Korben's 3rd Birthday

On February 19, 2011 at 6:27pm, Korben turned 3 years old! Since we had already had his birthday party the previous week, I tried to make his actual birthday as special as possible. The day before, I went to Kroger and let him pick out either a birthday cake or some cupcakes for us to enjoy the next day. He insisted on getting the Sponge Bob cupcakes! He's only seen the show on TV a couple of times but he still likes the character. I myself am not a huge Sponge Bob fan but it was Korben's birthday cake and since that's what he wanted, that's we got! That night (the night before his birthday), I made a few birthday signs and colored a couple of his giant Toy Story pages so it looked like the characters were wishing him a happy birthday. Then I set out the cupcakes on the table with a few balloons. When Korben woke up the next morning and came down stairs, he was really excited to see everything. Josh and I sang Happy Birthday to him and we all had cupcakes for breakfast before Josh had to go to work.

After Josh left, we watched a couple of Korben's favorite shows (Umizoomi and Diego) and then headed to Chick-fil-A for lunch. After Korben got enough play time in, we headed home to take a nap. As soon as nap time was over, we headed to Toys R Us to spend some birthday money that Korben had gotten. He ended up getting an Imaginext Batman cave, a Thomas scooter, and a Mickey's playground set thing. He couldn't wait to get home to play with his new toys! When Josh got home later that night, we headed to CiCi's Pizza for some dinner and games. We came home, played some more and finally went to bed at 10:30 (an hour and a half past K's regular bed time)!! It was a really good day and Korben loved having an entire day devoted to him!

Time to sing "Happy Birthday!"

Who needs hands to eat cupcakes??

Showing off his blue icing tongue!

The Batman cave

He LOVES his Thomas scooter! Every time we go to the park now, he insists on riding his scooter on the way!

The day after Korbens birthday, Pops took everyone out to dinner at Kyoto. Korben only wanted to eat rice, but loved watching the chef cook! Thanks for a great dinner, Pops!

So interested. When the chef flicked a piece of broccoli into Josh's mouth, Korben laughed so hard! He really liked all of the chef's "tricks!"

He even got to use some chopsticks and actually preferred them over the fork!

And he did a pretty good job at using them, too!

I still have a few pictures from the birthday party to post, so hopefully I'll get to that soon!

The Stomp Rocket

One of Korben's birthday presents this year was a stomp rocket. While he was perfectly content to play with it in the house and watch the rockets hit the ceiling, he was super excited to see how high they could really go out in the open when we finally made a trip to the neighborhood park to play with it outdoors! And of course, Daddy always has to get creative and show Korben other ways to do things and he showed Korben several different ways to "stomp" on the rocket pad! There was hand stomping, bottom stomping, and even head stomping! Korben loved it all!
Stomp rocket: success.

More birthday pictures from Korben's party and his actual birthday are coming soon.

Not actually sure why he was making this face but I thought it was funny and had to post it!

Mommy gets a turn to help stomp :)

Daddy took a turn to stomp, too

And this would be the "head" stomping I was referring to!

The "wrestle" stomp??

And some good ole' regular stomping!

It's going way up high!

Greatness!

Then and Now

My sweet, sweet Korben,

Today you are 3 years old! How in the world did that happen so fast?! As I was holding you in the hospital after you were born, I remember thinking that I could not wait to watch you grow up and see what type of person you would grow into, and while I was curious to see your personality unfold, I also remember having such a hard time picturing you being any older than you were at that moment... as my little newborn baby! And now here we are 3 years later and what a little man you have grown to be!

Then (February 2008), you were 9lb. 4oz. and 21 in. long. Now, you are 35 lbs and 39 inches tall.

Then, you were super alert and hardly ever slept... the only newborn I have ever seen that didn't sleep all day! Now, you still don't like to sleep but you don't put up TOO much of a fight when it's time to take a nap and so I'm thankful for that! Of course, bed time can be a different story!

Then, you were very snuggly but also very independent. While you loved to be held, you also started holding your head up and standing up early and loved to check out the world around you. Now, not much has changed.... you are still trying to find your independence and love to do many things by yourself without any help from Mommy or Daddy, but you also still love your snuggle time, especially in the mornings and at nap and bed time!

Then, you were content to snuggle on the couch and watch Mommy's show with me. Now, you have your own favorite shows that you enjoy watching. Your favorites are Mickey Mouse, Dora and Diego, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Umizoomi, Bubble Guppies, and Tom and Jerry. You especially like Tom and Jerry because of all the beatings Tom takes from Jerry! You crack up with laughter everytime that silly cat falls, gets stuck, or get's in any kind of trouble! It's the same laugh that comes out when you watch another favorite show of yours, America's Funniest Home Videos!

Then, you loved talking. Of course it was all baby jibberish but I always knew that you would be a talker! I loved our daily "conversations!" Now, still not much has changed! You talk quite a bit and you like to be aknowledged when you're talking to someone. You also have quite an imagination and I love that! At any given moment, you will tell us that the big bad wolf has shown up and is about to blow something away or a dinosaur has shown up and we have to run away!

Then, you loved to eat. When you first started on solid foods, you would eat anything! I never thought you would be a picky eater. Now, it's a much different story! There aren't very many foods you like or will try. And it can be tough to get you to eat all of the foods you do like because you are too busy to eat... you would much rather be playing than taking time to sit down and eat! The foods you really like right now are grilled cheese or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chicken nuggets, rice, and just about any fruit as long as it's not a melon... strawberries, blueberries, grapes, and bananas are your faves. :)

Then, you loved wrestling. Daddy started rough housing with you when you about 5 months old and whenever he swung you around and threw you on the couch, you laughed so hard and when you first started talking and could say actual words, you would say, "Again, again!" Now, you still love to wrestle and rough house! When Daddy starts a play fight with you, your day has been made!

I'm a little biased, but you are also super smart and know quite a bit for your age. You know your colors and shapes, can count to 10 (sometimes further), and can recognize your letters and numbers when they're written down. When were out and about, you often point to letters, numbers, colors or shapes and let us know that you see it and know what it is! You love getting applause and beam with pride when anyone tells you good job!

You also love puzzles these days and are very good at them! You have 4, 12, 24, 35, and 48 piece puzzles and you can do them all with ease!

Daddy and I are so proud of you and can't wait to see what the next 3 years bring! Happy Birthday, Korben! Love you to the moon and back a thousand times!

Then

Now

Logan's Nursery

I'm still looking for a a couple of cool giraffe art pieces to add but here are a few pics of the nursery. I have a tendancy to sit in here almost every day and try to imagine what life is going to be like in a few weeks when there is another little boy in the house! Thanks, Josh, for doing such a great job and working so hard to get our baby's room ready!