We started out by baking Matt's favorite cake! I have to share that this is the first year I have remembered correctly. In the past, I have "remembered" German chocolate, yellow cake, sprinkle cake...anything but his favorite: a combination of lemon/chocolate. So either, lemon cake and chocolate icing or vice versa. Ian was very eager to help and wear his Christmas present!
Ian can read the directions on the box now and gather all the ingredients. He's really quite helpful!
Zoe helped with the cake process by snacking and supervising. She was very animated in her observation, making comments and telling us what to do. When we poured the cake into the pan, she applauded our efforts with a hearty, "YAAAAAAY! You did it!"
Next, we flipped over some wrapping paper and made a banner. I love how Ian colors in whole words at a time.
Zoe insists on using pens for everything. And, she will often color with two hands. She's pretty much ambidextrous at this phase, but does show a slight preference for the right hand.
They really wanted the balloons. We are giving balloons a break, though!
Next, we made birthday cards. Ian had already picked out a very appropriate Garfield one at the PX. It said on the outside, "Aging is mandatory," and on the inside, "Maturity is optional." How does he know what is so fitting when he can't read?! Anyway, the handmade cards were on pieces of random foam I had saved from Ian's birthday. I pencilled in letters to spell out the message on the card, and Ian picked and matched up the stick-on foam letters to create the greeting.
I pulled out all the letters to spell, "Happy birthday," for Zoe, and figured her card would be sort of a search & find. In reality, she put all the letter stickers on the card, peeled them off, and ripped them to pieces, handing me back the blank foam card saying, "Happy!" So, I tried again, and gave here the letters for simply, "Happy." She carefully placed all of them.
Later on, they helped place candles and sprinkles on the cake. Ian wanted to dump the whole pile in one place.
Zoe helped decorate too. In her usual supervisory mode, she insured that the quality of the sprinkles was up to par.
After we had completed icing the cake, Ian announced he wanted to call Daddy. How did I not see what was coming? (The following conversation was completely unprompted. I simply dialed and handed the phone over on speakerphone).
Ian: "Hi Daddy! Happy birthday!"
Daddy: "Oh, thank you, Ian! You remembered!"
Ian: "Yes I did. And, I made you a birthday cake with sprinkles on it. And a sign and a card."
Daddy: "Wow, Ian! That's great! Thank you!"
Ian: "You're welcome, it's a surprise. Love you, Daddy. Bye!"
Zoe requested the phone next.
Daddy: "Hello? Zoe are you there?"
Zoe: "Hi! Hi! Hi! Hi!"
Daddy: "Hi, sweetheart! How are you?"
Zoe: "Happy! Happy! Happy, Daddy!"
Daddy: "Thank you, Zoe."
Zoe: "Eat cake. Yum yum."
(Daddy didn't hear this clearly).
Daddy: "What?"
Zoe: "Bye, Daddy! Cake!"
They crack me up. Maybe next time we are planning surprises, we'll postpone a phone call. Or, make the phone call first?!
When Matt came home, the kids were a flurry of excitement. After all, Daddy's arrival meant most importantly that it was time for cake.
Then, we showered him with all of our "surprises."
Wait. Wasn't that super-de-awesome triathlon transition backpack an actual surprise?! Didn't I actually have Matt fooled into thinking that he was getting running shoes or biking shorts? That was before the day known as the-last-day-of-having-to-keep-a-surprise-before-his-birthday-arrived.
Allow me to explain. Two days before his birthday, Matt's present arrived in the mail. I opened the present right away, eager to see how neat my surprise was! Ian stood by too, quietly observing. I thought nothing of this. I unzipped all the pockets, I smiled, I packed it back in the box, and was proud of my handiwork. What an amazing surprise! I turned and Ian announced, "Oh! I like Daddy's birthday present!" Did I even tell him it was Matt's present? NO! But I immediately realized that a 3 1/2 year old is definitely NOT capable of containing a surprise. What were my best odds here? Trying to downplay the situation...and only acknowledging with a brief, "Yep." I figured the more I talked about it, the more it would be etched in his mind. I also figured if I told him NOT to tell Matt, he would do so even more readily.
Fast forward to that last night before the birthday. We had made it through two WHOLE days with no leaks. I had forgotten that it was even a possibility Ian would say something. Unbeknownst to me, while Matt was dressing Ian, he stopped his jabbering about clothes and toys to say, "Daddy, we got you a backpack for your birthday." That is all.
It was still a wonderful family time of celebration. Matt didn't know which triathlon backpack he was getting, after all. I'm sure more details will be remembered and transmitted next year. I'm going to develop additional covert birthday present ops.
So glad we got to celebrate with Daddy on this special day. Every year that passes truly is better and better. Happy birthday, Matt! :)
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