Happy Birthday, my beautiful boy!

Max turned three years old yesterday; and despite the fact that we've been celebrating for two full weeks, I can hardly believe it! He is such a big boy all of a sudden!

We had a party for family and very close friends two weekends before his birthday, since it was the only time several special people could attend. We then had another (wonderful but wild) party yesterday for the kids in his playgroup, and almost twenty little children showed up. For both parties, we had an inflatable bouncer/waterslide in the backyard (thanks to my awesome friend Michele), and lots of delicious food.

Every time Max has a birthday, it is also a special time for me to remember what was one of the happiest days of my life. Labor and my ultimate emergency C-section were nightmarish, but every bit of pain was completely erased the minute he entered this world. It sounds hokey, but it really was love at first sight; and I would have gone through every bit of it again at that very moment without a second thought.

Here are a couple of my favorite pictures of him from those first few days. I know every mother says it, but he REALLY WAS absolutely beautiful from the very start:




And, of course, he's still beautiful. But the most important thing is that he's healthy, happy, and decent--and hilarious! He makes us smile and laugh out loud numerous times every day. Here are some highlights of his big day, including the famous Spiderman 3 cake:


Blowing out the candles:


And enjoying it with some ice cream...life is so hard, isn't it?


HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MY SWEET GUY! I love you!