Ro Had a Birthday, Shout Hooray!

Roosevelt also had a birthday in August.  He turned three.  What the heck?!  I'm still evaluating my life and wondering how I have a three-year-old.  I am not kidding!  The majority of my life I feel like I am still in elementary school.  Like I could easily be best buds with our eight-year-old neighbor.  I don't feel like I've grown up.  And I definitely don't feel like I should be responsible for a three-year-old.  Poor Ro, has a incompetent school-aged girl for a parent.  Anyway...

Wyatt had to work on Ro's actual birthday (which was a Tuesday), so we celebrated the Saturday before.  Ro woke to a bunch of presents and unwrapped each one with great excitement.  He raked in a bunch of loot too.  A Hot Wheels race track, which he loves.  More darts for his Nerf Guns (200 so there's no worry about keeping tack of them), How to Train Your Dragon movie, a book about the solar system, a toy motorcycle, and...

a REAL motorcycle!!!  Which is actually on loan from Wyatt's dad, Grandy.  However, seeing that there aren't very many grand kids living close to Grandy, the competition to use it isn't too bad.  Not to mention it was not running and it is Wyatt who returned it to working order.  

Ro was pretty excited about the motorcycle at first.  But then something happened and he got a little spooked.  Nothing serious.  I think it was just that it would wobble side-to-side as he rode because the training wheels don't touch the ground at the same time.  Ro loves to ride it with Wyatt, though.  Ro in the front, Wyatt (barely) in the back.  Ro gets to control the throttle while Wyatt helps steer.  It's pretty cute.  

(matching "garage shirts" I made.  With the help of Ro and Pippa's footprints.)

We went to the Hand's On Children's Museum in Olympia for Ro's birthday party.  (A family party for four.)  This is the best children's museum I have ever been to.  It is so cool!  It has a good layout and interesting exhibits.  And not too crowded...even on a "pick your price" Saturday.  The temporary exhibit during our visit was about China.  Of course, they had a little exhibit about pandas.  Which Ro, ahem, I loved.  Ro did too in his own way (not just saying that).  They had a video about feeding the baby pandas, so I gave a go at it.  And then Ro did.  He needs a little practice before we head to China to feed the real baby pandas.  

Ro requested a chocolate cake.  I was happy to oblige and even put a little extra love into it and decorate it as a giant donut!  We love donuts over here, so it was very fitting.  

Ro loved the cake!  Especially the frosting, he was constantly sneaking a dip with his finger.  I allowed it since it was his cake and his birthday.  Pippa got a taste of the cake, as well as a taste of what her birthday celebration will be like in a few months.  She was pretty happy about it.  

(An appearance from Ryan C.!)

I felt bad that we celebrated Ro's birthday three-days early, so I decided that we'd sing happy birthday to him every night through his birthday.  By the time his birthday arrived, he wasn't very interested in the cake.  In fact, I was left to eat it alone.  That explained the weight gain that week.  Though, Ro still loved to sample the frosting.  And he loved blowing the candles out every night.  

Ma' G coincidentally had a layover on Ro's birthday.  So we picked her up from her hotel in the morning and bought actual birthday donuts.  And of course, added candles and sang Happy Birthday again.  Ro is actually still regularly singing happy birthday, to himself, over a month later.  Sans candles.  Except for the pretend candles on his sand birthday cakes.  

After we dropped Ma' G off at her hotel, we headed to the local splash pad for a little fun.  Ro loves playing in the water!  And he hates people is super shy.  So he was delighted when he had nearly the whole park to himself!  

I love this kid so much!  He brings so much joy to my little heart that I often think it's going to burst! And sometimes he makes me so crazy I want to scream.  And do sometimes.  He is definitely treading into independent territory.  Defiant territory.  Testing the water, pushing buttons territory.  It can be trying.  But, it can also be very rewarding to watch him take on new challenges and succeed.  Even if the success comes after some discipline on my part.  

Ro is very observant.  He is very much like Wyatt in this way.  I am amazed at how much he remembers, even after a brief exposure.  He's in tune with what others are doing and often offers his commentary...or asks me to offer mine.  He's like this with people, animals, and things.  For example, he has a shelf in his room FULL of pandas.  Grandy, Goombaw, and Aunt Tanya stopped by for a quick visit on the way home from the San Juan Islands.  While here, Grandy snuck into Ro's room and planted an impostor killer whale among the many pandas.  That night when we sat on his bed to read books, he looked up and said, "what's that?"  And pulled the whale out.  I was dumbfounded!  Deductive reasoning told me it had been planted that night...and Ro spotted it within seconds of looking at his pandas.  Everyone else was floored too.  They thought it'd be days...weeks before we/Ro found it.  

Along with being very observant, Ro is a thinker.  He often pauses to think...  You can nearly see the wheels turning in his head as he processes information.  Of course I think he's super smart but I have a biased opinion.  Though, we've had a few comment along the way that they also think he's very smart.  

Ro is very shy.  Also very much like Wyatt in this way.  I think this will be a challenge for him for the rest of his life.  There is nothing wrong with being shy.  I have, however, observed how people have confused his bashfulness with incompetence.  A few times in nursery the leaders have mistakenly thought Ro couldn't do something when in reality he could.  He just didn't because he was too shy.  I'm hoping Ro has many mindful teachers in his future that can recognize this and work with him to reach his potential.  

Ro is a sweet kid.  He's often sensitive to other's feelings.  And he's not your typical "rough n' tough" boy.  He doesn't really roughhouse or wrestle or show much aggression in general.  He can but it's not typical behavior.  Sometimes he hits us but that's usually when he's tired or hungry.  If all of Ro's needs are met, he is a really really good boy.  Ro often pays his compliments to others, "I like your shoes...hair...shirt..."  And he often asks us how we're doing, "How was your run?"  "How was work?"  "How was your nap?"  It is very cute.

Ro is really good at exceeding my expectations.  Like the time we did potty training and he was fully potty trained before my goal.  And he stayed dried at night, even though I only expected him to be trained during the day.  And every time we fly to Colorado.  Traveling is hard and exhausting.  Yet, every time he is happy to accept the challenge.  He always walks through the airport (no strollers or me carrying him), he often pulls his own little luggage/backpack, he is always very well behaved on the plane (he has never cried or thrown a fit)...even when the entertainment is not a screen.  And the most recent trip, Ro pushed Pippa in the stroller while I carried/pushed the luggage.  We were stopped by more than one person paying their compliments...and amazed to learn that Ro was only three and was being such a HUGE help.  That is who Ro is.  He is amazing.

I love that kid so much!  I could go on and on about his positive attributes.  I feel extremely blessed that I get to be his mom.  Ro is a very special kid!