Happy Birthday Daniel!

Three.

Today my little peanut, you turned three years old.

mommy can hardly believe it either

It was just two months and four days ago that your name legally changed to Daniel Zhenyu M, yet already you have become an integral part of our family.  We all think it may have something to do with that smile...

yeah, that's the one

Today I had picked out a little polo shirt for you to wear, thinking that it would look nice in pictures.  You however had a differing opinion about that after you spotted your "fire-tuck" shirt in the clean laundry basket.  I suppose it is fitting that you wore one of your very favorite shirts for your birthday.

It did not surprise me one bit this afternoon that you fell asleep flipping through the pages of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, your current favorite book.  I think today I read it to you seven times, and I listened to you "read" it twice.

Your obsession for that book may explain why you would say "ABC" instead of "Aunt CiCi" when Traci tried to get you to repeat names at the beach house.  I do have to say though that the glimmer in your eye and the fact that you pretty clearly repeated the names Uncle Adam, Pierson and Maylin makes mesuspect that it was just your ever emerging sense of humor...

Tonight was bible study night, and since Daddy meets us there, dinner was pretty low key.   Personally I would have been slightly disappointed with Ramen noodles, leftover broccoli, and cut up fruit for a birthday meal.  (Though we did go to the Chinese buffet last night for dinner to celebrate).

You though?  Even the simplest of meals make you happy.  Especially if they involve noodles and fruit.

Most of your gifts involved Lightning McQueen.  That too brought a smile to your face.  You do, after all, love your race cars and your trains.  In fact, as I recall, your very first English word was Yite-nin Mah-keen and you could sing the chorus to the Dinosaur Train theme song before you knew your ABC's.

The most fun part of today though, was your excitement over your cupcake with Cars candles.

It was as if you could hardly believe that cupcake and those candles were just for you.  Or maybe it was that you could hardly believe we gave you a chocolate cupcake at night.

At any rate, you enjoyed that cupcake!

And we enjoyed another glimpse at your ever emerging sense of humor.

We are so, so very happy you are forever part of our family.  On this day last year it didn't appear that would be the case.  But one year later, here you are, and we are so very thankful for that.  And while your siblings often make you crazy, you seem to be thankful for them too.  You've started adding your own line to the dinner time prayer, thanking God for your family as you look around the table and call each of us by name.

Happy birthday frosting face.  Wǒ ài nǐ.