Toby's Surprise Day

Every year, around Toby's birthday, Aaron and I like to take a day off and do something fun; just the three of us. Toby was born on a Wednesday so, we always do it the Wednesday before his birthday.

This year we went to Boston for the day. We're lucky that Boston is less than an hour away and we have so many options of fun things to choose from! We didn't plan Boston by accident, it was actually very strategic in that Boston is home to THE ONE AND ONLY CURIOUS GEORGE STORE!  If you know my kid you know how he feels about "Ah-Ah."

On Saturday May 16th, to kick off his birthday, we had a family party at our house. This year's theme was Curious George and it was ADORABLE. But, more on that later. We still have a few things up our sleeve for his actual birthday on Saturday May 23rd, but we had been planning this particular day for months.

As of Tuesday night, he had NO CLUE what was to come the next morning. He knew he had a special surprise but, other than that, he knew nothing. He woke up and said, "It's my surprise day!"

When Aaron asked him what he wanted for breakfast, he said "pupcakes" (pancakes)
so, he and Dada made them!

Then we packed a lunch and headed to the New England Aquarium. He was SO excited!

He loved the touch and feel tank except when the man scooped up a hermit crab. Toby immediately told him sternly, "Put him back. He goes in water! You'll hurt him!" (He has such a big heart!)

 After we spent the morning at the aquarium, we ventured out into the beautiful city of Boston for the second part of Toby's "surprise" day.

What would a trip to Boston be without a ride on the carousel?

 

And, in case you're wondering what I would look like if I was a three-year-old-boy,
see picture above.

After the carousel, Toby informed us that, despite a huge breakfast and non-stop snacking, he needed a pretzel. Today we met all of his demands. So, off to Fanuiel Hall/Quincy Market we went

That pretzel was yummy but, an ice cream would certainly hit the spot!

For the final surprise we headed to Harvard Square in Cambridge...

Yes, there is a store, devoted entirely to Curious George. It's the only one in the world, in fact.

It was basically Toby's Disneyland.

Unfortunately, the Curious George in the airplane wasn't for sale. I mean, not that I asked or insisted, or tried to grease their palm or anything. I'm just, you know, assuming that it's not for sale. They probably wouldn't even sell it for brand new crisp one hundred dollar bill if it was offered to them. Allegedly.

Toby didn't ask for anything in the store. We couldn't believe it! He was just so happy to be there. So, we took it upon ourselves to purchase a few little souvenirs for him. Nothing huge... just a couple of toothbrushes and a magnet.

On the way back the car Toby found a "castle" near Harvard (his future Alma Mata) and wanted to go knock on the door. 

He certainly felt like a king for the day. He fell asleep before we hit the highway to come back home. When we got back to town and we asked him what he wanted for dinner, he said "Pizza!"

Which he ate in his new big-boy chair.

It was a perfect day and I'm really loving the tradition of making a day of fun for him.

What I'm not liking is that my baby is THREE. Time goes too fast.