Today is Finn’s third birthday and I am feeling all the feelings. Mostly joy and gratitude that I get to be a mom to such a sweet, sensitive, funny, empathetic, outgoing, smart and loving soul. It is such an honor to get to witness Finn walking through life and to see him learn and grow.
FINN’S THIRD BIRTHDAY
While it’s hard to believe that he’s already three, this age is a favorite. My days with Finn are filled with fun, laughter and infinite moments that melt my heart. He is so affectionate both verbally and physically. I get so many hugs, kisses, rubs and “oh mommy, I love you so much-es” that I can’t even take it. He fills my heart with a depth of love that I never knew existed. I feel very lucky and very happy.
Finn loves to snuggle in bed in the morning but he popped right up when I told him that he had a birthday present downstairs. His big present from me was a Micro Mini Deluxe Scooter and a helmet. Finn hasn’t gotten into his balance bike so I’m hoping the scooter is a little more appealing to him. When I asked him this morning if he knew how to ride it he said, “yeah, with one foot.” Haha.
I let him pick any breakfast that he wanted and he chose a chocolate donut with sprinkles so we took a trip to Krispy Kreme for a birthday breakfast date.
Finn was in heaven and it was really sweet to sit there with him and have breakfast. I had an original glazed that was still warm along with my coffee and it was so delicious. It’s definitely been too long since I had a warm Krispy Kreme. While we were eating I asked him what his favorite part about Florida was and he said, “playing with Mema.” Heart melting.
When we got home from breakfast Finn’s nanny picked him up and he’ll end the day at his dad’s house. I wish I could spend his birthday with him but we’ve been together since last Thursday visiting my family in Florida so I soaked up lots of time with him.
FAMILY TIME IN FLORIDA
We flew to Florida on Thursday evening. I taught my 4p yoga class and then met our nanny nearby at a haircut appointment for Finn and we left for the airport from there. We arrived in Florida around 8p and to my grandmother’s condo around 8:30p (which was 9:30 eastern). It was a long day but I’m so glad we pushed through to get there so we could wake up in Florida on Friday and have the full day there.
FRIDAY
Finn was super excited to be reunited with Mema.
Friday was a beach day. We headed down to the beach midmorning and played for a couple of hours.
It was high 70s, sunny and breezy. Perfect!
My dad met us down there as he was getting back from his daily beach walk. Finn was amazed by the shells he had collected on his walk and wanted to bring them back in his wagon. He was pulling this little wagon down the walkway and yelling up to my grandmother on her balcony, “hey Mema.”
After lunch and a snooze, we hung out with my mom and grandmother on the balcony.
And then took an outing to a local park. I am so impressed by how agile he is getting. So fun to watch.
SATURDAY
I started Saturday with a run. I did four miles which has been a great distance for me lately.
We spent the first half of the day spending time with everyone. Finn told me he was ready for a nap around noon and I ended up sleeping for about 45 minutes too. So nice.
Our Saturday afternoon activity was the pool! Finn is getting close to being able to swim but isn’t quite there yet so I let him wear this life jacket so he has some independence. He spent the first 30 minutes jumping in the pool no fewer than 30 times and swimming to the ladder (I was recruited into a solid 10 of those jumps). Then he found some kids to swim around with in the shallow end and was in heaven.
We did Finn’s birthday celebration on Saturday night. My dad made a carrot cake and we sang and did candles. Finn was hysterical because he kept singing happy birthday to Mema. If we would say Finn he would say, “no, Mema!” He loved the carrot cake…especially the icing.
SUNDAY
Finn and I got up and moving on Sunday morning to check out a new waterfront park in Destin. It was beautiful! The park is Captain Leonard Destin Park if you happen to be vacationing in the area and want a good park for your kids.
It has a waterfront with a little beach that overlooks the bay and Crab Island.
There is also a splash pad.
And fun playground equipment. This swing was so cool.
We had such a fun morning exploring together.
After lunch and a long (over two hours!) nap, we headed back to the pool for more swimming.
It was super windy on Saturday and Sunday so the heated back pool was a better option for Finn than trying to be on the beach with rough water and wind.
The day ended with a photo shoot with my dad for an upcoming partnership that I have. So fun to get to work with him.
MONDAY
We said our goodbyes on Monday morning and headed off to the airport. Finn was all about helping with the luggage.
I think Finn’s best birthday present was getting to go into the cockpit of the airplane as we were boarding our flight. The pilots were so nice and invited us up there. We didn’t even ask! The whole crew at American has always been so accommodating and kind in our three years of flying back and forth to Florida. I think Finn is on something like his 30th round trip flight at this point!
We arrived back in Charlotte around 3:30p. I carried a slice of my dad’s carrot cake through two airports and on the plane and left it on the parking shuttle bus. I was devastated. Finn and I tried to run to the next stop to catch the bus but it pulled away before we could get there. You should have seen us running hand and hand with Finn saying, “Oh no…the cake! We lost the cake!’ He talked about it for the next two hours. He told me, “It’s okay mommy. I know it’s not fair but we can make another one.”
It was really hard to leave this time and my heart has been a little heavy but I’m grateful for the time we got to spend and looking forward to the next trip. <3
QUESTIONS
What are your three year old’s favorite toys? I need to order Finn gifts from my parents and grandmother. They gave us checks. I would love ideas!
Are you more of a beach or pool person?
Do you have any fun birthday traditions with your kids?
Happy Birthday Finn!! My daughter is just 1.5 weeks younger than Finn. She already has so many toys but one of the presents we’ve gotten in the past that is still used all of the time by her and all her little friends is a little jungle gym. It’s small but lightweight so we can bring it when mowing and what not but big enough for her to climb without getting bored. She also loves her scooter so I hope Finn loves it too! We have a bike trailer than can convert to a stroller so it’s been fun in the summer to go for family bike rides. We are getting her a big set of Magna Tiles and duplo Legos since she loves building tall towers. Also for her first birthday we got her a train roller coaster toy and she still loves to ride it and I can see her enjoying it for years as well!
Hope that gives you a few ideas! We actually had a small party for her last weekend bc we are due with our 2nd on the 30th which was a little too close to throw a party on her birthday weekend. We’ll see when she makes her arrival and im hoping they don’t have the same birthday!
Hi Kathy – this is all really helpful and gave me some great ideas. Thank you so much for taking the time to type it all out. I hope that your delivery goes smoothly and that you get different birthdays! 🙂 Thinking of you!
I agree with the magna tile suggestion! Those are really fun for my 3 year old. I was going also going to suggest a sandbox and toys for the backyard. My daughter is so entertained in hers.
*that should’ve said sand toys, like shovels and scoops, etc.
Awesome suggestion on the sandbox Jackie! Thank you!
Magnatiles!! I always bought the Children’s Hub brand instead of the brand name ones and they’ve held up great, the brand name ones are so expensive. Seriously, these have been used every single day for a year (my oldest is four now).
Thank you so much for the recommendation for the off-brand Magnatiles. This is SO helpful!
This is so sweet. Glad you got to share some special birthday memories all together!
Thank you, Sarah. It was so wonderful.
My boy is about 6 months older than Finn. He also isn’t into his balance bike yet and I also got him a micro scooter, lol. He hasn’t jumped on it much yet. His passion is construction trucks. All of his upcoming gifts this year will be more trucks. He loves digging so, ok, we will dig 🙂
Oh my gosh, I love this comment so much. Finn carries the same enthusiasm that your son has for dinosaurs. Haha.