Olivia turns 3!

This year we made a countdown chain for Olivia's birthday.  (So she could stop asking 10 times a day "if her birthday was tomorrow").  It included green paper, of course. Still her color of choice.

So excited to take off a link (or two if we forgot)

Finally, the big day arrived and we were up bright and early!

 She got a bike and helmet for her "big" gift

French Toast AND muffins were her choice for breakfast.

Ready for her birthday party.  Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

Friends: Carter, Sadi, Parker, Kylie, Kiara and Olivia (Gus, not pictured)

Singing Happy Birthday and blowing out the candles

Cupcakes, "sprinkled" by the birthday girl herself

A happy Birthday Girl (with her Mickey hat a little askew)

Opening presents:

This age is so funny.  I'm not really sure Olivia saw half of what she got.  She was ripping things out of bags and tearing off the paper so fast (with the help of all her friends) that a lot of what was inside was missed.   But I think she still felt special, and was excited about the fact that they were all "hers".

"Pin the bow/hat on Mickey or Minnie"

Favor sacks and hats- Mickey for the boys, Minnie for the girls

Birthday Banner

Party Invites

"O Toodles.....Look Who's Turning 3!"

We had the family over the next day for cake and ice cream

At Kirk's suggestion again, and a sigh of relief from me....I bought the cake :)

Olivia was excited to blow out the candles again. She kept mentioning how cool it was that she got TWO parties and TWO cakes.

On top of her bike she got some fun things for her kitchen, including a Barbie apron and a cupcake making set.  She loved it all.  She was quite busy for a few weeks after her birthday with all of her new things.

Olivia,

I cannot believe how fast you are growing up, would you PLEASE stop!?  You are my little 3 year old going on 10 and you constantly amaze me. 

I love how excited you get about everything; from daddy walking in the door after work to a new puzzle I bought you at the dollar store.  Before we had kids, your daddy and I swore we would not "spoil" our children, but because of your excitement, sometimes we just can't help ourselves. 

I love watching you learn new things.  You're just like a sponge and on some days its hard for me to saturate you enough.  The word "WHY" is one of your favorites right now, and even though sometimes its exhausting, you will not let me rest until you are satisfied with the answer given.  Right now you especially like your letters and numbers and we "search" for them everywhere we go.

I love watching you entertain your baby brother.  Daxton adores you already because he can feel how much you love him.  I hope you are the best of friends as you grow up.

I love your hugs and kisses, you give them freely to everyone.   Some are a little leery of your lack of personal space, but its hard for you to understand why someone wouldn't want to be given a huge bear hug and a kiss.  I love it. 

I love your sensitivity.  Underneath all that energy and zest for life, you have a very sensitive side.  Your feelings get hurt very easily and you require a little more attention than most,  but you also care so much about others and their well being.  You are only 3, but its easy to see that you are sensitive to others' needs. You worry when you hear someone crying and always want to make sure they are ok, even if you don't know them.  You also worry about dad at work and if he has his lunch (you often go downstairs in the morning before mom even can and begin pulling things out of the fridge to pack for him).  If he forgets his lunch, you worry about him all day.

I love your spicy "attitude" (for the most part) .  You are a very determined little girl and you will get what you want, somehow, someway.  Even though at times it can be very frustrating for me, I know that in the long run, it will be a big asset to you in achieving goals and dreams.

I love you.

Mom

ABOUT YOU:

At the moment you love: playing house/kitchen, hide and seek, swinging, asking questions, letters and numbers, coloring and stickers, puzzles, flip flops, watching "Caillou" and "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse", princesses and dress-up and the color green.  You are afraid of no-one (which makes mommy a little afraid) and you love to be social.  You are still a little leery of animals; you only love them from a distance and because you do not totally understand what it entails, you ask me or dad for a dog every day.  You are still not a picky eater, you will eat anything from treats to broccoli and beans.  But out of everything, your definite favorites are chicken nuggets with TONS of ketchup and mom's homemade spaghetti.  If you could play outside all day long, you would and even though some days you really, really don't want to pause to take a nap, you definitely need to.  You are just like your mom, you need your sleep!