Bang the Drum...

 Eli woke up on June 14th and celebrated his third birthday! 

 It's funny, three years ago at that same time I was in the midst of labor in the worst, most unbearable pain of my life trying to meet that little boy and here we are three years later blowing out candles on frosted chocolate donuts!

Eli climbed right up on the table ready to start celebrating...

 Eli loves him some chocolate donuts, so I thought it would be the perfect start to his birthday!

 Eli with his chocolate donut and coffee - yummy!

 He was actually totally into opening presents this year and so excited to see what he got - FIRST time ever to show interest!

No joke - but as Eli was opening this present and began to see remnants of what it was,

 these were his comments..

"Oh, shoot!  No way..."

"Yes, I can't believe it!"

"Oh, my gosh - this is crazy"

Followed by clapping his hands and a big smile on his face when he got it all opened up!

 It was hilarious!

 F250 PowerStroke Truck - just like Daddy's with a four-wheeler in the back...

although Eli was concerned with how dirty the truck was, and continually asked for me to wash the "mud" off!  There was no way of making him understand at that moment that's just how the truck came...at least he is particular in having a clean truck!

 Next, it was a guitar! Yay!

 ...and then the grand finale - another truck with a trailer and a boat!

 He was EXTREMELY excited to get this present - a dream had come true for that little boy in that exact moment!

He also got a soccer ball and football - trying to get him interested in something other than trucks...we will see!

We spent Friday laying around the house, going for a bike ride and then went to Old Chicago's for dinner, Eli's favorite place to eat.  It was a relaxing day celebrating his birthday before the big family party on Saturday!

 Hosting a birthday party in our family is no easy task. 

It involves 40 some people with 10 of those being kids and a bunch of adults that like to drink!  So as much as I wanted to have a huge BBQ, I just couldn't handle it physically, emotionally or financially - so we just had the family over for dessert and of course drinks.  We were blessed with awesome weather, so we were able to take full advantage of our backyard and deck! 

 Eli's cake was a hit with the little boys! 

I just ordered a white cake and put a trash truck right on it!  Eli couldn't stop looking at it and wanted so bad to play with it before we cut it.  Robbie and Ryan also wanted to take the truck right off the cake - I guess it's my own fault really, to tease them with a truck and cake that they couldn't touch!

 Besides for the cake I ordered these delicious chips ahoy cupcakes from Kings! 

They were very cute and yummy!

 I wanted to put a little spin on the whole "dessert" party thing - cupcakes and ice cream get old, so I thought of Root Bear Floats!  Then to add a little bit more interest I found some Root Beer flavored Vodka and added a couple shots of those to my frosted mason jars - a party was had for sure!

They are delicious - I highly recommend them!

 My sweet nephew Robbie scoping out the cake or maybe the trash truck, or maybe both?

 Eli has no problem being the center of attention - especially when candles are involved!

 My sweet nephew Robbie now putting his finger into the icing - I think he has a thing for cake!

 As does his cousin who licked icing off Nana's fingers from his trash truck!

 Can you guess what Eli got for his birthday....?

Trucks, trucks and more trucks!

 So blessed with family...

 These boys made the party that much better!  We miss them...

Happy Birthday Eli!

I hope you enjoyed celebrating your third birthday with your big, loving, loud family!  We are so lucky to have that much love surrounding us!  Thanks to our family in helping us celebrate this sweet boy's special day!  We love you all, even if you all are drunks....just kidding!

Three

 My baby boy turned three...

I am officially no longer in the baby stage of my life!  Sorta sad, but mainly HAPPY!  The stage of life we are now in is so GREAT - sure I'll miss the cute grunts and snuggles of having a baby, excitedly awaiting their achievements of new milestones and giving them a million kisses without a fight, but I am enjoying the fact that we can now leave the house without a diaper bag full of necessities to handle the unknown once you leave your house, no more eating or nap time schedules to plan around and the plain Independence of my now three year old.  I can go to a pool or a park and watch him play without having to hold my breath or be two steps behind him.  I love that he can TALK and tell me when his tummy hurts, or when he is hungry or why he crying or just have a simple ol' conversation about Rollie pollies.  Yes, I will forever miss holding that baby boy I instantly fell in love with when they put him on my chest three years ago, but I am sure having fun moving through each stage of his life...of course its full of pure chaos followed by complete exhaustion, but life with my little boy gets so much better with every year that passes by!

My only request would be, maybe, time could slow down a little bit...

 Eli really hasn't changed much in the past year - surprisingly!  He's matured a little bit, grown an inch (36" tall) and gained an ounce (28 pounds), but really he's still the same -

He is all BOY - runs, plays, screams, repeat...!

His face is always dirty, his feet are always smelly, he still LOVES to play outside in water and dirt, he still LOVES trash trucks, he still has the biggest temper and will throw and scream when he doesn't get his way, he still has the sweetest spirit and can melt anyone's heart with one of his "looks", smiles or kisses!  He loves meat and potatoes, snacks all day long and hates ALL vegetables!  He still is full of energy, running from one thing to the next from the time he wakes up until he goes to bed.  He may be full of energy but LAZY when it comes to wanting to ride a bike, or picking up toys and stills wants to be held when he is tired or bored.  He still loves his morning coffee and won't drink a splash of milk!  He still sleeps with his monkey, George, in his crib he's never tried to climb out of - surprisingly!  He still talks non stop about anything and everything and is always asking questions and or saying...

"You like butterflies Mama?"

"You like trash trucks Mama?"

"What that little guy doing over there?"

"What that bug doing?"

"Did you see that Trash Truck?"

"Where we going?"

"What you say..."

(When he is trying to avoid a question)

"Say that ok..."

(As he prompts you to play with him)

"Mama, there's a rollie pollie on you head..."

"I don't like spiders, bugs and snakes"

"Where's Ashy at, What Ashy doing?"

"We go to the mall/pool today?"

"When we go to Papa's boat?"

"When we see the drums?"

"I go with you...?"

(Never wants to be left behind)

"Mama, hold you"

(When he want to be held)

 He has gotten better at some things over the past year...that maturity I was talking about!

He knows his colors now (still mixes up orange and yellow sometimes) and can count to five.  Still has no desire to color, read books or learn the alphabet - school should be FUN with this one!

He plays really well by himself for hours with his trucks.  He's gotten better at playing with others - typically he fights with the other boy/s and then thirty minutes before the play date is over they are best buds - it's like they are dogs and have to pee all over their "property" and then they can be friends - something about men I socially don't understand.

 He is still handsome as EVER, but absolutely HATES haircuts.  I refuse to take him to a public, hair salon after he threw the biggest fit, hit the hair dresser and threw his sucker across the room...so now, Matt shaves his cute little curls right of his head in the garage strapped into the highchair while he screams his head off!

He still loves music...he's constantly drumming, humming, pretending his hands are tubas in the marching band, or marching around the house with his trumpet shouting out cheers like the CU band does.  He's always loved country music, but he's starting to love RAP!  He loves the "boom-boom" it makes, especially in Uncle's truck.  His current favorite song is "1994" by Jason Aldean and can sing all the words - it's pretty adorable!  He's Ashtyn's little shadow and is somewhat lost when she is at a play date or at school!  Its funny how Ashtyn is so independent and Eli is so dependant.  Nana is still his favorite lady and loves to just be held and doted on by her.  He still has a huge separation issue and hates for Matt and I to leave him - he starts MDO this fall, so hopefully we can work on that little issue before he starts school in three years!

He still has no interest in potty training, but it will definitely be something we work on this year...but as I learned early on when he was a newborn, if its not his idea it ain't going to happen!

There is just something about that little boy that steals my heart every time I look into his big, brown eyes!  He is so loving, but at the same time so ornery and I wouldn't want it any other way.  I truly feel so lucky and blessed to be his Mama every night when I tuck him into bed and he says...

 "Love you mama, see you in morning" - it just melts me! 

He could probably ask for anything in that moment and I would give it to him! 

Eli Matthew Trujillo,

You are such a crazy, spunky little boy and I absolutely adore you. 

I love watching you grow up and I can't wait to see what the next year has in store for us - challenging I'm sure, but I will cherish every minute of it, because I know how fast it goes.  I love your sweet voice and your big bear hugs followed by a wet kiss!  My wish for your birthday is you will continue to grow into the sweet boy I know you will become.  That you stay full of happiness, humor, life and love that you hold in your heart today.  That you will always know how proud Daddy and I are to be your parents and will be here forever, holding your hand and guiding your through life whenever you need it.  You are our Bug-a-Boo and we love you SO much!

Happy Birthday sweet boy - you have forever changed our lives!

Love,

your Mama