Happy Birthday, Peter!

Peter turns 3 today!  He had a great birthday breakfast with David yesterday at "Bobebbans" (Bob Evans).  He managed to eat 4 chocolate chip pancakes, bacon, sausage, and juice!  Today he enjoyed his birthday cake and ice cream before lunch (because David has to leave for business travel this afternoon).  He requested an airplane cake and cookie dough ice cream, and he was pretty pleased with both.  Then we had a birthday lunch, which was chicken strips, biscuits, fruit salad, and artichokes.  Peter wasn't much help with deciding what I should make for his birthday lunch.  Everytime I asked him what he wanted, he said "cake and ice cream".  I explained that he could have cake and ice cream, but was there a regular lunch or dinner food that he wanted to go *with* his dessert?  And his answer was... cake and ice cream :).  So, I put some things together that I thought he would like.  Not the artichokes -- those happened to be on sale and they looked good, so I figured why not? 

Peter is a feisty, funny kid.  He has a good sense of humor and really enjoys making his brothers and David and I laugh.  He usually knows exactly what he wants and he'll go over (or through) obstacles to get it.  I'm always impressed with how well he stands up to his big brothers and really holds his own.

One example of his stubbornness / self-assurance: We got him a stuffed giraffe recently during a trip to the National Zoo, and it has become one of his most treasured possessions.  He decided to name the giraffe "Phoebe", and yet he insists on calling it a "he".  So we've tried to ask him directly:

"Is Phoebe a girl or a boy?".
Peter's response: "He's a Phoebe giraffe".
"Well, if it's a "he" then it's a boy, right?"
"No, he's a Phoebe giraffe".
So we ask "Then, is it a girl Phoebe giraffe?"
"No."
"Is it a boy Phoebe giraffe?"
"No."
"Well, it has to be one or the other ... is it a boy or a girl?".
"He's a Phoebe".

And Peter will go around and around like this, as sure as anything that he knows exactly what he's talking about. 

Happy 3rd birthday, little man!