Ridge is Three!

Ridgey Boy is growing up way too fast!  He has such a fun, happy-go-lucky personality.  As soon as he finds someone to be his audience, he will start showing off by doing something silly (usually throwing himself on the ground and/or making noises).  Ridge gives the best hugs and always wants a cuddle or kiss.  His vocabulary is pretty extensive for a three year old boy and likes to use it combined with actions and sound affects to tell stories to anyone who will listen.  I find him hilarious.
I wish I could keep him this age forever!  And since I know I can’t, I wish I could at least bottle up his cute three year old talk, so I could have it to listen to forever.  He loves a good laugh, and is easily coaxed out of a bad mood by doing something to make him smile.  He does have his moments though, like lately he has a really hard time with Tanner getting into his stuff.  We are working on sharing with his little brother.  Ridge loves to pretend play and I don’t think he likes that Tanner doesn’t know how to play along like Jade does. He loves when Jade gets home, so they can play some imaginary-something together.  He doesn’t even mind when he has to be a butterfly or fairy princess.

Ridge has not been a very good eater ever since he learned how to eat solid food.  I’ve always been worried about his weight gain.  Early this year, he hadn’t gained anything in five months!  He was eating better though and didn’t look unhealthy so the doctor simply said to keep an eye on it.  Now he is eating better than ever, but a lot of times I still have to feed him by hand.  He gets distracted so easily that he doesn’t concentrate on eating.  I know I should make him feed himself, but my motherly concern for his nourishment outweighs my desire for him to be independent.  Tanner feeds himself better and eats more than Ridge, for heaven’s sake!  You can understand my relief and excitement when Ridge had gained 3 1/2 pounds and grown 2 inches in six months!  He had jumped from the 23rd and 27th percentiles to the 44th and 40th—closer to where he was at two years old.  The boy loves broccoli and carrots, so we’ve got to be doing something right! 

With this kid’s fun, loveable personality, I had a great desire to make his 3rd birthday extra special by throwing his first-ever birthday party.  It was a super busy time of year, but I was determined to make it happen.  I knew he would love having his buddies over and playing games all day.  To make things even better, Ridge’s birthday fell on Election Day—Tuesday, November 4, 2014; that meant Jade had the day off school! 

I opted to keep things simple with a small guest list of five friends and an easy theme of construction trucks, which Ridge loves. 
I purchased all the snacks and made the easiest cake in the world (I even used a box mix!).  This party was seriously a snap to throw together.  I would highly recommend it! 
 
 
We started with snacks and coloring pages; read a few construction books (Ridge loves books!) I borrowed from the library; played freeze dance with stop, go, and slow signs; played pin the boulder on the dump truck and pass the drill.  Jade was so cute, acting as more of a grown up hostess rather than a young guest.  She even helped me with the party planning and came up with her own “build a tower of Legos and wreck it” game for the kids to play.

The last game we played was a mix between Pass the Parcel and the Candy Bar Game, using Ridge’s play tools.  I wasn’t sure how it was going to go, but it ended up being the best game we played! 
 
Inside the parcel was the cutest play dough toys I’ve ever seen!  Construction trucks.  Play dough + construction trucks?  Now that speaks to a three year old boy!!  All the kids played with the play dough for awhile. 
 
 
Then we finished up with cupcakes and presents. 
 
Ridge had a blast at his very first birthday party!  Doing things like this for my kids really makes my heart happy.  It is such a thrill to see them having such a fun time! 

When Daddy came home later that night, we had cake and opened presents. 
 
Ridge loved his cake and loved playing in it too!
  
In keeping with the theme, Ridge received a ride-on dump truck and big play dump truck.  Oh, and minion slippers, because he thinks minions are hilarious!
  
It didn’t take the kids long to figure out Tanner could fit in the big dump truck.  Pretty soon, Jade had him rigged up to go for a ride!  A great way to finish off such a super fun day celebrating my little love.