Gloria in Excelsis Deo: Thomas' 3rd Birthday: Part 1

Thomas Vincent turns three this week! Happy Birthday!

Our darling Thomas is still a treasure trove of joy, having not yet begun showing defiance very much, so I'm enjoying this time. He has been potty trained day and night and sleeping in a big boy bed for six months. He is a sturdy boy of about 35 pounds and climbs anything and everything, his latest specialty being climbing at least ten feet up in our trees numerous times per day. He glides about at high speeds on his Strider bike and I think will be riding a pedal bike within about six months (I highly recommend Striders!). Thomas' speech is still delayed, but I mostly see the big picture of how he went from saying about five words--really most of them sounds, like 'meow' for cat--twelve months ago to now narrating everything in his day. However, he is still markedly delayed, which I notice only when we're around other three-year-olds talking to me so clearly. Thomas still has his pronouns all mixed-up, but one day I will miss his quaint habit of saying "Me climbed up rock!"

When we go on our early morning walks--with Thomas in his pajamas to save me time!--we pass this special rock, onto which all the children can climb themselves except for Thomas, who always needed a boost. The week before turning three, Thomas was able to climb up by himself and he felt jubilant.

In that same week, he spontaneously drew his first stick figure, whom he told us is Fireman Sam. For any fellow rock dwellers like myself, I will share that Fireman Sam is a children's show that has been running in one form or another for 31 years and which we discovered perhaps six months ago. All our children enjoy this wholesome show--really, my only criticism is the female firefighter because I really am that square--and Thomas is a fan par excellence. He plays Fireman Sam all day, has elaborate imaginative adventures, and rescues Penny, Norman, and any other characters in dire straights. The Fireman Sam theme song is basically the background music to our lives these days due to Thomas singing it. Thus, I did a theme birthday celebration, which I've never done before.

In the morning, Thomas helped me bake his cake. I used a mix, which is more 'homemade' than my typical purchased cakes.

Chris' parents came for a visit and we went to Five Guys for dinner.

Then we bustled home for cake and gifts. Below is my creation, with which I was delighted, even though it is not anything close to the cake masterpieces I see made by my friends. I had purchased Fireman Sam figures, which served as cake toppers but are true sturdy toys, not throw-away things. Yes, I really should have put one of our matchbox firetrucks on the cake.

I adore birthdays of three-year-olds because they really can hardly believe all this attention is for them. I had forgotten to be preparing Thomas for his upcoming birthday, so on the morning I knew his grandparents were arriving to celebrate (which was not his actual birthday), I realized my oversight and began telling him all about turning three. He was astonished!

Thomas' siblings had made him cards of colored-in Fireman Sam sheets, and one sibling made him an elaborate stand-up firetruck out of construction paper.

Mary replaced his copy of "Blue Ribbon Puppies," which is a book Thomas loved to death when he was two.

Grandpa gave him a Fireman Sam backpack . . . and you know how three-year-olds love having their own packs! (He has slept with it, and then come downstairs wearing it in the mornings for 48 hours.)

We gave him a junior set of fire truck Legos, and Thomas proceeded to carry around the carry case the rest of the evening, even opening his other gifts one-handed, and then tucking the case into bed with himself.

His godparents gave him a beautiful rain slicker (not a flimsy costume) designed as a fireman's jacket which--you can guess-Thomas wore till bedtime and then laid it on his bed while he slept.