The Joy of Giving

Today is Pedro's birthday (don't tell him I told you). I only share that detail to provide context for the pictures shown below. As much as I would love to go on and on about my incredibly wonderful, kind, amazing husband and how grateful I am for him and how I can't imagine life without him, he would prefer no one knew.

So, this is officially about our son and the joy of giving.

Rody picked out three of his favorite toys and helped wrap them for gifts for Papa's birthday. The pictures really don't do justice to his excitement of watching Papa unwrap the gifts Rody chose to give him.

I can only pray for the type of love and selflessness my son expressed. The gifts he gave to his papa are some of his favorite toys that he received for his birthday two months ago.

Quotes from a three-year-old

"Is our baby curled up in a ball?"
"Yes."
"Can I bounce her?"

"I saw that the sun was awake, and I was like, 'hey, that's interesting'. I was like that, Mommy."

"I would prefer to have a cookie before my nap AND a cookie after my nap."


I love my three-year-old!

Wild Rice Festival

Rody and I were converted to traditionally-harvested wild rice at the Wild Rice Festival. I tried some in a yogurt parfait and Wow!

He loved watching the kids perform their traditional Native music in the bright costumes. We also tasted fresh apple juice from apples Rody helped press, saw how honey is extracted from hive, made beaded crafts and a wooden bug house and played in tepee.

Random fun of an almost three-year-old

 

This is from sometime in July. I like it. This is daily life with an awesome little boy.

First Canoe Trip on the St. Croix River

In early September, we enjoyed a beautiful Saturday morning testing out our new canoe. Pedro paddled us up river to a little park where we had a picnic. We passed lots of fancy speed boats and yachts (or rather they passed us) whose passengers seemed to enjoy the sight of a little canoe on the big St. Croix (which becomes the Mississppi down river).

Happy 3rd Birthday - Moose Party

On a family vacation to the Tetons National Park, Rody saw a moose antlers kids hat. His mother, not willing to pay exorbitant visitors center prices for something that might be forgotten the next day promised her son they could make him some moose antlers when they got back to grandma's house on his birthday.

 

He did not forget that promise, and for the next three days he reminded Mom, Grandma and everyone else that we were going to make moose antlers on his birthday.  

 

 

Rody thought that everyone should have the good fortune of moose antlers, and decided he wanted to have a moose party in which everyone would make moose antlers and then go outside and pretend to be moose. His uncles and aunts were very good moose. As a family, we played a variation of the game "Duck, Duck, Goose":  "Elk, Elk, Moose", making one little three-year-old moose very giggly and very happy. 

 

 

 

Happy 3rd Birthday - baseball pinata carne asada party

Our little man turned three in August while we were visiting family in Utah.  His California grandparents met us in Utah for a big family birthday party. Though I don't know how they fit it in their car, they brought the biggest pinata I'd ever seen, purchased in Mexico.  They also brought our favorite carne asada meat for an amazing dinner that made me so glad my kid didn't request cheesy noodles.

 

We were happy a few friends could come to the party with their cute kids. We miss you!

 

I was a little nervous that the kids would be scared of a giant smiling baseball bigger than any of them, but they loved it - especially when the Mexican candy spilled out. Chili-watermelon sucker anyone?