My Sage...you turned 3 today! Your day started out as it did three years ago, with your choosing to sleep in...

You were born 14 days past your due date and had it not been for the castor oil, I would have had to go to the hospital instead of giving birth to you drug-free at the same birthing center where your sisters were born and delivered by the same midwife, Roswitha. She said that your birth aged her 10 years. Eventually, you came into this world and into our lives, joining your two older sisters - Saffron and Cinnamon (affectionately known at school as the Spice Girls).

Along the way, you've grown into a loving, caring, considerate, kind, and self-sufficient little boy who loves to eat anything sweet - especially cake. For your first two birthdays, I made hazelnut torte, but this year Papa thought that we should make Grossi's walnut torte. You didn't end up eating it all, although you did devour the hazelnut torte, which I'm guessing you prefer more.

The first three birthdays

Papa bought you several models of the Fischertechnik toys that he had as a child. Your favorite one so far is the plane. Of course, your sister Saffron immediately adopted the toys as her own.

You then opened up the new Lego Duplo set - Photo Safari (as if you three already don't have enough Legos) - and played with that while we got ready to eat cake.

Your sister Seena (Cinnamon) still wasn't feeling well (she's on the green couch in the background in the above photos), but I'm sure she'll enjoy playing with you and your new toys and reading your two new books - Petunia and Harold's Fairy Tale. We all sat outside and enjoyed your birthday cake and a warm Spring evening.

Although I didn't manage to get you all together for a sibling photo outside, I did take one of you three playing a Lego game on Papa's iPad at bedtime. How things have changed since your Papa and I grew up. There were no iDevices of any kind which dominated our world, but the opportunities to connect to anyone, anywhere, at any time is all there in your little hands - if used wisely.