Thwee!

Dawson turned three years old today! He strutted around with a big smile on his face and basked in the glow of the candles from his cake while Holly, Grandma Chadd and Grandpa Chadd joined in with our family and sang him the Happy Birthday song. Holly and my mom and dad were here with us to help Daws celebrate his big day, too!

He's been answering "two" for a whole year now when people ask how old he is, so getting in the habit of answering three took some practice! My dad finally told him tonight. "Now, Dawson, I'm going to ask you a question. Are you thinking? Think really hard before you answer me. How old are you?" Dawson looked thoughtful as he paused, then grinned. "Thwee!" He said with a giggle.

Manipulating his chubby little fingers to show the number three was another new challenge for Dawson. He tried and tried to get his pinkie and thumb together and his index, middle and ring fingers to stay up to make the universal "three" with his hands. He got creative (after trying for a quite a while) because he found he COULD get his index finger and thumb together and hold up the middle, ring and pinkie finger much more easily.

Dawson got all kinds of new treasures for his birthday. More Thomas the Train sets to add to his collection, new "smell goods," a Pirates of the Caribbean fishing pole, crocodile pajamas, new clothes, a remote control truck, a Mark Martin race car, underwear, socks, batteries and the always-popular spending money were the gifts he unwrapped. He was thrilled with everything he got and did an excellent job sharing with his brothers and sisters.

We ate lunch and cut the cake after we opened presents this morning and then went to New Orleans and took a Mississippi steamboat tour in the afternoon which everyone enjoyed.

Dawson is now sleeping just as hard as he played today! He is such a special little boy. He's still my chunky little hunk of burnin' love and he assured me yesterday that he will still freely tell me he loves me when he's seven and even sixteen when I asked. I hope so. God has given Dawson the gift of making people feel special. I don't know God's trick yet, but I watch him repeatedly catch the eye of the one person who needs some cheering up lighting up their solemn faces. God brought a little boy full of joy into the world three years ago and I am so thankful I get to be his mother because I get to experience the joy every day!

Happy Birthday, Dawson!