How to have a birthday

Since I got to see some of my relatives at Thanksgiving that I won't see on my birthday, they thought it would be fun to give me an early birthday party. That sounded good to me! Since I got to practice, I'll know how to do it right when the real day comes along.

They let me do some fun things I'm never allowed to do, like tear paper. (I'm about to start in this picture.) I loved that! They also put a little fire right in front of me! I didn't think that was so smart, but they put it out right away-thank goodness. After that, they let me touch something gooey called "cake." I wasn't sure about how it felt, so I knocked it onto the floor. They gave it back to me, and I pushed it away again. I just was not into the cake.

The great thing about a practice birthday was that I got some new toys. Mommy and Daddy have really not figured out that I am a big boy, but Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Jamie and Aunt Michelle have. They gave me some great toys! They also gave me some clothes and pajamas, and my buddy Graham even gave me a book about my favorite thing: dogs. Thanks, everybody, for all the great gifts!