Reef is 3!

It's hard for me to believe that Reef is already 3! I still vividly remember the day he was born and time has flown so fast! We celebrated his actual birthday last week with a trip to the Rainforest Cafe. He loved all the animals but then had a hard time sleeping because he was "afraid of the gorillas". We opened presents with Gigi early Sunday morning.
Concentrating hard...

Finally got it out! He loves this game right now but did have a hard time accepting it the first time he lost.

Checking out the new keyboard. Earlier this week, he made Troy play guitar while Reef played piano and sang "I Love You, Lord." Makes me wish we had a video camera.

The favorite gift of the day-Elefun from Gigi. Basically butterflies blow out of the elephant's trunk and you catch them in your net. A great game for the boys to play together!

Today we had Reef's party. When we talked about it earlier this week, he said, "But I already had a party!" But when reminded of the blue fire truck cake, he got excited about this other party.
Troy turned our fort into a fire truck. Definitely a big hit with Reef.

Mark and Melynda loaned us the jumping castle, which was a favorite for Jonas.

Happy Birthday to You! He loved the cake but not being the center of attention, I think. Reef's head was too big for his hat, so he had to hold it on!!

Reef, Jayden, and Claire opening the card from Claire.

Opening his gift from new neighbors, Erin and Chris.

Trying on the camping gear from Jayden. He's all set for the trip we're hoping to take in June.

Fire truck puzzle from Oma and Opa.

Miss Kellie brought all of Reef's favorite things (fire truck, color-changing ambulance, Madagascar crayons and stickers)! Here they're checking out the ambulance changing color.

I think the party was fun for Reef and all his friends, but I sure am tired! Things I want to remember about Reef right now:

-You love helping me cook.

-You're constantly checking on Jonas and helping me get him up from his bed.

-You love your musical instruments.

-You got 2 fire trucks for your birthday but instead of taking one back, you decided to give it to Jonas.

-You're learning to be patient and learning to help me around the house (sweeping, clearing the table, etc)

You're growing up so fast, Reef! We can't wait to see what you learn this year!