4.03.2014

Happy 3rd Birthday Evie!

My sweet, first born baby girl....you turned 3 years old on March 28th! How is this possible? I can't believe all that has gone on in the last 3 years and all that you have become. You are such a joy to us! If I'm honest, there's a part of my heart that is a bit sad that in just a very short time, you will no longer be the baby of the family, but a big sister!

3 years old
March 28, 2014

Here are some of the snapshots of memories forever engrained in my head from the day you were born. I remember them so vividly.

As soon as they held you up, the first thing I noticed were those lips! They are so kissable! This exact glimpse of you is one I will remember always. 
 I will never forget this cone head. Proof of an intense, very long labor, where you were completely stuck. 
One of my favorites!!! That first moment I got to snuggle you hands and arms free. I couldn't believe how tiny you were, and how perfect your little features were. Especially those lips! :) 

You accomplished many firsts and milestones going from 2 years to 3 years. It's crazy looking back 
seeing how much you have grown. 

1. Potty trained! You were potty trained right around 2 years and 2 months and you did great! I was utterly shocked at how quickly you caught on and how it stayed! You had lots of pee accidents the entire first morning, but ended the morning pooping on the potty for the first time, and went to bed for a nap. After you woke up, you were fine from then on! Crazy. (I know, I know, the mom who writes about her kids bathroom habits. But hey, it's for the "family record keeping" a.k.a. blog).

Teaching your Care Bear how to go potty first. 
2. Right at 2 years we switched you to your new big girl bed when we moved into our new house. You were quite anxious about it the first few nights and cried and cried. But after that you did great and absolutely loved your new room.
3. First trip to the dentist. You are our feisty, dramatic girl, who can go from sweet to crazy in a matter of seconds, so a successful 1st dentist trip was quite an amazing thing.

4. You finally found some confidence in the water with your floatie and learned to float around, jump in, and have the time of your life without being attached to someone's body!

5. You learned how to peddle a tricycle.
6. First trip to Disney World and meeting Cinderella.
7. First trip to the beach. You absolutely LOVED it. 

Sweet things that make you, YOU!
1. You are a nurturer at heart and absolutely LOVE babies. The extent of this love is a whole other blog post because it is that all consuming. But boy is it super fun to watch. We can't wait to watch you be a big sister!
2. You are feisty! We always assumed because we had an outgoing and verbal first born with your brother Mekonen, that you, our second, would be much more calm, cool, and collected. Boy were we wrong! You definitely have a mind and will of your own, and make no bones about it too! You have your opinions and share them quite confidently with anyone who is around. This my dear, can be a vice, and a virtue! :)
3. Tender at heart. Although you are feisty and dramatic, you have a very tender spirit, respond well to correction, and do like to be snuggled and loved on, especially by your Daddy (although with baby's arrival coming up, you've been much more clingy to Mommy lately, which truthfully, I don't mind at all).
4. You are still obsessed with your blankies!

Things to remember about this age.
1. You are all about princesses, which is funny, because we haven't purposefully pushed the "princess" thing much, but your little heart gravitates towards it. We think it's the God-given desire that is placed within the heart of his daughters to be loved and cherished. She doesn't even see the princess thing as a princess and her loving prince. All princes are "Daddies," which is one of the cutest things ever. Your favorite movie is Cinderella and you think the Prince is Cinderella's Daddy. That's fine with us if the only relationships you see boys and girls with is a Daddy and his little girl. :) When we went to Disney on Ice you said about every princess that came on the ice, "Where's her Dad?" (a.k.a. the prince). You've also recently been stating, "Mommy, I'm a princess of the King!" When I asked you who the King was you told me, "Jesus!" I have no recollection of telling you this. We talk about Jesus as King all the time, so I'm assuming you put those two things together. Too cute.
Every single day, you put on some sort of dress to be like a princess and you love to be spun around.
"Spin me Daddy! I'm dressed like a princess!"

2. Some funny phrases you've said lately include:
- Daddy likes to make up silly words, phrases, and names. He often calls you "Eve Bo Beve." You now respond by calling him, "Dad bo Dad, bo Steve, bo Dad." You came up with that rhyming all by yourself!
- You often mix up the first letters of words. "Poilet taper," "Poll molish" (nail polish).
- You say "I'm tending" for "I'm pretending."
- You don't particularly like being corrected. Once when Daddy corrected you on something you said very seriously, "Dad, be nice to me." As funny as that was at the time, it will not fly in this house little one!
- Whenever you bump your head you say, "Oh my poor head." Whenever you reference your head in almost any manner it's called your "poor head," not just your head.

Since your new brother or sister is due to arrive soon, we celebrated your 3rd birthday a little early with your requested Cinderella party.
 I made the decorations with my new Cricut machine. I absolutely love doing stuff like this! So fun. 


 The birthday girl's special spot. 
 I breathed a huge sigh of relief when my cake actually worked! Phew!!!! You were very concerned about the fact that your Cinderella doll had frosting on her bottom. Haha! 
 You could not wait to open your presents. 
For weeks you've been talking about a Cinderella birthday card for your birthday. Good thing I found one, and bonus, it had the #3 on it.
A Cinderella book. After bravely asking the librarian yourself if there were any Cinderella books, you sadly found out they were all checked out. With big huge tears welling up in your eyes, and trying not to cry, you looked at the lady and said, "Okay" with your little trembling voice. It was very sad. We got you a Cinderella book and you were ecstatic.
 Your all-time favorite present. A baby carseat from Mommy and Daddy for your babies! 
 Oh these two.
 Tradition- birthday child with Mommy and Daddy picture
 The Fam.







2 comments:

Unknown said...
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Unknown said...

Don't they grow up too fast? It's like a second ago, you were holding her tiny body in your arms and the next she is jumping up and down in celebration of her 3rd birthday party. A lot has happened. It's good that you started her really early with going to dental checkup. At least, she has an early instillation of taking care of her teeth. Honestly, your post is very moving. I can tell how much you and your family love each other. :)

Joel Haynes @ Herrin Pediatric Dentistry