It all started in Alaska: Funky Monkey turns three

And you know how excited a three year old gets about a birthday. We thought ahead and kept the presents out of sight. There is no way we would have been able to keep the wrapped or in the gift bags. After she fell asleep for her nap, we hung some streamers and balloons, got out the presents and took the cake out of it's hiding place. When she came downstairs after waking up, she knew something was brewing and she knew it was for her. She has been ready for this since Campbell's birthday last month. Now, she knows hers is in September. I don't think she understand yet that September comes after August but she did know that Mommy and Daddy had been shuttling boxes that had arrived in the mail out to the garage without opening them. And for about a month, she's been asking about when her birthday is. By the beginning of the week were just saying "Later this month" because we knew she was getting excited about it. So when the time came to open the presents, the wrapping paper was in trouble. Campbell was quite happy to play with the empty boxes. Ellie was ready to supply her with them. When we brought the activity desk in from the garage that we had gotten her, the living room was a wreck, Ellie was in heaven and Campbell was somewhere under the paper and boxes.

A couple observations about kid's toys:

1. Who's the brainiac who invented colored pens that have smells? Sure, this sounds like a great idea. Guess what three year olds do when a pen smells like fruit?
2. If something needs to be put together in advance, the directions will stink, it wont fit together like the schematic says and one or more of the screws will strip out.
3. A one year old doesn't comprehend that the point of Thomas the Tank Engine is to set the track up and play with the trains. Campbell likes to waddle into the middle of the setup and then play Godzilla. It would only be funnier if Ellie knew Japanese and could point, panic and run.

So after all of this, the cake beckoned.