Happy Third Birthday, Kai!

Our other April Baby has had a birthday! Kai is three, and oh so three.

We decided that, this year, it didn't make a lot of sense to have a big party for Kai and/or Noah, but we had a really fun celebration as a family on Sunday for both of them.

We started with Kai's choice of breakfast: chocolate chip muffins. He then went grocery shopping with me (his choice; he loves it). The highlight, of course, was picking up his bakery-made Yo Gabba Gabba cake.

After lunch, we took the kids to the King of Prussia Mall, which is far too large. After walking approximately seven miles, we had found our way to the Build-A-Bear store, where each of the three older boys were allowed to pick out a new outfit and accessory for their stuffed friends that they had created at Alexander's 8th birthday party. We had "rewards" certificates burning holes in my pockets from Alexander's party, so this leg of our celebration cost us next to nothing. Alexander's bunny is now Darth Bunny. Jack's bear is Yoda Bear. Kai's penguin is Penguin Woody. We also got a new puppy friend stuffed for Noah since it was also his birthday celebration and he hadn't gotten one at Alexander's party.

Next, we headed to the Lego store where Kai chose his main gift, some sort of Batman/Joker funhouse. The older boys had earned some money doing yard work and were able to pick out small sets for themselves as well. (They're all so spoiled rotten!)

After coming home and playing with the new stuff for a while, we headed out for Kai's choice of dinner: KFC. Kai is a lovely, charming, smart little boy... who is definitely very, very three. I had to put him in time out twice during his own birthday dinner! The first time, trying to be considerate of the other diners, I whisked him outside for his time out, where he screamed for two minutes. Only when we were coming back inside did I notice that I had plopped him down about ten feet behind the drive thru, where people were actively trying to order food. I can't imagine that his screaming was helpful. Whoops! So, the second time, I opted to take him out the other door. Whoever named the "Terrible Twos" was off by a year. Am I right or am I right?

Still, Kai truly is a gem. He has THE most gorgeous eyes. He is smart little cookie and knows all his letters both uppercase, lowercase, and their sounds. He can recognize about 10 words and has actually sounded out a few words already. I do not believe in forcing academics on little kids, but he simply drinks it in and asks for it. He loves playing hangman, writing or typing all the words he knows how to spell, and asks almost every day to "do school."

I can't remember when it started, but Kai has insisted, for months on end (possibly up to a full year), that he is a kitty cat. If someone says something like, "Aren't you a cute boy?" He will say, "No, I am a kitty cat." He even talks about himself in the third person as a cat. Like, if I were to say, "Who wants cake?" he would say, "Cat does!" Once, for an entire day, he claimed to be a monkey, and I thought we had turned a corner. But, the next day, he was back to cat. Silly boy.

Kai likes Yo Gabba, Super Why, riding his scooter, playing Legos, doing sidewalk chalk, doing puzzles, and playing games. His favorite foods are bagels, macaroni and cheese, cereal, and crackers. And, obviously, pretty much any junk food allowed.

Happy Birthday, my Kitty Cat. Love you!