July 8

Caleb turns three tomorrow, and after Daisy's big birthday bash, I knew I wanted his celebration to be pretty low-key. A few weeks ago I asked him how he wanted to celebrate his birthday. His response:

"What is 'celebrate'?"

Seriously, the kid is asking me about every other word these days. After we got "celebrate" figured out, he said, "I want to share a cupcake to Harper."

Harper is his favorite friend at church. I was quite pleased that his one birthday request was one I could easily grant, and arranged to bring cupcakes in to his class at church. Even better, I learned that Harper's birthday is also this week, along with Caleb's other favorite friend, Cooper. So we had a three-for-one birthday celebration at church today.

Caleb chose a special outfit to wear today - a plaid shirt, and his rescue pack. Funny boy.

Cooper's mom, Sara, brought in cute plates and napkins for our celebration, and Caleb volunteered to pass out the napkins.

This is Harper, Caleb's lady love. 

I think it's especially funny that all of Caleb's favorite women happen to be blonde. (Except for me and both of his grandmas, that is.)

Caleb's birthday wish, granted: sharing a cupcake with Harper.

And there's sweet Cooper, our other birthday kid. How are these little boys three already?

Cooper, Harper, and Caleb - the birthday club.

Caleb and Harper, hugging goodbye.

(I really do want to clarify that no one is pushing the kids to do this, or hyping the whole "relationship" thing. They're three. No one has ever said "boyfriend" or "girlfriend" or "crush" to them. It's just a sweet little friendship. It is interesting to see how children act as little mirrors of their parents, though. I'm a very affectionate, hands-on kind of person: I love to hug, snuggle, hold hands, and give kisses. Since it's all he's ever known, Caleb naturally chooses to express his fondness for Harper in the same way. Caleb and I are already having talks about how people don't always want hugs, and I'm sure we'll have to discuss boundaries in more detail as he gets older. But for now, it's fun to see that he's a sweet, loving little boy.)

What sweet little kids!