Freddie turns 3-not 4

Freddie turned three on the 5th. He requested a cheesecake for his birthday and of course pizza. I had him help me make it the day before. He loved helping me and it was a good reminder that he is totally ready to help in the kitchen. Since he loves food so much, he deserves to be helping more often. The downside to a cheesecake is not being able to eat the batter-but I think he'll request the same cake again next year. It was a big hit with everyone-probably since I haven't made it in about 3 years.

The morning of his birthday Jordan asked why he hadn't opened any of his presents yet. Technically, he got a bike the weekend before from papa and grandma Smith and that was obviously opened. He ended up getting the same exact bike as Cedrik's only because the other ones were too cheesy-and according to my mom, he wanted it. So, we let him open his gift from Cedrik. Cedrik used his own money ($4) and bought Freddie a cute metal school bus. He didn't even flinch when I asked if he wanted to use some of his money to buy Freddie a gift.  (We are doing the same thing for Christmas and they have both spent their own money towards a gift).

Papa Murphys has a cute pizza making kit for kids; so I got one of each for the boys along with some pepperoni (vegan) to add to the cheese. They LOVED the pepperoni. They basically ate most of the package and then didn't want to eat the pizza after it was baked. As you can tell from the pictures, Freddie ate quite a bit of the unbaked cheese too.

He also got a sail boat and a l.e.d. drawing pad-biggest hit with him, well-that and the school bus. He draws non stop. 

After dinner and presents, Craig, Maryn, Charlie and Jonas came over to help us eat the cake. Our kids love them all. :)

Freddie's best quality is that he teaches us to slow down. This characteristic is also least appreciated by three of us in the house.  He is so funny. And he doesn't even have to work at it. He just make funny jokes and says clever and funny things. We decided that he was ready to say his own personal prayer at night and he is much more inclined to ask for help through prayer during the day. Turning three has been his hardest transition in life-I'm trying to understand his needs more.