Happy Birthday!

When you're like Luke, and you sing "Happy Birthday" to yourself several times a week, it is really hard to sit through other people's birthday parties. Try three in one week. Rough.


On our way to Eli's 3rd Birthday. Zeke couldn't care less. It's all about the toys, man.



Luke, on the other hand, was ecstatic. He decided to ride his scooter to the party, just two little buildings away.



Zeke, still eating his toys.



Luke, all done with his scooter. He decided it would be much more suave to escort his scooter to the scene of the party rather than ride it.



A jar of bubbles! All for me!



And a BOUNCE HOUSE! One great thing about Luke is that he is very, very cautious. He will take risks, but only calculated ones. So he analyzed the bounce house and made a very wise decision to enter only when all of the other kids got out.



And he had a great time!



Flop.



Next game: Duck-Duck-Goose. Here Luke listens intently to Adrian (Eli's daddy) explain the how-tos.



Duck-Duck-Goose in action, amended to fit two- and three-year-olds (i.e., when you hear "GOOSE," everybody run!)



Now it's time for "Red Light Green Light." Lucky Lukey got to hold two girls' hands at the same time. Aya and Anna. Bliss.



Lukey seems to have a thing for blonde girls. He has a lot of crushes these days, and Ava is a definite crush. His eyes are always on her. Recently at the playground he followed her around, tenderly reaching for her hand and gently placing his hand on her shoulder. Then she proceeded up a dangerous part of the structure, and he shouted to her: "NO, AVA! NOT THAT WAY!" The knight rescued his maiden from certain death.



Sandwiched between Ava and her big brother, Kimball, Luke waits for the jello cake.



Sweet sibling shot of Ava and Kimball with Eli and Azilee.



Cute little Eli got some fun presents, all travel-themed. His daddy is continuing his PhD research in Tonga! So the family left this past Sunday to spend a year and a half there. We will miss them!



Zekers at the end of Eli's party.



Slurp!



Hee hee!



Party #2, for our own dear Sam.



Luke burst into tears when we sang Sam Happy Birthday!



Grammy and Poppy gave Luke his own Happy Birthday turn, but at this point he preferred picking his nose. He was trying to find Sam's birthday present. Happy 26th Birthday, Sam!!



And on to Birthday #3: Elliot DeJong! This was a fun party at West Manor Park, with the theme of green and trains. Here Green Jason (Elliot's daddy) gives Green Zeke a stellar view of the happenings.



Not yet a one-woman man, Luke has a bit of a crush on Anya DeJong. As for Anya, she regularly reports to her parents that she is going to marry Luke. So here they enjoy a moment together under the park table.



Meanwhile, Zeke enjoyed a moment of sweet solitude in baby-friend Will's stroller.









Luke was all about Jason and needed to show him how he uses the "backhull" (backhoe).



Elliot had the cutest little mini train cakes!



Everyone decorated their own little train cakes. Luke's dream-come-true: a line of bowls filled with sugary treats. Going in for the kill.



Luke quickly gave up the decorating idea and was the first kid to dive right into that cake. Not wasting any time.



A final group photo of the Elliot birthday posse.

This was a lot of birthdays in a little bit of time. Makes us excited for January...