa & Cindy, and Gramme & Granddad. It has been a wonderful gift for him, and he’s truly enjoying his classes. Last weekend, one of his schoolmates that came to his party enrolled. Her parents were so thrilled with what they saw at the party that they decided that this was something that Megan would benefit from as well. We plan to enroll Tyler again in the summer session since he has had so much fun already.

Tyler had a sleepover at Gramme & Granddad’s this past Saturday so that Travis & I could go out to dinner to celebrate both of our birthdays. I hit 33 in mid-February and Travis hit the big 3-0 on Saturday. We ended up having a nice dinner at a newer restaurant on the river in downtown Richmond (called The Boathouse at Rocketts Landing). Tyler had a great time with his grandparents, who took him to Friendly’s for his own special dinner. When we picked him up yesterday, he was playing with Aunt Jenn and (baby) Landon. He was showing Landon how to walk, and showing him which toys were his and which toys were for Landon. He was pretty adamant that Landon not play with his blocks. Guess he wasn’t a fan of Landon putting them all in his mouth.

We’re looking forward to warmer weather on the horizon. We saw the first glimpse of it this weekend. Yesterday the temps were in the mid-60s! Even the ice cream man hit the streets yesterday, which gave us a laugh. (Of course, Tyler ended up with a SpongeBob popsicle.) Tyler was outside riding his tricycle (which he can now definitely pedal like a big boy!) and playing with his golf set. I think we’re all ready to open the windows, let some fresh air in, and get outside and play. I’m ready for a helper in the flower beds to get new flowers in, and I think that this will be right up Tyler’s alley this year. We definitely had enough of winter for this year, and welcome spring with open arms!