Birthday Boy

After birthday waffles this morning, Hunter quickly got to opening his gifts...

Grandee and Poppy bought H a bike for his birthday.  James went over there last night to get it so it could be waiting for Hunter when he woke up.  At first he seemed scared of it, and kept saying, "no like that" or "no want that".  But after eyeing it for about an hour he finally decided he wanted to go for a ride... 

When we had finished the bike riding, we headed out to the Dallas World Aquarium, and I have to tell y'all, it's not the best idea I've ever had.  Hunter has never been, and I thought he'd really enjoy it, but I didn't consider that it was spring break and there would be crazy long lines.  In case you have yet to experience the joys of raising a small child, I'll let you in on a secret...crazy long lines and three year old boys don't mix well.

James ended up holding Hunter pretty quickly after we got there because Hunter kept yelling, "go!" to all of the people in front of us.

Since we were just standing there, we decided it was a good time for a photo op.  Hunter didn't agree...

So we tried again with a slightly better result...

After what seemed like forever, we made our way through the mob of people to the monkeys, which finally gave H something to smile about...

And the smiles lasted for a while...

...until they didn't...

And we pretty much had whine-fest 2010 throughout the penguins...

and owls...

and flamingos...

and even the coolest seahorses you've ever seen...

By the time we got to the crocodile and leopard, the whines had turned to yelling tantrums, so Hunter got a stern talking to....

(I know it's ridiculous that I took a picture, but the camera was right there in my hand.  I couldn't resist.  I can't help myself.)

When we got in the car to leave, I asked Hunter what his favorite part was.  His response was, "No favorite!"  Oh Hunter, I have to disagree with you there son.  Did you forget about the stairs?  There were stairs everywhere and he had to step on every single one of them.  Even if they led to dead ends...or forbidden areas...or even if they just took him in circles...

If I had asked James what his favorite part was, I'm sure he'd have said leaving...

And who could really blame him?

After lunch and nap, we had sibling torture sessions...

followed by some sibling cuddles...

and of course there was some running from the camera...

and sandbox time...

(It only took us a year, but we finally filled that playscape with sand.)

And since the day had gone so well, we thought we'd push our limits just a little more and go to "Old McDonald's" for dinner with the family...

It was loud and dirty and the preteen girls on the slides were a little more than annoying, but my son had fun and he loved the ice cream...it may have been his favorite part of the day.

Today wasn't the perfect day I had planned out in my head, but it was our day to celebrate our son.  A boy who came into our lives three years ago and changed us forever.  My heart has expanded exponentially since I met that sweet baby on that St Patrick's Day evening.  God has let me experience a love that I didn't know could possibly exist through parenting him.  So even though today wasn't perfect, it was ours.  And I'm thankful for it just as I'm thankful for all of the unplanned things that I've experienced with H over the last 3 years.  Unplanned moments of joy and pride and honor and love.  I hope one day he can feel for himself what we've been able to feel because of him.  But for now, I'll just leave him with this...

"And if someday you’re lonely,

or someday you’re sad,
or you strike out at baseball,
or think you’ve been bad...

just lift up your face, feel the wind in your hair.
That’s me, my sweet baby, my love is right there.

In the green of the grass... in the smell of
the sea... in the clouds floating by...
at the top of a tree... in the sound
crickets make at the end of the day...

“You are loved. You are loved. You are
loved,” they all say."