to infinity and beyond!

Though he doesn't officially turn three until Wednesday, we had a small birthday party for Garrett yesterday morning. All five of the friends invited were able to come, and everyone appeared to have a good time. The party was Toy Story themed, and, even though things didn't go quite as planned, it turned out to be lots of fun. (Note to self: flexibility is just as important as preparation when it comes to a birthday party involving small children.) The party games fizzled in the first few minutes, but nobody minded -- we all just played with the toys instead. Some kids put together Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, some played with cars, and the rest played a watered down version of The Claw game (extracting green army men from the bucket of soldiers with salad tongs).

Aside from having all of his friends there, Garrett's favorite part of the party was the cake. He will never get tired of "The Happy Birthday Song" or blowing out candles. This year I made him cupcakes decorated to look like the three-eyed aliens from Pizza Planet. I'm pretty sure I thought they looked cooler than he did, but he made up for it with his devotion to licking up the frosting.

Thank you to Elizabeth, London, Joey, Pierson, and Liam for coming! And thank you for the lovely (and much-loved by Garrett) gifts you brought. (My project for Garrett this week is to teach him the importance of The Thank You Note.)

Playing hard, birthday party style.

Elizabeth and London practicing The Claw.

Caleb also loved playing with The Claw.

Introducing London to Mrs. Potato Head.

Elizabeth in her special reading glasses.

Pierson and Garrett playing cars.

Opening presents.

Blowing out three birthday candles.

This is what the cupcakes looked like before they were all devoured.

Everyone was anxious to play with Garrett's new train depot.