Maddie's 3rd Birthday

 So much for planning to post the day of Maddie's Birthday, but better late than never! This year was Miss Maddie's golden birthday: she turned 3 on August 3rd. And she soaked up every minute of this birthday! We went to Donut Den that morning for breakfast, and she ordered her usual: 1 chocolate sprinkle donut and 1 pink sprinkle donut (she can never eat both of them, but it is very important to her to get 2 each time)We had a few visitors stop by to wish her Happy Birthday, and we went to lunch with Neel and baby Carrie. And after a quick nap, we went to get cupcakes at Bread and Company with Bebe. When we got home, Uncle Tee and Miss Caroline were waiting for us to give Maddie her present: a new addition to our family - Jim. One of Caroline's roommates has a Beta fish named Jim, and it has been all Maddie has talked about. We have talked about what Jim's favorite color is, what Jim likes to eat, what Jim is doing right now, and it went on and on. So Uncle Tee got her her very own Jim (he tried to explain that this was Jim's sister, but instead Maddie said "Oh, there are two Jims!"). Maddie was so excited, she could not even believe it at first.

And we finished the night off by meeting Mimi and Grand D and Anna Caroline for dinner at Yolo's. Maddie wanted to wear her "high heels" to dinner. This is a look I've been getting a lot these days, when she is not pleased with what I am asking her to do (in this instance stop so I could take a picture of her)

I gave Maddie the option this year either to have her party at our house or at Monkey's Treehouse (a indoor playroom w/ a treehouse and just about every other type of toy you can imagine), and without blinking an eye she replied Monkey's Treehouse! So that is where we had it. She was excited that day that the last thing she wanted to do was take a nap. We had been in a transitional period where she really still needed a nap, but she was fighting it and if she slept too long then she was up at night. So I've been letting her just play quietly in her room, and most days she plays for a few minutes and then she will snuggle into her bed and fall asleep. But on the day of her party, she absolutely did not want to take one. So she sat on her stairs screaming for about 30 mins that she was not going to sleep, and when I opened her door to wake her up from her nap for the party, this is how I found her: sound asleep on the stairs. :)

Here she is with her beloved "big girl cousins" on either side!

And the chaos begins of getting everyone cupcake wrapper off, getting everyone ice cream and a drink! I learned two things for next year: take the wrappers off ahead of time, and do not attempt cream cheese icing when it is 100 degrees outside - it was good but way too runny and therefore very messy!

It is amazing to think about how much Maddie has changed and grown in this past year. So much changes from two to three. At two, she wanted to help with everything but wasn't able to provide much useful help. But I feel like in the blink of an eye, she goes and gets her own snack now and can get a juice box out of the refrigerator. I turned around last week and she had buttoned her rain coat all by herself! She will go and get a bib or burp cloth for Emalyn without me even asking. If she hear Emalyn crying, she will go and put her toys back in front of her. She loves to help me cook and bake, and we have so much fun doing it together. And she has had had a lot of change thrown at her this past year: starting school for the first time, she moved to her new big girl room upstairs (and soon she will have a new big girl bed), she was potty trained, and the biggest change of all - a new little sister. We definitely had our moments, but overall I have been amazed at how lovingly she has welcome Emalyn into our lives. When Chris and I went to the mountains last month, she called Honey everyday to check and see how her baby sister was (and could have cared less about talking to Chris and while we were gone). They already have a very special relationship. Emalyn squeals and flaps her arms every time Maddie walks into the room. They carry on little conversations with each other by squealing back and forth to each other. I have so much fun taking her places with me these days. She went shopping with me last week, and we walked into the fitting room. She hopped up on the beach, and with each new shirt I tried on she would say "that one is pretty cute mom." Wow! What a change even from a few months ago...she truly is a little girl now! She even suggested that I get two of the shirts I tried on. Definitely my girl! :) But I think what has been the most fun thing for Chris and I to see is more of her little personality coming through these days. She has the sweetest little heart, so caring and compassionate. It was a wonderful third birthday, and she is already talking about her next party!