Happy 3rd birthday Rowan!

Rowan's birthday was the day after the party, so it seemed like we had already celebrated, but I couldn't just not celebrate at all, so we still had a mini party for him :) I let him decide what we were going to have for breakfast, hoping it would be something delicious, but he chose cereal (which in reality was good since we had to get ready for church, etc). We had plans to go to Okuma (a little beach resort up north) for a couple of days, so the celebration would continue up there after church!

We drove up there after church, settled into the cabin and then started celebrating :) We rented a golf cart to get around, made a fire and roasted hot dogs for dinner and then finished the night off with this delicious cake. In order for the bakery to make the shisa cookies that I wanted for Boden's cake, we had to actually order a cake from the bakery. But, I didn't want to waste a bakery cake on a smash cake, so we saved it for Rowan's birthday which was perfect! He made us sing happy birthday 3 times (he was turning 3!) so he could keep blowing the candles out :)

Interview with 3-year-old Rowan

What's your name? "Rowan Grant Layton"
How old are you? "3"
When is your birthday? "May 22"
How old is mommy? "3,4,5" "45"
What's your favorite color? "black and white"
What's your favorite food? "frosting"
Who's your best friend? "Joey"
What's your favorite show? "Construction site" (really just youtube videos of machines working)
What's your favorite movie? "TumbleLeaf"
What's your favorite song? "Nursery songs", I Love to See the "Temple"
What's your favorite animal? "Giraffe"...2 hours later I asked him again because I didn't really think that was his favorite animal. He said (in a slightly annoyed tone), "I already told you at our house....Giraffe!"
What are you scared of? "Tigers"
What makes you happy? "Sleeping" and "going downstairs" (this is what he wants to do when he wakes up every morning)
What are you going to be when you grow up? "A dinosaur"
What are you going to do for work when you grow up? "Fix sharks teeth"

I don't think all of these answers actually represent the truth but it was still fun to ask and see what he answered. It is so much fun now that he is talking a ton and you can really have full conversations with him and see what is going on in his head. Rowan is a FUN kid who I genuinely love being with. He knows how to throw a fit, but for the most part he's a happy kid. It's cute to see his relationship with Boden developing. When he's really excited about something he'll say, "Look Boden!" I hope they are friends forever. The worst part of this phase is his new phrase, "I don't feel good." Since he was really sick in Bali and got extra care and attention, he says he doesn't feel good every time he isn't getting what he wants.

Rowan loves all things vehicle, especially construction trucks, and knows more about them than I do. It amazes me every day to hear new vocabulary words he has picked up and makes me realize how much he observes and how much we really need to set good examples around him, etc. He is kind of shy around new people but also loves to show off :) He is 31 lbs (38 percentile) and 43rd percentile for height. He apparently doesn't really participate in signing time in nursery (except the snowman song occasionally), but he'll randomly break into song that he's learned at church when he's at home. It's so cute. He'll sing the "Boden Kai" song when Boden is crying in the car...that's my favorite. He goes to bed around 8-8:30 and wakes up around 6 and usually takes a 2-3 hour nap (which I love :) Rowan, you're adorable and we love you so much. I seriously don't want him to get older. I laugh constantly at the things he says. Happy Birthday Rowan!