Last night, I excitedly told my son that his birthday is drawing near and asked what he wanted for a present.  I was actually expecting him to request for a kid's car (a battery operated ride-on car/ jeep similar to this) because he always tells me and his dad that he wanted to have one. 

I was prepared to hear him name any material thing that he wishes to have.  After all, didn't we all wish for tangible things when we were still kids?  However, Rafa surprised me when he said he didn't want anything for a gift because he already has "a lot" of toys in his playroom.  And by "a lot" he meant his play doh, bowling set, basketball, bricks, puzzle, and cars.  (He actually used to have plenty of toys but I noticed that giving him too much of what he needs only made him unappreciative.  Hence, my husband and I decided that it would be better if we'd just donate some of his toys to an orphanage and leave him with only a few educational ones.)

Rafa's answer to my question was basically not what I expected.  Truthfully, I would never ever anticipate such response to come from a toddler who has not even turned three.  Nevertheless, I am grateful that Rafa has grown to be a low maintenance/ non-matrialistic type of kid.  Well, I guess, giving him only a few toys helped a lot in making him become a more responsible and grateful toddler.  Not to mention, he also doesn't have that "spoiled entitled brat" attitude.  In fact, we can go window shopping for toys in any mall without having to worry about him throwing a temper tantrum.  Special thanks to Ronnie for training Rafa not to be shopaholic (because he actually thought toy stores are like playgrounds where can play with toys on display for free, lol!)

Anyway, even if Rafa didn't ask for a gift, we'll still make sure to give him something special for his birthday.  I'm just a bit undecided about what to buy him, so I browsed the internet for educational toys suitable for pre-schoolers.  Eventually, I came across this website that specifically offers musical instruments for kids then I realized, it would be an absolutely perfect present for my musically inclined son!  I'm thinking of possibly giving him a piano, a xylophone, a tambourine, or a violin.  (I'm afraid I'd have to wait until he turns 10 before he can have musiciansfriend.com bass picks and bass guitar, though.)  Nonetheless, I'm pretty sure he'll love and appreciate whatever I'll choose, as long as it has something to do with music!

Will definitely blog Rafa's third birthday celebration in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!