OK, I promise...

the last post that is all things Minnie's 3rd Birthday! We just had so much fun on her ACTUAL b-day I want to make sure I document everything!

Minnie shares her b-day with the big gorgeous FIVE year old in the blue! Dani Girl shares HER birthday with the petite old FIVE year old in the purple! :) Most of the play group met up to do Christmas ornaments organized by Sweet "Yiz" so H.O. and I took advantage. I made whoopie pies and she brought juice boxes to help celebrate our gals on their special day!

We came home for a rest and I told Minnie that I had a few MORE tricks up my sleeve. Sky came home with Husband right from school and she was THRILLED ~ Then when I "got the call" I kissed her good-bye and left her with her Daddy and SKY and headed up the road to pick up THIS surprise :)

 Minnie requested chop suey for dinner and these gals had a BLAST together!

Doesn't happen often but Minnie CLEARED her plate and Pheebs, not.so.much. :) Plenty of room for cookies though!! :) Especially warm chocolate chip ones with EXTRA chocolate! :)

I tell yah, this girl... helped me make dinner, wrangle a couple of 3 year olds...

and whisper to the baby :) LOVE her!

After dinner it was a little game called "how close can we get to TiTi while she reads us a Christmas story..." :)

while the guys (plus our surprise drop-in Tricky!) had a visit.

Minnie, I'd say your b-day was just perfect... :) Hope you had fun sweet girl!

Minnie's 3rd Birthday Party

Minnie asked for a Little Einsteins birthday so from the get-go I knew I wanted to make her cake "Rocket" their faithful friend and sweet ride! Thanks go "Yiz" who has the cake pans for EVERYTHING :) I was able to pull it off. This might have been my favorite cake for her yet... Coming down on the AM of her bday party to the surprise cake...

telling me "It's ROCKET!" :)

I def. tried to down scale this year... less pictures/decorations and a bit of a smaller crowd...

 It helped a bit with my stress and I think that Minnie had a BLAST so that was all that mattered!

People singing is by FAR her fav. part :)

Cousins!

I told Minnie that she could invite two friends to her party this year and she chose Pheebs and Lil'. Just an added bonus to see this guy :) She LOVES this little man and isn't so easy to see why!? :)

Kept it pretty low key, letting the adults chat and the kiddies play. No organized anything but just a free for all. I think it worked well and I felt like I was able to focus on the girl and have a little visit with most people.

She enjoyed opening her gifts ~ a lot of games, some crafts, and clothes. She made out like a bandit that's for SURE!!!

We hope you enjoyed your party day Minnie and that everyone else did as well! :)

Happy 3rd Birthday Minnie!

UPDATED WITH STATS:

Height: 40 inches 94%

Weight: 34 lbs 80%

Big GIRL I don't even know where to START with all you have done/changed/grown in the past year. Your vocabulary is AMAZING, your personality has blossomed even more as if that was EVEN possible and you are physically SO tall!!!

You know what you like and what you don't ~ new things are a little unnerving for you but once you give them a go you typically love a great adventure. Playing outside with someone ~ your friends, your family, your cousins, your neighbors is one of your very favorite things to do. Walking in the woods, playing soccer or "Bat" are all top on your list. If there is a swing involved... even better.

Your life was ROCKED when we brought your baby sister home for yah in August but you have handled it better than we could have hoped. We made it three months before you hurt her "on purpose" and even though I thought you didn't really "get it" after being punished a few minutes later you came to me and asked "is she OK Mom?" I know your heart is so sweet and I just want to encourage that and watch it grow. Miss B thinks the WORLD of you Minnie and she's watching you all.the.time. A lotta pressure for a little girl but I know you are up to the challenge and she is SO blessed to have you...

We still seem to struggle with some things that you KNEW were wrong before Miss B but I think you test the boundaries just to see if we are still the same parents... I assure you... we are. We still can't EAT markers in this house or cut our own hair with scissors. We can't write on our kitchen toys with crayons or MiMi's new cushions with chalk. Call us sticks in the mud but we have to set some limits somewhere.

Naps and bedtime are a CHALLENGE. You really love to give us a run for our money at nap time but once you fall asleep you go for about and hour and 1/2-3 hours... so we KNOW you are tired. I think you are just trying to figure out where you can have some free reign and where Mom and Dad really ARE the boss. Most days you are up by 6:30 ~ it's a rough go it it is before 6 ~ you nap around 12:30-1ish and you are in bed for the night around 7-7:30.  

You LOVE your "snacks" and will lick the frosting off any special treat :) Time spent with friends is also one of your favorite things and you wake up asking me "where are we going today Mom?" You LOVE LOVE LOVE spending entire days at Mimi's or Nana's house and ask often to go visit Pheebs and your friend Aesa ~ gotta love a friend with a pony :)

You are wearing mostly size 5 clothes. Pants are a little long but I expect by the time you have your post-Christmas growth spurt you'll be in them just fine. You wear a size 10 shoe (welcome to my world sweet girl) and you know the rules that we never leave the house without a hair pony :) You don't much care WHAT to wear just that you like to get dressed so we can GO SOMEWHERE.

You are watching us ALL the time and listening even when we think you are not. Repeating things back to us like "LITERALLY Mom!" and "can you massage my feet?" :) I didn't even know you KNEW the word massage :)

If THREE is what everyone has counseled us it is, we are in for a ride in the next year my sweet, spicy, sassy girl. I'm up for the challenge (I hope) and I can't wait to see how we have ALL grown in the next year.

I pray you continue to let your little light shine by singing praise and worship songs at the TOP OF YOUR LUNGS in the local shopping establishments and asking your friends to come to church with you...unprompted. I am sure we are in for more giggles like we had the other night when I asked you why the light was still on in your bedroom and you replied with... "Because that's how God made it. To stay on." :) I want your relationship with the Lord to be real, known and consumed in your whole life.

I pray that you and your sister continue to grow closer and closer and that this relationship is one that is like none other. I want you both to know how special the other is and that no matter how different you are from each other that you'll accept each other and have one another's "back" like no one else. Forever.

We are the lucky ones sweet goose that we get to call you our own. How blessed we are to be in your presence each day and have you love on US.

Happy Third Birthday Minnie. We LOVE YOU! Daddy, Mommy AND Baby Sister

Lest you think I've been sitting around...

Eating bon-bons like the rest of the SAHM's (right?)

The day that MIL spent 4 1/2 hours at my kitchen table sewing... CountryMum and I spent 7 hours going through 15 (no joke) totes of GIRL CLOTHES...

Please note that it is DARK out and CountryMum is still folding laundry. Could NOT have done it without either MIL or CountryMum... watchin' kiddies, doing chores and HELPING me get a handle on my basement full of blessings :)

 Oh yeah, and then I hosted Thanksgiving ~ not one of my best but my mind got running away from me and I let it take over all things fun and relaxing...

One of the boys in the "hood" got a deer and Minnie got the chance to go down and scope out "YUM-YUM" :) It was already hanging by the time she got there so she came back to tell me "I didn't touch it Mom!" :)

 and later that night we had a couple of prior track girls come over for a quick visit on their breaks home from college.

Minnie LOVES the "big" track girls! :)

Saturday night we bundled up the girls... (my little sausage) and headed into town to watch the annual tree lighting... Poor Miss B ~ she's a summer girl through and through and was NOT a fan of the fleece sweatshirt with a hood, the jacket with a hood and the SNOWSUIT, WITH.A.HOOD. :) I wanted to wear her in my psuedo-Ergo but when we got there she just wouldn't bend to fit... :)  

It was a COLD but fun night. Husband got to have a visit with all his friends and Minnie saw a few that run in her circle...

Best part of the night for my girl was for SURE Santa and his arrival on a fire truck! :)

 Oh yeah, and then I came home to decorate a birthday cake for a certain 3 year olds b-day party the following day...

More to come...

Den to Playroom: The TRANSFORMATION

Last April I asked CountryDad to just "build me a box with some shelves on either side". Easy right? Says the girl that can't sew a straight line or nail anything straight. Seven months later and some major construction and the FINAL PRODUCT is DONE!!! :)

BEFORE:

DURING: these gals came over to help me transform it into a bright blue FUN room for two girls! (thanks to H.O. for the FREE paint!)

CountryMum helped me sew new curtains that say "friends and hugs" on them. Perfect for a couple of sisters right? :)

and she also painted a little table that was made by my GREAT GREAT? Grandfather in Rangeley and you all know how much I LOVE RANGELEY! :)

Last Thursday was construction day...

CountryDad enlisted the help of his (our) friend Dennis and they pounded (literally) out the job in less than 3 hours!

 I think CountryDad is just SO stinkin' happy this project is DONE and out of his BASEMENT!!!! :)

 These girls (and their Mama) are so happy that it is IN OUR NEW PLAYROOM!!!!

MIL came on Monday and sewed at my kitchen table for 4 and 1/2 hours STRAIGHT to get the covers made for the cushion on the window seat and now it is all up to me. I have walls to patch and some painting to do but I am SOOOOO HAPPY with how it all came out and my big girl is LOVING playing in her space! I hope that my girls enjoy this room for years and years to come! :) Thank you just isn't ENOUGH to all involved and especially to the CountryRents who spent way more time, energy and $ than I expected!! I love you both VERY much and my girls are SO blessed to have you as their grandparents!! YOU SPOIL US ALL!!!