Hello there! Happy New Year! I took a little blogging break to spend time with family over the holidays and get some work done on Audrey’s birthday party, which is coming up this Saturday. This is the latest I’ve ever procrastinated for a party, but I think with our Disney World trip + the holidays, I just wasn’t super motivated. It will all be done in time, though.
Yesterday was Audrey’s birthday, so since her party is next weekend, we decided to take her out and do something special this weekend. Moments like these are moments I live for. I LOVE making a big to-do out of my kids’ birthdays. It’s their day and I want them to feel special and celebrated. And yes, I know, they’re getting a birthday party, but I like to celebrate just with family too.
I gave Audrey the option of going to Let’s Play or seeing the new Wreck It Ralph movie, and since we were just at Let’s Play earlier in the week, she chose to see the movie. Saturday morning, we all got up and went to a 9:30 showing of Ralph Breaks the Internet at Bridge Street (which was so good!) Going to the movies is a big treat for them because they get to munch on popcorn and candy the entire time.
Every time we’re at the theater the girls ask to take photos in the photo booth and I usually tell them no, but we were a bit early for the movie, so we thought why not? We’d rather kill time doing something like that than get in there too early and the kids get antsy before the movie starts.
When the movie was over, we walked around Bridge Street for a little bit before grabbing some lunch.
After lunch, we grabbed some ice cream at Maggie Moo’s (they picked birthday cake ice cream with marshmallows and sprinkles), then made our way home for rest time.
Audrey requested Rosie’s for her birthday dinner with family, so we met both sets of grandparents there for dinner. Raley picked Rosie’s for her birthday dinner too. You won’t hear us complaining…Rosie’s is so good!
We brought cupcakes and cute Trolls plates and candles to celebrate after we ate. The smile on her face as we sang was the cutest thing. She has been so giddy about her birthday all week. Every time we’d mention it or ask her how old she’s going to be she would get this huge, excited smile and shrug her shoulders up. This is the first year she has really been excited, so it was even more important to me that we make her feel special.
On her actual birthday (Sunday), we went to church in the morning, then spent the day at home playing and resting. She got to play with some new toys and a new outdoor playhouse. We played a cute Go Fish game, and it’s pretty adorable to watch her learn how to play. If someone would ask for something, she’d look through her cards one by one and say “No I don’t have dat one. Go Fish.” Or if she had it, she’d get really excited and hand it over. It’s amazing how quickly a 3 year old catches on to the concept of these kinds of things!
I made one of her favorite meals for dinner (“bow pasta” with alfredo sauce) and we had a couple of cupcakes left over from the night before that we let the girls eat. Of course we had to light candles and sing again.
I know that when she’s older she probably won’t remember anything about her third birthday. But I hope to remember it forever and be able to tell her all about how excited she was and how much fun she had. She keeps telling us “I really like seeing the new Wreck It Ralph movie. Dat was really fun.” And that just makes my day.
A little about Audrey at age 3:
When people ask me about Audrey, I usually end up summing her up by saying “she is somethin’ else” or “she’s a mess.” Because she is both. She is incredibly hard-headed and independent (like her mom). She wants to do everything her way and she wants to do it herself. She doesn’t want help unless it’s on her own terms. This can be frustrating for me, who is a bit of a perfectionist, and at times impatient, but I know in the future, this will be a good trait for her to have.
She is constantly coming up with random, made up words, that absolutely mean something to her, but we have no idea what it means. Sometimes when we tell her to do something she doesn’t want to do, she’ll come back at us with these made up words as if they’re insults. Or make a funny face or do something silly, which makes it so hard to keep a straight face.
When she doesn’t get her way, she cries as if we absolutely broke her heart. It’s not a whine to get her way. Her heart is broken. But thankfully she tends to move past these fits rather quickly.
She wants to be just like her sister, so whatever Raley is doing, Audrey is right there in the middle of it. Something that I have noticed is that she naturally tends to play very cooperatively. If there is two of something and Raley wants one, Audrey will say she wants the other, rather than both of them fighting over the same thing.
She is so, so sweet. She likes to snuggle, but again, on her own terms. She’ll randomly give me hugs and say “I love you, Mommy.” Lately at bedtime, she’ll tell me “Mommy, I just want you to hold me for a while.” Most nights it’s very hard to say no to this. It could possibly be a stalling tactic, but I’m not passing up a chance to hold my baby for a few extra minutes.
She is absolutely hilarious. From the words she makes up, to the way she says things, to her funny faces, to the way she dances – she never fails to put a smile on our faces and laughs in our bellies. She marches to the beat of her own drum, which can be difficult at times, but also entertaining and encouraging. I have no doubt that she will be able to stand up for herself and I hope that she is never afraid to be different.
I’m so proud of the sweet and smart little girl she’s becoming. I can see these personality traits start to come out more and more as she grows. It’s so interesting to me to see the differences between her and Raley. They enjoy doing the same things, but their personalities are actually very different, so I’m excited to see their personalities continue to develop as the years go on. I wonder if they’ll clash when they’re older, or if they’ll actually feed off one another and be able to help each other grow. Parenting can be so weird, when you really stop to think about these things.
I hope that your year is off to a good start! Have a wonderful rest of the week!
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