3 at the Sea...Sea World that is...

Let me begin this post by announcing right now that a BUNCH of photos follow. I know it's just a three year old's birthday, but it's my three year old. I am one of those people, even at 28, that loves my birthday. Well, I love my kiddos' birthdays more. It's a celebration of life like no other. Every year for Graham's birthday we have a theme centered around his age (One in the Sun...Two at the Zoo...). Well this year was three at the Sea...Sea World that is! The nice thing about his summer birthday is that we can usually combine any birthday plans with a family trip. This year we loaded up Mimi and PawPaw's "Bon-Bon" (as Graham refers to their Suburban) and headed to San Antone (when you're from Texas you can use nicknames like that). Here are some pics of the celebration...

 

On our first night on the Riverwalk, we went to the Hard Rock Cafe. Mimi and PawPaw bought Graham a guitar in the marketplace earlier and he carried that thing around all night. In the Hard Rock he put on a Fedora and sang and danced while we waited for a table. He had the attention of many.

On Graham's actual birthday we got to Sea World early and went to feed the dolphins. I limited my 800 photos of the dolphins down to just this one. If you are unaware of my love affair with this animal, please let me tell you the story sometime. It has to do with me, my honeymoon, and a little unofficial award I received while swimming with the dolphins in Mexico...I digress...

Next we stopped at the awesome aquariums. Very cool.

I seriously don't know why we bought this kid any toys. He would have been fine with a box of Coca-Cola. That's the memory he will be taking away of Sea World..."the day I swindled a bunch of my family into buying me way too much soda..."

We saw some amazing shows. I now want to be a killer whale trainer.

How cute is this guy?

We ended the Sea World experience by stopping at some gift shops. Mimi and PawPaw super spoiled the boys...I mean toys, hats, cups...these kids got it all. I'm sure Mimi and PawPaw really appreciate the picture of them with the Beluga Whale. They were trying to get Graham to stand by the whale. He wouldn't. They did. Hence, the picture.

I worked a little too hard on the decor for this little celebration. I might have roped Mr. Jones into helping me make a gazillion "Sea Water" bottles complete with a snorkel straw only to find out Sea World doesn't allow straws inside. Whatever. I resisted the urge to tell them "But, wait, these are safe. I got this idea from Pinterest, so it has to be okay!!". Somehow I didn't think it would pass.

We then celebrated the evening at Landry's Seafood. YUMMO! Seriously, good! The birthday boy walked away with a real stash of gifts.The loot included a tent, a guitar, handbells, microphones, Legos, and games. Surprisingly, no one purchased noise-blocking earbuds for Mommy...maybe next year.

It was Aunt T's idea to let Graham cut the cake with his new sword. No wonder he loves her.

 After dinner we walked around off the Riverwalk. This picture is of the Emily Morgan hotel. If you've never heard the stories associated with it, check it out. Ghost stories to the max. Not that I believe in ghost stories, but they are still cool to hear. I'm super fascinated with this place, but too scared to stay there. When Graham first saw the hotel he asked me why it had wings. What?! Is he trying to make me drive home tonight?!?! We went inside briefly, which is a whole other story involving Graham crashing a private party...possibly the first time I thought of leaving my child and running in the opposite direction.

We did visit the Alamo. We tried to tell the boys the history. I'm not sure what all they retained.

I also had to post this pic. We bought the boys Sea World pajamas and whale stuffed animals. Yes, the gift shop saw the flashing "suckers" sign above our heads.

So, there you have it. A wonderful celebration for our little guy. So happy to have him.

PS-He is officially potty trained. What an event that was. I seriously want to hug every parent's neck in the world that has survived potty training and just have a moment with them to appreciate what they've done. Sure, you made a child. But, you potty trained him, too? Now that's a real celebration.