Guess Who's 3???

I can't believe I'm the mommy of a 3 year-old! WOW!!!
Our cute Kirsten turned 3 in May! (And I'm just now posting about it. . . yeah, did I ever mention I'm a little behind on my blogging?)

We had lots of rainy days and bad weather throughout the entire month of May, so I was a little nervous about her party being rained out. But I planned it for a Saturday towards the end of May, and we actually got sunshine! It was a little cold and windy, but sunny and bright!

Her party was so much fun! We had great friends come celebrate with us, and lots of yummy food! Stephen was the master griller of hot dogs and brats, and I put together the fruit tray with caramel toffee dip and the chips and dip platters. The cute butterflies and the flower-shaped platters actually came from Pier 1. LOVE that store!

I thought it would be easier to make cupcakes for everyone instead of a regular cake. We were laughing (kind of) when my "easier" project turned into us working on these cupcakes until around midnight the night before the party. At least they turned out super cute! The flower-topped cupcakes were made by cutting up marshmallows with kitchen scissors, sprinkling them with sugar crystals, arranging them to look like petals, and giving them candle centers. Time-consuming, but adorable!!!

Kirsten was so thrilled by her special birthday balloons. I wonder what age she'll be when she actually gets more excited about presents than balloons? It hasn't happened yet!
*She actually took the entire balloon bouquet INTO bed with her for a couple of weeks after her party. It was funny but so adorable too!

Here are a bunch of the birthday girl's favorite things:

*Favorite things to do. . . Go down slides, play with balloons or balls, take baths with Natalie, go swimming or play in the water at the splash parks, bounce on trampolines, play in the sand at the beach, blow bubbles, and spend time with her favorite people.
*Favorite color. . . PINK!
*Favorite books. . . The Little Critter books. She loves finding the spider and the grasshopper on every page, and she constantly asks for these books every day before nap and bedtime.
*Favorite TV shows- Sesame Street and Play With Me Sesame, Little Einsteins, Mickey Mouse, and Little Bear.
*Favorite movies- Monsters Inc, Enchanted, The Wizard of Oz, The Lion King, and Follow That Bird.
*Favorite thing to wear. . . Hot pink sunglasses, and her hot pink "sandal shoes". She's not too picky about her outfits yet (which means I can still choose her clothes, hooray!) but she does insist on wearing her pink sandals, rain or shine.
*Favorite music groups. . . The Beach Boys and Abba! She also seems to love songs by Kelly Clarkson.
*Favorite animal. . . Probably dogs. She also loves the monkeys, giraffes, and gorillas at the zoo.
*Favorite foods. . . Ice cream, cake, suckers (pretty much anything sugary), hot dogs, french fries, chicken nuggets, watermelon, peaches, and cheese. She's a pretty typical picky toddler who won't touch vegetables and loves all the junk food. And no meal is complete without juice!
*Favorite thing to carry around the house. . . Balloons. She has a strange obsession with "tiny balloons." She wants us to blow them up so they're really small, and then she takes them to bed with her and takes them into the bath tub to wash them off too. Weird, huh? She doesn't like dolls or stuffed animals, yet gets attached to balloons! She's a funny girl!

*Kirsten had lots of fun playing at her party with her cute little friends. Saide even gave her a birthday kiss!

Kirsten's least favorite things- (This list really hasn't changed a whole lot since she was a baby. She still seems to hate a lot of the same things, such as. . . )

*Getting her hair combed, especially when it's wet. She still cries and screams, and always has.
*Being left in nursery at church without Daddy. She cries and cries until they bring her to come find us. It's hopeless, really!
*Hearing other kids cry. She's pretty much the most sensitive kid I've ever seen, and usually cries when her friends or other kids cry.
*Vegetables. She used to eat green beans and carrots really good, but not anymore.
*Talking on the phone. Even to people she loves, like Grandma. She's just not interested in the phone.

She's getting more independent as she gets older, and braver about going on the playground by herself. But she's still really attached to me and always wants me with her. I know I'll really miss that someday!

She also loves playing with Uncle Chance, one of her favorite people in the world!

Time to light the candle and sing "Happy Birthday". . .

Of course, Kirsten loved her cupcake!

Natalie had her first cupcake experience, and she was pretty excited about it!

The great thing about having a birthday party at the park (other than the nice scenery) is how everyone can be entertained at the playground. Natalie was really rocking it out in this police car!

Kirsten loves having Natalie with her. . . some of the time. I guess it's pretty typical. Sometimes they play together so great, and they laugh and it's just the cutest thing in the world! And other times Kirsten takes toys away from Natalie and hides them from her, and Natalie pulls her hair, and Kirsten cries, and Kirsten hits Natalie and goes to time out, and you get the picture. Normal sisterly behavior, so I've heard.

It's just amazing, all the stuff Kirsten knows how to do now! It's hard to believe she was ever as young as Natalie, and couldn't talk or run around by herself. Wow!

I didn't bring their swimsuits to the park, even though it's right on the shores of a beautiful lake. I figured they wouldn't get very wet. Yeah. . . guess who ended up carrying two soaking wet girls the long way back to the car after the party was over?

Kirsten had such a great birthday! I'm really grateful for the friends who came and celebrated with us at the party, and I missed everyone who lives too far away to come.

Kirsten is such an adorable, fun 3 year-old and I'm just excited to pieces to see her grow and learn even more this year!!!