Ryan Turns Three

On February 1, 2006 Ling Delong was born. That's what a piece of paper written in Chinese says anyway. He was actually found a month later with no information about his previous life, so February 1 is most likely a guess.

We were supposed to have a big extended family birthday party on Saturday but Emma was still contagious with strep throat. Everybody loves a good party favor but somehow strep throat isn't on the top 10 list this year. Yo Gabba Gabba, yes. Strep, no. Never fear, the party was moved to next Saturday.

Since I didn't have big birthday plans for Sunday, Ryan's actual birthday we had to come up with Plan B. Plan B consisted of a homemade decorated cake and a trip to Build-a-Bear. Ryan and Emma were going to build stuffed creatures while forcibly coerced gently guided by their more experienced older sisters, Julia and Jenna.

I know, I know, its a bit surprising that I would go to Build-a-Bear after I was so shockingly stalked by them before Christmas, but I decided to let bygones be bygones, especially since I didn't get a restraining order. Otherwise it might have been a little awkward.

We had a late breakfast so we went about lunchtime, right before nap time. The big girls were excited about going even if they didn't get to get anything. Jenna made sure to bring her most favorite possession in the world, her dog Bailey, birthed in Build-a-Bear a mere few of years ago.

We entered the store and the girls and I showed Ryan and Emma all the possible choices of animals to which both of them turned up their noses in disdain. I decided perhaps the choices were too big, too overwhelming.

"Maybe we should do this backwards." I told the girls. "Let's take them to clothes first and work our way back to the bears."

Ryan seemed overwhelmed and amazed at the same time. But he and Emma were fascinated with the stuffing machine.
Had I only known that all my children want is a big box full of churning fluff with buttons that light up. But that didn't last long for Emma. Of course.

She wandered the store and loved to go behind the register counter.

And she tired to make her big escape out the front door several times.

In the end, we took them back to the animals and neither child wanted one. Imagine that. I have not one, but two, kids who turned down a toy. Next thing you know world peace will break out and people will join hands and sing Kumbyah. It could happen.

Julia and Jenna were not happy that they couldn't live vicariously through their younger siblings. But they consoled themselves with pretzel sticks. Personally, I go for chocolate but to each her own.

When we got home both little ones were tired so they went down for their naps. I then thoroughly cleaned my house watched 2 episodes of 24. I'm watching 24 because of my evil friend Denise at Love Keeps Growing More Love. Denise saw that I'm addicted to Lost and told me that I should watch 24. And then she sent me a whole season on DVD. You would think that someone with a blog with the word "Love" incorporated into it wouldn't be evil, but the evidence speaks for itself. Seriously, don't I have enough addictions? Now I have one more.

Oh, yeah. Julia and I also made Ryan a cake.

And a lovely cake it was. We couldn't wait to eat it-- chocolate cake with white icing... yum. But the it's now past the kids bedtime and yet the cake still sits on the counter untouched.

Remember that ticking time bomb that I mentioned on Friday?

Boom! It went off this afternoon. A fever, 3 episodes of vomiting, a trip to a closed Walgreen's Minute Clinic, a trip to a closed CVS Minute Clinic -- yep, its a fun birthday for my little guy. I'm sure it's strep but unfortunately he'll have to wait until tomorrow morning to find out for sure.

Good thing he has no idea it's even his birthday.