Another year goes by, and Grandpa’s little buddy is now THREE!

It’s been a fun year watching him grow and see all of his progress. We’ve had fun visiting him and his parents, and starting fun traditions like the “Bunny Party” and his first space-themed Christmas tree!

But one of the coolest things to this Star Wars-geek Grandpa is that his daddy has introduced him to The Force and he’s taken to it like a Sith to the Dark Side! Yes, that was an intentional comparison – as he’s totally latched onto Darth Vader as his favorite character! This December, just before Christmas, Andrew, Liz, and Cole came down for their Christmas visit – and we were able to take him to opening weekend of the final chapter of the Star Wars trilogy-of-trilogies, “The Rise of Skywalker”.

To make this more special, though, I just had to buy him an official Darth Vader costume to wear!!! And of course it plays sound clips!

He absolutely LOVED IT – and was the hit of the crowd at the movie theater, getting his own personal lightsaber and posing next to an inflatable Darth Vader!

We had a great rest of the pre-Christmas visit, too – making cookies, going to see Christmas lights, and catching our little candy thief sneaking into Grandma Bunny’s office to swipe handfuls of “Christmas Joys” (his name for gumdrops).

The best part, though, was when he made it very clear that he liked Grandpa’s Christmas lights the best!  That made my holiday!  🙂

The real birthday party was after Christmas, when we could get all three sets of grandparents together, along with some cousins, to celebrate properly!  Being the birthday boy, Cole selected pizza and a Darth Vader cookie cake!

Sounds exactly like a three-year-old birthday party menu should.

So – pizza and blown-out candles (lightsaber-shaped, naturally) later, it’s time for presents!  A great time was had by all – and Grandpa’s little buddy is now officially THREE!!!

We’ll be taking Cole for his first visit to Disney World this summer – and yes, it’ll include a visit to the Star Wars attractions!!! Grandpa made sure to get the Darth Vader costume with some “growing room” so it’ll still fit in 6 months!

May the Force Be With You, Cole!

Happy Birthday!

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Last 3 blog posts:
50 Years

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The Artemis I mission occurred 50 years after Apollo 17. What will it take to not have this happen again?

13 Minutes – a podcast review

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“13 Minutes to the Moon” – an excellent BBC podcast focusing on the behind-the-scenes heroes of Apollo 11 and Apollo 13.

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