Every day's his birthday (according to Eli at least!).

Elijah came across a picture of his train birthday cake a few weeks ago in a batch of pictures I had printed, and was very excited about his “choo choo train cake.” After seeing the picture he immediately started asking when his birthday was, and then walking around different days saying that, “today my birthday!” After a long, and quite cute, discussion about birthday cakes with Mom and Dad one night, Elijah decided that he was going to, “have choo choo train cake! And Mack cake too!” He thought that he really needed two cakes and Mommy needed to make both of them. Then, after seeing a Lightning McQueen cake pan in Michael’s, Elijah has now decided that he’s going to have, “Choo choo train cake, Mack cake, Lightning McQueen cake too!” I think I better stop showing Eli cake ideas before I find myself making more birthday cakes than he even has candles for! This could be a slippery slope – three cakes for three years old . . . 18 cakes for 18 years old?!

Still with the Cars theme (pathetic, I know, but my life now rotates between playing cars and playing trains), Eli and I were at the mall on Wednesday afternoon and went in to the Disney store as a treat for Eli (he was so well behaved at the mall and obeyed everything I told him!). Eli saw a Mack and McQueen set that was different than the one we have, and he wanted it very much. I told him we’d put it on his birthday list. He said he wanted it right now, so I told him that if we went home and told Grandpa and Grandma about Mack and McQueen that I was sure he would get it for his birthday. That pacified him and we continued shopping. Hours later we pull up at home and Grandpa (out walking) greets us in the driveway. Eli, still strapped in to his car seat, immediately starts chattering to Grandpa while I’m getting him out. I finally figure out that Eli’s saying, “Grandpa Doug, Mack and Lightning McQueen at store. Tell Grandpa, tell Grandma, my birthday!” Eli remembered, hours later, that we needed to tell Grandpa about Mack and McQueen - and tell him the minute we saw him apparently!

Eli really must have been thinking about this Mack and Lightning McQueen set, because right before bedtime he started telling Grandma the story about his coming home and telling Grandpa about them. Eli's monologue went something like this – “Lightning McQueen, Mack, I come home tell Grandpa Doug, need go store buy birthday for me.” Now imagine it came out all breathless and rushed and super excited - and repeated over and over until Mommy and Grandma could catch all of it! So cute. I think we’ll be putting that Mack and McQueen set on his birthday list for sure because I don’t think he’s going to forget about it!