Abraham-osaurus' 3rd Birthday!

Sweet Abraham seems to be interested in anything that roars loudly and destroys its surroundings in a matter of seconds.  His 2nd birthday party was a monster theme, and now as he's turning 3, he's into dinosaurs!  It's actually quite fitting considering his personality.  So what's left for next year... dragons, lions, tigers, bears?  We'll just have to see where his little personality takes us! 

One of my favorite 80's hits is Walk the Dinosaur!  "Open the door get on the floor.  Everybody walk the dinosaur.  Boom Boom Aca Laca Laca Boom!"  Am I crazy?  Tell me you remember this song.  Needless to say, when Abraham showed interest in dinosaurs, I ran with it for his 3rd birthday theme.  If you attended his recent party, you were probably singing this song for several days afterwards,  seeing that it was on repeat during the whole party!

Abraham insisted on wearing his dino hat (Thanks Papa and Mimi!) before blowing out his candles.  Under the pressure of appeasing him while all eyes were on the birthday boy, we were searching for this darn hat like crazy people!  FYI, this cake was super simple.  Check out how to make it here!  Also, the rock gummies were ordered on Amazon, and I made the invitation using Powerpoint.

Dino bones were made with pretzel sticks, mini marshmallows, and white chocolate.

Dino digs were made with chocolate pudding, Oreos, graham cracker crumbs and dino gummies.

Dino PBJs were made with cookie cutters also used on the craft table.

Dion pinata/center piece and Meri Meri serving wear were ordered on Amazon.

The kids loved the Dino Dig game!  I filled a mini pool with sand, and they used shovels and rakes to find the dino bones below.  Warning: Messy in an apartment but oh so fun!

Coloring walls and pin the spine on the dino are easy create your own activities, except that is, when searching for kraft paper in Morocco.  The florist, who stakes out a corner on a nearby street, sold me something similar that did the job.

At the craft table, we played with Melissa and Doug dino stamps and puzzles, play doh with dino cookie cutters, a dino sculpture, mini dinos, and  hatching dino eggs. (Much thanks to Uncle Casey and Aunt Diana's Amazon GC!)

The reading tent was full of dinosaur themed books.

Dino suckers and masks were also purchased on Amazon (my one-stop-shop since living overseas).

Our fellow Olmsteders, the Saunders, joined us just days before they moved back to the States.  It was fitting since we met them at Abraham's 1st birthday party shortly after moving to Morocco!

On the eve of Abraham's actual birthday, we celebrated the end of his baby days and the beginning of his little boy days by camping out with dad in the playroom.  Gabriel celebrated his 3rd birthday with this same big boy treat.  In the morning, Abraham devoured his oatmeal with sprinkles and even got to celebrate with his friends at school.  After school, we wrapped up our celebrations at the pool.  It was a beautiful day!

Abraham with his best friend, Youssef.  Aren't they adorable!?!

We want to thank all of our friends who helped us celebrate Abraham's 3 years of life and all of our family who were there in spirit!

Sweet Abraham,

Happy 3rd birthday!  Oh, where did my baby go?  Love You Forever has taught you that you'll always be my baby, and you remind us of this when we brag about you being such a big boy.  I'll take your sweet cuddles in the rocking chair as long as I can, but I also can't get enough of your blossoming personality!

Your favorite color is orange.  Your favorite food are grapes.  Your favorite songs are Somewhere Over the Rainbow and Walk the Dinosaur (I may have influenced that one a bit).  Your favorite movie is Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, and your favorite dinosaur is the triceratops (possibly influenced by your hat above).  You love swinging, zooming around on your scooter or new balance bike, reading, coloring on anything but paper, building forts, rolly pollies, making fish faces, and screaming at the top of your lungs.  Abraham, your shining spirit has added a level of love that our family will forever cherish.

This past year you have begun to communicate more with your words, which is always amazing to witness.  However, I see the baby in you relying on your brother, your cuteness, or your stubbornness to get your point across.  Also, you've been living in an Arab country and attending a French preschool for the majority of your life.  Those little wheels must be spinning with multiple languages and cultural experiences.  When I think of all of the amazing places you have been and all of the beautiful and not so beautiful things your little eyes have seen, I can only imagine what must be going on in that smart mind of yours.

You are one tough cookie who can charm the socks off a snake.  Thankfully, your teachers are no longer reporting hitting and biting, although Gabriel continues to get his fair share at home.  Your sweet nature continues to shine through in your sincere apologies and your adorable wonder.  Curiosity and amazement are captured in your dramatic expressions and often narrated with a whispered, "Oh my goodness!"   

We love watching you interact with your "broder".  You make it quite clear that you adore him, even though your piercing screams throughout each day seem to tell us otherwise.  You continue to adore your daddy more and more but you're still a momma's boy at heart.  However, you told us the other day that you actually prefer Gabriel over both mommy and daddy.   I love you and your perfect place in our family.

I am so thankful to be your mommy and can't wait to see where this 4th year takes you.  I pray that you grow to be a strong man of God: strong in your mind, body, heart, and spirit.

I Love You,
Mommy