Running hot and cold ... and hot and cold ...

Since this blog is a little running timeline of my kiddo's life, I feel like I would be omitting a bit of history by not mentioning the ridiculous weather that we've experienced this winter.  In December we were into the novelty of the "wintry mix" (code for impassable ice in this part of the country).

We figured it was just a little weather fluke.  It was fun to borrow our neighbor's sled.  It even felt extra "Christmasy."  We believed that rain boots and fleece coats could still float our existence until the warmth returned in a few weeks.  We appeared to be on that path in January as evidenced by the little sweeper in shorts.

But the thaw was short-lived.  Terms such as "polar vortex" entered our vocabulary as did named winter storms ... when did that start?  I've been quite familiar with named hurricanes in nearly 10 years in Texas but a winter storm has to be a monster to earn a moniker.  The cold weather, however, did not deter our guy from his yard work ...

... or from his love of being outside.  Cael requests to go outside on most days when he returns home from school.  We usually love to keep him busy outside but in the past few months, we've found ourselves begging the little mountain man-in-the-making to come inside. 

We tried to find all sorts of activities to keep him busy while not burning off energy outside.  He played dress-up ...

... and went along with our attempt to replace his frozen sandbox.

He helped me on many projects in the kitchen ... his favorite was baking cookies (no, he didn't find a shirt necessary despite the freezing temps outside!).

And then there was Target.  Despite their issues protecting their consumers' data, we happily increased our visits since Cael got to do some quality wandering which he always enjoys.

We did get our hopes up for spring with a gorgeous weekend bridging February and March.  We enjoyed dinner outside, walked around the Denton square, climbed around (and tried to break into) the Denton Courthouse ...

... and capped off the gorgeous night with ice cream.

Of course, the next winter storm settled in less than 48 hours after this 70 degree fun ... complete with ANOTHER snow day, of course.

We're guessing that winter probably has another surprise or two in store for us but we'll take any sunshine that we can get during this fun season of our little guy's life.

Cael is 3!!!

We've had a lot going over the past few months but one of the greatest highlights was Cael's third birthday celebration.  It seems like just yesterday I was staring at this sweet little face ...

... which has changed so quickly into that of a smiling and laughing 3 year-old!

 

Our little guy (sorry, "big boy" as he would correct me) was just as excited as we were to celebrate his birthday.  We started talking about his birthday after Christmas and he was pretty specific with his "vision" for the big day. 

 

He wanted to have his party at home "with lots of trucks."  He wanted to have his cousins and "friend Graham" at the celebration.  And he wanted presents ... lots of them.  He consistently made the same requests over a few days so we got to work on his party planning.

 

The big day arrived and Cael spent time inspecting the assortment of trucks at his party ...

 

  

... as well as checking out the cupcakes that arrived via car transporter.

He enjoyed all of the balloons (especially Sulley, of course!) ...

... and the variety of sugary treats (even I was shocked at the Dum Dum double-fisting),

but the real excitement was waiting for Cael in the front yard.

He LOVED the bounce house and could not get enough of its slide ... maybe the excessive sugar was helpful in fueling his endless bouncing and climbing!

Everybody got in on the bounce house action.  Zac might have had the most fun of everyone in there and even the grandmothers enjoyed themselves!

Cael loved his birthday party and the time with family but the fun didn't end there.  The birthday boy got to pick where we would have dinner on his actual birthday.  He considered Benihana for awhile and Chick Fil A was definitely in the running, but in the end he selected gourmet pizza (hint of sarcasm).

He loved the rides, games, food and quality time with Chuck E Cheese himself.

We finished of the big day with a few presents and lots of hugs and kisses. 

 

Zac and I are so thankful for our son and although we loved celebrating his birthday, each day with Cael is a gift (even in the midst of his epic 3 year-old tantrums).  Happy Birthday, sweet buddy!