THREE!

This week, my baby girl turned three.  Is it any surprise that the girl who has this mob of mermaids along for every bath wanted a mermaid birthday party?  So, if my girl wants a mermaid party, a mermaid party she will have.  

Cohen spent his 11 month milestone, while Addy was at her GiGi’s, helping us blow up balloons for the party.  If you need to keep a small child busy while you’re doing something, balloons are probably a pretty safe bet. 

 Miss Addy loved her mermaid party.  Most of her favorite people were there.  We had blue juice (which obviously tastes better through an umbrella straw).  There were fruit kabobs, homemade seashell party favors, goldfish crackers, strawberry lemon oyster cookies, and of course, a cake.  J

She’s still thrilled about all of her presents…outdoor fun supplies, dress-up clothes, a cash register, new favorite movies, a microphone for 6 AM performances of Carly Rae Jepsen (“this is cwaaaazy…call me maybe”), baby dolls, a new fish tank, and a shiny red bike (this necessitates the full suit of armor that I'm still looking into purchasing).  We’ve been playing hard, folks.

Ahhh…someday, my children will have a hay day with this one.  Really, mom?  Make us stare directly into the sun for a photo?  Great idea. 

We got a good one though.

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Addy’s party was on Monday, but her birthday wasn’t until Thursday.  So Wednesday night, after the kids were in bed, my amazing husband helped me blow up 75 balloons to sneak them into her room.  He feigned annoyance at yet another hair-brained scheme, but giggled right along with me as we snuck them into her dark room and hid every time we heard her stirring.  She wakes up pretty hard, but she was still excited to have a room FULL of balloons.  She wanted to take every last one of them with her to Mimi’s that day.  They’re still providing a good source of amusement around our house. 

 We shared a little ice cream cake in celebration that night too.

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Today, to tie up this lovely birthday week with a pretty bow, Cohen got his initiation into our birthday tradition…a trip to the zoo!

 I couldn’t resist taking a photo of this elephant’s tramp stamp.  I’ve since found out that this is from this elephant’s past life in the circus.  Risqué (OK, and sad too).

Haha.  This photo gives a whole new meaning to a spring in your step.  And this is the essence of Addy.

Her three year old independence is wonderful and heartbreaking all at the same time.  Here come the waterworks.  I guess that’s what happens when the growth of your baby feels as palpable as it does this week.

 2 years ago, we took a one year old girl for her first ride on the carousel.

 

We came back again last year.

 And this year, we added another kiddo to the fun. 

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Tonight, as I lie in bed typing this, I look back at the memories we made this week, and I feel so freaking lucky.  It seems the universe is smiling on us, and I’m feeling all kinds of grateful.  I hope you all had a wonderful week.  Love.