Someone is 3!!

Today a certain little boy turned 3!  I can't believe my little boy is growing up so fast!  We had a really great day celebrating with him and I am so incredibly happy that God blessed me with this precious little boy. :) Happy Birthday Johnny!  We love you so much and the three days of labor were totally worth it (though I will use that against you and to make you feel guilty for the rest of your life).  Even though you're stubborn and won't stop growing and getting older, you're still my baby and you'll be my baby even when you are old.  I love you and can't imagine my life without you in it; you are the best part of every day. :)

I'll love you forever,
I'll love you for always,
As long as I'm living
My baby you'll be.

When Johnny woke up I started out with photos of him with a sign with his age on it, like I do every year.  Then he had his favorite breakfast of waffles and fruit.  Then we watched some Sesame Street together, opened presents from his grandma and papa (my parents; they sent several movies, a Veggie Tales bible, Veggie Tales CD with worship songs, a dragon toy, a puzzle, and clothes... they are also buying him a museum pass to the Children's Museum), watched The Brave Little Toaster (a new movie from my parents), danced, did arts and crafts, put together a puzzle, and just hung out while we waited for John to get off work at 1pm.

Since money is usually tighter for us during the summer, we set aside $35 a few months ago just for Johnny's birthday for us to celebrate.  That money combined with gift cards and movie passes made for an awesome day!  We picked up John at 1pm when he got off work and we went to lunch at Panera Bread - Johnny's favorite restaurant.  Johnny shared a chipotle chicken panini with me (his favorite - he loves the spicy!) and he gulped down my iced green tea too. :)  After lunch we went to Bonnie Brae Ice cream for a treat.  For the past two birthdays I have had a tradition where I would take Johnny to my cousin's ice cream shop for some ice cream.  Since he was celebrating his birthday in Denver instead of back home, we decided to take him to our favorite ice cream place here in Denver instead.  And he had banana ice cream too - his favorite! :)  We all enjoyed our ice cream treats because it was so very hot today (until later when it was stormy).  Johnny devoured his giant scoop of ice cream and cone.

After our ice cream treat we took Johnny to see Toy Story 3 for the first time and he loved it!!  We loved it too but I cried at the end of it.  A lot.  It was a combination of the fact that I was eight when the first movie came out and it kind of seemed like a closure to my childhood too and just thinking about my little boy who was turning three today and would be getting older and older and before I know it he'll be leaving for college too.  I thought they did a great job with the movie and it was a great ending.  I definitely recommend the movie to everyone, though be forewarned that there is a really scary part near the end of the movie too.  Johnny did so good too sitting through the movie without fussing.  I'm so glad that we saved some of our movie passes from Christmas so we could take Johnny to this movie for his birthday; he had a really great time.

Then we stopped by the mall on the way home so Johnny could use a gift card he got from his other grandparents and buy some kid books.  We stopped by a Starbucks in the mall on the way out and used the remainder of the birthday money set aside for that day to buy him a stuffed sea turtle that he loves.  For dinner we had pizza (we were going to do pulled pork sandwiches since Johnny loves them but it was impossible to find a pork roast in this city) and then spent the evening with our precious little boy.  We sang Happy Birthday to him at the exact time of his birth and we even started a sticker book for him.  When I was younger my mom had sticker books for my brother and me and we would get to pick out stickers when we did something good and we loved them.  I thought three would be a good age for Johnny to start having a sticker book.  I have been collecting cute sheets of stickers since I was pregnant for this and I'm excited to start using these stickers as encouragement for positive behavior!  He already got three stickers this evening for turing three! :)

All in all it was a wonderful day and Johnny had such a great third birthday!  I wish that time wasn't flying by so fast, but I'm so happy to be able to witness this precious child grow up.  I love him so much.  :)

Unfortunately I also have some sad news this evening as well.  A friend from high school's younger sister who is three was diagnosed with leukemia two weeks ago after a fever, headaches, and some spots, and for the past few days has been battling to stay alive because of bacteria and fluid on her heart. This evening we received news that she will be joining God in heaven very soon.  Sometime today she had a stroke and is no longer responding and they have been unable to remove the fluid as they hoped.  Her organs are now failing and she won't make it.  This has been very heartbreaking for me to hear about, especially considering they had no idea anything was even wrong two weeks ago.  And the fact that she is three and my son just turned three has been ripping my heart to shreds.  I can't even imagine what her parents and family are going through right now.  Her brother, who I went to high school with, is in the military and was out in a boat at sea and the Red Cross had to arrange for him to be flown home this evening on emergency leave because his little sister might not make it through the night.

My heart is breaking for them and while I trust in God and His plan, I'm still struggling to understand why this would happen to a small person.  Sometimes it is beyond comprehension, but I do know that this little person has already touched the lives of many people and will continue to do so.  I don't think I've been this affected by a death since I found out that another friend from elementary school's two year old boy wandered off and presumably drowned in a deep pond near their home a little over a year ago.  I still think about him and the pain of all of that several times a week.  I imagine that Chrissy's life will impact me for a long time as well.  I just ask that you all keep this family and little Chrissy in your thoughts and prayers tonight and in the near future, as they journey through these difficult times.  Life is so precious and it can end so suddenly and without warning.  This just reminds me to cherish the time we do have and to make sure our loved ones know how much we appreciate them.

A wonderful day filled with celebration for my precious son but also a tragic day filled with tears and prayers for little Chrissy.  Much like life - filled with celebration and tragedy.