Turning three

This year was like the last, and the next, and for as long as I can keep this going. I spent hours blowing up balloons on the eve of your birthday, flooding your bedroom floor with color, all so that you would wake up to a fun surprise and start your day off great. Asher starting whining at 8am on the dot, as per usual. Momma and daddy hustled down stairs in hopes to catch your surprised little face at the wonderful sight of birthday awesomeness. Turns out, baby Asher whines are not enough to wake you up. Neither was a kiss from momma, a shake from daddy, rubbing your back and whispering in your ear, tugging on you begging you to get up. At this point, you were too tired to roll in the direction to see your balloons, I decided to give Asher a shot at it. He c,imbed all over you, even sat on your head. You eventually rolled over, and it was well worth it. You rolled right out of your bed in to the pillowy goodness, and spent the next half hour kicking those balloons with all the excitement a momma wants for her child on their birthday.

Because it was your special day, we did special things. Streamers covered all of our walls, and dinosaurs were strung around, since dinosaurs make you happy. You ate pancakes for breakfast, and got all the orange juice you could handle for one sitting.you even got to eat on the "you are special" plate, because you are.

Since your birthday fell on a Sunday this year, we spent a good amount of the day at church. You cried When we made you go to sacrament Before nursery, and You cried when it was time to leave. We only got you out of that church by telling you that your cousins were coming over that night.

Your small party consisted of you cousins, Emmy, jake, mana, David, Steffy, grandma and grandpa. By the time they arrived you didn't need your dessert bar or your gifts, you seemed pretty thrilled that our tiny living room was so full of people paying attention to you. We had cupcakes, and ice cream, and cookies. Your favorite part, bar none, was the lemonade. Everything sugary and sweet just like you would always have it if you had the choice.

When it came time to open present Gavin was pretty stoked. He knelt beside you and anxiously waited for you to tear open every gift, and when you didn't do it fast enough, he gladly did it for you. Great team work. You were quite spoiled this year, your family sure love you!

You played outside until it was dark, and your little body was very ready for bed. Minutes after laying you down, you were sleeping. It was a perfect birthday for the boy that insisted he was not three today.

Turning Two

Turning two can be hard to do. Nap times don't seem as cool, and time outs are a total bummer. But the day you turned two there was none of that, just party time from the moment you woke up until you went to bed. Momma and daddy spent hours the night before your birthday blowing up balloons. That's right, 57 balloons filled up by us. Looking back, we probably should have rented a machine to do the job in a fraction of the time. After filling them up we very quietly snuck them into your room so you could wake up to an awesome surprise.

Momma and daddy anxiously waited to hear your excitement on the monitor the next morning, but instead we heard your usual chit chat to yourself. We hurried down singing Happy Birthday. You were still half asleep and hadn't even noticed the party on the floor of your room. Having fallen asleep in a chocolate covered white t-shirt from the night before, you ferociously played in your balloons not even paying attention to the fact that you were missing pants and were in need of a bath. Fortunately for you, you LOVE baths so your most perfect day continued with bath time. 

Later we met up with your favorite people at the park, your cousins. Aunty Em, Uncle Jake, Grandma, and Grandpa joined in on the festivities. There were basketballs, baseballs, Frisbees, and best of all a Gage size golf club and gold balls. While most of us ate you spent a good hour in the hot sun playing golf. We celebrated with yummy cupcakes that melted in our mouths. You got lots of awesome presents, and you made every one feels special when you opened them because everything was "aw cool!" The Hot Wheels and parking garage seemed to make you most excited, until you opened your Toy Story figurines, and then you got your own tool set and drills. You couldn't decide between the three what was your favorite so you spent the remainder of the afternoon at home switching from on to the next to the next and back again. Our living room was covered in toys and was a a disaster, just the way you like it. 

Because it was the best day ever, there was even more cupcakes involved and another bath. After staying up WAY past your bed time, we finished the night off reading every single one of your favorite books. It took awhile to get through them all, but once we finished one you were up and at them picking out another. You certainly took advantage of your day and got whatever your little heart desired.

I can't believe that it was two whole years ago that you graced us with your presence. Two years ago you made me a momma, and I haven't been happier. I worry sometimes how quickly it has gone, have I hugged you enough? held you enough? loved you enough? Did I make the most of every moment before it was gone? Little mister, you remind regularly how much you love me, and it makes me feel like I am doing something right. I know I mess up constantly, but when I ask you how old you are and your face lights up, and you hold up your index finger and your thumb, and in that high pitch voice say "two!!!" I know having you was the smartest thing I have ever done. You make my life so much fuller, so much happier. I am looking forward to an adventurous year. I love you little mister, Happy Birthday.

Love, momma

time to party

Something you will learn with time, is that there are no breaks between birthdays in this family! Great Grandpa Gil, Great Grandma Roberts, Rocky, and Daddy all take over June back to back to back. And if you think that's bad, you should see April and October!

So you seized the opportunity to party along side them!





You played with balloons until you dropped, you ate cake until you were sick, and you spent a good amount of time with no shirt on. You definitely know how to party.

a birthday marathon

You are one lucky little man. You were born into a family that really knows how to do birthdays. And they made yours EXTRA special.

You spent all morning playing ball.

dad occasionally had to come to your rescue if you got lost.

you fell in love with running water all afternoon

and when we could couldn't get you out, dad worked his magic eventually distracted you enough.

don't worry, your favorite people were there, your cousins.

you even had a bbq for dinner, and you ate more strawberries than anyone one else at the party, including the adults.

mom and dad got you a basket ball hoop

you seemed pretty excited about it

you politely offered to share you birthday cupcake, only after you had mushed it around.

by the end of the marathon, you were pooped.

I told you they do birthdays good! It was an event to remember, mostly because I fell asleep wiping tears from my eyes. You seemed bigger today more than ever. You played all day, and refused to go inside. You would even sit by the door just waiting for someone to open it so you could walk outside. You explored, you climbed, you fell, and even made lil boy noises with your toys. You insisted on following your cousins, and being a part of the group. You are my big boy, that I still occasionally get to snuggle with...until you are ready jump off the couch, slide down the stairs, and make big boy messes that is!

Here's to being one! Momma and daddy love you, and wouldn't have wanted this year to go any differently. You make life exhilarating, and often exhausting, and we love it.

Love, momma

dear gage

Happy Birthday Cousin. I hope your first was as fun as mine. Wish I could help you celebrate.

Love, James

dear gage

(Papa and the boys, a little less than a year ago. That's you on the right. And the one on the left? well that's cousin James. he is probably wondering what you are staring at. But that's normal, we are ALL wondering what you re staring at)

It is hard to believe that you are one whole year old. Happy birthday to you sweet boy. I look at your smiling face and you remind me of your mother. I look at your fuzz cut and you remind me of your dad. I look at that perfect scar on your chest and you remind me of my new knee. I hope you get to do fun stuff on your birthday. I am so glad to have a grandson like you. You are awesome.

I love you... Grand-papa Dick

dear gage

do you know how much we love you? let us count the ways ...

... the first time i held you, i knew we'd be fast friends

... the first time your parents trusted us to watch you, you peed on our couch and i didn't mind at all

... when we heard about your hurt heart, it made our hearts hurt

... we would walk an infinite number of miles for you

... we teach you how to do important things like how to play the wii

... how to play the ds

... and how to drive

... we make believe that your food can fly

... and always try to make you laugh

you're a very special person in our lives and we hope you always know how much you are loved.

i personally feel so very lucky to be able to spend so much time with your happy self. watching you grow, discover and learn brings me so much joy.

we love you sweet gage and hope you have the happiest of happy birthdays!

love,

auntie em