Hi Everyone! So we finally got around to having Rinat’s 3rd birthday party. It was just about 2 months past his actual birthday but he didn’t really seem to care. We celebrated it first at school where they had a whole lesson on how the earth had gone around the sun 3 times since Rinat was born and we sang a song while he carried the globe and walked around the sun on the floor. Then I showed photos of him and we had some cinnamon apple cake for the class. Rinat was so darn cute. He gets this little smile on his face like he’s a little bit embarrassed and a little bit excited and a little bit proud- he’s not sure which to be more. I loved that Peter and I got to go to his school because we finally got to meet all of those kids that he talks about every day when he I pick him up. And I learned something new about my little Romeo too. He, at age 3, is already girl crazy. Miss B told me that he has a little girlfriend who he absolutely adores and he gets really upset if someone sits next to her on the rug or if she sits with someone else at snack time. And once I met her, I had to second his choice in playmates- she is totally adorable. After his teacher told me, I recalled that one time he came home sad from school and told me “X no want to sit next to me today. She say she sit next to me tomorrow” with the saddest puppy dog eyes on his face and his sweet head hanging down so far that his chin was touching his chest. It’s like his little world had ended- he barely even ate lunch that day. Oh what fun his teenage years are going to be- heartbreak city, just like it Daddy (or so I’ve heard). It was so much fun to see him in his classroom. 
And then the official party was at the National Building Museum last week. How gorgeous is that place? There was a ton of blue icing consumed and then it was time to have playtime in the Construction Zone room. There truly is nothing that Rinat likes better than to be a ‘working man’ so this party was definitely up his alley. 
And he really loved that he had friends both from school (yes, his girlfriend came) and from outside school (aka my friends’ kids) and Granddaddy and Nana, Uncle MattMatt, Auntie Ann, and they were all there just for him. He felt like it was a very big deal- which it was- and I am so glad that they all could come and celebrate with us. 
Then the next day, we took GDaddy and Nana downtown to visit his friend Hammerhead Lincoln. He had a great time showing off his city and all that it has to offer. And this weekend…well… this weekend, I am sitting in my nice quiet house all by myself. I slept in for probably the first time in about 3 years and did whatever I felt like all weekend long. How did I manage that, you ask? Well, my darling husband has taken off for the entire weekend with Rinat and I am on my own. It has been fantastic but I have to admit that I’ve been just a little bit lost too. I have grown so used to the chaos that is life with a preschooler that I just keep thinking that something is missing or there is something that I forgot to do. I keep waiting for them to walk home from the park- his little face at the door yelling “Mama!! Mama!! Open the door! We home!” But, no, I am not forgetting something important. I am just forgetting about my responsibilities for a short while.
All will be back to normal tomorrow. And this may be my last chance for a while because once baby #2 comes, it’s back to day and night duty again for a couple years. I am looking forward to it, but I am also trying to soak up every second of our life as it is now since I know it will never be this simple again. Just as Rinat has made our lives more stressful, louder, chaotic, expensive, messy, and crazy, the new little one will just multiply what is already the insanity of our lives. And I know that just as Rinat has, he/she too will fill out hearts with more love than we thought possible. And now I am off to enjoy my last few hours of peace, there will be a sweet little face banging on the door soon yelling “Mama!! I home!!” Love to all -m
