Luke's Third Birthday & Party

This past weekend we celebrated Luke turning three years old.  The weather threatened to become an issue, but we ended up only having to delay an hour to allow for warmer temps and more travel time.  Since it was just family and two little friends and their siblings, everyone was able to make it.  

For months beforehand, I had this idea of getting some sort of construction equipment to show up for the party.  (It would probably be helpful to stop here and explain that his party theme was construction.)  I shopped around some different personal rental options, but soon realized that was going to be way more pricey and difficult than we were willing to take on for a three year old's birthday party.  I decided to shift gears (get it? Ha!) and stopped by a local construction equipment company we pass on the way to church all the time.  The lone lady working in the office definitely didn't have an answer when I asked what it would cost to have a dump truck swing by a birthday party for a little while.  She told me to get back to her in a few days if I hadn't heard anything.  I left the office hedging my bets that she threw away the paper with my name on it before I'd started the van.  

We left for a Disney a few days after that, so I put it out of my mind until we got back.  I shot her an email then and the next day she left me a voicemail.  When I called her back, she said that one of their workers was willing to come back with a dump truck pulling a track hoe.  I asked how much that would cost and held my breath.  "Not a thing," she said.  "He's willing to do it since the equipment won't be in use.  We just ask you to consider giving him a tip for his time."  Uh, YEAH.  

So that's how we ended up having a dump truck pulling a track hoe honking outside of our house on the day of Luke's party.  Unfortunately, we'd delayed the start time but he had to come according to the original schedule.  That meant Luke and Audrey got a ton of time with it, but other guests didn't get as long.  It also left my family pulling together final lunch stuff for me inside while I was outside, but it all worked out in the end.  The kids really enjoyed climbing all over it, writing their names with chalk on the bucket and trailer, and sitting in the seat of the track hoe.  The guy drove it off the trailer and David and his dad even worked the levers and moved the bucket a bit.  I don't know who had the most fun - Luke, Ed, or the guy who brought the thing.  We sent him away with a big thank you tip and a cupcake and hurried inside to the warmth and lunch.  

As we were finishing up eating (again, big thanks to my family for helping pull it together!), the kids played a couple of the games and ran around with their hard hats on. (I might should've looked into the real thing as those plastic things give such a false sense of security.)  We rounded up everyone to sing Happy Birthday and admired yet another masterpiece cake by my sister-in-law Jenny.  She'd created a construction site scene with a giant dirt (crushed Teddy Grahams) "3" on a huge sheet cake.  She placed some construction vehicles, tiny cones, and a little barrel on top.  It was darling...er, I mean manly...and Luke loved it.  He'd been talking about Aunt Jenny and that cake for weeks.  I watched him as he watched everyone singing to him and silently said a prayer of thanks for this amazing little boy who melts my heart...tries my patience, but melts my heart.  

We ate cake and ice cream and then moved to the family room to open gifts.  He got some great new toys and gave everyone a giant "thank you!" before tearing into a couple of them.  Everyone hung around, played, and visited a little while before heading out.  Audrey had a birthday party to go to that afternoon (an older sister of one of Luke's guests, actually), so she and David scooted out.  My mom, brother, and niece stayed while Luke rested a little bit.  I began to tear everything down and clean up.  Pretty soon, it was dinnertime.  We ordered pizza and stuck Audrey, Luke, and my niece Annelise in front of a movie with a picnic blanket and food while we vegged out.  We let them play a little more afterward and then put them to bed, exhausted.  We stayed up and talked to my brother a little longer before we grabbed some leftover cake and all headed to bed ourselves.  It had been a wonderful day celebrating the most precious boy with many of our loved ones.  Parties are a lot of work, but man are they so worth it to me for that very reason.  

The next day was his actual birthday and David, Audrey, and I serenaded him awake with song.  He had a lovely breakfast of Pop-tarts (his choice) and got dressed in his "Here Comes the Birthday Boy" t-shirt.  We drove to church and checked the kids in, being sure to tell everyone we saw it was his special day.  After the service, we headed to brunch at a local diner.  My brother and niece hit the rode from there and we went home to put our feet up for a few and rest.  Later we gave him his gift from us (a Hot Wheels track that attaches to the wall) and played with it for a few minutes before small group.  Afterward, we ate leftover tacos, put three candles in leftover cake, and sang round three of Happy Birthday.  I realized later that a party before the actual birthday is weird and a little foreign to us.  We weren't quite sure what to do about gifts and cake on the day of when they're still this little and don't know dates, but I think we hit a good middle ground with it.  I know he felt special and celebrated all weekend long, which is what matters.  

Here are some other party details:

Colors:  Orange, Yellow, and Black

Centerpieces/Decor:  Hardhats, caution tape streamers in the doorway, balloons, a banner, road table runners, safety cones, toy construction vehicles, tools, "safety cones" in jars (candy corn), and construction cut-out signs.  Outside I set up construction cones along the walkway and a real construction barrel on the porch.

Food:  Build-your-own-taco bar, beans, queso, and tortilla chips for lunch and another cake masterpiece by my SIL Jenny.

Activities/Games:  Besides the giant dump truck and track hoe, which provided a lot of entertainment, I had a small tabletop play sand box (filled with the no-mess sand) with construction toys and a hammering practice area stocked with styrofoam cubes and golf tees.

Favors:  "Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site" hardback book plus a chocolate tool for the little ones and a small Lego kit with a chocolate tool for the older ones.  


Luke, you are such a blessing to this family and we love you so very much.  You make every problem seem much less significant when you wrap your arms around my neck and tell me you love me.  Your cuteness is almost too much to bear; your laughter and sheer excitement about life is medicine to my sometimes cynical soul.  Thank you for the joy you bring to us every day.  I can't wait to see what God has in store for you.  I know you'll approach it with the tenacity with which you dive into everything.  Happy Birthday, Bubba!

Pictures to come this weekend.