Owen is 3!

Saturday was Owen's 3rd birthday!  We decided to host just a small group of his friends for a construction truck-themed party at the house.  Figuring out how long/if 2 and 3 year-olds would be interested in various activities is pretty much like herding cats, as they say.  But the boys had fun just playing together and didn't really need much structure in the end.

Owen was so excited, he was dancing around before everyone arrived.

I had the boys each decorate their own hard hat for the festivities.  We managed to get most of them together for a photo op: from left, Carson, Everest, Owen, Brady, and Jacob. (Quentin came later, but he got a hat, too.)

Then it was downstairs for the obstacle course, scavenger hunt, hot potato, and free play until pizza time.  I'd say hot potato was pretty much chaos, but the other activities were mild successes.  :)

Back upstairs for pizza and cake.  Yes, it was a homemade cake.  The "dirt" was crushed Oreos, complete with a front end loader full of dirt, and a rainbow road of sprinkles. Pretty fun to do!  And the boys seemed to enjoy eating it, too.

Check out Owen's candle-blowing face at the end!

Then it was gift time.  I decided to chance it and have him open gifts with his guests present, so we could thank them in person and share the excitement.  All in all, it went well.  We did have to set aside one or two of the more "desired" presents to avoid a fracas, but I was impressed with the sharing and cooperation.

And Oma and Grandpa joined us via Skype for part of the festivities.  I think Carson kept them entertained.  :)

Then after everyone went home and we all had naps, we had a quieter family gift exchange.  Hadley was unimpressed.

(I hope some teeth result from all of this gnawing and slobbering soon!)

Uncky Dan and Aunt Jenn joined us via FaceTime.

And Owen got a lot of cars!

Happy birthday little man!  Can't believe you are 3 now.  Here's to many more!