A Labor Day birthday party on the horse farm.

Our ski house buddy, Nico, turned three on Saturday. His parents had a birthday party for him today, but invited us to come a little early to check out their horses.  Yep, we have friends with horses.  I know; I think it's a little odd too.  They live up in the hills on the other side of Stanford.  It's gorgeous there (nice house, lots of acres of land, giant horses) and my kids had a blast.

When we first got there, the boys were riding their bikes, so Leo borrowed a helmet and did a little riding.  But then they got these electric vehicles out and the bikes were boring.  Leo had to drive the tractor.

There was something very unsettling about watching Serafina be driven off in a car by an older guy.

Then it was feeding time for the horses.  Leo got to meet Pokey up close.

Serafina admires Rooster.  From what I could gather, the horses (five total, but only four currently on the property) are all former racers and their names are abbreviated from their registered racing names.

Wheeee!

Checking out the horse chow.

The kids waited for piñata time to start.

It was a pull-string piñata, so instead of having to whack it with a bat, the kids all pull a string at the same time.  Safer and more fair for the kids.  Unless, of course, the main string breaks and then you have to break out a stick and whack it.  Leo actually knocked it down, but since all the kids hadn't had a chance to hit it, the piñata got strung back up for more kids' turns.

Cake time.  My kids were front and center for that action.

I wanted to get a picture of the birthday boy, but he was busy with cake.

My kids were equally engrossed.

More tractor time.

An underaged driver tries to run down Daddy.

Serafina's 3rd birthday!!!

My baby girl turned three today! The kids are in bed and I'm relieved the day is over. It was pretty exhausting and we don't have the best track recorded with third birthdays.

Here's the birthday girl waking up.  Yes, she sleeps in a tutu almost every night.

Start the birthday off right with a present in bed.

Big hug for the new ladybug pillow pet.  She took it to bed tonight but used her old pillow.

Leo was very concerned about a present for himself.  Nana delivered.  She knows he's a sensitive little guy and didn't want to be left out.  She got him a little Lego set that completely satisfied him.

She got Serafina a dance tutu/leotard in the next size up and a Peppa Pig game.  Peppa Pig is a British TV show and Serafina's favorite.

Hurray!  Birthday eggs.

After breakfast we packed up and headed to the coast.  It is always a little strange to leave our warm, sunny weather for the cool overcast coast, but my kids love the ocean.

Oh look!  A seal.

The beach is an excellent place for a monster truck rally.

Heading over the cliff to see what's on the other side.

Checking out a piece of wood that looked like a hand.

Leo liked flying the kite.

Until he realized that flying a kite is actually incredibly boring.

Tom and Serafina fetch some drift wood to tie down the kite.

Time to bury Leo in the sand.

Escaping.

Serafina's turn.

I was surprised she wanted to do it since she gets kind of fussy about being too sandy.

She loved it.

Until she was out and had a bunch of sand stuck to her.

We made the long drive home, showered and then headed out to a restaurant for a special birthday dinner.  Here she is playing with her gift from Leo.  Tiny little Hello Kittys.  

Special birthday dessert.

Leo helped blow out the candle.

There was this strange balsamic reduction under the cake.  Serafina would take a bite and then make a face because of the strange salty bitter flavor.  The cake was fine, but that glaze was unpleasant.  She kept at it though.  I'm going to make cupcakes for our playdate on Tuesday and for school on Thursday so I'll make it up to her.

Overall a great day.  I was just a happy momma and didn't get too sad about her being three.  She's full of too much joy to be anything but joyful too.

3rd birthday eve

How is it possible that my baby is turning three?  I'm not handling that well.  We are getting ready to move Serafina into Leo's room and change the nursery into an office.  We picked out a new paint color for that room and I teared up.  We talked about selling the rocking chair and changing table and I welled up again.  She'll always be my "baby", but I have no more babies.  Only big kids at this house.  Potty trained, school attending, loud mouth kids.  It's great and heartbreaking at the same time.

With everything on my plate, I couldn't even think about having a party.  Instead, we'll have a special family day tomorrow (beach and dinner out) and in a couple weeks we'll go camping.  Tom brought home a second kid-sized sleeping bag today, so now they each have one.  They are pretty thrilled and played "camping" quite a bit this afternoon.

 It's a good way to watch TV before bed too.  Tom is using his backpacking sleeping bag.  He thinks it doesn't smell bad.  Trust me, it does.

  On the way home from camping, we'll stop in Gilroy, which is the garlic capital of the world.  There's an amusement park in Gilroy...an agricultural-themed amusement park.  I kid you not.  I'm looking forward to riding in the giant artichoke and the spinning garlic bulb, but I think I'm too big to ride the mushroom swing.  I'm pretty sure the kids will love the camping/amusement park weekend and feel it is enough of a celebration for their birthday.  

After tomorrow's outing, we'll have an exciting week of celebrating the birthday with others and Serafina's first day of school.  If I survive everything that is happening this week, it will be nothing short of a miracle.