3rd Birthday Party

WOW was Saturday a fun day... Little Bit's 3rd Birthday Party was a blast. We had a princess-themed splash party and her dad went all out on the "splash" part.... Our backyard was like a waterpark. I think all of the kids had fun! Leila did and she was really good. She loved her cake and is now "officially" 3, according to her. A big thank you to our parents who helped out a lot, especially the dads! And also a big thank you to everyone who drove so far to be here and celebrate her special day.

Leila's 3rd Birthday!

Another sign of how girly our daughter is... She is in denial about turning 3, just as I was about turning another certain age. Today is her birthday, and she told me this morning, "She is not 3 yet, she is still 2 1/2, and she is still a little girl." I am not sure what exactly constitutes a "real" birthday to her--a cake?? A party??

We had another great, long day though! She woke up happy and we had a breakfast of organic waffles and berries. She picked out a cute outfit since I made her wear pants to Jump N Jungle (a moonwalk playplace) and we went and played with a bunch of her friends. Then we came home to eat lunch with her dad and open presents. We had macaroni & cheese and peas for lunch, per her request :)

The big gift from Mom & Dad this year was the Rapunzel dress & doll, which she wore until we had to leave. We also got her some other little things, mostly princess-inspired, of course! And books, my favorite. We had to watch the Tangled movie once she opened the dress, so we did that, skipped her nap, and went to swim class where she did great. From there we came home to change into a dress and then went to her Dude's retirement party. It made for a long day but she was a trooper.

It is hard to sum up Leila in a short post. At age 3, she is such a joy and so much her own person. She is smart, funny, kind, caring, and definitely a firstborn. I say this because, being one myself, I see a lot of the traits I have... such as being bossy, a perfectionist, and determined (We hear, "I do it myself" about 15 times a day.). She is such a little lady; and all about fixing her hair, painting her toenails, and wearing jewelry and playing dress up. She always wants to match and has a certain order for things. She wants to understand things about the world and asks a lot of questions. She loves smaller children and babies, as well as animals. She is basically fearless and was throwing herself down the moonwalk slides today headfirst. She loves to sing songs, read books, say prayers, and play Pretty Pretty Princess EVERY day. Her current favorite lovey is a small pink pig named "Princess Hoppy." Her favorite books/stories for the last few months have been Grover's The Monster at the End of this Book, The Crucifixion (since Easter), the Little Red Caboose, and Pinkalicious. Her favorite shows are Elmo's World, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and Clifford. Her favorite movies are both Disney: Robin Hood & Cinderella. Her favorite food is macaroni & cheese and her favorite snacks are Ritz cheese crackers, jelly beans, and Icees. She loves her family and tells me she misses her daddy when he is at work. She has said to me before "I just love you so much," which never fails to make me tear up. We feel so lucky to have this precious girl!

Having fun at Jump N Jungle

Headfirst AND backwards down the slide... It may have been 15 feet long, or more.

So excited about presents!

'August' Barbie was an exciting gift. The doll has a peridot green dress and comes with a matching ring. In 2 months we will again consider such things "choking hazards."

A new game since we have had enough Pretty Pretty Princess for a lifetime....

Disney Princess cd player, wow!

New Books!

And her favorite gift, the Rapunzel dress and matching doll. Leila kind of looks like her I think.

2 going on 12

One of the best things about being a parent is watching your child develop their own personality and independence. We are here to teach and guide and love and nurture this little person God created and I find it really interesting how early that personality shows itself. Leila has always been our "angel baby"--she makes being a parent easy.

Now that the "terrible twos" are here, she is definitely showing her independent streak. We hear a lot of "No Mommy, I do it," and "No Daddy, I want Mommy!" (I do spend the majority of time with her but everyone says she will switch to "Team Daddy" at some point :) She wants to dress herself and even wants to be by herself in her room to play sometimes (but usually Shrek can stay.) Patrick is very firm with the way she is allowed to talk to her mother and father. We are trying to instill good manners in her and the other day she said "No ma'am Daddy!" which was so funny I had to hide my laugh. I have told her the only person she is allowed to boss around is Shrek.

She loves to get dressed up and the new thing is Disney princesses. She loves the books, the movies, and wears not only the dress but high heels, a crown, jewelry, and a matching purse. She wants to wear it as soon as she wakes up and asked to wear it to school. The other day she wore her dress to dinner.

Here are some funny things she has said recently which I have to write down so I don't forget.

"Good morning, Mommy." Greeting me when I enter her room in the morning

"No ma'am Grace!" Talking to a younger friend who wanted her toy

"I fall in love with Daddy." After watching Cinderella where she and the prince fall in love

"I adorable." Once dressed up in her princess dress, with all the accessories

"I be pretty now." Asking to put her princess dress on... while mommy groans and tries to reinforce that being pretty is not how you look but how you act towards others

"I get married." After reading Disney princess books, in which they all get married at the end

"I run away." This one had me shocked--where did she learn that?? Then Patrick pointed out we recently read "The Runaway Bunny."

"Shrek, you stay! Good boy!" As we are leaving for school... Does she ever pay attention.

All dolled up as Sleeping Beauty

It's a bejeweled Tinkerbelle!

As Leila says, this is her "Cinderelly" dress