Our James had a birthday this week. He’s such a boy, but such a baby; a real, cuddly, babyish boy still, always pretending to be BIG and brave but really he’s not at all. Last night before lying down in bed he decided to turn the little night light lamp off. I said “it will be really dark, James” and he said “me like the dark!” And turned it off. There was silence for a couple of seconds. I said, “will I rescue you?” And this teeny, scared voice whispered “yes!”
My delicious, big but very small boy!
And so he is three. I was really ill the time of his birth, so I remember the elation mixed with that funny sensation of blurriness that I can’t quite make clear. But he has filled our lives with utterly clear joy since: he has been so sweet, so easy almost every day since. He is a happy, contented boy (when he’s not hungry. When hungry, then, he is the absolute opposite. Think demonic)
On his birthday morning, as per family tradition we dragged ourselves out of bed early (rather than the usual slooowww ascent into the day) James woke the boys with glee, and we trooped out to the kitchen to open his presents. He opened two Lego mini figures from Grace first. Up he jumped, shouting “Woah! Yego! [lego] Yots and Yots of yego!” Before he ran off in excitement, we showed him the other presents: the first, a plastic rifle (don’t judge 🙂 I have major philosophical issues with guns, but he’s obsessed with “army-guys” and being “the good guy” protecting us from “the bad guys”. I spent many hours freaking out until a friend of mine showed me this. I feel less like a Bad Mother now)
Anyway, he opens this €1.50 piece of rubbishy plastic and screeches with delight! “Woah! Oh Woah! A dun! [gun] Woaaahhhh!!” It was a bit like the little boy in this video, who first gets a chopping board for his birthday, and then thinks a shoe box contains new shoes so he doesn’t have to glue his shoes together anymore. (It doesn’t, it contains a computer tablet) It’s heartbreaking!
James jumps down and shouts to the boys “Yets fight the bad guys! Woaaahhhh!!!” And the boys say, “But do you want to open the rest of your presents, James?” And he is momentarily confused, looking at the presents on the table, saying “for me?!” And he opens the two little boxes of Lego and nearly bursts with excitement: “Yego! Me have yots of yego! Yots and yots!”
Oh, how I love that gorgeous, sunny boy!
I feel I have to admit to the major fail of the day: the cake. (I had even contemplated writing a tutorial IF it turned out well. Haw Haw) James wanted a “yourd” [sword] cake, so after a bit of discussion with Michael we decided on a Minecraft Yourd Cake. (He loves Minecraft, and plays with Michael, being a bit of a menace really, much to Michael’s frustration) Our plan was to make a large Victoria sponge and cut the yourd shape out and then ice it. Simples. 
Unfortunately it was all a bit of a disaster, really. It looked like a crazy crucifix. The boys, kind souls they are, tried to assuage my complete sense of fail where this cake was concerned, by telling me that “ah, no, it does look like a sword!”. James took one, horrified, look at the cake and pronounced it “ooo-ey, ooo-ey!” (The snot green colour was a bit off putting, I agree)
But it did it’s job as a candle holder, and after singing happy birthday, he was off again, covered in ice cream (which he licked once and ended up all over his face), chocolate (he ate, at most, half a teeny rice-Krispie bun, yet looked like he had a brown beard) and glitter in his hair (I don’t know where that came from) as happy as a birthday boy could be!
Oh lovely boy with a beautiful smile! I hope you all had a special day xxx
Ah this is so cute! My 2 year old was ‘deading me’ with duplo fashioned into a gun the other day, but then reviving me with raspberries on my belly. You have to give in at some point (deaded NOT learned from me. From the 4 year old)
For his 2nd birthday, I told his uncle to buy him a foam sword. He was beating us with a wooden hammer from an education peg game, so…lesser of the evils!
Also: YEGO! I will never call it anything else now.
Jill, I think, as mothers of boys, we have no choice at all 🙂
What a GORGEOUS boy! And so full of life and happiness. I probably couldn’t have even drawn the cake PLAN let alone make the actual cake – so I’m really rather impressed! And it does look like Minecraft yourd… just not an actual yourd…
Happy birthday to your happy chappy x
Ha ha. Maybe you could do a tutorial for ‘crucifix cake’. There is a huge number of religious blogs out there!
Your little big boy sounds just perfect. I loved the fact that you all make your way downstairs early. In this house a 23 year old and soon to be 20 year old drag themselves out of bed for our youngest at 7am!
Oh Tric, I hope our older ones still do that too in the years to come! James was so thrilled that they were all there to ooh and ahh at his presents! As for the Crucifix Cake… Oh dear, I could be onto something… I must contact the Bishops office 😀
Ha ha Sadhbh! I’m sure this non-impressive yourd will go down in family legacy as a “oh, ho ho, do you remember that cake?!” !!!
He sounds like so much fun! I love his pure joy over his gifts. Boys and guns seem to just go together or anything they can use to protect or defend. I think God gave them that natural desire to be a warrior.
I could totally tell what the cake was, it looks like it was incredibly difficult.
Thanks Erin for the vote of cake confidence 🙂 from one parent of Minecraft obsessed children to another!! And, yes, boys and guns just DO go together! Xxx
Beautiful photos and read 😀 Glad to see he had a great day! The cake looks delicious 🙂 xx
Emily, I think it’s amazing that you even drew out the cake design first and I know from older posts that you usually produce fabulous cakes but I can’t stop laughing at it being “like a crazy crucifix”, I would never even attempt the most basic of cake designs. Happy Birthday to James!
Gorgeous! I get where you are coming from RE the sword. But just so you know, my 3 year old Elf runs around the field with her cousin’s toy gun shooting all the kids and pretending to be dead. Also, when asked what the favourite part of her Aunties wedding was: ‘Playing zombies’. How does she even know what a zombie is? How do they even know what a gun is?
Oh I meant to say RE: Gun
I know, Laura, learning by osmosis!
Joanna, I know everyone was just being too kind when in reality they were holding back bursts of laughter. It was -more than a little – insane looking!!! I’ll really have to try harder for Liam’s birthday in a few weeks time!!
Eithne, delicious when you only see a slice on a plate 😉 😉
Yots and yots of lego. That’s just gorgeous Emily. Happy birthday James. Minecraft fiends in this house too! FIENDS!
Oh, WW, Minecraft is just GREAT!
What a gorgeous little (BIG) birthday boy. I hope he had yots and yots of fun 😉 So glad you didn’t give him a chopping board (I stupidly watched the video… I’m bawling!!)
Ha ha Naomi, made me cry too!