The Birthday Girl, A Picnic Party, & A Letter

Ah, sweet, sweet Lily! How is it that she’s three years old already?! She turned 3 back on January 20th; I’ve just been slacking in the blogging department so am late getting these pictures and letter up.

Current Favorites:

Mickey Mouse, and I’m not talking ‘new’ Mickey, I’m talking black and white Mickey! She found some classic Mickey cartoons on Netflix recently and they’re her favorite thing to watch on there. She gets incredibly excited any time she sees Mickey Mouse (or Minnie Mouse) clothes, toys, books, etc. I think her mind is going to blow when I bring her to a Disney Store later this month!

Daniel Tiger – this PBS kids spin off of Mister Roger’s Neighborhood is also a favorite of hers, and I love the songs she’s learned from it!

Tea Parties – favorite gifts from her birthday? The two tea sets she received! The girl throws a fun tea party too!

Picnics – We gave Lily a little picnic basket for Christmas, and it’s a favorite of hers as well. She loves picnics so much, we just knew we had to throw her a picnic party for her birthday! Who cares that it was the middle of January?!

We invited over a handful of Lily’s friends from school and church, laid out a blanket, had some classic picnic treats, and had some casual fun! Chocolate milk is Lily’s favorite drink, so of course we had some of that, and her picnic play set came with watermelon, so we found some of that. FYI, watermelon in January tastes about like you would expect – bleh.

My seriously talented friend made her adorable picnic themed birthday cake and some super delicious mini-cupcakes to go along with it! Food, fun and friends made the party a success!

And now, for my annual birthday letter….

Dear Lily,

Sweet girl, you light up my life so much! Your giggle, your almost continuous smile, the way you bounce around the house getting excited about the littlest things (like having oatmeal for breakfast) is just amazing. The way you shout “Mommy, you came back!” when I walk in the door from the gym in the mornings, or when I pick you up at school, or the church nursery, brings the biggest smile to my face!

Sometimes, when I peek in at you sleeping, my heart wants to burst. While you’re still my “baby”, I can’t help but notice how big you’re getting! You’ve grown and changed so much this year – vocabulary taking off, being independent when it comes to getting dressed (sometimes), playing on your own, asking to help when I’m cooking, and more. You’ve also started saying “I love you” more often, which makes me melt. And ooooh boy, the way you have your daddy wrapped around your little finger! Whew! He’s going to be in trouble when you’re a teenager.

Your make-believe side is so fun to watch and participate in too. Your brothers liked to pretend sometimes, but not nearly as often as you do, so it’s been a fun change of pace around here. I think my favorite though might be watching you and Daddy pretend together on Fridays, when your brothers are at school. You have such a special Daddy, Lily!

I can’t wait to watch you grow and change even more this year, and yet I also wish you could just stay this sweet age a little bit longer. My baby is growing far too quickly! 

I love you so much, sweet Lily!

Mommy